Sky Curtain: The Darwin Incident at the outset, the Declaration of the People's League

A magnificent interstellar fleet, a brilliant imperial civilization, and a destiny-bound epic of heroes.

Jedi Knights wield lightsabers, Galactic Empires rise and fall, spices flow across desert planets.

The universe is the stage, civilization is the actor, and the protagonist of the story is always humanity's courage and glory.

The screen flashed by a series of classic scenes.

A massive star destroyer swept overhead, the Millennium Falcon leaped into hyperspace, sandworms churned on the dunes, and galactic heroes roamed freely among the stars.

In these stories, space is infinite, civilizations are diverse, and encounters are full of possibilities.

War has its justice and evil, love can transcend galaxies, and heroes always save the world.

The universe is vast, but it can never surpass human ambition.

However, behind all these beautiful assumptions lies a fatal "premise".

The universe is moral.

Morality?

Have it?

The audience silently thought of the legendary humanoid king Qu, and the group of aliens who ate humanity to extinction.

That kind of thing doesn't seem moral at all!

Traditional space opera, at its core, believes in a naive assumption: the nature of the universe can be understood by humankind.

Its protagonist is usually a royal descendant burdened with blood feud, a gifted Force-sensitive individual, or a young hero with an innate protagonist aura.

Its plot usually involves good versus evil, and light triumphing over darkness.

Its weapons, no matter how powerful, are merely background props; what truly matters are "courage," "belief," and "protagonist aura."

[The story is set in a different context, such as the Middle Ages, the Age of Exploration, or the Roman Empire; it's just given a space-themed makeover.]

Its "space" is merely a stage, its "science fiction" is just a backdrop; its soul remains the heroic tragedy of ancient Greece, medieval chivalric literature, and the colonial history of the Age of Exploration.

Have it?

Oh, it seems like I brought a little bit.

Subspace also has many influences on the real world.

Especially those four ghostly things.

Closely tied to Western colonial expansion, the arc of the "space cowboy" stems from the pioneering spirit of the westward movement. Space is the "new continent," alien planets are the "new frontier," and the interstellar federation is a cosmic version of "Manifest Destiny."

[An empire in a space opera, flowing with Roman blood, a noble Senate, a majestic emperor, legions conquering all corners of the world...]

What about the Federation?

Singing the songs of colonizers. New frontiers, Manifest Destiny, civilized alien planets—all of this is merely the Age of Exploration transplanted to an interstellar scale.

[And once again, they looked beautiful.]

Because the humans in those stories are still human.

They would charge for justice, sacrifice for love, and have an epiphany at the last moment—just like we read in our own history books.

However, "The Three-Body Problem" has arrived.

It didn't overturn all the established concepts of space opera; it merely poured a bucket of cold water called "realism" onto the backdrop of the universe.

It provides two axioms, and then derives the entire Dark Forest theory.

First axiom: Survival is the first necessity of civilization.

In the image, a planet rotates in the darkness.

On the planet's surface, the embers of civilization flicker—they could be extinguished at any moment, or swallowed up at any moment.

As the camera zooms out, the planet is just one of countless points of light, each struggling to maintain its own light.

[The first need of any civilization, whether advanced or primitive, benevolent or brutal, regardless of its beliefs, is always: to survive.]

This is not a choice, it's instinct, it's the underlying code etched into the genes of every civilization.

[Second Axiom: Civilizations continue to grow and expand, but the total amount of matter in the universe remains constant.]

In the image, countless points of light begin to expand.

They spread outwards, devouring the surrounding matter and vying for every inch of space.

The points of light began to collide, merge, and annihilate.

The universe is finite, resources are finite, but desires are infinite.

This is the cosmic version of the "Prisoner's Dilemma".

Every civilization wants to survive, every civilization wants to develop, but the pie is only so big.

You don't want to kill me, you just want to live.

But if you want to live, you need resources.

And if you need resources, you will inevitably—step on my foot.

The first concept derived from these two axioms is the chain of suspicion.

In other words—I don't know if you have good intentions, and you don't know if I have good intentions.

I don't know if you think I have good intentions, and you don't know if I think you have good intentions. I don't know if you think I think you have good intentions...

[It sounds like a tongue twister, but it's actually quite easy to understand]

Logically, this chain of events cannot be broken by trust.

Because neither you nor he can prove that you were acting in good faith.

Goodwill itself is meaningless on a cosmic scale—because goodwill may just be a disguise, the disguise may be for the purpose of numbing, and the numbing may be for the purpose of—elimination.

You believe him? What makes you think you should? He believes you? What makes him think he should?

There is no trust, only suspicion that can never be verified.

Chapter 111 The Dark Forest

I know you're in a hurry, but please don't rush.

After passing the first level, there is still a second level.

[The chain of suspicion is only one aspect]

[Two axioms can lead to a second concept]

[Technological Explosion]

The technological gap between civilizations in the universe has never been a constant, insurmountable barrier, nor an insurmountable chasm. On the contrary, it may be completely erased and reversed in an instant.

[As you gaze into deep space, those seemingly primitive, backward, and weak civilizations, unable even to perform basic interstellar travel, could never have predicted that in a short span of time, they would rise up and develop technological strength billions of times greater than yours, crushing you completely.]

Even the most primitive civilization can rise to great heights by acquiring the legacy of other cosmic civilizations, and this is even more true of cultural exchanges between different civilizations.

Why were the American civilizations of the Age of Exploration so powerless when faced with invaders?

They were isolated, lacking communication with the outside world, which reduced the need for development. Their technological level lagged far behind other regions of the same era, and their civilization was already nearing its end.

Different ways of thinking and cultures merge and develop through constant collision, and only then can they move forward.

A stagnant pool, lacking a source, can only stand still.

In ancient times, primitive civilizations relied on human labor to cultivate the land and use knives and axes, measuring the boundaries of survival with their own flesh and blood.

Then the roar of steam filled the earth, machines replaced human labor, and the steam age of industrial innovation began.

Then, electricity illuminated the long night, and the electrical revolution swept across everything, reshaping the entire pattern of civilization's development.

Then came the nuclear eruption, where humanity unlocked the power of atoms and took control of the energy code to destroy the world.

The advent of the computer followed, and the digital age rapidly evolved, with computing power surpassing the accumulation of the past millennia; artificial intelligence quietly emerged, with intelligent algorithms taking over complex calculations and developmental deductions; quantum computing broke through the constraints of computing power, shattering the ceiling of traditional technology...

Finally, interstellar travel pierced the sky, and civilization set foot off its home planet, heading towards the vast sea of ​​stars.

[The time span between each disruptive technological leap and each advancement in the level of civilization is being compressed at an alarming exponential rate, leaving no room for buffering or compromise.]

Looking back, the cycles of civilization's advancement often spanned thousands of years; gradually evolving to hundreds of years; and later shrinking to just a few decades for generational changes.

Now, perhaps only a few short years of changing seasons are needed.

You can never accurately predict the pace of technological development and the speed of rise of any unfamiliar civilization.

We will also never know when that seemingly insignificant civilization will suddenly undergo a technological leap, surpassing all the strength you have accumulated over generations.

Faced with this unknown and deadly uncertainty, all civilizations in the universe have, from beginning to end, only had one choice.

That is, to strike first and completely eliminate it before it completely surpasses you and gains the ability to turn against you.

This is not an inherent cruelty or an innate bloodlust between civilizations.

[But nobody can afford to lose.]

The stakes in this game have never been the gain or loss of a single city or territory, but the survival of the entire civilization that has lasted for hundreds of millions of years, and the life and death of all its people.

At this point, let's combine and integrate the two fundamental axioms of the universe and the two core concepts of the chain of suspicion and technological explosion.

You will eventually see through the cruelest ultimate truth of the universe.

In the deep, silent expanse of the universe, billions of faint points of light, representing different civilizations, begin to stir and move slowly.

Different civilizations concealed themselves in the folds of boundless darkness, carefully concealing all their light and presence, daring not to reveal the slightest trace, like hunters lurking in the shadows, holding their breath and moving stealthily step by step.

Every civilization is vigilantly watching, silently observing all the movements around them, cautiously probing the unknown entities lurking in the darkness, daring not to be the slightest bit negligent, daring not to reveal the slightest flaw.

[And whenever one of those points of light detects the light of another, unfamiliar civilization in the endless darkness, without hesitation or pity, it will silently and slowly approach, brewing a fatal blow.]

[Grievances? Right and wrong?]

It has nothing to do with those things.

[Just for survival]

【therefore】

Killing you is none of your business.