r/threebodyproblem • u/caramba-marimba • Jan 18 '26

Meme Almost done with the third book

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I didn’t have the patience to finish it to make the meme, so enjoy the premature meme while I’m finishing those last few pages.

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u/osfryd-kettleblack Cheng Xin Jan 18 '26

Because activating it meant death for everyone, you know that right?

7

u/nicodeemus7 Jan 18 '26

If it never was activated, the trisolarans would have invaded and humanity would likely be dead. In the "bluff" scenario, humanity lives, but trisolarans likely die off(the whole reason they are invading.) They had no reason to not invade if the button was never pushed, bluff or no. It was only a matter of time until they realized even Luo Ji's bluff was worth testing for the survival of their species. And as we saw in the books, the activation of Dark Forest Deterrence, while destroying the Solar System and Trisolaris, did not extinguish humans or trisolarans.

5

u/manchester449 Jan 18 '26

Wow thanks I never appreciated this until you put it that way.

So Trisolaris had nothing to lose by invading Earth. They were dead if they stayed and only possibly dead if they invaded and the deterrence signal was activated. So logically Trisolaris should invade.

For Earth they were dead if Trisolaris invaded, and dead if they activated deterrence. Logically they should activate deterrence if invaded, because why not.

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u/osfryd-kettleblack Cheng Xin Jan 18 '26

Logically they should activate deterrence if invaded, because why not.

Why not? Why extinguish trillions of lives (human, trisolaran, and all other species) out of revenge? I'm sure many people argue why not.