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 monochromatic energy beads floated around steadily, like the sands in a river of

stars, moving along with the ebb and flow of the waters. It was like the black and white

pieces on the Go chess board, silently shifting their arrangement.

Chen Mu shut his eyes once again. The breathtaking battle between Wei-ah and the

Bronze Masked Man just now has affected his state of mind. The scenery in his eyes

regained its color. This was bad news to him. Keeping his eyes shut wasn't a

compulsory condition to enter into State Zero. But for a beginner like Chen Mu, this

helped him to enter the condition faster by reducing the distractions of his environment

Caesar, however, could not only keep his eyes open, but could enter State Zero in the

quickest time no matter when and how terrible the environment is.

The monochromatic world became clear once again. A clear perception re-emerged

The Go Cage of Thousand Cuts under State Zero