The Three-Body Problem

For the problem in orbital mechanics, see Three-body problem.
The Three-Body Problem
Author Liu Cixin
Original title 三体
Translator Ken Liu
Country China
Language Chinese
Series Remembrance of Earth’s Past
Genre Chinese science fiction
Publisher Chongqing Press
Publication date
 2008
Pages 302
ISBN 978-7-5366-9293-0
Followed by The Dark Forest

The Three-Body Problem (simplified Chinese: 三体; traditional Chinese: 三體, "Three Body") is a science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. It is the first of a trilogy titled Remembrance of Earth’s Past (Chinese: 地球往事), but Chinese readers generally refer to the series by the title of the first novel.[1] The title itself refers to the three-body problem in orbital mechanics.

The work was serialized in Science Fiction World in 2006, published as a book in 2008 and became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China.[2] It received the Chinese Science Fiction Galaxy Award in 2006. A film adaptation of the same name is scheduled for release in July 2016.[3]

An English translation by Ken Liu was published by Tor Books in 2014.[4] It won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel[5] and was nominated for the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel.[6]

Plot

Trisolaris

The Trisolaran world is a stellar system with three suns, whose trajectory are entirely unpredictable (based on the famous physics question of three-body problem). The gravitational forces between the suns and the planets are extremely chaotic, and have caused 11 of the original 12 planets to be consumed by the suns. The living environment on the sole remaining planet, Trisolaris, is also extremely harsh: when the planet is within the orbit range of one sun, it enters a short period of stable day-night cycle, which the native Trisolarans term as Stable Era; when the planet is trapped between the orbits of multiple suns, its day-night cycle becomes distorted, and the days may become extremely hot should the planet be too close to any of the suns, or extremely cold if otherwise, and this period is termed as a Chaotic Era.

Throughout the years, with the rise and abrupt terminations of many civilizations, Trisolarans have learnt to predict the movement of the suns for a couple of years, as well as hydrate and dehydrate their bodies to adapt to the environment of the Stable Eras and Chaotic Eras. However, eventual research determine that there is no solution to the three-body problem. With no definite pattern to the suns' movement, Trisolaris may be destroyed at any time in the future. In the face of this existential crisis, Trisolaran society evolved to become highly totalitarian and fully dedicated to the exploration of new planets in outer space to colonize and resettle upon.

First Contacts

During the Cultural Revolution in China, the family of a Tsinghua University astrophysics alumnus, Ye Wenjie (叶文洁), was shattered when her mother and younger sister joined the Red Guards, and her physicist father Ye Zhetai was persecuted and killed by Tsinghua High School student mobs during a public struggle session. Ye barely escaped persecution and was exiled to the countryside, where she got into deep trouble after commenting on Silent Spring, a banned book at the time. She managed to find political refuge after being recruited into the "Red Coast Base", a top-secret military establishment commissioned by the communist government to establish contact with aliens.

In 1971, Ye discovered the possibility of coding information and transmitting it using the principle of solar waves. Gravely disheartened by the cruelty of humans and human society, she secretly sent a secret message about Earth's basic information and a request for help into space, without the knowledge of her co-workers. Unwittingly, the message was received by Trisolaris four light-years away. Eight years later in 1979, Ye Wenjie received the first response by a concerned pacifist Trisolaran Information Receptionist, warning her not to reply, as the Trisolaran civilization was hostile and invasive. By this time, Ye had observed the environmental destruction caused by humans in the name of progress. This reinforced her belief that humanity is not be trusted, and it would be desirable for an alien race to come to Earth and purify the human race. Ye replied to Trisolaris, and decisively murdered her husband and another colleague that found out her actions.

Other Trisolarans intercepted Ye's message this time, and a full-scale campaign to invade and colonize Earth (which they could now tell is four light years away) soon began. Trisolarans developed the Sophon technology (a word amalgamation of Sophia, meaning "wisdom", and Proton, consisting of a supercomputer embedded into a single proton that could fold itself to eleven space dimensions), with plans for two such Sophons to secure the complete lockdown of Earth's scientific research and development. In the meantime, they remained in contact with Ye Wenjie and gave her instructions to prepare for the coming of Trisolarans, while concealing their real motives. Ye and Mike Evans, the heir of a rich American oil tycoon and a "pan-species communist", then established the Earth-Trisolaris Organization (ETO), calling upon people who have lost faith in human society, to prepare and welcome the arrival of their new Trisolaran overlords on Earth.

The present

In 2007, nanomaterials expert Wang Miao (汪淼) is shocked when he was given a countdown warning (by the Sophons, unknown to him at the time) for him to terminate his new research project. He does so, and is given a reprieve. In the meantime, his contact with some of his colleagues, as well as his efforts to find out the truth, has also made him chance upon a game the ETO developed, titled Three Body. He registers into the game with various personas, to find it fully simulating the living environment of a world revolving around three suns, with its Stable and Chaotic Eras. At one time, taking on the persona of Copernicus, Wang managed to explain to other players and NPCs the nature of the three-body world, earning himself respect within the Three Body community. After the last simulated scene, which shows three-body people finding out the truth and planning to migrate elsewhere in the universe, he joins a players' meetup, where he is briefed by the biologist Pan Han about the game being a real-world simulation, and is invited to join the upcoming ETO meeting. Wary of possible deception, Wang Miao notifies his good friend Shi Qiang, a police detective and counter-terrorism specialist, to standby.

During the ETO meeting in an abandoned warehouse, in which Ye Wenjie appears as the spiritual leader, Wang Miao is shocked by the anti-humanity stances portrayed by its members, its display as a formidable fighting force with capable weapons of destruction (courtesy of funding from Mike Evans), as well as the infighting between the Adventist and Redemptionist factions within the organization. A police-military intervention quickly takes place, resulting in the destruction of the warehouse and deaths of many ETO members. Ye is taken into police custody and interrogated about her agenda about the ETO, for which she reveals possible classified information present on board the warship Judgement Day, which is disguised as an ordinary merchant ship.

To collect the information about the Trisolaran world on board Judgement Day, the Chinese authorities worked with international police and military organizations. Initiated by Shi Qiang, they successfully carry out Operation "Zither Plan", making use of Wang Miao's specialization in nanomaterials to lay a nanofibre trap at the Panama Canal, which trapped the Judgement Day and killed all the ETO members aboard, including deputy leader Mike Evans. They recover the information stored in a computer in the control center. It revealed the Trisolarans' plans in two phases, initially to halt science research and development through the Sophons' lockdown of nanotechnology, which had already begun, and eventually to send all of its galactic fleet to Earth to populate and colonize it in about 400 Earth years' time. In response to their discovery, the Sophons condescendingly commented to the team through a short message, that humans were bugs. Humanity is supposedly doomed.

After reviewing the information, a desolate Ye Wenjie requested to make a trip back to Radar Peak, the site of the former Red Coast Base, and commented how the end of the day signified the end of her story as well as the sunset of humanity. Separately, Shi Qiang comforts Wang Miao and Ding Yi that humanity actually stand a chance of survival, akin to how bugs have survived despite being repeatedly persecuted and exterminated by humans, as the story concludes.

Characters

In the following, Chinese names are written with the family name first and given name second.

The Ye Family

The Cultural Revolution Time

The Present

Trilogy

The subsequent books in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy are:[7]

References

  1. ↑ Liu, Cixin (7 May 2014). "The Worst of All Possible Universes and the Best of All Possible Earths: Three Body and Chinese Science Fiction". Tor.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  2. ↑ 陈熙涵 (2012-11-30). 《三体》选定英文版美国译者 (in Chinese). 新华网转载自《文汇报》. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  3. ↑ Kevin Ma (April 24, 2015). "Cast lands on Three Body Problem". Film Business Asia. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Three Body." Ken Liu Official Website. Retrieved on July 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ "2015 Hugo Award Winners Announced". The Hugo Awards. August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  6. ↑ "2014 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Three-Body Introduction".

External links


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