Three-Body Episode 6 Recap
> Three-Body Recap
Shi Qiang presents Chang Weisi with a series of photographs taken by Wang Miao, each displaying a mysterious countdown. He explains that while the countdown initially appeared only in the photos, it has now progressed to where Wang Miao sees it directly in his vision.
Shi Qiang recounts a story about a superstitious former colleague to illustrate his belief that strange events always have a cause, but admits this countdown is exceptionally bizarre, especially since it disappeared when Wang Miao halted his nano experiment. He reveals that Shen Yufei was the one who told Wang Miao to stop his research. Puzzled by the countdown's origin and what happens when it reaches zero, Chang Weisi assigns Shi Qiang the mission to find answers.
Shi Qiang asserts that Shen Yufei's significant investment in Wang Miao makes him their crucial entry point. As Shi Qiang departs, Chang Weisi takes a cigarette from his pack, leaving only a single one, a nod to the superstition and a wish for success. After consulting Professor Peng about the possibility of the universe flickering, Chang Weisi convenes a multi-national meeting.
He reports a new, unprecedented phenomenon in the Asian Combat Zone: a scientist, Wang Miao, is seeing a countdown projected directly onto his retina. Shi Qiang then approaches Wang Miao, insisting that all recent strange events are linked to Shen Yufei and the Frontiers of Science, and proposes that Wang Miao go undercover within the organization.
Wang Miao, now disillusioned, shares his new perspective: he believes the group is trying to force him to accept that humanity is like a flock of turkeys on a farm, oblivious to their true fate. Shi Qiang dismisses this, calling himself a "bodyguard turkey" who will protect Wang Miao. He reveals a custom-made timer strapped to his chest, declaring that if Wang Miao's countdown reaches zero, his will as well.
The two men then synchronize their timers, solidifying their shared mission. With their countdowns synchronized, Shi Qiang questions Wang Miao about the progress of his "Flying Blade" experiment. Wang Miao explains that his team is using a resource-intensive method and is trying to find a more efficient substitute, but the experiment is not yet complete. Shi Qiang optimistically suggests the countdown might signal the experiment's success.
Wang Miao then asks if anyone else who had contact with Shen Yufei, besides those who committed suicide, is still alive. Shi Qiang confirms that Yang Dong's mother, Ye Wenjie, is alive and seems to be living a normal life.
He speculates briefly if Ye Wenjie might also see the countdown but dismisses it, reasoning that since she helped Wang Miao get access to the observatory for his cosmic radiation observation, she would have likely revealed it if she saw it too. Chang Weisi provides Shi Qiang with a spacious museum warehouse as his new office and introduces Xu Bingbing, a CID agent whose efficiency is "worth ten agents."
Shi Qiang, unimpressed, demands the ten specialists he was promised and humorously declares Xu Bingbing his "hostage." He tests her by assigning a massive workload: clean the office immaculately and retrieve extensive information on Ye Wenjie, a reporter named Mu Xing, and a list of scientists and their families, all by day's end. Xu calmly accepts. Meanwhile, Wang Miao's daughter, Doudou, expresses her wish for him to stay home more.
Wang Miao visits Ye Wenjie, who vaguely recalls Shen Yufei as another nanotechnology researcher. During their talk, Wang Miao asks about the "universe flicker." Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist, calmly explains that scientific panic is a recurring event in history, citing the persecution of figures like Copernicus and Bruno for theories now considered basic facts. She suggests that problems that seem immense today may seem commonplace in the future.
Xu Bingbing demonstrates her remarkable competence by quickly delivering all the requested files, impressing Shi Qiang. She then plans to investigate Sha Ruishan, Ye Wenjie's student, who witnessed the flicker with Wang Miao. Wang Miao tells Shi Qiang that his conversation with Ye Wenjie has calmed him, making him more receptive to the idea that humanity might simply be unaware of its true nature, like Schrödinger's cat.
He clarifies that he sees a "third possibility" beyond living or dead: that physics itself has ceased to exist. He relays Ye Wenjie's nuanced view: "Physics has not ceased to exist; it's just that the physics we know might not exist." Sha Ruishan later explains to Shi Qiang the impossibly massive scale required to artificially create the universe flicker—a screen 300,000 kilometers wide, 150,000 kilometers from Earth—concluding it's a feat achievable only by mythology, not science.
In his new office, Shi Qiang guides Wang Miao through Ye Wenjie's tragic past. Her father, the scientist Ye Zhetai, was denounced by her own younger sister, Ye Wenxue. During a brutal public struggle session, his wife, Shao Lin, joined their daughter in disavowing him, a betrayal that shattered him before his eventual suicide.
Wang Miao now understands Ye Wenjie’s calm reaction to her own daughter’s death, theorizing that she may see it as a form of release from the suffering caused by the perceived "non-existence of physics." Shi Qiang, however, finds her composure unsettling, believing her deep familial loss should have fostered a greater attachment to life and that her resilience must stem from a more complex reason.
He points out her contradictory statements about having little contact with Shen Yufei while seeming to align with the Frontiers of Science's philosophy. As they talk, Shen Yufei receives an order from her "Lord": eliminate Wang Miao if he continues his research. Shen argues against the command, proposing they try to "rope him in" and convert him to their cause instead.
