The story starts when the 17 year old Anna''s parents die. She moves in with Aunt Stella and Uncle Leo and her cousins Walter and Zofia, a very manipulative and promiscuous girl. Anna later meets Jan Stelnicki and falls in love almost instantly and remains obsessed with him for most of her life. Zofia, however, wanted Jan and out of her jealously she tricks Anna into coming into the forest with her where she abandons her. While there Anna is raped by a stranger and Leo goes to where Anna was raped, but he gets stuck and Zofia and Walter watch him die. Anna is married off shortly after her attack to Antoni and the rest of the family move to Warsaw. Now living in Warsaw, Anna''s life changes drastically. The Constitution of May 3, 1791 is signed by King Stanisław August Poniatowski, giving the peasants human rights. Many Polish nobles are enraged by the new laws, and call for Catherine the Great of Russia to deliver them. Anna discovers she is pregnant from being raped and gives birth to a son. It is revealed that it was Walter, who supports the Russians, was the one who raped Anna. Anna becomes a supporter of Polish independence, but is forced to watch as her country is overrun by hostile powers. As the victorious Russians march on Warsaw, Zofia sacrifices herself to buy time for Anna and her family to flee the war torn city.

Push not the River

At the end of the previous novel, A Ship of the Line, after attacking and severely damaging a superior French squadron with HMS Sutherland, Hornblower had to surrender his ship to the French. He and his surviving crew are imprisoned in the French-occupied Spanish fortress of Rosas on the Mediterranean Sea. From the walls of Rosas, Hornblower witnesses an English raid leading to the final destruction of the French ships he immobilized. Soon afterwards, Hornblower is told that he is to be sent to Paris to be tried as a pirate for his previous actions, including the capture of a battery and some coastal vessels using a ruse of war. Hornblower, his first lieutenant, Bush, who is still recovering from the loss of a foot in the fighting, and his coxswain, Brown, are taken away in a carriage by an Imperial aide-de-camp. The carriage becomes stuck in a snowstorm on a minor road close to the river Loire, and part of the escort leaves to get help from Nevers, the next town. Hornblower and Brown overpower the remaining guards and steal a small boat on the river. Taking Bush with them, they set out downstream, but the river is in spate, and the boat eventually capsizes in some rapids. Hornblower and Brown carry Bush towards the nearest building, which happens to be the Chateau de Graçay. The Comte de Graçay, a member of the old French nobility who has lost three sons in Napoleon''s wars, and his widowed daughter-in-law Marie, welcome them and protect them from the authorities, who eventually abandon the search thinking them drowned. The party spends the winter as guests of the Comte and prepare for an escape in late spring. During these months, Bush recovers and learns to walk with a wooden leg. Hornblower, Bush and Brown build a new boat to continue their voyage downstream. Meanwhile, Hornblower and Marie have a short but intense love affair. Springtime comes and the river is in perfect condition for travel. Disguised as a fishing party, the escapees make their way to the port city of Nantes. There, they change their disguise to that of high-ranking Dutch customs officers in French service, using uniforms made for them by Marie and the staff of the Chateau. They manage to recapture the cutter Witch of Endor, taken as a French prize the year before. Manning it with a prison work gang, they take the ship out of the harbour and rendezvous with the British blockading fleet. Here, Hornblower learns that his wife Maria had died in childbed; his son, Richard, survived and was adopted by his friend Lady Barbara, widow of Admiral Leighton and sister of Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. Returning to Portsmouth, Hornblower, in common with any other captain who has lost his ship, faces a court martial for the loss of the Sutherland. However, he is ''most honourably'' acquitted by the court and finds himself a celebrity for his exploits in the Mediterranean and his daring escape from France. He is received by the Prince Regent (the later King George IV), who makes him a knight of the Order of the Bath and a Colonel of Marines (a sinecure providing worthy officers with extra income). Together with the money from prizes taken while he was captain of the Sutherland and from his recapture of the Witch of Endor, he is finally financially secure and free to court and marry Lady Barbara. sv:Triumf

Flying Colours

Twin fawns (from the ending of the first novel), Geno and Gurri learn the pleasures as well as downsides of nature and their forest home, as their mother Faline raises them to adulthood. Their father, Bambi, watches over them and, at times, takes care of them while their mother is busy. During their lives, they interact with Lana and Boso, twin fawns of their Aunt Rolla. One day, Gurri gets attacked by a fox, but survives. She''s then taken away by a gamekeeper (but is mostly known as the, "brown He" by some of the animals, because of the brown coat he wears). When she''s brought to the "brown He''s" place. She meets his dog, Hector, and an owl, that He found awhile ago. The owl is chained to a post, and he tells Gurri about the times when the small birds (that the owl preys on) came to attack him. Then Bambi comes, and he tells Gurri that he''ll come at anytime to teach her how to jump over the gate. When the "brown He" comes, Bambi runs back into the forest, and when he does that, the "brown He" opens the gate and leaves. Gurri then takes the opportunity to leave. When she comes back, tension''s between her family and Rolla''s family start to rise. First, Rolla asks Gurri to tell her what had happened, but she is too tired to talk about it. The next day, Rolla again demands Gurri to tell her, but she just wants to play with Lana and Boso. Then one day, Rolla gets attacked by a wolf-dog. And while trying to escape him, she accidentally lures the wolf-dog to where Faline and the others are hiding. The wolf-dog immediately turns his attention to Geno, and chases him instead. When Faline gets word of Geno''s disappearance, she blames Rolla for "sacrificing" her son. After Bambi saves Geno from the wolf dog, Geno finds Rolla, and he is then reunited with his sister and mother. When they go to see Rolla, Lana gives them a warm welcome, while Boso, starts developing a hate for them. He starts antagonizing Geno a bit, then scolds Faline for not sending them a messenger about their mother being injured. When Faline and her children leave, a feud between the two families is then started. When Geno starts to grow his antlers, he and Gurri discover two orphaned male fawns named Nello and Membo. Faline decides to adopt them as new friends for her children, so they can forget about their new enemies. When Geno gets older, he meets Lana again, and starts developing feelings for her. But then Boso comes out and challenges Geno to a fight, but Geno refuses. Boso starts to spread rumors across the forest about Geno being a coward. When Geno has had enough, he fights Boso and defeats him, he offers a truce, but Boso instead turns away. Geno tries to apologise to Lana, but she refuses to talk to him after that. Then one day, Boso is shot by a boy hunter, but before the boy could kill him he escapes. He then runs into Bambi, and Bambi has him do the same techniques that his father, the Great Prince, told him to do when he got shot. The boy then returns and tries to kill Geno, but right when he is about to kill him, Bambi jumps out and kills him. In the end, Lana forgives Geno for what he did to Boso, and the two families end their feud and become friends again. When they have all left, Faline notices a "well-beloved shadow" in the bushes (obviously Bambi), and she goes towards it.

Bambi''s Children

George Galen, a brilliant geneticist and Nobel laureate and part of the Human Genome Project, comes to believe that he can guide humanity to a brighter future through genetic enhancement disappears from public view. Galen takes his research underground, eventually devising a virus that can carry specific genes into human cells. This virus, which the government dubs V16, must be tailored to each patient. It can cure that patient of a genetic disorder - but it is quickly lethal to anyone else, inducing a serious rejection reaction as their body responds to its attempt to rewrite its DNA. Galen sends agents called Healers to collect DNA from possible patients. If their disorder is caused by a suitable (repairable) defect, he engineers a version of V16 which the healer administers, explaining to the patient and the patient''s family how to avoid the hazards of infection. Galen has larger plans, as well. These involve kidnapping five individuals, four of them homeless and one whom he mistakes for such. These are Byron (a lawyer, not actually homeless), Dolores, Hal (a violent alcoholic), and teenagers Jonathan and Nick. They also involve a talented cardiothoracic surgeon named Monica Ownes and her son Wyatt. Galen''s Healers kidnap this pair so that he can use threats against Wyatt to force Monica to do what he wants. Some weeks earlier, Frank Hartman a virologist and soldier, had received samples of a dangerous virus. Using the facilities at Fort Detrick, he devised a cure. This cure is also a virus, that can infiltrate a patient''s cells and destroy V16. Upon discovering this cure, Hartman learns that his original samples came to the Defense Department from the BioHazard Agency (BHA) a branch of the government that handles biowarfare attacks. The BHA has been investigating the cult-like Healers and their work for some time. The BHA "borrows" Hartman and transports him to their Los Angeles facility to work on V16. Galen intends to achieve a sort of immortality by creating five copies of himself from the homeless people he kidnapped. To create these people, Monica Owens will transplant organs from Galen into their bodies. These organs have been dosed with V16, engineered to rewrite the genetic codes of the patients into Galen''s code. The organs also confer a kind of healing ability that Galen engineered into himself with earlier versions of his virus; this prevents the virus from killing them as it rewrites their genetic codes. The surgeries also involve implanted electronic chips that hold Galen''s memories. When the V16 has finished rewriting the genetic code, it will activate the chip which will download Galen''s personality over that of the original individual. If successful, this council of five will carry Galen''s work worldwide.

Invasive Procedures

The Duke of Mantua plans to marry off his daughter Eugenia to the ruler of Florence; to do so, he shuts Eugenia in a tower and banishes her noble suitor Philenzo. But Philenzo returns in disguise, and brags to the court that he can succeed in any task the Duke assigns him &mdash; if the Duke grants him the financial resources necessary. The Duke (in the best fairy-tale tradition), sets Philenzo the task of gaining access to the princess Eugenia in her sequestered tower; the Duke considers the matter as something of a joke, but also a good opportunity to test the soundness of his security. Philenzo is allowed a month for the task, and a blank check on the Duke''s treasure house. And of course, the penalty for failure is death. Philenzo tries bribes, which do not work. Facing the apparent failure of his effort, Philenzo decides that he can at least relieve the poor debtors in the Duke''s dungeons. One of the debtors, however, provides Philenzo with a new strategy for reaching the princess. The Duke in presented with a large and elaborate cage full of rare birds; and the Duke sends the present to Eugenia. When she opens it, Philenzo steps out from concealment in the central pillar of the apparatus. Thus the title of the play applies to both Eugenia and Philenzo (as it does, in another sense, to the dedicatee, the imprisoned Prynne). The next day the still-disguised Philenzo informs the Duke that he has succeeded in his task. Eugenia, brought to the court for confirmation, supports Philenzo''s claim &mdash; and asks that she be allowed to marry the clever stranger. The Duke is outraged at her request; to marry a stranger of no birth is worse than marrying Philenzo. Philenzo doffs his disguise, revealing his true identity; but the unyielding Duke orders him executed. Seemingly in the knick of time, a letter arrives from the Duke of Florence, who has heard of the matter of Eugenia and Philenzo and renounces any interest in the arranged match. Florence''s letter advises Mantua to let the young lovers marry, and Mantua decides to make the best of a bad bargain. When Philenzo in summoned back, however, it is learned that the condemned man poisoned himself on the way to execution; his corpse is brought in as proof. When the "dead" Philenzo overhears that he and Eugenia were to be allowed to marry, he returns to life.

The Bird in a Cage

Paul Deveraux, who previously appeared in the Forsyth novel Avenger, is tasked by the U.S. president to end the international cocaine trade. He recruits lawyer Cal Dexter, the main character in Avenger, to help him with this task. Together they set up a joint Anglo-American task force operating from 2 converted grain carriers to intercept cocaine shipments, destroy the ships and to detain the crews on a remote island. Both teams have access to a UAV that provides them with target information and other intelligence. Dexter also recruits a Blackburn Buccaneer pilot to shoot down the cartel''s cocaine-carrying airplanes. When the actions of both task forces and the pilot lead to major international cocaine shortages, Deveraux starts a misinformation campaign aimed at turning the international drug cartels against each other. Since this leads to out-of-hand gang wars with innocent bystanders getting killed, Deveraux is eventually asked by the White House to stop all operations. Dissatisfied by the White House decision, Deveraux cuts a deal with a drug lord promising him the cocaine captured by the task forces. He tells Dexter the location of the captured cocaine and tells him to destroy it. However, it turns out to be fake and Cal Dexter finds out about this and has the Buccaneer pilot destroy the cocaine-carrying ship before it reaches its destination. In the epilogue, Deveraux''s assassinated body is discovered. He has been shot for not keeping his promise with Don Diego Esteban and for messing with him.

The Cobra

The story begins by detailing the creation story of Heaven. There is a substance of raw chaos: cacoastrum; and stuff of order: illiaster. From the illiaster came consciousness that resulted in the firstborn angels: Yaweh, Satan, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Leviathan and Belial. The firstborn create Heaven in order to protect themselves from the cacoastrum, which threatens to destroy them. This event is later referred to as the ''First Wave.'' The walls of heaven have collapsed two times since then, resulting in the Second and Third Waves, creating, respectively, the archangels and angels. After the third wave Heaven has been divided into four regencies named for the cardinal points of the compass. Belial, half-mad and trapped in the form of a dragon, rules the Northern Regency. Leviathan, a kindly woman in the shape of a sea serpent, oversees the Western Regency. Satan rules the South with his loyal servant Beelzebub, trapped in the body of a golden retriever. Lucifer rules the East, with his consort Lilith, who had previously been briefly involved with Satan. Yaweh oversees all of Heaven from the center, aided by his healer Raphael and warrior Michael. Other important angels include the blind musician Harut, the poetry-quoting Ariel, the craftsman Asmodai, the smirking Mephistopheles, the dour Uriel, the sneering Abdiel, the somewhat naive Gabriel and the coolly competent Zaphkiel. A mostly independent subplot involving two angels named Kyriel and Sith gives the viewpoints of two low-level angels who get swept up in the story''s events. Trouble arises when Yaweh, worried about the imminent Fourth Wave, devises The Plan: the blueprint for a new, larger Heaven (Earth), with walls that the cacoastrum cannot destroy. Unfortunately, at least a thousand angels will die during the construction of his new Paradise. Yaweh charges Satan with securing the cooperation of every angel in Heaven, and Satan finds himself wondering if they have the ethical right to coerce anyone into participating. Exacerbating matters is Abdiel, who craves Satan''s rank. Abdiel begins playing Satan against Yaweh, telling each of them that the other will no longer discuss matters. Step by step, the factions escalate. Abdiel attempts to wound Beelzebub and accidentally kills the innocent Ariel. When Satan and Beelzebub attempt to avenge this, Raphael and Michael misinterpret this as proof their opponents have abandoned all decency. Yaweh, attempting to rally his side, convinces his supporters that he is not only the eldest of the Firstborn, he is God. This announcement stuns not only his opponents, but even Michael, his closest supporter. Using the energy of his newfound worshipers, he creates a new angel, Yeshuah, who he proclaims his son and heir. As the war continues, Zaphkiel intercepts Satan and brings him directly to Yaweh, where the two discover that Abdiel has played them both for fools. However, Satan will not acknowledge Yaweh''s dishonest claim to Godhood, and neither will Yaweh abandon it, so the conflict continues. Abdiel, now on the run from both sides, begins digging a hole in the wall of Heaven, but Mephistopheles finds and strangles him before he can finish the work. Satan''s hosts gain the ascendency in the battle. Seeing that defeat is inevitable, Yaweh decides to destroy Heaven by expanding the hole that Abdiel had been deepening. Yet when the wall of Heaven is breached, flooding Heaven with cacoastrum, Yaweh finds that he cannot allow himself to be destroyed by the cacoastrum; it is not in his nature. Yeshuah, seeing an opportunity to triumph over Satan''s forces, sacrifices his life by leaping into the breach and directing the rupture towards the hosts of Satan, devastating them. Meanwhile, as the rebels fight for Heaven, Satan is captured but with the help of Beelzebub and Mephistopheles leaves Heaven; his followers join him in the abyss and create a third stronghold: Hell.

To Reign in Hell

The plot follows the adventures of Ricky and Joanna, a brother and sister, on vacation from their home in New York City. They have gone to stay with their Uncle Hubert, Aunt Cordelia, and Cousin Emmeline in the rural town of Trimble Valley, while their parents are travelling "on business" in Paris. They are met at the train station by the housekeeper, maid, cook, and witch named Mrs Breadloaf. The children are driven to an old Victorian house where the family lives. Uncle Hubert is described as a not very good Magician, Aunt Cordelia is a gardener, and Cousin Emmeline is "not all here." The children explore the house and find a magical window in the study. The window has a stained glass border and shows scenes from another world: "The Country Without A Name." It appears that some members of the family have traveled to that country, and have lost parts of themselves there, accounting for their strange behavior. Emmeline has lost a turquoise stone from a necklace, which explains why she is "not all here." With the help of Mrs. Breadloaf, the children open the window and go to the country. Ricky takes his scout knife, and Joanna her knitting bag, which they are told not to give away. They soon meet "a fretful porpentine" who becomes Ricky''s "familiar." Against warnings, the children separate, with Joanna going to the isthmus of Baba O'' Rhum with Queen Matildagarde VII, and Ricky going to the mountains with Frederico the Porpentine. Joanna spends time on the island with the companions of the Queen: Yarrow, Tansy, Pansy, and Goldenrod. She avoids several attempts by the Queen to steal her knitting bag. Finally she escapes and meets Ali the Boa Constrictor who guides her to the neighboring island Baba. On the way she meets the magician Gordon Johnson. Meanwhile, Ricky has met the Indian Chief Matinkatunk. They travel together until their horses, and Ricky''s knife, are stolen by Tim Tumbleweed, who is really Yarrow in disguise. Ricky and the Chief are taken prisoner by King Willexander''s henchmen and he is imprisoned in the Castle of the Upper Lowlands. Ricky is finally released when he agrees to accept a false knife from Yarrow. Joanna has been brought to the Castle, after leaving the island of Baba and rescuing Frederico from the Island Rhum. Joanna gives away her knitting, but not the knitting bag, to Princess Citronella in exchange for a turquoise which she thinks is the one lost by her cousin Emmeline. Joanna and Ricky finally get to Triple Peak, the home of the Magicians Congress, and a ghost town. They are reunited with Mrs Breadloaf, and travel to the battlefield of the impending war between the King and Queen. Both children parachute from a Dragon Jet and rescue friends and recover lost objects. The War is settled with the help of the Old Magician and the President, and Prince Culebra Ali is transformed from a snake back into a man. In the final scenes, Joanna and Ricky return to the magic window and climb back into their Uncle''s house where they are reunited with all their relatives, and their parents.

The Amazing Vacation

Ralph Roberts, a retired widower, begins to suffer from insomnia. As his condition worsens, Ralph begins to see things that are invisible and intangible to others: colorful manifestations of life-force surrounding people (auras), and diminutive white-coated beings he calls "little bald doctors", based on their appearance. Roberts perceives other planes of reality and their influence upon the "real" world. He finds that his sweetheart, Lois Chasse, is also a sufferer. They eventually discover that their insomnia has been induced by the two little bald doctors to help them defeat agents of the Crimson King. Ralph and Lois name the two "good" doctors Clotho and Lachesis, while the third "bad" doctor is called Atropos; they are all named after the Moirai of mythology. Ralph overcomes Atropos and forces him to promise to stay out of their business, the doctors all being bound by their word. However, Atropos has his revenge by showing Ralph a glimpse of the not-too-distant future in which he claims the life of the innocent Natalie Deepneau. Ralph is able to counterbalance this however, by striking a deal with Clotho and Lachesis whereby he trades his own life for Natalie''s. Meanwhile, Ed Deepneau, Natalie''s father and Ralph''s neighbor, falls under the control of the Crimson King. Deepneau attempts to crash a light plane containing explosives into the Derry Civic Center during a heavily-attended rally. Ralph and Lois realize that the Crimson King is using Deepneau to kill a small boy named Patrick Danville, the focus of a prophecy concerning the salvation of The Dark Tower. Danville cannot, for undisclosed reasons, be killed directly by anyone born under either the Random or the Purpose. However, from time to time a being is born who is "undesignated". An undesignated person is described as being like a blank card, and is up for grabs by either side. Deepneau is one such person, in fact the only person on earth at that time of undesignated status. Ralph defeats the King and forces the light plane to crash into the parking lot; killing Deepneau and sparing Danville''s life, allowing him to fulfill his destiny and setting the path for the Dark Tower series. The story ends on a tragic note as Ralph, to uphold his bargain with Clotho and Lachesis, is hit and killed by a car to prevent Natalie Deepneau from being killed in his place. The story closes on the remark that Ralph is finally able to rest.

Insomnia

On the planet Centaurus, the planetary capital of New Athens has been annihilated by a terrorist antimatter bomb. Millions are dead; because of a computer malfunction, the planetary defense system is preventing any rescue ships from approaching the planet. No subspace communication is possible, and traditional speed-of-light radio is blanketed with heavy static. Despite an emergency do-not-approach warning (known as Code 7-10, which went unheard), the first three relief ships, carrying hundreds of medical personnel, are destroyed by ground-to-air missiles as they assumed standard orbit. The USS Enterprise has been sent to assess the situation and offer what relief they can, but they are in need of help themselves as the ship is falling apart around them due to an unexplainable massive computer malfunction of their own; the transporter is made inoperable by the antimatter''s residual tachyon radiation. The tragedy has a personal touch as well-- Doctor McCoy''s daughter Joanna is among the missing, as well as friends and relatives of other crewmembers. While Spock attempts to disable the planetary defense computers, Captain Kirk, Mr. Sulu and attorney Samuel T. Cogley become involved with the terrorists when the terrorist leader contacts Cogley and ask him to represent them in Federation court. Despite his personal feelings, Kirk is determined that the terrorists will get a fair trial under Federation jurisdiction, but certain individuals in the patchwork government are equally determined that the terrorists will not leave Centaurus alive. While the surviving Centauran government engages in an all-out search for Kirk and party, Kirk learns that three more antimatter bombs are somewhere on the planet, and is forced to take refuge in the one place he cherishes most - the little cabin he had built in Garrovick Valley, on the river Farragut. On seeing the names ''Garrovick'' and ''Farragut'' on a map, Commander Spock correctly surmises the position of Kirk''s buen retiro, and a scan from orbit reveals an army of government hovercars flitting around the cabin. By leveraging the Enterprise''s crippled warp drive''s controls, engineer Montgomery Scott and his second-in-command succeed in enabling the Enterprise to enter the atmosphere. The government hit squad''s weapons are no match for a starship''s phasers set on stun; the captured terrorists are taken in custody, but the secret of cheap antimatter synthesis is lost: its creator was the suicide bomber who set the first weapon off. In the epilogue, Spock traces the computer malfunction to a quantum black hole accidentally forming, against all odds, within the Enterprise in warp, drilling a hole straight through a good part of the computer memory banks.

Crisis on Centaurus

The story, set in China, begins in a small pastoral town or village, apparently in a time or place where trade and agriculture are still the norm. There is little in the way of modern technology; no electricity, automobile or advanced irrigation. Superstition is also rampant. The town is described as being in a desert area, and within the vicinity of another, called Kwan-Si. The inhabitants of the town the story is set in are prone to describe their town to be in the shape of an orange, defined by the city walls. One day, a messenger comes to the Mandarin, or king, to inform him that the neighboring town has changed the shape of their walls to a pig – such that it would be interpreted by travelers as being about to eat the orange-shaped town. The messenger and the king discuss frantically how this will bring them ill luck – travelers would stay in and trade with the other town, and nature will favor the pig over the orange. Advised by his daughter, who stands behind a silken screen to hide herself, the king decides to have the town walls rebuilt to resemble a club, with which to beat the pig away. All is well in the town for a time, but soon the messenger brings news that Kwan-Si''s walls have been reshaped as a bonfire to burn their club. The Mandarin of the first town has the walls changed to a shining lake; Kwan-Si''s are changed to Mouth to drink the lake; the Mandarin''s changed to a needle to sew the mouth; Kwan-Si''s to a sword to break the needle. This goes on for quite some time, driving the cities'' inhabitants away from their work at farms or in shops to fruitlessly rebuild the walls and wait for the other''s response. Disease and famine are rampant. At last, the voice behind the silk screen, advising the Mandarin, says weakly "In the Name of the gods, send for Kwan-Si!" The two Mandarins, both starved and ailing, agree to stop their feud of superstition. The first Mandarin''s daughter shows the men several kites, lying abandoned on the ground. ''What are kites,'' she asks, ''without the wind to sustain them and make them beautiful?'' Nothing, they agree. ''And what is the sky, without kites upon its face to make it beautiful?'' Again, it is Nothing. Thus, she directs that Kwan-Si shall make itself to resemble the Silver Wind, and her town shall be made to resemble a Golden Kite, such that the two should sustain each other and they could live in peace. The kite is representing the wind.

The Golden Kite, The Silver Wind

A psychologist, Gilbert Dasein, is hired by corporate interests to investigate a town in a valley where marketing seems totally ineffective: Outside businesses are allowed in, but wither quickly for lack of business. Santarogans aren''t hostile, they just won''t shop there; neither are they xenophobic, instead appearing maddeningly self-satisfied with their quaint, local lifestyle. Adding an element of danger, the last few psychologists sent in have all died in accidents that are (seemingly) perfectly plausible. Complicating matters further still, the psychologist''s college girlfriend, Jenny, has returned to Santaroga. With this in mind, Dasein cautiously enters the town and quickly discovers ''Jaspers'', an additive to the food and drink commonly ingested in Santaroga that seems to imbue the consumer with greater health and an expanded mind. Those who consume it don''t become psychic; instead, they''re simply far more lucid than the average citizen of the U.S, although there are numerous hints at a group mind operating at a subconscious level. Their newspapers are vaguely subversive with their folksy, enlightened commentary on world affairs; their dinner conversations knowledgeably reference great theories of psychology, politics, and cognitive science. Soon, Dasein is having narrow misses with perfectly plausible accidents: A boy playing with a bow and arrow releases it; the lift under his car in a garage collapses; a waitress in a diner accidentally uses insecticide rather than sugar for his coffee. Knowing that Jaspers creates exceptionally perceptive, penetrating individual minds, Dasein realizes that he has offended a communal id that feels threatened by him. As Jenny tries to convince him to settle down with her there, he wonders whether he''ll live long enough to decide.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Push not the River

No Author Listed

Flying Colours

By C. S. Forester

Bambi's Children

By Felix Salten

Invasive Procedures

By Orson Scott Card

The Bird in a Cage

No Author Listed

The Cobra

By Frederick Forsyth

To Reign in Hell

By Steven Brust

The Amazing Vacation

No Author Listed

Insomnia

By Stephen King

Crisis on Centaurus

By Brad Ferguson

The Golden Kite, The Silver Wind

By Ray Bradbury

The Santaroga Barrier

By Frank Herbert