Three-Body Episode 25 Recap
> Three-Body Recap
That night, the wave pattern on the screen was profoundly different. Ye Wenjie, intimately familiar with the universe's noise waveforms, realized the pattern was intelligently modulated, a stark contrast to the usual C-level signals. This particular signal registered an unprecedented AAAAA rating, indicating it used the very language Red Coast had used for its outbound transmissions. Her deciphering revealed a clear, urgent warning: "Do not answer."
The message continued, explaining that it came from a pacifist in that distant world, who considered it fortunate that their civilization had received the message first. The warning was explicit: "Do not answer. There are tens of millions of stars in your direction. As long as you do not answer, this world will not be able to ascertain the source of your transmission. But if you do answer, the source will be located right away.
Your stellar system will be invaded. Your world will be conquered." Ye Wenjie deduced the source was approximately four light-years away, originating from Alpha Centauri, the closest extra-solar stellar system. In the four hours that followed, she first learned of the existence of another world, Trisolaris, a civilization that had been reborn again and again, and understood their clear intention to migrate to the stars.
Without anyone's knowledge, she transferred all the received information to a multiply-encrypted, invisible subdirectory, replacing the original five hours of data with older noise. She then proceeded to the main control room of transmission, where, in an act of profound defiance, she sent a new message into the cosmos: "Come here. I will help you conquer this world. Our civilization is no longer capable of solving its own problems. We need your force to intervene." Soon after, Ye Wenjie collapsed.
When she regained consciousness, her husband, Yang Weining, was deeply concerned, asking why she had hidden something from him. Believing he had discovered her secret transmission, she cautiously asked if he knew everything. To her surprise, Yang Weining’s worry was about her pregnancy, a fact she had only just learned herself.
She recalled the day she became a mother to her daughter, Yang Dong, musing that it might have been a coincidence, but from that day forward, both her life and the history of human civilization embarked on a fresh start. Later, Ye Wenjie explained to Wang Miao why the Lord sought to eliminate nanomaterial technology.
She revealed that this technology could enable humanity to escape Earth's gravity and expand into space on a massive scale, specifically mentioning the potential for space elevators. She detailed how the mass production of ultrastrong nanomaterials could provide the technical foundation for building space elevators from Earth's surface directly to geostationary orbit. Such a development would allow humans to easily access near-Earth space and construct large-scale defensive structures, which would significantly impede the Lord's advent.
Therefore, this technology had to be suppressed. She acknowledged that while applied research like this might be completed by others, confusing the researchers' minds was the most effective method, leading to the kind of countdown Wang Miao had experienced. Ultimately, Ye Wenjie concluded that all evidence pointed to a grim truth: physics had never truly existed and would never exist. Though she knew her actions were irresponsible, she felt she had no other choice.
Wang Miao, deeply troubled, pressed her for answers about Yang Dong's death. Meanwhile, Shi Qiang, with a large contingent of forces, arrived at the Earth Trisolaran Organization (ETO) gathering point. After securing the perimeter, Chang Weisi gave the order to commence the action. Power was cut, and special forces stormed the building. In the ensuing chaos, Xu Bingbing quickly led Wang Miao away.
Inside, Chen Xue and two others were discovered holding what they declared to be three nuclear bombs, each with a yield of approximately 1. 5 kilotons. They threatened to detonate them, holding a detonator, demanding the release of their "Commander," Ye Wenjie. Ye Wenjie, however, declared her intention to stay with her comrades. Shi Qiang attempted to de-escalate the situation, initially dismissing the bombs as mere balls.
As snipers sought a clear shot, it was determined that directly shooting the spherical objects would only trigger the conventional explosives, not a nuclear blast. Shi Qiang then engaged Chen Xue, attempting to gain her trust by claiming to have found her mother and her letter. As Chen Xue hesitated, reaching for the purported letter, Shi Qiang yelled "Radiation!" as a distraction.
A sniper took the shot, hitting the device in Chen Xue's hand, causing a conventional explosion and scattering the crowd. Amid the confusion and warnings of radiation, Xu Bingbing swiftly escorted Wang Miao out. Shi Qiang, though injured, downplayed his wounds as superficial, joking with Wang Miao that taking on a nuclear bomb with a pistol was enough to brag about for a lifetime, even as he acknowledged the more dangerous threat of radiation.
He shrugged off the risk, stating that if something was meant to be, a smile would let it go. Ye Wenjie, who had put down her weapon, was then apprehended. Chang Weisi began the interrogation of Ye Wenjie. After confirming her identity and background, he informed her that the initial phase of the investigation would focus on ordinary criminal charges, specifically murder, and not delve into higher-level matters. Ye Wenjie stated she understood and would cooperate.
She confessed to killing two people: Political Commissar Lei Zhicheng and her husband, Chief Engineer Yang Weining, both on the afternoon of October 21, 1979. She recounted how, eight years after she had sent her initial signal to the sun, she received the Trisolaran message that day. In the hours following her reception and secret reply, Lei Zhicheng called her to his office. There, she learned that he had also seen the message.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Lei Zhicheng had been secretly running a program on the main computer, creating backups of all Red Coast's sent and received messages, and it was through this hidden archive that he discovered the extraterrestrial transmission. Lei Zhicheng confronted Ye Wenjie, accusing her of deleting or hiding the message for eight hours and planning to reply, which he believed would ruin human civilization.
Ye Wenjie realized he was unaware she had already sent her reply, having bypassed his monitoring program by not using the regular file interface when placing the answer into the transmission buffer. She tried to think of a way to deceive him and cover up her actions.
Lei Zhicheng expressed his lack of pity for her, yet stated he couldn't bear to see Yang Weining and their unborn child ruined by her actions, just as Ye Wenjie herself had been implicated by her father. He urged her to cooperate, suggesting that only he and she knew about the message, and that he would take care of the rest to minimize the impact.
Ye Wenjie then understood his true motive: Lei Zhicheng wished to be the first person to discover extraterrestrial intelligence, a chance to achieve historical renown. She recognized that if he reported the discovery, her reply would soon be found, and humanity would use all its technological and military might to prevent the Trisolarans' arrival. She feigned agreement, but in that moment, she had already made her own final decision.
