Three-Body Episode 10 Recap
> Three-Body Recap
Shi Qiang mused that Shen Yufei's group resembled a pyramid scheme. He concluded that the most significant development in their investigation was the paradox of Yang Dong's death: she hadn't taken her own life when expected, but rather when she appeared to be recovering. Shi Qiang believed understanding this period was crucial and insisted on speaking with Ding Yi again.
When Wang Miao expressed discomfort with repeatedly approaching Ding Yi about his deceased fiancée, Shi Qiang assigned Xu Bingbing to gather details about Yang Dong's activities between the experiment's failure and her suicide. Xu Bingbing returned with information, noting that while marriage is typically important for women, Yang Dong hadn't even chosen her own wedding invitations. She usually disliked shopping and only bought black and white clothing. Wang Miao, however, recalled seeing a red dress at Ding Yi's home.
Xu Bingbing confirmed she had also seen several bright, fashionable dresses with their tags still on, which Yang Dong and Ding Yi had bought together. This transformation, from a woman solely focused on physics to one decorating a new home and preparing for a wedding, struck Wang Miao as abnormal. Ding Yi had recalled a day they spent shopping for furniture where Yang Dong never once mentioned physics, a rare occurrence.
She seemed relaxed, even contemplating a tub for flower petal baths. Shi Qiang suggested this change might signify Yang Dong embracing life after her contact with Shen Yufei, but Wang Miao maintained that for Yang Dong, this behavior was not a sign of recovery but a strange deviation. Wang Miao grew impatient with the investigation. Shi Qiang laid out his conclusion: after interacting with Shen Yufei, Yang Dong seemed to abandon scientific research, choosing to become a "carefree" housewife.
Yet, he questioned why someone so carefree would then commit suicide, especially after accepting a new job offer. He pointed out that Yang Dong had not contacted Shen Yufei during her last three days—the critical period when she likely wrote her suicide note. Wang Miao, having experienced the countdown and universe flicker himself, understood despair but couldn't fathom a shock so profound it would lead to suicide.
Shi Qiang also found it unusual that Yang Dong's mother, Ye Wenjie, had never mentioned any changes in her daughter, despite being a retired academic with ample time. He urged Wang Miao to speak with Ye Wenjie. Frustrated that this was consuming his research time, Wang Miao angrily left, but Shi Qiang sarcastically retorted, "If physics never existed, what is there to research?" Later, Shi Qiang and Chang Weisi discussed their findings.
Chang Weisi admitted that Wang Miao's description of the universe flicker, like a giant movie screen in the sky, was hard to refute except for the fact that humans lack the technology to create it. Taking a logical leap, Shi Qiang suggested that Shen Yufei might be an alien.
When informed of this, Wang Miao declared he didn't care if the force behind everything was aliens or ghosts; he was resolved to understand its true nature, form, power, and purpose, believing this to be of the utmost value. Wang Miao later visited Tsinghua University to give a lecture at Ye Wenjie’s request. Afterward, he mentioned having seen her old files and noted that parts remained classified.
Acknowledging it was a special, memorable period, Ye Wenjie began to recount her experience as an "educated youth" assigned to the Greater Khingan Mountains. There, she met Bai Mulin, a reporter for the "Great Production News". As two of the few educated people in the area, they connected over their shared perspective. Bai Mulin expressed his dismay at the extensive logging, viewing it as environmental destruction.
He shared an English copy of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", which he was translating for an internal-reference report, and revealed his plan to write to the central leadership about the harmful practices. Ye Wenjie secretly kept the book, deeply moved and shocked by its contents. One day, her work crew was sent to cut a firebreak near Radar Peak, a forbidden military zone named for a large parabolic antenna that would occasionally appear on its summit.
Ye Wenjie learned of the strange phenomena associated with it: animals grew anxious, birds scattered, and people experienced dizziness, nausea, and hair loss. Locals also spoke of the weather changing from snow to rain, clear skies turning stormy, and strange lights appearing at night when the antenna was active. When Ye Wenjie went to return the book, Bai Mulin showed her the letter he had written to the central leadership.
After she offered some suggestions for improvement, he decided to re-copy it, but his hands trembled from operating a chainsaw. Ye Wenjie offered to transcribe it for him in her neat handwriting. Bai lamented that a talented astrophysicist like her was wasted in such a place, but Ye Wenjie privately considered herself fortunate to be there. In the quiet hut, with the scratching of her pen and the scent of sawdust, she felt a sense of relaxation and warmth she hadn't experienced since her father's death.
