The novel “Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone” by Ian McDonald was published for the first time in 1994.

Ethan Ring is a graphic design expert who helped invent the fracters, a technology with an extremely dangerous potential. Forced to use it for destructive purposes by a European secret agency, after years guilt overwhelms him. His only hope of redemption is to start a Shikoku pilgrimage.

Together with his friend Masahiko, Ethan travels through the pitfalls of a Japan fell into a new form of feudalism. Akira bands, mercenaries paid by local lords and private agencies, control the territory. Another danger is made up of anime downloaded into virtual reality databases.