Fang Xiang

This is both a work of science fiction and an exploration of the meaning of life, love, literature and art. Brainpower is no longer the main ingredient for being human in this far distant future world.  Spirituality, physical balance, and diligence all come together as integrity for Chen Mu, the Card Apprentice.  The cards which Chen Mu masters in his own scrappy way, distill all the powers of the cosmos –  human and nonhuman –  into something that is not a book, not technology, and neither art nor magic, but is these and more.  Learn about these strange cards, which can embody everything you might imagine for the future of technology, but also a future beyond technology which promotes the best, and sometimes the worst, from mankind’s past.

The Card Apprentice

Hong Tao was slouched in the back row. He glanced at Zuo Tingyi who was sitting ramrod straight next to him, and said in amazement, "So, when did you start liking card shows?"

"Liking?" Zuo Tingyi shook his head, "I don't like them."

"But I see that you're engrossed in it." Hong Tao said with an odd look on his face.

With buttoned down front and sitting upright, Zuo Tingyi said indifferently, "You can't only employ your skills to make your work look good, but if don't have the skills to make your work look good, then your work will not be done well either, nine times out of ten."

"What a sham!" Hong Tao yawned disdainfully. "In any case, I'm tired. I say, if you aren't busy, you come to watch some card show, and if you like it then you buy one for yourself, and that's that. You might just come here to join in the fun."

"When we look at problems, we can't just look at the surface. . . "

Allah Gong