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

"Is Brother Jie interested in the numbered card series too?" Zu Ning's face had a look that was harmless to man and animal. "If your little brother has remembered correctly, the Central Repository of the Classics has quite a few famous card masters. Could you have had to seek assistance from outside these last two years?"

Jie Yanbai had dark skin, big eyes, and bushy eyebrows, which gave him the rough look of some farmer who often worked in his fields. All of his clothes were very simple. He had a clear gaze and a magnanimous expression, which gave a feeling of upright resolution.

He grinned to show a row of snow-white teeth. "The Central Repository of the Classics certainly doesn't have such deep pockets as your honorable school, where anything can be bought."

The Super 007 (I)