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

Pomelo turned chaotic. The battle between the Central Repository of the Classics and the Federation Comprehensive Academy had caused panic. Citizens were frantically running everywhere, and the thunderous sounds of explosions were mixed up with weeping, screaming, moaning…

Pomelo had been turned into Hell on Earth in the blink of an eye.

The two sides weren't at all reticent or circumspect in making their moves, and the power they brought to bear would be enough to destroy Pomelo. The sky had already become the scene of a wild battle among card artisans. By that time, any semblance of order had been destroyed. The two sides had melded together in the melee, leaving the card artisans to fight only for themselves in groups of three or five.

A Melee (I)