The World of "The Three-Body Problem" That Made Me Feel the Universe

The Three-Body Problem

The images recently released by NASA from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) were truly amazing, weren't they?
With a resolution even higher than the Hubble Space Telescope, it was simply breathtaking.

When I look at images like this "Stephan's Quintet," the scale is so vast that I can't help but wonder what's going on...
Thinking about how five galaxies are in such close proximity and how they might be influencing each other makes me think of the science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem, which involves the "three-body problem" where three celestial bodies influence one another.

The Three-Body series by Chinese science fiction author Liu Cixin was a science fiction series that kept me entertained for several years.
From the first volume The Three-Body Problem in 2019, followed by The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest in 2020, and The Three-Body Problem III: Death's End in 2021, the series was published at a pace of one volume per year, and it was a book that gave me the long-forgotten feeling of eagerly awaiting the next volume.

It became popular immediately upon its release in China in 2008, an English translation was published in 2014, and the following year in 2015, it became the first Asian work to win the American Hugo Award.
It became quite a hot topic in Japan as a science fiction novel read by various leaders, including President Obama, and just recently, "The Three-Body Problem X" written by a different author was also released, so it is a series that continues to be a subject of discussion in the country.

It might be a bit late to talk about this, but due to current events, I decided to write a "note" about "The Three-Body Problem" this time.

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=== Contains spoilers from here on ===

The reason I didn't write an article when I finished reading it in the first place was because it was impossible to convey the appeal of this series without spoiling the first volume, "The Three-Body Problem".

However, a year has passed since the series concluded, and with the new release of "The Three-Body Problem X", a digest comic of the first volume has been released as shown in the link below, so I thought it might be okay now.

Originally, the first volume is positioned as a very long prologue within the series.
Therefore, this time I will be discussing the structure of the first volume of the "The Three-Body Problem" series. (Please also read the manga digest in the link.)

This "The Three-Body Problem" series is a story depicting a war against aliens with scientific power superior to that of humans. (That sounds cliché when written out 💦)

The story is about Earth being invaded for the migration of the "Trisolaran civilization" living in the harsh "Trisolaris world." The first volume, "The Three-Body Problem", depicts how humanity learns of the existence of the "Trisolaran civilization," while the second volume, "The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest," and the third volume, "The Three-Body Problem III: Death's End," are structured to depict the battle between humanity and the "Trisolaran civilization."

【The main fleet of the "Trisolaran civilization" will arrive in 450 years】

As someone of my generation, when I hear about an alien invasion story with a countdown, I cannot help but think of the sci-fi anime "Space Battleship Yamato"!
Since giant space fleets also appear in "The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest," I also feel hints of "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" and "Legend of the Galactic Heroes," to the point where I wonder if the author, |Liu Cixin, is a writer who continues directly from Japanese sci-fi.

The "battle between humanity and the 'Trisolaran civilization'" from the second volume onwards is quite different from previous sci-fi novels, and it is very interesting!

The "Trisolaran civilization," which possesses scientific power beyond that of humans, has already sent special surveillance devices and AI-like entities to Earth, and they are obstructing scientific progress by assassinating physicists so that Earth's science does not surpass their own within 450 years.
In the second volume, humanity challenges the "Trisolaran civilization," which is one step ahead, not just with scientific power (which is being hindered), but with a battle of wits.
For our generation, the developments based on the differences between humanity and the "Trisolaran civilization" are such that we cannot help but shout, "P-Protoculture!!" (Though Lynn Minmay does not appear...)

And in the final volume, it shows a hard-hitting development that takes you to a world you have never seen before, far beyond the limits of imagination, so I am sure that when you finish reading it, you will inevitably go, "Whoa!"

It is by no means a short story, but with the release of "The Three-Body Problem X," I think it would be a fun read to tackle as a summer vacation reading assignment.

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As I wrote at the beginning, there were three current events that prompted me to write this article.

The first is the release of the new work "The Three-Body Problem X"
The second is the release of the James Webb Space Telescope images mentioned at the beginning.
And the third is the news recently announced by China Global Television Network (CGTN) and others about the discovery of a signal from an extraterrestrial civilization by the "China Sky Eye."

"China Sky Eye" is the common name for "FAST," the world's largest spherical radio telescope with a diameter of 500 meters.

It was announced that a candidate signal from an extraterrestrial civilization was discovered in the data collected by this giant radio telescope.

Well, various signals have been caught around the world before, so I think "the basis for it being an extraterrestrial civilization is thin," but seeing this news, I could not help but think of "The Three-Body Problem" again.

That is because in "The Three-Body Problem," the trigger for the "Trisolaran civilization" to invade Earth starts with a scientist who has despaired of humanity sending a signal to an extraterrestrial civilization.

Regardless of the truth of the "China Sky Eye" news, it feels like we are following in the footsteps of the novel's world, which is an indescribable feeling.
There is also a story that the late British physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking opposed the construction of the "China Sky Eye" on the grounds that contact with extraterrestrial life might "not be a good thing for all of humanity," so it feels like, "Welcome to the world of 'The Three-Body Problem'!"

Don't you think it's interesting that "China Sky Eye" and "The Three-Body Problem" coexist in the same China?
Yeah, yeah. Well, for me, it was news that made me think about the universe through the world of "The Three-Body Problem."

I wonder what extraterrestrial civilizations are like...

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Now, regarding the grand-scale "Three-Body" series, for those who feel it might be difficult to get into, the Japanese short story collection by Liu Cixin released last year, titled "The Circle," is the perfect entry point.

"The Circle: Liu Cixin Short Story Collection"

A total of 13 stories are included, and among them, the title story "The Circle" is a short story that also serves as a part of "Three-Body".

"The Circle"

This is a work that was also included in the contemporary Chinese SF anthology "Folding Beijing." Setting aside whether or not this is science fiction, I think it is a masterpiece that allows you to feel the continental scale of China's 4,000-year history, so I highly recommend it!

(SF-related note)

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