Introducing the first book in a speculative fiction series called The Atavist Effect: Rika's Run, this sets the framework of an epic tale that starts with the actions of unlikely characters, whose pursuit of their faith, family, and freedom put them against distant, seemingly all-powerful forces. The story is told from the twenty-second century through the research of a maker's apprentice trying to keep a seat in the qargi, the maker school. Like a complex puzzle, he pieces together old family stories to discover how a girl changed the events of the twenty-first century. On a stolen flying contraption and searching for her brother, Rika sowed the seeds of rebellion against technocratic globalists quietly seizing control and restricting people's freedoms. The storyteller already knows that the world collapsed in the late twenty-first century; after all, it is a part of the curriculum in school. But the mystery is how it happened and how it all came back together. How do the choices of the previous generations impact the present? What is the right response when faced with difficult decisions against impossible odds? While the book deals with tough issues, it's written for a diverse audience--from youth to those blessed with age. The characters are multigenerational, opening the door for families to read the book together to discover and talk about what happens and how things work in the world between the pages. It's not science fiction. It's science possible. Welcome to the age of cold-steam--a time for the makers.

Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics II comprises the Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG), organised by the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS) and held at the University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth from 8 10 November 2010. The volume addresses current and emerging challenges

This volume presents proceedings from the first Australian-New Zealand Geoenvironment conference. The conference provides a forum for researchers and practitioners in the region to exchange ideas, share information and discuss the effective management of the geoenvironment.

This conference provides a forum for discussion of the advances in the theory and practice of crystallization as it relates to the production of bulk crystalline materials.

After assisting his wife through her terminal battle with cancer, Steven Ward Hamilton, a 38-year-old devoted stepfather, English teacher, avid astronomer, and motorcyclist, witnesses a tragic accident on a remote stretch of the Alaska Highway. As Alamea's life slips away, she bestows her fortune upon Steve, setting him on a transformative path to meet and provide solace to her beloved Meriwa, a 36-year-old First Nations attorney committed to the advancement of her community. Together they embark on an extraordinary journey to fulfill Alamea's vision-an adventure business centered around assisted suicide. They find solace in their friendship and in their own ways discover that a dying person's forever becomes a survivor's tomorrow. Their uproarious escapades create a tsunami of media attention as they battle hungry bears, plunge the depths of the mystic Yukon River, suffer the magic mushroom antics of a mischievous therapist, and slide the slippery slopes with a slimy bush pilot. When the gig is up and the mushrooms kick in, will Steve discover that he is destined to become the company's final client? Will their audacious actions sway public opinion and inspire new end-of-life laws?