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

<p>Chen Mu didn't feel much about it. To him, her subservience was just to remind him not to keep the method of making the folding Yanbo card a secret. He simply nodded. "Mmmm, ok." He hadn't had any intention of keeping it secret since there was certainly a deal between the two sides; it really wouldn't be kind to be so small-minded.</p>

<p>But the atmosphere in the hall had become a little strange. The puzzled and surprised gazes that had been focused on Ru Qiu had jumped over to Chen Mu. Where there really such thick-skinned people in the world? Or, was that youth such an awesome card artisan that he was qualified to speak that way?</p>

Preparing for War (III)