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

Inside the mysterious card, Chen Mu was conducting the incredibly boring training of his perceptual sensitivity. No matter the skill, and no matter how fantastic it looked, underneath that gorgeous exterior were dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of different monotonous, boring, and mechanical training regimes. Every one of those trainings required perseverance through upwards of thousands of repetitions, or even more.

While having talent provided a certain bonus to training and was just as powerful, it wasn't the most important factor in success.

After his perceptual acuity broke through 60, the content of the training would change.

The Super 007 (III)