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>"Ha-ha, Little Ying, where did you get such a fine one?" A little girl a little older than Tai-shu Ying, probably about sixteen or seventeen, was doubled-over laughing. She was wearing really short hot-pants, which showed off her beautiful long white legs, while the top half of her body had on a loose tee-shirt, which looked rather cool. She was also surrounded by guards, and was squinting like a cat and covering her mouth unable to stop laughing at Bu Mo.</p>

<p>The guards around her were also looking as though they found something funny, though they remained standing bolt upright and didn't relax. That made Chen Mu's eyes light up at how high quality that gang of guards was! He looked again at the Tai-shu guards, who were undisciplined and without any fight in them; far beneath the ones now in front of him.</p>

Tai-shu Cheng