Download or read book Operation Space Pirates written by Carolee Overlock-Roe and published by Dorrance Publishing. This book was released on 2009-10 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Opi Battles the Space Pirates written by Donna Maree Hanson and published by Donna Maree Hanson. This book was released on 2018-02-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ms Opeia Gayens, head of AllEarth Corp, has a problem—her company is rotten with Space Pirates. She wants to get rid of them once and for all. An unexpected invitation to dinner challenges her plans to be the bait that will draw the nasty pirates out. It’s been forever since she’s been on a date—just been Opi. Somehow, Owain McDevitt, mild-mannered, potato farmer from the planet Islay 2 is drawn into the intrigue. Yet, no one is who they seem, least of all Owain McDevitt. Betrayal after betrayal threatens Opi’s existence and she must discover who the traitor really is before she can find her true path to happiness.

Download or read book On the Trail of the Space Pirates written by Carey Rockwell and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2023-08-22 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 'On the Trail of the Space Pirates' by Carey Rockwell, readers are taken on an exhilarating journey through space as they follow the adventures of the courageous protagonist. Written in a captivating and fast-paced style, this science fiction novel is full of thrilling twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. Rockwell expertly weaves together elements of action, suspense, and mystery, making this book a page-turner for readers of all ages. Set in a futuristic world, the book explores themes of heroism, loyalty, and the endless possibilities of the universe. Carey Rockwell's vivid descriptions and vivid world-building make the story come alive, transporting readers to a galaxy far, far away. As a prolific writer in the science fiction genre, Rockwell's experience and passion for storytelling shine through in this gripping tale. With his keen imagination and dynamic writing style, Rockwell crafts a compelling narrative that is sure to captivate readers from start to finish. 'On the Trail of the Space Pirates' is a must-read for fans of sci-fi and adventure, offering a thrilling escapade that will leave readers eager for more.

Download or read book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth written by R. Buckminster Fuller and published by Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller. This book was released on 2008-07-15 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of Fuller’s most popular works, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, is a brilliant synthesis of his world view. In this very accessible volume, Fuller investigates the great challenges facing humanity. How will humanity survive? How does automation influence individualization? How can we utilize our resources more effectively to realize our potential to end poverty in this generation? He questions the concept of specialization, calls for a design revolution of innovation, and offers advice on how to guide “spaceship earth” toward a sustainable future. Description by Lars Muller Publishers, courtesy of The Estate of Buckminster Fuller

Download or read book Tempest written by Judd Ethan Ruggill and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2015-08-27 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Atari’s 1981 arcade hit Tempest was a “tube shooter” built around glowing, vector-based geometric shapes. Among its many important contributions to both game and cultural history, Tempest was one of the first commercial titles to allow players to choose the game’s initial play difficulty (a system Atari dubbed “SkillStep”), a feature that has since became standard for games of all types. Tempest was also one of the most aesthetically impactful games of the twentieth century, lending its crisp, vector aesthetic to many subsequent movies, television shows, and video games. In this book, Ruggill and McAllister enumerate and analyze Tempest’s landmark qualities, exploring the game’s aesthetics, development context, and connections to and impact on video game history and culture. By describing the game in technical, historical, and ludic detail, they unpack the game’s latent and manifest audio-visual iconography and the ideological meanings this iconography evokes.

Download or read book Operation Starseed written by J.M. Snyder and published by JMS Books LLC. This book was released on 2010-06-11 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neal James is a space station navigator whose lover, Dylan Teague, left him for a starmapping mission. But when Dylan radios in a distant signal one night, Neal discovers that he hasn't managed to put the relationship behind him in the two months they've been apart. When he's one of the crew members sent to investigate the signal, he finds that his ex-lover feels the same. The source of the signal is a lost colony ship. Only a handful of the original colonists remain, survivors of a deadly disease that killed most of their fellow shipmates twenty years ago. To keep the threat of disease to a minimum, the colony adheres to strict laws, including the prohibition of same-sex relationships. When the same fatal virus seems to appear again, Neal and Dylan find themselves in the midst of an irrational panic and hate that threatens to destroy everything the colonists have worked so hard to attain.

Download or read book Rocket Men written by Robert Kurson and published by Random House. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The riveting inside story of three heroic astronauts who took on the challenge of mankind’s historic first mission to the Moon, from the bestselling author of Shadow Divers. “Robert Kurson tells the tale of Apollo 8 with novelistic detail and immediacy.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Artemis By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the Moon by President Kennedy’s end-of-decade deadline, and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the Moon—in just four months. And it would all happen at Christmas. In a year of historic violence and discord—the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago—the Apollo 8 mission would be the boldest, riskiest test of America’s greatness under pressure. In this gripping insider account, Robert Kurson puts the focus on the three astronauts and their families: the commander, Frank Borman, a conflicted man on his final mission; idealistic Jim Lovell, who’d dreamed since boyhood of riding a rocket to the Moon; and Bill Anders, a young nuclear engineer and hotshot fighter pilot making his first space flight. Drawn from hundreds of hours of one-on-one interviews with the astronauts, their loved ones, NASA personnel, and myriad experts, and filled with vivid and unforgettable detail, Rocket Men is the definitive account of one of America’s finest hours. In this real-life thriller, Kurson reveals the epic dangers involved, and the singular bravery it took, for mankind to leave Earth for the first time—and arrive at a new world. “Rocket Men is a riveting introduction to the [Apollo 8] flight. . . . Kurson details the mission in crisp, suspenseful scenes. . . . [A] gripping book.”—The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book Reborn as a Space Mercenary I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship Light Novel Vol 1 written by Ryuto and published by Seven Seas Entertainment. This book was released on 2021-06-10 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Satou Takahiro is swept away from his ordinary life into the world of his favorite video game, a universe of space battles, interstellar colonies, and danger in the vastness of outer space awaits. Soon, he's living as "Hiro" the mercenary, with a tricked-out spaceship and a babe on each arm! There are space pirates to fight, girls to rescue, and trouble to get into (and hopefully out of). Hiro is going to live his new life to the fullest!

Download or read book Spiritual Wars written by David Ellis Earley and published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-05-13 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a story about Christians fighting evil in a war that rages on between good and bad. The Christian Centennials battle against the evil space pirates and their leader, the Space Phantom. The Space Phantom has a new weapon of mass destruction called the Death Ship. There are villains and heroes on both sides.

Download or read book Hijacked on a Moon Trek An Outer Space Mystery Adventure written by Diane Vallere and published by Polyester Press. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enjoy this humorous outer space mystery adventure with uniform lieutenant Sylvia Stryker and a supporting cast of quirky aliens by national bestselling author Diane Vallere… Sylvia Stryker has found her footing in the Moon Unit Corporation--but it’ll take more than fancy dance moves for this amateur sleuth to stay alive on this hilarious rescue mission in space from national bestselling author Diane Vallere. Space sleuth Sylvia Stryker wants more from her day job aboard a Moon Unit than to manage crew uniforms. In her time between moon treks, she turns to hunky hero Neptune for lessons in security training. But when a hijacked space pod lands by their training site and the body of an intergalactic courier is discovered inside, Sylvia’s newly-acquired skills are put to the test. The courier was a friend who shared her interest in back-channel business, and his death seems like a message—or worse, a warning. Determined to seek justice, Sylvia and Neptune assemble a team. But there’s more to this trek through the stars than expected, including fifty rambunctious aliens accidentally beamed aboard the ship, some very nasty space pirates, and one suspicious member of the staff who thought the recruitment message was a call of duty. Now Sylvia’s on a quest to catch a killer, but if she fails, she could wipe out an entire alien race in the process. Hijacked on a Moon Trek is the hilarious third novel featuring uniform lieutenant Sylvia Stryker. If you like humorous mysteries, unique characters, and spacey fun, or read favorites like Joann Fluke or Dakota Cassidy, you'll love Diane Vallere's entertaining interstellar series. Previously published as SATURN NIGHT FEVER. “What a fun, unique, and intriguing story. Love the inside joke about red shirts. That and the laser cat! Lol!!.... Thank you for such an entertaining read!” – Reader “I am pleased to say that after finishing the third book in the series, the enchanting mind of author Diane Vallere continues to charm and come up with even more new fun and adventures around every corner.” – Reader CHAPTER ONE EXCERPT: When Neptune said I fought like a girl, I did the only respectable thing. I hit him. That’s not to say it’s a good idea for dropouts from the space academy to strike their newly-appointed superiors, but in this case, he deserved it. In the two versions of the story that will be told of the incident, at least one will contain the fact that technically, I was in training. Technically, the only reason we were on the helipad on the corner of Neptune’s property was because the helipad was a convenient place to practice. Technically, I was being paid a small sponsorship fee to test the durability of new uniforms designed for Moon Unit Corporation, and technically, the only way I could fully know if the uniforms were durable were to see how they held up when I threw a punch. Neptune’s version might include slight variations. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am a girl,” I said. Neptune was bigger, older, and more experienced than I was, and he probably had more important things to do than spend the day teaching me defensive maneuvers. But never graduating had left me with relatively few channels to advance my learning. After Moon Unit 6 returned from Venus, Neptune contacted me via the comm device implanted in my ear and offered me free room and board in exchange for lessons to pick up where my interrupted education had left off. I’d dropped out when my dad was arrested so I could help my mom with the family dry ice mines. Neptune’s offer to teach me gave us both something of value. I’d accepted, more for me than for him. I’m selfish that way. “You know why you were almost incapacitated on our last moon trek?” he asked. “Because you dropped your guard. You thought size and skill were enough to beat your enemy. You fought fair. You fought like a woman.” “Oh, so now I’m a woman?” I countered. “I grew up fast.” It wasn’t that Neptune treated me like a girl or a woman. He treated me like a student. And most of the time I was okay with that. But the voice in my head that I didn’t want to listen to wondered why someone like Neptune spent time training someone like me. It was a voice that hadn’t had much to question since my dad was arrested. Any attention paid to me usually had strings attached. Retribution for my dad’s crimes, or the novelty of my half Plunian background in a world where lavender women were now rare. More than once I’d fended off advances when I saw where they were headed. I developed a thick skin and narrowed my social circle to a very tight group. But despite the fact that Neptune was a muscular wall of taciturn authority, or maybe because of it, I was attracted to him. I doubted it was the black military-issue cargo gear he wore (did he buy his clothes in bulk?) or the intimidating stance he’d perfected long before I met him (arms crossed, feet shoulder-width apart). I’d never been attracted to men in power—in fact, power was a pretty tried-and-true turn-off. I didn’t know what it was about Neptune that made my lavender skin glow at the least opportune times. I only knew it was important to me to prove to him that I was different. Today, different meant throwing a non-girly punch. He grabbed my wrist and closed my fingers into a fist. His hand was twice the size of mine—tawny against my lavender coloring. “You have to toughen up, Stryker. You’re smart, and you learn information fast, but instincts don’t come from a book.” “I learned how to fight by an accredited Hapkido master. Or have you already forgotten that I dropped you with a sweeping kick because you underestimated me?” He let go of my fist and pointed at me. “Don’t let that go to your head. Success is built on failure. If you learn anything from these lessons, learn that. Failure is your friend.” “I thought failure wasn’t an option? The flight director of Earth’s space shuttle program said it, right? His biography was required reading.” “You didn’t read the book. That’s a made-up quote from a movie script. The flight director liked the line so much he used it for the title of his biography. Lesson number two: check your source. I thought you knew that by now.” I didn’t tell Neptune that I hadn’t read the book because the course took place after I dropped out. I’m pretty sure lesson number three was to keep your weaknesses to yourself. “Repeat it back to me.” “Blah, blah, check your source.” “Repeat what I told you about failure.” “‘Failure is my friend.’” “Remember that.” He turned around and walked a few feet away from me and then turned back. “If you think you can fight because you dropped me—once—then you’ll get complacent. Don’t forget what happened the last time you got complacent.” How could I forget? I almost died. It didn’t help that the fight had been four against one or that my oxygen supply had been cut off, rendering me helpless. My opponents knew my weakness and used it against me. Nothing fair about it. I didn’t want to admit it, but Neptune was right. I’d falsely assumed I could defend myself without too much effort, and my false sense of confidence had worked against me. “Go again,” he said. He bent his knees slightly and prepared for my attack. I swung my arms forward and backward, giant half circles to limber up my shoulders, and felt a seam tear. “Hold on. Uniform malfunction. Moon Unit Corporation thinks they can cut corners by using a different supplier, but the last six uniforms I tested fell apart.” “Where?” “Shoulder.” “Turn around.” I turned and pointed to where I’d felt the split. “What am I supposed to tell them this time? ‘Looks good but you can’t throw a girly punch’?” I felt Neptune tug the split fabric together. Even though I wasn’t looking at him, just the graze of his fingertips against my shoulder blade made me flush. “Why are you wasting your time with uniforms?” “Someday the name ‘Sylvia Stryker’ will be synonymous with space uniforms. After our trip to Venus, the publicity company who planned the hype around the Moon Units contacted me to wear test their prototypes. It’s a little cash on the side between treks and all things considered, I can use the money. I can’t crash here forever.” I knew Neptune wouldn’t pursue the conversation. He understood my predicament: no planet, no family, no home. He was with me the night space pirates destroyed everything I’d ever known. The only reason I agreed to train with him was because there’s a certain security in spending time with someone who prioritized silence over small talk. I could learn a lot from Neptune and I knew it. He could learn from me too. I wasn’t sure he knew that. Yet. Neptune’s loner lifestyle suited him, but I was glad that he begrudgingly allowed me to coexist on his property. Not one to mooch, I made sure to bring what I could to the table. Enter Mattix Dusk, space courier (and my Hapkido instructor) who traveled between the thirteen colonies under Federation Control, to pick up and deliver anything that needed to be picked up or delivered. I introduced the two men and they worked out a mutually acceptable deal. Mattix had use of the helipad and a place to crash while on the Kuiper Belt. Neptune had access to Mattix’s courier contacts and suppliers. And for the foreseeable future, I had not one but two mentors who could further my education. Where Neptune was tall, tawny, and solid muscle, Mattix looked like a piece of worn leather in loose-fitting castoff clothes. Tanned skin, bleached hair worn in a ponytail, and ragamuffin clothes suited him. His job as courier put him in front of shady characters, and he passed along his two most important pieces of advice: look like you have less than the other guy and learn to take care of yourself. Whatever direction my lesson was supposed to go was interrupted by a swiftly approaching space pod. I looked at the sky and watched it glide toward us. It was the Dusk Driver, the space pod that belonged to Mattix. I smiled and waved while backing up so he could land. As his space pod drew closer, alarm bells rang out from the nearby towers. His speed was too fast. He was going to crash. And if I didn’t get out of the way, I’d burn up in the wreckage. Neptune reached the same conclusion before I did. How do I know? When I tore my attention from the incoming space pod to tell Neptune something was wrong, I saw him charge toward me. The impact knocked me to the ground. Either Neptune knew what was happening and wanted to save me, or he was trying to make a point. From the bank of dirt alongside the helipad, the space pod jerked to a halt and then hovered two feet above the ground. Mattix knew better than to approach at the speed he had, but he’d compensated for the potential accident by activating the ship’s invisible buffer: a two foot “bumper” of static electricity that kept the exterior from contacting another surface. It operated much the same way as two magnets held in close proximity. The dueling forcefields pushed away from each other, making it impossible to touch. Mattix wouldn’t have activated the buffer shield unless something was wrong. I scrambled to my feet and, keeping my center of gravity low, approached the space pod. Mattix wouldn’t allow anyone else to navigate the ship without reason, which made what I saw even scarier. The ship was being flown on autopilot. _______________________________________ “It is set in outer space, but keeps a true cozy mystery vibe to it at the same time.” – Reader “Hijacked on a Moon Trek was another fantastic addition to this series! Sylvia and the gang are back in what is quite possibly the best installment yet. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I can't get enough of it!” – Reader “This was the best in the series so far, with added depth in backstories for several of the characters.” – Reader For fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, UFO, The Orville, Galaxy Quest, Lost in Space, and The Jetsons. Diane-Fans describe “her vintage Vallere goodness,” and say she is a “great storyteller” with “a way with creating strong female characters and intrigue” who is “a superb and very humorous writer.” Her gift of creating “spunky sleuths in fun settings” take readers to Dallas, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, and outer space.

Download or read book Drunken Space Pirates written by Phoenix Freebird A. and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Running from a mutinous crew, sucked through a wormhole like in a bad sci-fi movie and slowly running out of booze . . . and that’s just the beginning of this non-traditional story that starts off as a simple captain’s log book and evolves into something more like a really warped and twisted TV show in text. Follow the Captain and crew on a series of seemingly random adventures, where it’s obvious it’s not just the Captain who’s been drinking. At some point you may ask yourself, is all this just coincidence or is there something dark and annoying on the horizon? The Captain seems to have a drinking problem, the problem being he never has enough to drink and people from his past keep showing up and ruining his buzz / Akki a corrupted artificial intelligence who occasionally takes over the Captain’s log has his own plans, mostly self-serving ones because he has nothing better to do. The rest of the crew, pirates, hot chicks, robots and a foul beaked little space penguin round out the Drunken Space Pirates and with all the wise cracks and shots aimed at everyone and everything its clear the alcohol flows rather freely within the D.S.P. Many of the off the wall characters of the D.S.P. are walking guilty pleasures who say what they feel, do what they want and just generally give it to life, pop culture and the universe in general with both barrels . . . and occasionally fish...

Download or read book Space Ethics written by Brian Patrick Green and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout history, humans have explored new places, making both good and bad moral decisions along the way. As humanity proceeds to explore space, it is important that we learn from the successes and not repeat the mistakes of the past. This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to ethics as it applies to space exploration and use. It examines real-world case studies that exemplify the ethical challenges we face in exploring beyond Earth: space debris, militarization in space, hazardous asteroids, planetary protection, the search for extraterrestrial life, commercial and private sector activities in space, space settlements, very long duration missions, and planetary-scale interventions. Major themes include human health, environmental concerns, safety and risk, governance and decision-making, and opportunities and challenges of multidisciplinary and international contexts. Ideal for classroom use and beyond, the book provides ways of thinking that will help students, academics and policymakers examine the full range of ethical decisions on questions related to space exploration.

Download or read book Barbary Station written by R. E. Stearns and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-10-31 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two engineers hijack a spaceship to join some space pirates—only to discover the pirates are hiding from a malevolent AI. Now they have to outwit the AI if they want to join the pirate crew—and survive long enough to enjoy it. Adda and Iridian are newly minted engineers, but aren’t able to find any work in a solar system ruined by economic collapse after an interplanetary war. Desperate for employment, they hijack a colony ship and plan to join a famed pirate crew living in luxury at Barbary Station, an abandoned shipbreaking station in deep space. But when they arrive there, nothing is as expected. The pirates aren’t living in luxury—they’re hiding in a makeshift base welded onto the station’s exterior hull. The artificial intelligence controlling the station’s security system has gone mad, trying to kill all station residents and shooting down any ship that attempts to leave—so there’s no way out. Adda and Iridian have one chance to earn a place on the pirate crew: destroy the artificial intelligence. The last engineer who went up against the AI met an untimely end, and the pirates are taking bets on how the newcomers will die. But Adda and Iridian plan to beat the odds. There’s a glorious future in piracy…if only they can survive long enough.

Download or read book Thunder in Space written by Bj Bennett and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2004-11 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the stars above a sound is approaching. It is the sound of battle . It is the sound of war . It is the sound of . THUNDER IN SPACE The year is 2120 A.D. When an alien race known as the Zidians invades the solar system bent on the conquest and enslavement of Mankind, it's up to Jack Thunder, and the men and women of the United States Space Force to defend the Earth. The Zidians are amongst the most feared warriors in the Galaxy. They have spread their Empire across a thousand light years, conquering one world after another. Now they have their eyes on Earth. They send a huge war fleet, led by their most brilliant military leader, Commander Akdon. But the Earth is much more than the Zidians expect. The Humans have just emerged from a terrible conflict known as the Pirate Wars. They are battle hardened and armed to the teeth. The mighty Zidians have at last run into a race of beings as aggressive and warlike as themselves. The most colossal war in the history of mankind unfolds as fleets of Starships engage in battles of epic proportions. Carnage and destruction is spread across the Solar System as both Humans and Zidians strive for victory no matter the cost. Yet unbeknownst to either side there is yet a third power at play.....

Download or read book The Great Space Pirate written by Suzann Dodd and published by BookRix. This book was released on 2021-09-15 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Five years have passed since Sharon parted from eDapktchoy. He continued in the Terran Space Fleet and advanced in rank. She has been sent to Earth, five hundred years in her future. What happened to her?

Download or read book Of Donkeys Gods and Space Pirates written by Ethan Freckleton and published by Ethan Freckleton. This book was released on 2022-03-14 with total page 749 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Donkeys. Pirates. Pizza. Symbiont Harry—rejected by his tribe, exiled from home, and braying at the stars—is imprisoned in the form of a donkey. Trapped on an interstellar livestock vessel, Harry dreams of being loved, or at least having a decent conversation. Space pirates capture the ship, hoping to score. What to do with a hold full of livestock? And what's with the wisecracking donkey? When a galactic animal contest promises a fortune, the talking donkey starts to look like a potential winner—if only he can lay off the pizza. Buy or BURRO this wonderful series today and see why readers can’t wait to get more Starship Ass! ★★★★★ 'Sweet, adorable, emotive, hilarious, action-packed!' ★★★★★ ’Loved the Guardians of the Galaxy vibe...fast, funny, and fresh sci-fi writing.’ ★★★★★ ’Why would you not want to read the adventures of a Star Trek-loving symbiont slash donkey duo, and his pirate crew?’

Download or read book A Distant Star written by Raymond Hardcastle and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2020-05-11 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book approaches in novel form what steps Humanity needs to take to become a more than single planet species so we humans don’t become extinct. The dinosaurs didn’t have a Space Program. Picture a Tyrannosaurus in a space suit. It uses current and projected developments to advance into low Earth orbit, the Moon and the Lagrangian balanced gravity points. A small dedicated crew of explorers advance beyond earth orbit to Mars, the Asteroid Belt and dwarf planet Ceres. On an exploration of Jupiter’s Trojan points in search of geologic resources they discover something that leads them eventually to a Star Gate. Established Scientists keep telling them what they are doing can’t be done, but then take credit for their accomplishments.