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

Zuo Tianlin was obviously very pleased with his son's response, and there was a flash of appreciation in his fierce eyes, "From top to bottom, there is probably no-one at Eastern Wei Academy as clear about this as we are. If it were a different somewhat better school, I wouldn't be surprised, but it feels fishy when it's one of the six."

Seeing that Zuo Tingyi looked as though he didn't quite understand, he waved his hand to indicate that he had more to say.

"You still don't understand what those six great ones stand for." Zuo Tianlin was saying as he looked at his son. "The six, to all appearances are nothing more than places of learning, even if extremely high-level places of learning. I believe this is also what you think."

"That isn't the case, then?" Zuo Tingyi asked in amazement.

A New Plan