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

Chen Mu's mind was full of agitation. It was his first battle card, and up until then, his first three-star card. The whole composition process had gone so unexpectedly smoothly that it had made him wonder whether this wasn't really the unreal feeling of a dream.

The demands on a card master's perception to make a three-star card were very steep, and according to the current uniform rating system, the minimum required perceptual rating was four or above.

Had he already exceeded level four? Chen Mu didn't quite dare to believe it. Four stars was a threshold; no matter if it was a card master or a card artisan, it was the first threshold. To have gotten past level four meant that you were no longer a novice.

Chen Mu himself felt that he hadn't been held back at all because of problems with perception, throughout the process of composition.

Glittering Shuttle Moves