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

"Drop everything you're doing, Alfonso." Chen Mu immediately said as soon as he'd returned to the lab.

Alfonso was stunned, "What's up?" He still didn't know what was going on. The rest of them stopped what they were doing one by one, having never seen Chen Mu so fired up. In their minds, Chen Mu had always plodded along steadily, unmovable by thunder.

"Bring out all the military card appliances you have made, for me to see." Chen Mu said.

"OK!" Alfonso had been aroused. Although he didn't know why Chen Mu had become so suddenly interested in card appliances, that was the realm he was most familiar with. He liked the term card appliance, which made him feel more professional. Could it be that Mr. Chen wanted to advance the card appliance side of things? Once he thought of that, he had become aroused. Since card study was abstruse, it had to be studied from the beginning. If Mr. Chen could improve the card appliances, that would be better for his advancement.

The Conduct of a Defeated Family