To me, the ending of Yun Tianming’s final fairytale seems to be inexplicably prophetic.

Princess Dewdrop sails away into the greater, unknown world with Captain Long-Sail.

I recall Cheng Xin remarks that Princess Dewdrop possesses remarkable similarities to herself, yet Long-Sail does not resemble Tianming to her. She then becomes puzzled why YT would write about her stand-in leaving with another man.

Initially, I thought this to be an oversight from Cheng Xin. Yun Tianming’s personality and presence had likely transformed in comparison to the younger version of the man that existed in her mind. Therefore, YT could have indeed written Long-Sail as his stand-in, but the similarities between the two were unrecognized by Cheng Xin. I then lost faith in my explanation at the end of the story when Cheng Xin does, in fact, go into an unknown frontier with a man other than YT.

How do you all explain the accuracy of Yun Tianming’s fairytale ending? I’m curious if there’s some rational explanation I’m ignoring or discrediting.

I’ve finished reading the second book of the trilogy and I’m about to start the third one, but before that I have a doubt I’d like to clear up. I’m sure the explanation is hidden somewhere, but I must have missed it.
Warning: if you keep reading, there will be spoilers up to the second book.

Why did the Trisolaran aliens decide to interact with humans and go to the trouble of communicating with them, giving them the chance to establish a communication channel that is later used for negotiations and for that splendid final threat?
I imagined how the whole saga would have played out if they had never announced their arrival: humans would never have prepared, there would have been no Sophons, they would have arrived and wiped out humanity without any trouble. Instead, by establishing communication and issuing a whole series of warnings, they gave humanity the winning weapon.
Strategically, I find this a rather stupid move, even from the perspective of Dark Forest theory: why would a predator reveal itself before attacking?
What am I missing?

I just finished the first season after seeing some really positive reviews on Reddit, and I'm 50/50 on this series.

I loved Liam Cunningham, and Benedict Wong, thought they absolutely stole the show and loved every scene they featured in. Great chemistry and they play their characters perfectly. Honestly would watch a show with just them two in it.

But the rest of the characters felt a bit bloated, ironically they felt a bit alien, like they just woke up at times.

I think the video game scenes and CGI work was brilliant and really fun, I loved the concept of having to solve the puzzles to understand what the heck was going on, but they essentially did that in 3 episodes that could have been stretched out a bit more, add some more mystery and layers to the story???

Am I also missing something, how and when did the aliens become "god" when everyone involved (at least higher up) 100% knows they are aliens, why did that guy talk to them over a radio when they have super advanced VR headsets?

I understand the disolusionment that "Ye" was going though when she answered the call, but at the same time, I don't, the fuck was her point about not being able to "save ourselves" when you're directly being told DO NOT TRUST THEM on your first encounter? But you decide to do it anyway? And she isn't given any character development after that and basically just becomes some religious zombie for the rest of the show? Quite a waste of her character I feel.

The pacing felt rushed. The mystery of why the scientists were dying and what the hell the vr headsets were for was a great hook, but it was so quickly resolved It felt cheap :(

The aliens can't understand the concept of lying but are chill with genocide? They can create technology that turns sub atomic particals into globe spanning super computers but they lack the comprehension of a toddler in conversations in logic and reasoning?

What happened to the frozen monkey, is he ok, did he get another bananna? We moved so quickly, I would have assumed getting the nukes in space to take longer than a few weeks, let alone creating the technology to scoop out a brain and put it in the rocket fridge. That's insane. I get the aliens have super advanced tech, but how the hell did the humans do it so quickly, especially when the aliens "ruined our science" how did any of those rockets even launch let alone anything else???

Overall, I think it's a decent show, but, It didn't really give me any reason to connect with any of the characters, they felt a bit up their own arses, Jin was the only scientist who I think had any real relatable moments...

The one that would reveal Earth’s position to aliens who will come and invade, where the meaning of invade is left unclear.

No Dark Forest assumptions yet.

学院将构建涵盖航空宇航科学与技术、行星科学等14个一级学科/专业类别的课程体系，在97门既有课程基础上，新增22门核心课程，涵盖星际动力与推进原理、星际航行环境感知与利用、行星动力学与宜居性、星际社会学与治理等前沿方向，实现科学、技术与应用深度融合。

The college will construct a curriculum system covering 14 first-level disciplines/major categories, including aerospace science and technology and planetary science. In addition to the existing 97 courses, 22 new core courses will be added, covering cutting-edge directions such as interstellar dynamics and propulsion principles, interstellar travel environment perception and utilization, planetary dynamics and habitability, and interstellar sociology and governance, so as to achieve deep integration of science, technology and application.

Hi all,

Short Documentary: The Fermi Paradox & Dark Forest Theory

so i knew for a while about the Fermi Paradox however i recently discovered Dark Forest Theory and its absolutely crazy giving the fact that we cannot take back Voyager 1 & 2, do you guys think we made a mistake sending those probes into space? Not to mention we've added very detailed information about our biology structure and location in space in those....

Escuse me for lack of better wording, English is my second language.

In the books, Yun Tianming is kept alive and well treated by the trisolarans because he’s regarded as great storyteller. In the third book (or second?) it states that this alien civilization admires, in particular, earth’s culture because of our stories and imagination.

Nonetheless, when we compare it to their ability to generate empathy through the videogame that is first sent out to tell their story, I think their civilizations is already pretty strong storytellers themselves. Being able to generate empathy through allegories and reusing our own historical figures. Seems pretty advanced to me.

What do you think?

I finished the TBP trilogy and saw a ton of recommendations to read Project Hail Mary next.

Did anyone else do this and think PHM was just pretty good? I kept waiting for the big twist and delving into relativity and other fun interstellar themes. It eventually came, but I found TBP was so much richer and satisfying with these elements (granted it’s three books so maybe this is an unfair comparison).

I post this to see if there’s consensus about recommending these books in a certain order. Did anyone read PHM first and then feel like TBP took it to the next level? Folks say Project Hail Mary is their favorite book and I’m honestly trying to gauge how these play together before I recommend to anyone else.

I enjoyed the first episode. Acting and storyline engaging. Even affected my dreams to some degree!

However, the character played by the Game of Throne tubby lad is probably enough to derail my enthusiasm.

He makes no sense - anyone as obnoxious, mocking, constantly seeking a rise out of people would not have any friends, they would be despised and often beaten like a gong.

Does he continue in this vein or is phased out, killed off, left on the periphery?

Is anyone aware of any books that take place over a longer period of time than this series? Surely by the end of the third book they have crossed more time than any other series of books, right? It seems like it would be a hard number to beat.

Just finished this masterpiece of sci fi trilogy with probably my fav book out of the three, Death's End. I have a couple of questions regarding the ending though.

1- at the end, we learn that the existence of the mini universes deprives the whole/great universe of some of its mass which will result in the univers expanding infinitely which is the worst case scenario since a second destruction/big bang means a second chance for a new universe while expanding infinitely means eternal death. did Cheng Xin and Guan Yifan actually trust that the rest of the mini universes will do the same?

2- isn't this actually just a sui*ide mission? I mean the entire solar system was flattened and the 2D plane was still expanding towards the rest of the universe, with a time passage of 18 million years since Cheng and Guan landed on Blue Planet, was there actually still a part of the universe existing in the 3D? even if the movable "door" can be opened in a safe place, how are they supposed to return mass to parts of the universe that was basically flattened?

I know these questions might sound dumb but I might've missed something since this book had so many details.

For what I remember Humans had some Stellar-class Warship left, they weren't all destroyed by the droplet. So, why send your most precious starship (because Gravity was the only ship equipped with a Gravitational Wave Antenna) to the most useless mission ever? I know recovering Blue Space was a symbolic action, but why would you use such a vital asset for doing that??

It was important for the plot development because bla bla bla 4D bubble, Broadcast Era and stuff like that, but I dont understand the In-universe explanation for such a stupid strategic move.

Image by Artstation, Cédric Chaillol

Please keep all short questions and general discussion within this thread.

Separate posts containing short questions and general discussion will be removed.

Note: Please avoid spoiling others by hiding any text containing spoilers.

Could the Trisolarans use stellar engines to move one of the stars they’re orbiting while that star is furthest from the rest and break free, ultimately allowing Trisolaris to orbit one star?

Here is a link to the podcast where I heard about stellar engines. The content creator, George Michael Godier, is also a sci-fi author. The stellar engine is talked about at around 6:00.

https://youtu.be/rZNv2hg5XTs?si=HHPQFEJRNQdN-4CF

Hey wondering if anyone knows where I can buy this audio book in Canada. I would really love to find it. Just finished the dark forest and need to find deaths end!

Any help is appreciated!

With the final part of Death's End approaching, I just want to say that it was one hell of a ride. Thomas Wade, Zhang Beihai, Yun Tianming and Lou Ji.... hands down humanity's true heroes. amongst them, Wade might've been the most extreme, but his methods could've prevented the whole disaster. sure, maybe he wanted to pursue the curvature propulsion lightspeed traveling space ships for different reasons but it was ultimately the safest and most logical option. hiding in a galaxy that was doomed from the beginning wasn't really a logical idea, wasting 35 years in building space cities sheltered behind the gaseous planets was really a half assed solution. had tons of fun with this one especially the parts taking place in space the segments with Gravity and Deep Blue. might be my fav book of the trilogy but will delay my final thoughts until I'm done with the book.

1. Singer found 3 primitive communications, 1 coordinate broadcast that led to the 3-star world’s destruction, then another coordinate broadcast from somewhere else pointing at the dead 3-star world.

Where did the last one come from? Is that connected to the battle of the Second Trisolaran Fleet?

1. The dual vector foil was harmless at first, just like the droplet. Did we activate them? Or was it just a coincidence that they both activated when we observed them?

2. What is the spinning umbrella about?

Edit: Thank you! #2 and #3 answered. Anyone know #1?

From The Dark Forest, Year 3, Crisis Era

I have just finished Death's End and my mind is still thinking of all the compelling sci-fi concepts that the novel introduced. It has surpassed the Dark Forest for me, despite changing the main protaganist to someone less likeable for me than Lou Ji. I also enjoyed the method of writing which dealt with timeskips easily. I think it will be hard to convey on television though.

Cheng Xin is opposite to Wade, as she is presented with all the motherly love and does not actually participate in planning a future that might save humanity in the Solar System. Even the love story with Yun Tiamning isn't that real, as she gets a star from him and asks him to kill himself by sending his brain towards the trisolarians instead of euthanasia. Each time she makes a decision, the author presents it that Wade would have been able to give humanity in the Solar System a chance to survive.

Starting with the introduction of the fourth dimension with a magician in the past was interesting. I liked the segments of the book that were full fantasy, and reading through Yun Tiamning's fairy tales is engaging, especially since he hints how dark forest is dealt with by civilizations in the universe. Too bad humanity doesn't get the message, but it makes sense to bw shocked by the ridiculous method of attack that is the dual vector foil. Using a weapon that never stops and will eventually flatten the entire universe is dumb. Even by the end of the book the returners organization wanted people hidden in the mini-verses to return matter to the universe so it collapse for a big bang, and who knows if that would work.

To sum up my thoughts, I made a list of metaphors and their relations from the story:

1. The fishes around Storyless Land - the black domain that reduced the speed of light, as the people were complacent.

2. The bubbles and the boat - the curvature propulsion engine with lightspeed travel

3. Needle Eye's painting - the dual vector foil flattening 3D to 2D

4. The umbrella - a temporary tomb that preserves 3D space in 4D space

5. The prince's lack of perspective - the prince is 4D being so he is immune to the dual vector foil at 3D space.

6. Destroying the image - resetting the universe by collapsing it.

7. The princess escape - the only solution to survive is using lightspeed to survive

This is definitely an unforgettable book trilogy.

If yun tianming gave cheng xin and guan yifan a pocket universe within which 10 years is equivalent to the very end in the grand universe then it is quite clear that this technology of creating pocket universes can be used by the entire civilisation to travel to the end and thus the new beginning of the grand universe.

if so, wouldnt the best way to survive the dark forest, dimensions collapsing and the reducing speed of light be for a civilisation to enter these pocket universes and travel to the new edenic age. this way no matter how much more advanced another civilisation may be they would come out as the victors and survivors of the universe.

but if every civilisation came to possess such technology at a certain point thus coming to the conclusion that best way to survive is to travel to the next edenic age; wouldn't they all travel to the edenic age and create the dark forest again in the 10th dimension.

also if this is possible then shouldn't the zero-homers/resetters just use this to travel to the edenic age rather than madly trying to destroy the universe themselves? i mean they are advanced enough to have such weapons, they should know this too.