An investigator must solve a seemingly impossible theft in this comedic sci-fi mystery by New York Times–bestselling author Alan Dean Foster . The room—surrounded by cameras, motion sensors, and alarms, and guarded by rotating security crews twenty-four seven—was supposed to be impenetrable. No one should have been able to approach the vault unseen. So how did the irreplaceable pharmaceuticals stored there get stolen? How did someone breach the vault three times and escape unnoticed and without leaving a trace? It’s a mystery that falls to insurance adjuster Roderick Manz to solve. Assisted by a humanoid robot, an AI, and an off-world partner named Vyra with secrets of her own, Manz is on the hunt for the most clever thieves he has ever encountered.

The theft of three shipments of priceless pharmaceuticals from the Braun-Ives corporation has left the local police dumbfounded. Enter Broderick Manz, an adjuster from the Insurance Division, helped by the irresistable Vyra, humaniform Moses and the artificial intelligence Minder.

An argument that we have a moral duty to explore other planets and solar systems--because human life on Earth has an expiration date. Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, cataclysmic war, or the death of the sun in a few billion years. To avoid extinction, we will have to find a new home planet, perhaps even a new solar system, to inhabit. In this provocative and fascinating book, Christopher Mason argues that we have a moral duty to do just that. As the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a responsibility to act as the shepherd of life-forms--not only for our species but for all species on which we depend and for those still to come (by accidental or designed evolution). Mason argues that the same capacity for ingenuity that has enabled us to build rockets and land on other planets can be applied to redesigning biology so that we can sustainably inhabit those planets. And he lays out a 500-year plan for undertaking the massively ambitious project of reengineering human genetics for life on other worlds. As they are today, our frail human bodies could never survive travel to another habitable planet. Mason describes the toll that long-term space travel took on astronaut Scott Kelly, who returned from a year on the International Space Station with changes to his blood, bones, and genes. Mason proposes a ten-phase, 500-year program that would engineer the genome so that humans can tolerate the extreme environments of outer space--with the ultimate goal of achieving human settlement of new solar systems. He lays out a roadmap of which solar systems to visit first, and merges biotechnology, philosophy, and genetics to offer an unparalleled vision of the universe to come.

The story of cricket is littered with big stories, like Bodyline, underarm balls and tycoons changing the game. But, like Tony Greig checking out the pitch with his keys, sometimes things fall through the cracks. Sticky Wickets takes a look at stories both big, small and perhaps forgotten. From bees and their dislike of cricket to a storm caused when a cameraman criticised a Test player's fielding. It's perfect to pick up when rain delays play.