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 wasn't like no one had ever done research into that; Sue Lochiro knew a little about it. For Chen Mu, however, it was just too strange. Even though he'd studied a lot, he wasn't very interested in that and had no way to know about academic issues in fields that weren't critical to him. He had never undergone any systematic study.

That didn't mean Chen Mu wasn't clear about the danger.

On the contrary, Chen Mu's mind was extremely clear just then. He had already smelled the danger. The smell was heavy enough to scare him out of his wits. He immediately understood there had been some mishap.

However, he couldn't control his perception in such a state of emergency. To tell the truth, even if he could control it, he wouldn't know what to do.

All they could do was wait until things calmed down.

The Choice