Ethan Ring has created the ultimate power to kill... but will it consume him?

Fracters are the next wave in military technology. Developed by a design student named Ethan Ring, they are images that can control the minds of others, giving their users the power to hurt, hypnotize, or even kill. Witnessing the destruction that his invention has wrought, Ring finds himself guilt-ridden and depressed. Seeking redemption, he embarks on a Shikoku pilgrimage across cyber-feudal twenty-first-century Japan, through the eighty-eight sacred sites of Shingon Buddhism.

With the help of his friend Masahiko, Ring tours this strange new Japan in search of ways to rid himself of the curse that he has created. In the process, he not only learns about himself, he discovers new ways to use this terrible weapon to help and heal.

With Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone, author Ian McDonald has created an indelible introspective journey through one of the most haunting environments imaginable. Includes The Tear, finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.