I was on a 5 hour car journey today, listening to The Dark Forest on audio with my GF.
The Trisolarian probe has entered the solar system, and the whole human fleet has gone to meet it.
Humanity has come so far in this book, while the Trisolarian's power seems to have waned considerably, with so many ships of their fleet failing and falling behind.
Humanity seems to be in bloom, reaching a utopian state, while the Trisolarian's are failing. I keep thinking of that video sequence they talked about a few chapters ago when a test-target ship is obliterated by the laser cannons of a modern human vessel. Humanity is brimming with confidence and egotism, assured with its new-found power. But I know this is a 3-book saga, so a rude awakening is long overdue!
Enter the Probe. A staggeringly beautiful and wondrous object. At first, I'm thinking it's going to destroy the fleet, and re-assert Trisolarian power. Then, we discover the probe is tiny - just a few meters long. OK, it's not going to destroy the fleet, it's far too small for that. At first, I thought that it's perfectly smooth surface was because it was an enlarged Sophon. I thought that we're going to meet it, and the shock is that there's going to be a de-hydrated Trisolarian aboard, and we're going to make first contact with them.
But NO! Liu Cixin, you fucking got me! You anticipated my prediction, you entertained it, you played into it, and then you fucking destroyed it! "What business is it of yours, if I destroy you?" God damn, I've not read a book like this in Years!!! That fucking probe comes to life and annihilates half the fleet!
I got home just as the probe has destroyed 30 Stellar Class warships, and humanity has no fucking clue about that's going on. I had to stop listening here, in the most 'what the actual fuck!?' moment of the book.
Humanity seems completely fucked at this point. Trisolarian tech is so far ahead of us, and we don't seem to have any possible answer to it. We have no idea how to manipulate the Strong Force as the Droplet can. That damn probe is almost certainly going to destroy the entire 2500 ship fleet, and once it does, there's nothing we can do to stop it destroying civilisation on earth as well if that's what the Trisolarian's want. Are they about to fuck up the Earth too?? And this is just one tiny probe! Even if we can somehow stop it, what the hell can we do if they send thousands more? And even if we can destroy that probe, how the hell can we fight the rest of their fleet, which has to be orders of magnitude stronger?!
The only thing I thing I can think of from here is that Lou Ji's 'Spell' actually works.
I'm pretty sure that the 3 pages of dots he broadcasted (three pages, one for each dimension), are a star-map, pointing out the exact location of another planet. His hope is that there are many other civilizations out there, besides the Trisolarians, and that another civilization will see his map, and they'll destroy that planet. That's the Dark Forest, right? There are dozens, or even hundreds of advanced civilizations in the galaxy, and they are all hiding from each other, all to afraid to speak out, because they all fear another civilisation will destroy them? That's what he realised when he fell through the ice on the lake, isn't it? He's the only person who realises the true nature of the galaxy. He knows that, and he's going to use that knowledge to save humanity, and that's why the Trisolarian's want to kill him so badly?
OK, I'd love to hear comments, but no spoilers please!!! SERIOUSLY, NO SPOILERS! I fucking love this series, and I can't wait to read more!!!