The Three-Body Problem

“Even a fish can be used to commit a crime.”

Shi’s blunt, uncouth insight is a stark reminder to the academic Wang of the importance of perspective. Shi innately understands complicated topics but lacks the education needed to express such ideas in an academic manner. Shi is like the fish used to commit a crime, an unconventional but effective object which becomes useful when circumstances arise.

“Her world was too simple, and all she had were ethereal theories. When they collapsed, she had nothing to lean on to keep on living.”

Ye Wenjie regrets introducing abstract topics into her daughter’s life. This regret ironically foreshadows her decision to invite the Trisolarans to Earth. The aliens have the potential to completely alter the way in which humans relate to one another, turning a relatively simple world into a complex one. Ye makes the same mistake with the aliens as she did with her daughter.

“It’s my turn, at least.”

Wang’s process of learning about the three-body problem mirrors his efforts in the Three Body game. In the game, he uses his experiences to inform his decisions as each generation builds on the mistakes of the past. In reality, the fates of the less fortunate scientists who came before him help inform him of what he should do next. He’s the latest iteration in reality, just like the civilizations in the game. Just like for them, the threat is existential and must be solved now that it’s his “turn.”

“But pseudoscience is afraid of one particular type of people who are very hard to fool: stage magicians.”

As a scientist and an academic, Wang is well-aware that the intellectual reputation of his field is overstated. Scientists can easily be tricked by hoaxes and lies, which often require someone well-practiced in deceit to reveal. The fallibility of science and the interdependence of various fields is a recurring idea in a novel in which scientists don’t always agree and men like Shi are needed to find solutions beyond the comprehension of the intellectuals.

“I hope that you can continue to work hard and earn the trust of the organization as a whole.”

Lei’s comment about trustworthiness is particularly ironic given his character. He’s currently in the process of lying to Ye about the base’s purpose, though he later steals her research to improve his own reputation. Lei manipulates the importance of political status on the base for his own benefit, turning Ye’s unfortunate past against her.

“Someone truly neutral will then be able to comment on whether we’re the heroes or villains of history.”

The authorities’ desire for an external, objective form of judgment is a mistake, revealing their naivety. The potential aliens are invested with a near godlike quality that suggests they don’t have their own morality or objectives. As evidenced by the agenda of the Trisolarans, this isn’t the case. The hope for a “truly neutral” form of alien life is essentially a hope for the existence of a god that can provide the judgment and validation that people crave.

“I had hopes for you, but you’re nothing more than another mystic or warlock.”

Galileo’s comments echo Wang’s own discussion with Shi about how stage magicians can spot pseudoscience better than trained scientists. The scientists in the game dismiss Wang as a “mystic or warlock,” placing him in the same category as magicians. Despite their dismissal, Wang correctly critiques their view of the universe and presents a more complete model. Wang, like Shi and the stage magicians, provides the criticism that these characters don’t want to hear.

“Every morning when I see the sunrise, it feels like a sunset.”

Wei has spent so long examining the three-body problem that his perspective on something as seemingly settled as the sun’s cycle has completely changed. To him, a sunrise now seems like a sunset. Emotionally, the beginning now feels like the end. While he struggles to put these feelings into words, he’s hinting at the sense that his work heralds the end of the world through the arrival of the Trisolarans. The sunrise of his work foreshadows the sunset of the aliens’ arrival.

“We welcome you to attend.”

The meet-up of Three Body players echoes the initial contact between humanity and the Trisolarans. Years before, Ye was the first person to figure out how to send messages beyond the galaxy. She received a response, inviting a meet-up between the two groups. Similarly, Wang passes a test. The entire Three Body game is a test designed to find like-minded people. Just as the Trisolarans first found Ye, their sympathizers use the game to find like-minded people.

“No matter what the Trisolarans are like, their arrival will be good news for the terminally ill human race.”

The humans who welcome the Trisolarans cite many reasons for their perspective. While some crave judgment or assistance, others view the matter in far more nihilistic terms. If the human race is “terminally ill,” nothing the Trisolarans can do will help. Instead, the humans will simply surrender their planet to the aliens and be deservedly exterminated. Those who make this argument have the bleakest view of humanity and crave their own annihilation.

“Wang looked around and noticed everyone was gazing up at the sky.”

When Wang sees the millions of Trisolarans staring up at the sky, he senses their hopelessness. This hopelessness acts as an ironic inverse to the hopelessness of humanity. The Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet is traveling to Earth to invade and conquer humanity, and many humans are so helpless that all they can do is stare up at the sky and wait to be destroyed. Both populations are staring up at the sky, separated by four light-years, both seemingly helpless to stop their own apparently inevitable destruction. This shared helplessness reveals the subtle similarities between humans and Trisolarans.

“I’ve only just started.”

Ye Wenjie’s story about the history of the Red Coast Base functions as a symbol of her wider objective. The more she tells her story, the clearer her objective becomes. Just as she has only just started the story, she has only just started the mission. The story—and the mission itself—will resolve itself only with the arrival of the Trisolarans. Ye’s past is a narrative device that mirrors the narrative of the entire book, reminding Wang of how little he knows.

“The letter said that he had not imagined that there would be colleagues in China studying planetary electromagnetism.”

The censorious conditions of China during the 1970s are such that communication between Ye and scientists in America functions almost like communications between Earth and Trisolaris. The cultural separation creates the sense of the US and China being alien worlds, in which scientists in similar fields aren’t even aware of one another’s existence. The brief communication between Ye and an American scientist heralds her communication with Trisolaris and foreshadows her establishment of an international organization to bring the Trisolarans to Earth.

“Even the human laws of warfare no longer apply to you.”

The humans who want to bring the Trisolarans to Earth are no longer bound by the morals that govern society. Their actions are so transgressive and so beyond human comprehension that they’re no longer legally protected by human rights. The decision they have made—to bring about the destruction of the entire species—separates them from the rest of humanity to such an extent that they’re no longer the same species in a legal sense.

“I had finally found a goal to which I could devote myself.”

Ye quickly comes to terms with the moral implications of what she has done. She knows that she may have doomed the entire human species by contacting the Trisolarans. In this context, two more murders barely register on her conscience. She’s working toward the goal of destroying humanity, so her husband’s death is a necessary sacrifice and a way to demonstrate that her life finally has a goal.

“Sooner or later, the persecuted and sidelined old cadres would be back in power.”

Chinese society, like the Trisolaran world, moves in cycles of destruction and rebirth. The people sidelined during the Chinese Cultural Revolution were inevitably welcomed back into the mainstream and forgiven. Ye is one of these people, who took drastic action during her time away. The rapid escalation of society and the destruction brought about by her escalation is akin to the rapid pace at which Trisolaran society develops during Stable Eras.

“This is only an insignificant episode in a vaster process.”

Evans’ father justifies his greed by claiming that the environmental damage done by an oil spill is inconsequential because it’s simply part of a vast and unstoppable destructive process. This complete abdication of responsibility is ironic in the sense that the oil executive has no idea how inconsequential his actions are in terms of Ye’s decision to contact the Trisolarans. He doesn’t understand that he himself is an insignificant figure in a vaster and even more destructive process.

“The world belongs to Trisolaris.”

The members of the ETO unite under the principle that they’re delighted to be handing Earth over to the Trisolarans. However, the nature of their slogan reveals the inherent selfishness of the act. Earth is not theirs to give away, and their decision couldn’t be less democratic. Rather than invoke the judging of an objective outsider, they’ve allowed their subjectivity to overrule their sense of morality and fairness. They’ve deemed themselves the judge, jury, and executioner while pretending that they’re the arbiters of fairness.

“Solving the three-body problem had become a religious ritual of their faith.”

The science of the three-body problem is so advanced that it comes to resemble religion and superstition. For the characters, the sufficiently advanced mathematics required to solve the problem obfuscates the supposedly universal languages of physics and math. The solution isn’t the goal; the ritual of trying to find the solution is an act of devotion, performed for the benefit of an external force for superstitious reasons rather than academic advancement.

“I don’t know anything. What can a bug know?”

The more Wang learns about the Trisolarans and the fate of the planet, the more nihilistic he feels. He scathingly compares himself to a bug, rejecting the fundamental, practical science that he has conducted all his life. The old Wang would have sought to discover what he knows; this Wang embraces his limitations and is freed by the idea that he’s comparatively as intelligent as an insect, which frees him from the burden of responsibility.

“The information we need to obtain has to do with the very survival of human civilization.”

The humans and the Trisolarans aren’t so different. When faced with existential threats, they’re willing to sacrifice lives to ensure that their civilization survives. The Trisolarans are the more advanced race technologically and in terms of sacrificing in the name of preservation, but the attack on the ETO ship shows that humanity is quickly learning what’s necessary to preserve Earth’s survival.

“You’re the greatest criminal in all the cycles of Trisolaran civilization.”

The listener is told that he’s the greatest criminal in the history of civilization. In this respect, he’s not unlike Ye Wenjie. She betrays her species and welcomes the Trisolarans to Earth, while the listener tries to subvert her. On Earth, Ye is a monster, and on Trisolaris, she’s a hero. On Trisolaris, the listener is a criminal, yet he’d be considered a hero on Earth. Their moral rulings are merely a matter of perspective.

“From now on, there will be no more secrets.”

The Battle Command Center will be forced to deal with a world in which their enemy can see every decision they make across a multidimensional space. They’ll have no way to hide or to operate in secret. Instead, humanity faces an unprecedented threat. Secrets are now worthless, indicating the way that humans must grow and adapt to their changing conditions if they’re to survive.