The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin

‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧‧₊˚✩ ‧˚₊‧

Author: 刘慈欣 Liu Cixin

Title: 三体 The Three Body Problem

Book series: 地球往事 Remembrance of Earth's Past

Genre: 科幻小说 Science Fiction

Date of publication: 2008

Text in Chinese: https://www.feiku6.com/read/santi/8505669.html

Book Introduction

"The Three-Body Problem" is a science fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin, first published in 2008. It's the first book in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. The story begins during China's Cultural Revolution, when a young astrophysicist, disturbed by the humanity's capacity for destruction, sends a message into space, inviting alien civilizations to intervene and take over Earth. Centuries later, the narrative shifts to present-day China, where scientist Wang Miao is recruited to investigate a series of inexplicable deaths among physicists. His investigations lead him to a virtual reality game called "Three Body," which is deeply intertwined with the mystery of the deaths and a global conspiracy.

Chapter 7: INTRODUCTION

In this Chapter the main character - the scientist Wang Miao discovers the "Three Body" game and plays it for the first time. The game serves a significant role in the storyline. It is a virtual reality simulation that involves strategic challenges and puzzles that players must solve. The world of the game is set on an incredibly unwelcome planet, whose harsh conditions make it extremely difficult for humans to survive. The world of the game is very chaotic due to the unpredictable moves of the sun - the sun moves around the planet in a mysterious way, causing irregular seasons, varying from extreme cold to boiling heat. In the Era of Chaos, the temperatures can change rapidly even during one day. In the Era of Stability, the temperatures are good enough for humans to live and build civilization. However, the moves of the sun cannot be predicted, and the players never know when the next Era is about to come, so the civilisation arises and dies over and over again. Because of these terrifying conditions, players of the game must preserve their bodies by occasional "dehydration" - it is a process in which human body removes all water and becomes a light, human-shaped skin that can be preserved for the good times. When the conditions are good again, humans can be returned to life by "hydrating" their bodies once again. The purpose of the game is to discover the rules of this strange world and its physics, so that there is a way for the civilization to exist peacefully.

Aleksandra Urbańska

汪淼在浏览器的地址栏中输入那个很容易记住的游戏网址：www.threebody.com网页上显示该游戏只支持V装具方式。汪淼想起了纳米中心的职工娱乐室里好像有一套V装具，就走出已经空荡荡的中心实验大厅，去值班室要了钥匙，在娱乐室中穿过一排台球桌和健身器材，在一台电脑旁找到了V装具，费了很大劲才把感应服穿上，然后戴上显示头盔，启动电脑。

启动游戏后，汪淼置身于一片黎明之际的荒原，荒原呈暗褐色，细节看不清楚，远方地平线上有一小片白色的曙光，其余的天空则群星闪烁。一声巨响，两座发着红光的山峰砸落到远方的大地上，整个荒原笼罩在红色光芒之中。被激起的遣天蕞日的尘埃散去后，汪淼看清了那两个顶天立地的大字：三体。

Wang Miao searched this website address (which was quite easy to type): www.threebody.com. There was an information that only people who had V costume could participate. He remembered that the costume was in the Nanotechnology Research Centre. He exited the main lab and went to get the keys from the duty room. In the recreation room he passed some pool tables and exercise equipment, he found the V costume next to the computer.

When he entered the game he was in the middle of a desert, it was the break of dawn. The scenery was kind of brown and blurry, it was hard to see any details. On the horizon there was a small white beam of light, the rest of the sky was covered by blinking stars. Suddenly there was a bang and in the distance two large red mountains crumbled down into earth. The whole wasteland was covered by a red glow. When the dust fell, Wang Miao saw two characters written in the middle of heaven and earth: three bodies.

Anna Proskura

随后出现了个注册界面，汪淼用“海人”这个ID注册，然后成功登录。

荒原依旧，但V装具感应服中的压缩机咝咝地启动了，汪淼感到一股逼人的寒气。前方出现了两个行走的人影，在曙光的背景前呈黑色的剪影……汪淼追了上去，他看到两人都是男性，披着破烂的长袍，外面还裹着一张肮脏的兽皮，都带着一把青铜时代那种又宽又短的剑。其中一人背着一只有他一半高的细长的木箱子，。那人扭头看看汪森，他的脸像那兽皮一样脏和皱，双眼却很有神，眸子映着曙光。“冷啊”他说。

“是。真冷”汪森附和道。

“这是战国时代，我是周文王。”那人说。

After the registration window appeared, Wang created the ID "Hairen" and logged in. It was still the same desert, but the compressors in the V-suit woke up and whirred. Wang felt a chill run through him. Two walking figures appeared directly in front of him, their dark silhouettes looming against the pre-dawn sky. Wang sprinted after them. The strangers were two men who were dressed in long, holey robes with dirty animal skins thrown over them. Each carried a short, broad bronze sword at his side. One of the strangers carried a narrow and long wooden chest behind his back. One of the wanderers said that he was cold, to which the Wang said that he was cold too. And the one who carried the chest said, this is the era of the Battle Kingdoms and he is King Wen of the house of Zhou.

Asia Zawada

“周文王不是战国时代的人吧？”汪淼问。 “他一直活到现在呢，纣王也活着”另一个没背箱子的人说，“我是周文王的追随者，我的ID就叫‘周文王追随者’，他可是个天才。”

“我的ID是‘海人’，”汪淼说，“您背的是什么？”

周文王放下那只长方形木箱，将一个立面象一扇门似的打开。露出里面的五层方格，借着晨曦的微光。汪淼看到每层之间都有高低不等的一小堆细沙，每格中都有从上一格流下的一道涓细的沙流

“沙漏，八小时漏完一次，颠倒三次就是一天。不过我常常忘了颠倒，要靠追随者提醒。”周文王介绍说。 Wang Miao got an answer to his question that still living King Wen and the King Wen of Zhou from the Warring States Period is one and the same and that even has followers with special ID’s. King Wen z Zhou to that put down wooden box and opened the gateway. There were five layers of platforms and from them a fine sand was dripping down. He was informed that it is a hourglass and it takes eight hours for the sand to drop fully. King Wen of Zhou needs his followers to remind him about that.

Edyta Skorupa

“你们好像是在长途旅行，有必要背这么笨重的计时器吗？”

“那怎么计时呢？”

“拿个小型的日晷多方便，或者干脆只看太阳也能知道大概的时间。”

周文王和追随者面面相觑。然后一起盯着汪淼，好像他是个白痴，“太阳？看太阳怎么能知道时间？这可是乱纪元。”

汪森正要询问这个怪异名词的含义，追随者哀鸣道：“真冷啊，冷死我了！”

汪淼也觉得冷，但他不能随便脱下感应服，一般情况下。那样做会被游戏注销ID的。他说：“太阳出来就会暖和些的。”

“你在冒充伟大的先知吗？连周文王都不算先知呢！”追随者冲汪淼不屑地摇摇头。

Wang asked King Wen is it necessary for him to carry such a bulky clock. King Wen replied him that this is the only way for him to keep track of time. Wang proposed to him a portable sundial, which is lighter and instead of pouring sand, you just need to look at the sun. However, King Wen and Follower weren't thrilled with this idea. They were even surprised how they could measure time using the sun, when they are in the midst of a Chaotic Era. Suddenly everyone felt cold, however, Wang was aware that taking off his V-suit would immediately cause his ID to be deleted by the system, so he simply replied that the sun would soon be out and warm them up. A follower retorted to him not to pretend to be an oracle, since even King Wen himself is unable to predict the future.

Ewa Kopania

“这需要先知吗？谁还看不出来太阳一两个小时后就会升起。”汪淼指指天边说。

“这是乱纪元！”追随者说。

“什么是乱纪元？”

“除了恒纪元，都是乱纪元。”周文王说，像回答一个无知孩童的提问。

果然，天边的晨光开始暗下去，很快消失了，夜幕重新笼罩了一切，苍穹星光灿烂。

“原来现在是黄昏不是早晨？”汪淼问。

“是早晨，早晨太阳不一定能升起，这是乱纪元。”

寒冷使汪淼很难受。“看这样子，太阳要很长时间以后才会升出来。”他哆嗉着指指模糊的地平线说。

Wang is bewildered by such statement. It seems obvious to him that sun is about to raise up in one, maybe two hours. He’s informed that there are eras of stability and eras of chaos, and the one they’re currently in is the latter. Turns out that the sun abides by different rules there. It soon gets dark, but it does not mean that the nighttime has come. It’s morning, in fact. Wang learns that the sun does not always raise in the morning. Everything is truly chaotic and it starts getting cold.

Gabriela Krukowska

“你怎么又会有这种想法？那可不一定，这是乱纪元。”追随者说着转向周文王，“姬昌，给我些鱼干吃吧。”

“不行！”周文王断然说道，“我也是勉强吃饱，要保证我能走到朝歌，而不是你。”

说话间。汪淼注意到另一个方向的地平线又出现了曙光，他分不清东南西北，但肯定不是上次出现时的方向。

这曙光很快增强，不一会儿，这个世界的太阳升起来了，是一颗蓝色的小太阳，很像增强了亮度的月亮，但还是让汪淼感到了一丝温暖，并看清了大地的细节。但这个白昼很短暂，太阳在地平线上方划了一道浅浅的弧形就落下了，夜色和寒冷又笼罩了一切。

Follower expresses doubt about a certain idea, citing the chaotic era they are in. He then requests food from King Wen of Zhou but is refused. Meanwhile, the protagonist notices another horizon showing signs of dawn, leading to the emergence of a small blue sun that briefly illuminates the land before setting again, plunging everything into darkness and cold once more.

Julia Dereżyńska

三人在一棵枯树前停下，周文王和追随者拔出青铜剑来砍柴，汪淼将碎柴收集到一块。追随者拿出火镰，噼啪、噼啪打了好一阵，升起了一堆火。汪淼的感应服的前胸·部分变暖和了，但背后仍然冰冷。

“烧些脱水者，火才旺呢。”追随者说。

“住嘴！那是纣王干的事！”

“反正路上那些散落的，都破成那样，泡不活了。如果你的理论真能行。别说烧一些，吃一些都成，与那理论相比，几条命算什么。”

“胡说！我们是学者！”

篝火燃尽后，三人继续赶路。由于他们之间交谈很少。系统加快了游戏时间的流逝速度。周文王很快将背上的沙漏翻了六下，转眼间两天过去了。

Three people, Zhou Wen Wang, The Follower and Wang Miao, stopped under a tree. They chopped some wood with their swords and made a fire. The Follower wanted to burn some dehydrated bodies they've seen along the way, but the rest declined, saying that they are scientists. When the fire burned out, they continued their journey.

Karol Perka

太阳还没有升起过一次，甚至天边连曙光的影子都没有。

“看来太阳不会出来了。”汪淼说，同时调出游戏界面来看了一下自己的HP，它正因寒冷而迅速减小。

“你又冒充伟大的先知了……”追随者说，汪淼和他一起说出了后半句，“这是乱纪元！”

这话说完不久，天边真的出现了曙光，并且迅速增强，转眼间太阳就升了起来。汪淼发现这次升起的是一颗大太阳。当它升至一半时，直径占了视野内至少五分之一的地平线。暖流扑面而来，今汪淼心旷神怡，但他看周文王和追随者时，发现他们都一脸惊恐，仿佛魔鬼降临。

“快，找阴凉地儿！”追随者大喊，汪淼跟着他们飞奔。

Karolina Englert

跑到了一处低矮的岩石后面蹲下来。岩石的阴影在渐渐缩短，周围的大地像处于白炽状态般刺眼，脚下的冻土迅速融化，由坚硬如铁变成泥泞一片，热浪滚滚。汪淼很快出汗了。当大太阳升到头顶正上方时，三人用兽皮蒙住头，强光仍如利箭般从所有缝隙和孔洞中射进来。三人绕着岩石挪到另一边，躲进那边刚刚出现的阴影中…… 太阳落山后，空气依然异常闷热，大汗淋漓的三人坐在岩石上，追随者沮丧地说：“乱纪元旅行，真是在地狱里走路。我受不了了；再说我也没吃的了，你不分我些鱼干，又不让吃脱水者，唉——”

“那你只能脱水了。”周文王说，一手用兽皮扇着风。

Three individuals seek refuge from the scorching sun behind a rock. As they wait for the sun to set, one of them complains about the hardships of traveling during chaotic times and the lack of food. Zhou Wenwang suggests the complaining individual becomes dehydrated since there's no other food available.

Lena Rzeźnikowska

“脱水以后，你不会扔下我吧？”

“当然不会。我保证把你带到朝歌。”

追随者脱下了被汗水浸湿的长袍，赤身躺到泥地上。在落日的余晖中，汪淼看到追随者身上的汗水突然增加了，他很快知道那不是出汗，这人身体内的水分正在被彻底排出，这些水在沙地上形成了几条小小的溪流，追随者的整个躯体如一根熔化的蜡烛在变软变薄……十分钟后水排完了，那躯体化为一张人形的软皮一动不动地铺在泥地上，面部的五官都模糊不清了。

“他死了吗？”汪淼问。他想起来了，一路上不时看到有这样的人形软皮，有的已破损不全，那就是不久前追随者想要用来烧火的脱水者。

The follower was dehydrated. He said he was concerned about being abandoned. A response assured him that he’ll be taken by Chao Ge. The follower removed his robe and laid naked on the muddy ground. The sun was setting, Wang Miao noticed that he was sweating more and more. Then he realized it’s not his sweat but water form the follower’s body. The expelled water appeared as small streams on the ground. Ten minutes after the follower’s body changed into a lifeless, thin and soft skin lying on the mud, his face was all blurry. Wang Miao questioned if the follower really had died, he also remembered that he had already seen similar dehydrated figures on their journey. Some of them were damaged and used for making fire.

Malwina Filipowicz

“没有。”周文王说着，将追随者变成的软皮拎起来，拍了拍上面的土，放到岩石上将他（它）卷起来，就像卷一只放了气的皮球一般，“在水里泡一会儿，他就会恢复原状活过来，就像泡干蘑菇那样。”

“他的骨骼也变软了？”

“是的，都成了干纤维，这样便于携带。”

“这个世界中的每个人都能脱水吗？”

“当然，你也能，要不，在乱纪元是活不下去的。”周文王将卷好的追随者递给汪淼，“你带着他吧，扔到路上不是被人烧了，就是吃了。”

汪淼接过软皮，很轻的一小卷，用胳膊夹着倒也没有什么异样的感觉。

"No" said Zhou Wen Wang. He lifted the skin, dusted off the dirt and mud, then spread it on the rock and wrapped up like a deflated baloon. "If we soak him in water he will go back his previous form. It's like soaking dried mushrooms". "His bones soften too?" "Yes, it turned into fiber so it's easy to carry." "Can everyone in this world be dried up and soaked?" "Of course, you too. Otherwise we wouldn't survive the era of chaos." Zhou Wen Wang handed the rolled up follower to the Wang. "Carry him. If you leave him on the rod he will be burned or eaten." Wang took the soft skin, very small roll, and carried it under his arm. It didn't seem weird.

Natalia Gloc

汪淼夹着脱水的追随者，周文王背着沙漏，两人继续着艰难的旅程。同前几天一样，这个世界中的太阳运行得完全没有规律，在连续几个严寒的长夜后，可能会突然出现一个酷热的白天，或者相反。两人相依为命，在篝火边抵御严寒，泡在湖水中度过酷热。好在游戏时间可以加快，一个月可以在半小时内过完，这使得乱纪元的旅程还是可以忍受的。

这天，漫漫长夜已延续了近一个星期（按沙漏计时），周文王突然指着夜空欢呼起来：“飞星！飞星！两颗飞星！！”

其实，汪淼之前就注意到那种奇怪的天体，它比星星大，能显出乒乓球大小的圆盘形状，运行速度很快，肉眼能明显地看到它在星空中移动，只是这次出现了两个。

Wang Miao and Zhou Wenwang are continuing their difficult journey. In the past few days, the sun was moving very chaotically. On that day, the long night lasted almost a week. Suddenly, Zhou Wenwang noticed flying stars in the night sky. Wang Miao noticed it before.

Paweł Andraszak

周文王解释说：“两颗飞星出现，恒纪元就要开始了！”

“以前看到过的。”

“那只有一个。”

“最多只有两个吗？”

“不，有时会有三个，但不会再多了。”

“三颗飞星出现，是不是预示着更美好的纪元？”

周文王用充满恐惧的眼神瞪了汪淼一眼，“你在说什么呀。三颗飞星……祈祷它不要出现吧。”

周文王的话没错，他们向往的恒纪元很快开始了，太阳升起落下开始变得有规律，一个昼夜渐渐固定在十八小时左右，日夜有规律的交替使天气变得暖和了一些。

“恒纪元能持续多长时间？”汪淼问。

This part is a dialogue between Wang and King Wen. They talk about what a specific number of shooting stars portends. Following the appearance of two shooting stars, an era of stability began. The day and night cycle became more stable, the weather was milder.

Wiktoria Wolny

“一天或一个世纪，每次多长谁都说不准。”周文王坐在沙漏上，仰头看着正午的太阳，“据记载，西周曾有过长达两个世纪的恒纪元，唉，生在那个时代的人有福啊。”

“那乱纪元会持续多长时间呢？”

“不是说过嘛，除了恒纪元都是乱纪元，两者互为对方的间隙。”

“那就是说，这是一个全无规律的混乱世界？！”

“是的。文明只能在较长的气候温暖的恒纪元里发展。大部分时间里，人类集体脱水存贮起来，当较长的恒纪元到来时，再集体浸泡复活，生产和建设。”

King Wen says that how long the current era of stability will last is unpredictable, as it may last only a day or may last a century. He also mentions that during the Western Zhou Dynasty, this era lasted as long as 200 years. Wang then asks how long the era of chaos lasts, to which King Wen replies that any time that is not an era of stability is an era of chaos. He also emphasizes the importance of the era of stability for the development of civilization.

Zyta Rydz

“那怎样预知每个恒纪元到来的时间和长短呢？”

“做不到，从来没有做到过。当恒纪元到来时，国家是否浸泡取决于大王的直觉，常常是：浸泡复活了，庄稼种下了，城镇开始修筑，生活刚刚开始，恒纪元就结束了，严寒和酷热就毁灭了一切。”周文王说到这里，一手指向汪淼，双眼变得炯炯有神，“好了，你已经知道了这个游戏的目标：就是运用我们的智力和悟性，分析研究各种现象，掌握太阳运行的规律，文明的生存就维系于此。”

“在我看来太阳运行根本就没有规律。”

“那是因为你没能悟出世界的本原。”

Zhou Wenwang says predicting Eternal Eras is impossible; prosperity depends on the king's intuition. Understanding the sun's movements is crucial for civilization's survival. Wang Miao disagrees, and Zhou attributes this to a lack of understanding of the world.