Three-Body Episode 21 Recap
> Three-Body Recap
During his interrogation, Pan Han admitted to having conversed with Shen Yufei about math, physics, and philosophy, noting that they were both members of the Frontiers of Science. When confronted with evidence that he had threatened Wei Cheng and destroyed his computer, Pan Han dismissed Wei Cheng as a "math lunatic" and claimed he merely intended to stop him and Shen Yufei from engaging in meaningless research on the Three-Body problem.
Pan Han confirmed he was the last person Shen Yufei saw before her death, but was unconcerned as surveillance footage showed he had left her house beforehand. The footage revealed Shen Yufei sitting alone for a long time before taking her own life, a fact corroborated by the autopsy report. Pan Han coldly stated that Shen Yufei had seen the truth and made her choice.
Meanwhile, a distraught Wei Cheng awoke and desperately asked if their efforts had succeeded, only to be informed of Shen Yufei's demise. Upon seeing her body, he refused to accept her death, convinced that something had gone wrong, and immediately reverted to frantic calculations. Wang Miao, deeply affected by Shen Yufei's death, reflected on how she had been alive and speaking to him just an hour before, only to become a cold body.
He questioned whether she was truly an enemy, as enemies typically do not commit suicide, emphasizing the need to investigate what truly transpired within the Three-Body game. Shi Qiang, recalling a grim memory from a past war, told Wang Miao they had no time to mourn and must act decisively. Wang Miao then revealed that Shen Yufei and he had made a final effort which only confirmed that the Three-Body problem was unsolvable.
Shortly after, Wang Miao received an email inviting him to an offline gathering of Three-Body players, and Shi Qiang urged him to attend, reiterating that they had no time for sorrow. Wang Miao arrived at the meet-up, observing the sparse attendance.
Wang Miao, upon hearing from a journalist present, realized that despite the small number, the attendees were highly accomplished individuals, including Mr. Bai, a renowned scholar; a Puli Prize-winning author; the vice president of China's largest software company; and a high-level executive from the State Power Corporation. He communicated with Shi Qiang via text.
Pan Han, who was hosting the gathering, welcomed the attendees, describing them as social elites for whom the Three-Body game was specifically designed due to its profound content and complexity. Wang Miao, introducing himself as a nanomaterials researcher and a Ph. D. student in earth management sci-tech, then posed a critical question to the group: Was Three-Body merely a game, or did the world of Trisolaris truly exist?
Pan Han did not directly answer, but his subsequent discussion affirmed the reality of the Three-Body world. He explained that Trisolarans could indeed dehydrate themselves to survive harsh climates and that the Trisolaran human-array computer, though seemingly unrealistic, was a functional entity, using light-speech for rapid communication facilitated by reflective body surfaces. He confirmed the existence of three suns as the basis of the Trisolaran environment. Pan Han then revealed the game’s simple goal: to gather like-minded individuals.
He then presented the central question to the group: If Trisolaran civilization truly existed and was seeking a new home, what would be their attitude? He introduced the analogy of the Aztecs, implying that external intervention, even violent, could prevent a civilization from becoming excessively dark and bloody.
While two attendees expressed strong reservations about the dangerous implications of such a discussion, the majority voiced their profound disappointment with human society and its inability to self-improve, eagerly anticipating an external force like the Trisolaran civilization to bring about change and "true beauty." When asked for his stance, Wang Miao declared his support for their views.
Pan Han then asked the two dissenting individuals to leave, informing them that their game accounts would be deleted, before welcoming the remaining attendees into the Earth-Trisolaris Organization (ETO), declaring them "comrades." Later, Wang Miao elucidated his newfound conviction to Shi Qiang, explaining that the game revealed a reality where civilizations were reborn from destruction, turning miracles into necessity. He shared his certainty that an alien civilization existed on a planet encircled by three suns, possessing an undying civilization.
Shi Qiang, initially skeptical, was convinced by Wang Miao's detailed account, which tied the countdown, the universe flicker, and the scientists' suicides to this alien "Lord" and their human collaborators. He deduced that the ETO members, including Shen Yufei and Pan Han, were likely aided by these aliens, allowing them to evade capture.
Wang Miao further explained that the ETO's common ideal stemmed from the Three-Body problem having no solution, making finding a new home their only choice, which they believed to be Earth. Shi Qiang reported this shocking revelation to Chang Weisi, who acknowledged it as their worst-case scenario. Chang Weisi stressed the urgency of the situation, recognizing that while they didn't know when or how the aliens would arrive, the ETO likely possessed this knowledge.
He called for unprecedented global unity and transparency among all battle sectors to dismantle the ETO and share any discoveries immediately. Meanwhile, Pan Han had been actively meeting with members of the Frontiers of Science. Mu Xing, a reporter who had recently returned from abroad, had also been investigating "the Lord" and interviewed foreign scientists who believed in the aliens' impending arrival to transform humanity. Shi Qiang, learning of Pan Han's visit to Mu Xing's studio, went to meet her.
Mu Xing shared reports on the universe flicker that had been suppressed by authorities, highlighting a global information blockade. Shi Qiang, suspecting Pan Han was providing her with information, probed her about "the Lord" organization behind him, a concept Mu Xing was also aware of. While Mu Xing found the idea of an alien civilization acceptable, she doubted anyone would believe her if she reported it, fearing it would be dismissed as a stunt.
Despite her fatalistic view that humanity, as a "backward civilization," was destined for replacement, she agreed to cooperate with Shi Qiang. She revealed that she had already planted a Trojan horse in Pan Han's computer but was unable to access it due to encryption, which Shi Qiang promised to handle using their resources. Under Chang Weisi's urgent command, the decryption of Pan Han's computer files progressed rapidly.
As the first part of the files was successfully decrypted, a list of ETO members, mostly in Europe, was uncovered. Pan Han, in a calm phone conversation with Evans, discussed the ETO's internal factions, labeling Shen Yufei as an "Adventist" who ultimately failed to grasp human nature.
He suggested a strategy to take advantage of the decrypted list, proposing "unconditional arrests" for those members to be carried out by the Battle Command Center, which he believed would eagerly "eliminate them," securing a "great victory" for their side. Pan Han also noted the "Commander" was not on the list and pondered her faction.
Furthermore, he proposed shutting down the Three-Body game servers, believing the game, originally meant to educate selected individuals about Trisolaris, was ironically fostering the "Redemptionists" faction, who absurdly believed they could solve the Three-Body problem themselves. Later, at home, Wang Miao had a conversation with Doudou about aliens.
Despite his earlier conviction, he admitted to her that he couldn't answer with 100% certainty whether aliens existed or would come to Earth, humbly stating that in the face of the vast universe, they were all still learning.
