The Three-Body Problem

by Liu Cixin

  “System lockup!” a signal officer called out. Shortly after, the reason for the malfunction was determined: There was an error with the operation of one of the gates in the CPU status register.

  “Restart system!” Von Neumann ordered confidently.

  “Wait!” Newton stopped the signal officer. He turned with an insidious expression and said to Qin Shi Huang, “Your Imperial Majesty, in order to improve system stability, you should take certain maintenance measures with respect to faulty components.”

  Qin Shi Huang grasped his sword and said, “Replace the malfunctioning component and behead all the soldiers who made up that gate. In the future, any malfunctions will be dealt with the same way!”

  Von Neumann glanced at Newton, disgusted. They watched as a few riders dashed into the motherboard with their swords unsheathed. After they “repaired” the faulty component, the order to restart was given. This time, the operation went very smoothly. Twenty minutes later, Three Body’s Von Neumann architecture human-formation computer had begun full operations under the Qin 1.0 operating system.

  “Run solar orbit computation software ‘Three Body 1.0’!” Newton screamed at the top of his lungs. “Start the master computing module! Load the differential calculus module! Load the finite element analysis module! Load the spectral method module! Enter initial condition parameters … and begin calculation!”

  The motherboard sparkled as the display formation flashed with indicators in every color. The human-formation computer began the long computation.

  “This is really interesting,” Qin Shi Huang said, pointing to the spectacular sight. “Each individual’s behavior is so simple, yet together, they can produce such a complex, great whole! Europeans criticize me for my tyrannical rule, claiming that I suppress creativity. But in reality, a large number of men yoked by severe discipline can also produce great wisdom when bound together as one.”

  “Great First Emperor, this is just the mechanical operation of a machine, not wisdom. Each of these lowly individuals is just a zero. Only when someone like you is added to the front as a one can the whole have any meaning.” Newton’s smile was ingratiating.

  “Disgusting philosophy!” Von Neumann said as he glanced at Newton. “If, in the end, the results computed in accordance with your theory and mathematical model don’t match reality, then you and I aren’t even zeroes.”

  “Indeed. If that turns out to be the case, you will be nothing!” Qin Shi Huang turned and left the scene.

  * * *

  Time passed quickly. The human-formation computer operated for a year and four months. Subtracting out the time spent to adjust the programming, the actual processing time was approximately a year and two months. During this time, processing had to be stopped twice due to extremely bad weather in Chaotic Eras. But the computer stored the data at the time of each shutdown, and was able to resume calculations successfully after the pauses. By the time Qin Shi Huang and the European scholars ascended the pyramid again, the first phase of the computation was complete. The results precisely described the orbits of the three suns for the next two years.

  It was a chilly dawn. The torches that had kept the motherboard lit through the night were extinguished. After the final calculation, Qin I entered standby mode. The turbulent waves over the motherboard settled into light ripples.

  Von Neumann and Newton presented the scroll with the results of the computation to Qin Shi Huang. Newton said, “Great First Emperor, the calculations were completed three days ago. We waited until now to present the results to you because they show that the long night is about to be over. We’ll soon welcome the first sunrise of a long Stable Era, which will last more than a year. Judging by the orbital parameters, the climate will be extremely mild and comfortable. Please revive your empire and order everyone to be rehydrated.”

  “Ever since the start of this computation, my empire has never been dehydrated,” Qin Shi Huang said in a huff, grabbing the scroll. “I’ve devoted all the resources of the Qin Empire to maintain the operation of the computer, and we’ve run out of stored supplies. For this computer, countless people have died of hunger, cold, and heat.” Qin pointed into the distance with the scroll. By the dim dawn light, they could see tens of white lines radiating from the edges of the motherboard in every direction, disappearing over the horizon. These were the supply routes from every corner of the empire.

  “Your Imperial Majesty, you will find that the sacrifices are worth it,” Von Neumann said. “After mastering the orbits of the suns, Qin will develop by leaps and bounds, and will grow many times more powerful than before.”

  “According to the calculations, the sun is about to rise. Great First Emperor, prepare to receive your glory!”

  As if in response to Newton’s words, a sliver of red sun peeked over the horizon, bathing the pyramid and the human-formation computer in a golden light. A wave of joyous cries rose from the motherboard.

  A man hurried toward them. He was running so fast that, as he knelt down, he couldn’t catch his breath. He was the emperor’s astronomy minister.

  “Sire, the calculations were in error. Disaster is about to befall us!”

  “What are you babbling about?” Without even waiting for the emperor to speak, Newton kicked the man. “Don’t you see that the sun is rising at the exact moment predicted by our precise calculations?”

  “But…” The minister half straightened, one hand pointing at the sun. “How many suns do you see?”

  Everyone gazed at the rising sun, confused. “Minister, you received a proper Western education and obtained a doctorate from the University of Cambridge,” Von Neumann said. “You must at least know how to count. Of course there’s only one sun in the sky. And the temperature is very comfortable.”

  “No. There are three!” The minister cried, tears flowing from his face. “The other two are behind that one!”

  Everyone stared at the sun again, still confused.

  “The Imperial Observatory has confirmed that right now we are experiencing the extremely rare phenomenon of a tri-solar syzygy. The three suns are in a straight line, moving around our planet at the same angular speed! Thus, our planet and the three suns are in a straight line with our world at the end!”

  “You’re certain that the observation is not in error?” Newton grabbed the collar of the astronomy minister.

  “Absolutely certain. The observation was conducted by the Western astronomers of the Imperial Observatory, including Kepler and Herschel. They’re using the largest telescope in the world, imported from Europe.”

  Newton let go of the minister and stood up. Wang saw that his face was pale, but his expression was one of pure joy. He clasped his two hands in front of his chest and said to Qin Shi Huang, “Oh Greatest, Most Honorable Emperor, this is the most propitious sign of them all! Now that the three suns are orbiting around our planet, your empire is the center of the universe. This is God’s reward for our efforts. Let me check the calculations one more time. I will prove this!”

  While the rest remained stunned, Newton slipped away. Later, others would report that Sir Isaac had stolen a horse and left for parts unknown.

  An anxiety-filled moment of silence later, Wang suddenly said, “Your Imperial Majesty, please unsheathe your sword.”

  “What do you want?” Qin Shi Huang asked, baffled. But he gestured at the soldier by his side, and the soldier pulled the sword out of its scabbard.

  Wang said, “Please try to swing it.”

  Qin Shi Huang held the sword and waved it around. His expression turned to one of surprise. “Oh, why is it so light?”

  “The game’s V-suit cannot simulate the feeling of diminished gravity. Otherwise we’d feel that we’re much lighter as well.”

  “Look! Down there! Look at the horses, and the men!” Someone cried out. Everyone looked down and saw a column of cavalry moving at the foot of the pyramid. All the horses seemed to be floating. Each horse drifted over a long distance before the four ho
oves struck ground again. They also saw several running men. With each step, the men leapt a dozen meters, falling slowly back to the ground. On top of the pyramid, a soldier tried to jump up, and easily reached the height of three meters.

  “What is going on?” Qin Shi Huang looked at the soldier slowly falling back down.

  “Sire, the three suns are over our planet in a straight line, so their gravitational forces are added together.…” The astronomy minister tried to explain, but discovered that his two feet had already left the ground and he was now horizontal. The others were also floating in the air, leaning at different angles. Like a bunch of men who had fallen into water without knowing how to swim, they clumsily waved their limbs, trying to stabilize themselves but colliding into each other instead.

  The ground they had just left now cracked open like a spiderweb. The cracks grew fast, and, accompanied by thunderous crashes and sky-obscuring dust, the pyramid below them broke into its constituent blocks. Through the slowly drifting gigantic blocks, Wang saw the Great Hall below come apart. The large cauldron that had once cooked Fu Xi and the iron stake to which he had once been bound were both adrift.

  The sun rose to the middle of the sky. Everything that floated—men, colossal blocks of stone, astronomical instruments, bronze cauldrons—began to rise slowly, then accelerated. Wang glanced at the human-formation computer and saw a nightmarish sight: The thirty million men who had formed the motherboard were floating away from the earth and rising, like a swarm of ants sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. The ground they left behind clearly displayed the marks of the motherboard circuits. The set of intricate, complex markings that could only be taken in from a great height would become an archaeological site that would confuse the next Three Body civilization, in the distant future.

  Wang looked up. The sky was obscured by a strangely mottled layer of clouds. The clouds were made of dust, stones, humans, and other odds and ends. The sun sparkled behind them. In the far distance, Wang saw a long range of transparent mountains also rising up. The mountains were crystal clear, and changed shapes as they sparkled—they were formed from the ocean, which was also being attracted into space.

  Everything on the surface of the Three Body world rose toward the sun.

  Wang looked around and saw Von Neumann and Qin Shi Huang. As he drifted, Von Neumann shouted at Qin Shi Huang, but there was no sound. A small set of subtitles appeared: I figured it out! Electronic elements! We can use electronic elements to make gate circuits and combine them into computers! Such computers will be many times faster and take up much less space. I estimate that a small building will be sufficient.… Your Imperial Majesty, are you listening?

  Qin Shi Huang swung his long sword at Von Neumann. The latter kicked at a giant block of stone drifting nearby and dodged out of the way. The long sword struck the stone, causing sparks to fly, and broke itself into two pieces. Right after, the giant block of stone collided with another, with Qin Shi Huang in the middle. Stone chips and flesh and blood scattered everywhere, an appalling sight.

  But Wang did not hear the noise made by colliding stones. Around him it was completely silent. Because the atmosphere was gone, there was no more sound. As the bodies drifted, their blood boiled in the vacuum and their inner organs were vomited out, until they turned into strange blobs surrounded by crystalline clouds made from the liquid they exuded. Also, due to the lack of an atmosphere, the sky turned pitch black. Everything that had floated into space from the Three Body world reflected the sunlight and formed a brilliant, starry cloud in space. The cloud then turned into a giant vortex, spiraling toward its final resting place: the sun.

  Wang now saw the sun changing shape. He understood that he was actually seeing the other two suns, both peeking out from behind the first sun. From this perspective, the three stacked suns formed a bright eye in the universe.

  Against the background of the three suns in syzygy, text appeared:

  Civilization Number 184 was destroyed by the stacked gravitational attractions of a tri-solar syzygy. This civilization had advanced to the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.

  In this civilization, Newton established nonrelativistic classical mechanics. At the same time, due to the invention of calculus and the Von Neumann architecture computer, the foundation was set for the quantitative mathematical analysis of the motion of three bodies.

  After a long time, life and civilization will begin once more, and progress through the unpredictable world of Three Body.

  We invite you to log on again.

  * * *

  Just as Wang logged out of the game, a stranger called. The voice on the phone was that of a very charismatic man. “Hello! First, we thank you for giving us your real number. I’m a system administrator for the Three Body game.”

  Wang was both excited and anxious.

  “Please tell us your age, education, employer, and position. You didn’t fill those out when you registered.”

  “What do they have to do with the game?”

  “When you’ve reached this level, you must provide these pieces of information. If you refuse, Three Body will be permanently closed to you.”

  Wang answered the administrator’s questions truthfully.

  “Very good, Professor Wang. You satisfy the conditions for continuing in Three Body.”

  “Thank you. Can I ask you a few questions?”

  “You may not. But tomorrow night there will be a meet-up for Three Body players. We welcome you to attend.” The administrator gave Wang an address.

  18

  Meet-up

  The location for the Three Body players’ meet-up was a small, out-of-the-way coffee shop. Wang had always imagined game meet-ups would be lively events full of people, but this meet-up consisted of only seven players, including himself. Like Wang, the other six did not look like gaming enthusiasts. Only two were relatively young. Another three, including a woman, were middle-aged. There was also an old man who appeared to be in his sixties or seventies.

  Wang had originally thought that as soon as they met they’d begin a lively discussion of Three Body, but he was wrong. The profound but strange content of Three Body had had a psychological impact on the participants. All the players, including Wang himself, couldn’t bring it up easily. They only made simple self-introductions. The old man took out a refined pipe, filled it with tobacco, and smoked as he strolled around, admiring the paintings on the walls. The others sat silently, waiting for the meet-up organizer to show up. They had all come early.

  Actually, of the six, Wang already knew two. The old man was a famous scholar who had made his name by imbuing Eastern philosophy with the content of modern science. The strangely dressed woman was a famous writer, one of those rare novelists who wrote in an avant-garde style but still had many readers. You could start one of her books on any page.

  Of the two middle-aged men, one was a vice president at China’s largest software company, plainly and casually dressed so that his status wasn’t obvious at all; and the other was a high-level executive at the State Power Corporation. Of the two young men, one was a reporter with a major media outlet, and the other was a doctoral student in the sciences. Wang now realized that a considerable number of Three Body players were probably social elites like them.

  The meet-up organizer showed up not long after. Wang’s heart began to beat faster as soon as he saw the man: it was Pan Han, prime suspect for the murder of Shen Yufei. He took out his phone when no one was looking and texted Shi Qiang.

  “Haha, everyone got here early!” Pan greeted them in a relaxed manner, as though nothing was wrong. Appearing in the media, he usually looked disheveled, like a vagrant, but today, he was dressed sharply in a suit and dress shoes. “You’re just like I imagined. Three Body is intended for people in your class because the common crowd cannot appreciate its meaning and mood. To play it well requires knowledge and understanding that ordinary people do not possess.”

  Wang sent out his text: Spotted Pa
n Han. At Yunhe Coffee Shop in Xicheng District.

  Pan continued. “Everyone here is an excellent Three Body player. You have the best scores and are devoted to it. I believe that Three Body is already an important part of your lives.”

  “It’s part of what keeps me alive,” the young doctoral student said.

  “I saw it by accident on my grandson’s computer,” the old philosopher said, lifting his pipe stem. “The young man abandoned it after a few tries, saying it was too abstruse. But I was attracted to it. I find it strange, terrible, but also beautiful. So much information is hidden beneath a simple representation.”

  A few players nodded at this description, including Wang himself.

  Wang received Da Shi’s reply text: We also see him. No worries. Carry on. Play the fanatic in front of them, but not so much that you can’t pull it off.

  “Yes,” the author agreed, and nodded. “I like the literary elements of Three Body. The rises and falls of two hundred and three civilizations evoke the qualities of epics in a new form.”

  She mentioned 203 civilizations, but Wang had only experienced 184. This told Wang that Three Body progressed independently for each player, possibly with different worlds.

  “I’m a bit sick of the real world,” the young reporter said. “Three Body is already my second reality.”

  “Really?” Pan asked, interested.

  “Me too,” the software company vice president said. “Compared to Three Body, reality is so vulgar and unexciting.”

  “It’s too bad that it’s only a game,” said the power company executive.

  “Very good,” Pan said. Wang noticed his eyes sparkling with excitement.

  “I have a question that I think everyone wants to know the answer to,” Wang said.