Caslem, Earth's first deep-space colony is attacked by a pair of assassins. A small DNA sample proves they belong to a species known as Therloxians, nicknamed Teddy Bears by humans. To provide them with an alibi, Karzon, the planet that hired the assassins, has them registered as prisoners at a mining complex on the Karzonian home planet. Fearing that Earth computers have been hacked, the Earth Security Divison has to find and train someone who is off the grid. Coulter Hazlow, a student at the Western Canadian Space Academy in Calgary accepts the assignment. All Coulter has to do is travel into deep-space, get thrown in prison by a brutal totalitarian regime, find and kill two professional assassins, and escape from a prison no one has ever escaped from before. He'll need some help.

Jack is happy living with his friend Jennnifer, who works at Coastal City University. The cat becomes extremely jealous when Jennifer starts dating John, a Police Officer who works in the nearby town of Split River. Jack is convinced that John is trying to get rid of him, so he's not pleased when they get married and move into John's house. Jack thinks he's all alone, until he meets the cats of the Split River Cat Patrol. When he becomes a member, the Split River Cat Patrol agrees to protect him from John, and put that furrless, purrless male in his place. The claws will come out, and fur will fly, as Jack: A Lady's Cat tickles your funny bone, and tears at your heart strings.

WHAT IF? A COLLECTION OF SHORT FICTION BY J. PAUL COOPER includes both previously published and new short stories by the author.Science Fiction"The Equation" is a story about a university professor who is targeted by an alien race because he discovers a working model of the light speed equation. "How Jason and George Saved the Earth" describes how a couple of drunk university students save the Earth from enslavement by an alien fleet, and have no idea what they have accomplished. "The Dinner Guest" tells of how a famous chef finds himself on the menu. "Erlok's Problem" describes how a student on a distant planet transports dangerous mining equipment to a teenager's birthday party. In "The Cold Climate Tourism Assignment," an alien is tasked with trying to determine if Canada is a good place for inter-galactic tourists to visit. "The National Resource Allocation Protocol" considers how dangerous it may be to allow artificial intelligence to make important decsions for humans.Other...