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

The electric net had come into contact with his clothes. There was a puff of charred smoke from where a corner of his clothes had been immediately turned to ash. There was no more time to even try any of the other compositions. After a second—no, perhaps only half a second—he would be turned to ash like that corner of his clothes.

Everything in front of him seemed to have suddenly slowed. With the stimulus of danger, his perception turned over like crazy at a speed it had never had before. Oddly enough, Chen Mu was feeling quite calm. He felt even calmer than he did when he was in the water training his perception with his breath held.

If an onlooker were to closely examine him, he would see everything that was happening. But, in reality, the danger he was then encountering was 100 times worse than when he was dozens of meters underwater training his perception.

Chen Mu’s Rage