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

"Uncle Hughes! You know Uncle Hughes?" Miss Xiao lost her voice squealing. All of her refined aloofness and her capable maturity were tossed far away. She was like a child with her wide-open eyes, looking at Bogner in surprise.

Bogner was unconsciously rubbing the dark blue stubble on his cheeks as he laughed to say, "So, you are Hughes' niece!" There was a tone of sad remembrance in his voice.

"Do you really know Uncle Hughes?" Miss Xiao was wide-eyed, staring at Bogner. "Are you a friend of his? I never heard my uncle say he had any friends!"

"We're old friends. When I add it up, it's been more than 20 years. Is he well?" Bogner asked softly.

Miss Xiao's eyes, which were like black marbles, immediately dimmed as she shook her head. "Uncle passed away five years ago."

Bogner was silent. There was the sadness of loss in his eyes. After a while, he said calmly, "Where is he buried? Inchbald? He really liked the gardenias there."

Xiao Liqian