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

It could be seen from the pen strokes on the card that the card master had extremely rich experience making cards. One could only form such fine and precise lines after becoming thoroughly tempered.

The pen strokes in a composition would sometimes show the card master's style. For instance, the first feeling that this card gave Chen Mu was of precision, with nothing being the slightest bit off, like dialed-in precision. In comparison, the mysterious card gave Chen Mu a kind of vast and broad feeling.

Each card master was different from the others, and the cards that they make are naturally different as well.

Will's control of perception was too weak to bring all that card's power into play. Even though it was only a three-star card, it's real power went far beyond what he had demonstrated.

Chen Mu inserted the bipolar thunderball card into his apparatus and activated it. He shut his eyes, feeling carefully for the energy changes in the apparatus.

Deep Variations