An ancient demon awakened. A madman obsessed with the Necronomicon. A world standing on the brink. What else can go wrong this Millennium?

Meet Malcom Connings, mild-mannered Archeologist. Meet Zaliesty, rich corporate Tycoon interested in cloning. Meet Xenth and Skie, Vengeance Zombies. Meet Ninghizzarhad, an Awakened Ancient. We now return you to your regularly scheduled End-of-the-World, already in progress... Originally published in limited runs in Louisiana in 2001, now the tale returns (in true Phillip K Dick fashion) in a Two-Part Special Edition with Player Sketches, released during the year the story was to take place.

Some of us visit science fiction. Zak Standridge kinda lives there! From the obscure (1968's The Prisoner) to the mainstream (1966's Star Trek) to the in-between (1970's Doctor Who) to the over-looked (1990's Quantum Leap & 2000's Firefly/Serenity) to the modern (American Gods in 2020), Mr. Standridge has spent decades distilling here for you his cherry-picked FAVS of SCI-FI!

Everyone has heard of the story of DNA as the story of Watson and Crick and Rosalind Franklin, but knowing the structure of DNA was only a part of a greater struggle to understand life's secrets. Life's Greatest Secret is the story of the discovery and cracking of the genetic code, the thing that ultimately enables a spiraling molecule to give rise to the life that exists all around us. This great scientific breakthrough has had farreaching consequences for how we understand ourselves and our place in the natural world, and for how we might take control of our (and life's) future. Life's Greatest Secret mixes remarkable insights, theoretical dead-ends, and ingenious experiments with the swift pace of a thriller. From New York to Paris, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Cambridge, England, and London to Moscow, the greatest discovery of twentieth-century biology was truly a global feat. Biologist and historian of science Matthew Cobb gives the full and rich account of the cooperation and competition between the eccentric characters -- mathematicians, physicists, information theorists, and biologists -- who contributed to this revolutionary new science. And, while every new discovery was a leap forward for science, Cobb shows how every new answer inevitably led to new questions that were at least as difficult to answer: just ask anyone who had hoped that the successful completion of the Human Genome Project was going to truly yield the book of life, or that a better understanding of epigenetics or "junk DNA" was going to be the final piece of the puzzle. But the setbacks and unexpected discoveries are what make the science exciting, and it is Matthew Cobb's telling that makes them worth reading. This is a riveting story of humans exploring what it is that makes us human and how the world works, and it is essential reading for anyone who'd like to explore those questions for themselves.

What will happen when technology allows us to direct our own evolution? Transhumanists advocate for the development and distribution of technologies that will enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities, even eliminate aging. What if the dystopian futures and transhumanist utopias found in the pages of science journals, Margaret Atwood novels, films like Gattaca, and television shows like Dark Angel are realized? What kind of world would humans have created? Maxwell J. Mehlman considers the promises and perils of using genetic engineering in an effort to direct the future course of human evolution. He addresses scientific and ethical issues without choosing sides in the dispute between transhumanists and their challengers. However, Transhumanist Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares reveals that radical forms of genetic engineering could become a reality much sooner than many people think, and that we need to encourage risk-management efforts. Whether scientists are dubious or optimistic about the prospects for directed evolution, they tend to agree on two things. First, however long it takes to perfect the necessary technology, it is inevitable that humans will attempt to control their evolutionary future, and second, in the process of learning how to direct evolution, we are bound to make mistakes. Our responsibility is to learn how to balance innovation with caution.

The Devil's estranged son, Z, has built a thriving business around hallucinations and nightmares. But the world has changed and he needs a different angle. In a conversation with a leading underworld vlogger, Z comes up with a confession and unresolved issues come the fore.

For hundreds of years, the Dragon Warriors of Althanea have fought against an archaic belief system that enslaved the women of their world. Now, a dangerous outside influence emerges —her name is Brooke St. Claire. Abducted by aliens and genetically modified, Brooke’s life is forever altered. Now, she has become a catalyst for change, but will that change free the women of Althanea —or will it destroy her—and the Dragon Warrior who protected a woman he should never have let live.

Thousands of years in the future, Humans have survived interstellar wars, genocide, and their own shortcomings to rise to dominance as the most advanced form of life in the galaxy. They are proud. They are respected. Yet they are still divided. And there is an old adage: no matter how strong you are, you'll eventually run into someone stronger. Now the Humans face an extragalactic threat on a scale they are not prepared to deal with. They must race against time to unite the Milky Way galaxy and to elevate the younger, less advanced species that inhabit it before the oncoming storm annihilates them all.

Abductions, invasions, and encounters. Entities, aliens, and ancients. Who is among us? What happened in the past and what should we expect for the future? Explore the strange world of the unknown with paranormal researcher extraordinaire Brad Steiger, an author of thousands of books and articles on mysterious secrets and unexplained phenomena. From creepy strangers and shape-shifting species to unexpected warnings and mysterious vanishing, you’ll be startled to learn what inhabits the world of Real Nightmares: Alien Strangers and Foreign Worlds.