The story from the alternate future continues …. Clandestine events on Earth unfold in the not-too-distant past. Dissatisfaction with The System had resulted in a group of disgruntled specialists successfully executing a well-planned exodus to resettle off-world, joining and furthering the cause of a hidden and more technologically advanced community of “independents” only referred to as the “Traders” by those very, very few in the know. Back in the moment, picking up from where Book Two, “Journey’s End” left off - The War erupts on a System-wide scale, with massive Fighting Vessels from both sides joining in Battle. Taking an early hit, the UNE scrambles to recover to prevent further crushing defeat. An early MAC win has galvanized the faction’s confidence for a crushing victory over the UNE… but will over-confidence creep in? Meanwhile, the Malayan Rangers are engulfed in a large Ground Action on Hygeia, being far larger than they had anticipated. The success of their mission to rescue the package and deliver it safely is no longer guaranteed, with the Hygeia Action becoming another key focal point in the newly ignited War. While the Tigris continues to “fly blind” as a result of its prior encounter, tensions among the crew begin to surface, as key members become intrinsically linked from exposure to the Sentinel. The unveiling of the on-going mystery of the Sentinel proceeds on Lunar, with different players from within the UNE arriving to play their part. Past grudges and with former colleagues may need to be cast aside to progress forward, as it is evident - that whatever the outcome, it will have a significant impact on the other seemingly disparate stories currently unfolding. War between civilizations rage on. New allies are discovered, and partnerships are forged. Other players appear from the shadows. The Sentinel is more out of reach than anyone had anticipated. The future of Humanity remains unclear.

The story from the alternate future continues …. A new and mysterious "Traders" faction that has been watching from the shadows all this while, makes itself known to the Tigris. With their ulterior motives yet revealed, the Tigris crew must learn of their role in a changing landscape of existing and new alliances within the solar system. As Mars continues to evolve, challenges for "a new Mars" emerge, potentially drawing in the involvement of the UNE, and the involvement of the team of Malayan Rangers already deployed on the ground. As Specialist Lalitha edges closer to revealing the inner workings of the mysterious Sentinel, questions of further discoveries and puzzles begin to emerge - especially regarding its purpose. As the integrity and resolve of factions are challenged as they evolve, new players enter the mix, with the resurfacing of long-forgotten stories of old - creating new challenging situations with different conditions. New crises are brewing under the surface, as different paths begin to converge - potentially taking humanity's path toward a different endpoint.

What if the Chinese Treasure Fleet continued on..? What if Colonialism was 'kept in check'? What if Social Communalism becomes the predominant belief system on a different Earth? What if the United Nations was run and supported by Asian Powers? Nearly a thousand years after the Chinese Treasure Fleet first sailed across the globe, continuing to spread Asian culture and influence through trade instead of conquest - a new seed of conflict is discovered on the Jupiter moon of Ganymede. An unprovoked attack on a mining facility jointly developed through an uneasy alliance between the United Nations of Earth (UNE) and the Mars Administrative Corporation (MAC), raises suspicions from both factions. Has the clash of ideologies between Asian-influenced Earth and Western-driven Mars reached a tipping point? In an attempt to diffuse the situation while identifying the attackers and their motives, Captain Olivia Chu and her crew of the UNE Starship Tigris, accompanied by an attachment of the elite Malayan Rangers, sneak their way through Martian defenses to investigate. What they discover, is something different entirely, having a bearing over the evolution and continued survival of humanity as a whole. Only that they have not come to realize it… yet. “Marooned” is the first book in the “First Contact” story arc from the Unity Macroverse. Explore key characters as well as numerous locations across the Solar System including sprawling independent settlements throughout the asteroid belt. As the future hangs in limbo, differences must firstly be set aside - as unity is ultimately paramount.

What if Christianity is simple? When Jesus gave his first public address, he said, I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets and to set the captives free. When a contract is fulfilled, it is completed and is no longer in effect. Religion is a form of bondage that enslaves its adherents to a set of rules that constitute sin. It portrays the image of a God who acts as a judge. In one hand he has a legal pad and pen and in the other a club. When sufficient sins have been committed, the club is used on the sinner. Jesus died on the cross to fulfill the need for justice and came to earth to show that God is not the ogre with a club but a loving father with outstretched arms wanting to hug his children He sent to us the Holy Spirit so we might have the heart and mind of Christ and be empowered to live a life free from the bondage of sin and religion. This book shows the reader how to do that and points out the stumbling blocks that may interfere. It enables the reader to see the simplicity of Christianity and understand why it should surpass religion in our lives.

The Marine Corps Way of War examines the evolving doctrine, weapons, and capability of the United States Marine Corps during the four decades since our last great conflict in Asia. As author Anthony Piscitelli demonstrates, the USMC has maintained its position as the nation's foremost striking force while shifting its thrust from a reliance upon attrition to a return to maneuver warfare.In Indochina, for example, the Marines not only held territory but engaged in now-legendary confrontational battles at Hue, Khe Sanh. As a percentage of those engaged, the Marines suffered higher casualties than any other branch of the service. In the post-Vietnam assessment, however, the USMC ingrained aspects of Asian warfare as offered by Sun Tzu, and returned to its historical DNA in fighting "small wars" to evolve a superior alternative to the battlefield.The institutionalization of maneuver philosophy began with the Marine Corps' educational system, analyzing the actual battle-space of warfare--be it humanitarian assistance, regular set-piece battles, or irregular guerrilla war--and the role that the leadership cadre of the Marine Corps played in this evolutionary transition from attrition to maneuver. Author Piscatelli explains the evolution by using traditional and first-person accounts by the prime movers of this paradigm shift. This change has sometimes been misportrayed, including by the Congressional Military Reform Caucus, as a disruptive or forced evolution. This is simply not the case, as the analyses by individuals from high-level commanders to junior officers on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, demonstrate. The ability of the Marines to impact the battlefield--and help achieve our strategic goals--has only increased during the post-Cold War era.Throughout The Marine Corps Way of War: The Evolution of the U.S. Marine Corps from Attrition to Maneuver Warfare in the Post-Vietnam Era, one thing remains clear: the voices of the Marines themselves, in action or through analysis, describing how "the few, the proud" will continue to be America's cutting-edge in the future as we move through the 21st Century. This new work is must-reading for not only every Marine, but for everyone interested in the evolution of the world's finest military force.

The Backstreets is an astonishing novel by a preeminent contemporary Uyghur author who was disappeared by the Chinese state. It follows an unnamed Uyghur man who comes to the impenetrable Chinese capital of Xinjiang after finding a temporary job in a government office. Seeking to escape the pain and poverty of the countryside, he finds only cold stares and rejection. He wanders the streets, accompanied by the bitter fog of winter pollution, reciting a monologue of numbers and odors, lust and loathing, memories and madness. Perhat Tursun’s novel is a work of untrammeled literary creativity. His evocative prose recalls a vast array of canonical world writers—contemporary Chinese authors such as Mo Yan; the modernist images and rhythms of Camus, Dostoevsky, and Kafka; the serious yet absurdist dissection of the logic of racism in Ellison’s Invisible Man—while drawing deeply on Uyghur literary traditions and Sufi poetics and combining all these disparate influences into a style that is distinctly Perhat Tursun’s own. The Backstreets is a stark fable about urban isolation and social violence, dehumanization and the racialization of ethnicity. Yet its protagonist’s vivid recollections of maternal tenderness and first love reveal how memory and imagination offer profound forms of resilience. A translator’s introduction situates the novel in the political atmosphere that led to the disappearance of both the author and his work.