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

The first time Sue Lochiro had seen Chen Mu, he and Lu Xiaoru were rescuing that little girl. She watched the entire process of Chen Mu's rescue. It was hard to imagine there could be someone with the strength to lift such a heavy metal beam under his own power alone. She had been very surprised. It would be hard to find anyone whose strength had developed to that point. She was a medical card artisan and would be naturally more concerned about such things.

For a bystander like Chen Mu to rescue the wounded made that kind-hearted medical card artisan well disposed toward him.

She was really surprised Chen Mu and Lu Xiaoru would come looking for her. When she'd asked Chen Mu for contact information that day, he had declined at first. That let her know roughly what kind of person he was. That was the first time she'd been declined when asking for contact information.

The Checkup