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

He didn't know how long the snow shuttle vessel had been stopped, but the passengers had become a little restless, quite a few of them pressing their faces against the windows.

Chen Mu was a passenger on a medium-sized snow shuttle vessel, which could hold more than 100 people. On that sort of branch route, a mid-sized vessel was the mainstream transport vehicle. The large-scale snow shuttle vessels, which could hold more than 500, would only be seen on the long-distance passenger routes.

The large snow shuttle vessels had good defensive strength and were exceptionally comfortable, though their price was extremely high. But that wasn't why Chen Mu had made his choice. The actual reason was that passengers on the large, luxurious snow shuttle vessels had to go through strict procedures. Given Chen Mu's current identity in the category of a typical unknown, he wouldn't have made it through the interrogation.

The Ambush