The Dark Forest

The news that the planet was destroyed spread, causing the entire human society to enter a boil again. The sociologist, who had been no longer taken seriously then, was taken seriously again.

Meanwhile, the sociologist himself is in hiding.

When the droplet destroyed the Earth's battleships, the sociologist suddenly concluded that the droplet was directed at him. 

This seemingly absurd idea was naturally not recognized by anyone - especially when the panic caused by the droplet had swept the world, and no one was paying attention to him now. 

The only one who was willing to believe his words was Renault, who had always had a good relationship with him.

Although Renault knew very well that Sophon was monitoring the world and it was useless to hide, in order to reassure the sociologist, Renault still took him away from the dangerous crowds and rested in the distant suburbs. 

They sat in the wilderness, waiting for the judgment to come.

But what greeted them was not a trial - the droplet did not rush towards the Earth but flew towards the sun. Through the portable media on the hoverboard, they soon learned that human beings now regard the sociologist as their last resort.

On the TV screen was the reaction of the crowd in the city. Earlier, they had all given up hope of survival, and at this time, they had all fallen into another kind of fanaticism. They are chanting for the sociologist with religious fervor, hoping he will save the Earth.

This is humanity's last hope.

Hearing this news, even the sociologist himself was stunned for a long time, and then he smiled meaningfully.

"Messenger of higher civilizations, God's chosen one, Angels who save humanity... what the hell is going on?"

Looking at the evaluation of sociologists on TV, Renault was also a little confused.

"I'm not the person they said. It's just that the destruction of that planet proved that one of my ideas was correct."

"What idea?"

Renault asked. The sociologist was stunned for a moment. He thought about it and decided to explain it to his friend.

This question is also the question that all viewers are looking forward to.

"There are many theories about this, but to put it simply, there are two key points: First, assuming that there are many civilizations in the universe, there must be good and evil, and we don't know whether they are good or evil. 

 Second, the progress of science and technology has exploded. The possibility of this situation makes it possible for younger civilizations to reach a technological level that exceeds that of older civilizations. Do you understand these two points?"

Renault nodded; these two points are very simple.

"Then, the problem is here: firstly, we cannot estimate whether other beings in the universe are good or evil, and secondly, we cannot estimate whether other beings in the universe are strong or weak. 

 So, when faced with this situation, we are like being in a dark forest. We are both hunters and prey - so what do you do in order to survive at this time?" 

"The first thing is not to reveal your position."

Renault immediately figured it out. The conclusion was reached, and the sociologist also turned off the lights of the hover car at this time.

Everything around him became dark as if he had really entered a dark forest.

"Yes. You are right. Civilizations in the universe are just like you and me. Squatting in the dark, careful not to expose themselves. 

 Then there is a problem: if, at this time, someone suddenly appears in the dark suddenly," saying this, he lit up his cigarette butt. "Facing this enemy with unknown firepower and unknown hostility, Renault, you were once a policeman; tell me, what would you choose to do?"

With these words, the sociologist took the cigarette butt in his hand, put it on the ground, and let it burn there. The cigarette butt in the wind seemed to be extinguished at any moment. 

It looked insignificant, like the crumbling civilization of the Earth. However, behind the cigarette butt, there was the outline of a black figure whose face could not be seen clearly.

In the darkness, the faces of the two people were blurred. The film's lenses specifically blurred them at this time, making it difficult for people to see their faces clearly. 

Their faces, like the background, fade into darkness, and in this darkness, only the light from the cigarette butt shines on the screen.

There is only a little light on the huge screen, and there is a huge black shadow behind it. In a movie theater, such an environment is undoubtedly terrifying. And combined with his words, it makes people tremble.

Faced with this sudden light appearing in the darkness and the huge black shadow hidden behind it, what should be the wise choice?

The camera turned and shone on Renault's face. Renault didn't speak immediately. The slight glimmer of the cigarette butt made his face look a little gloomy. He took two or three seconds to think before he spoke.

And as soon as he opened his mouth, he immediately cursed.

Everyone understood what his choice was.

In fact, from the beginning, people knew very well what his choice would be: people didn't know the story of The Dark Forest, but they knew very well what the police would do when faced with this situation. 

It is impossible to verify how many police shootings and killings there are in the United States. Renault is a very courageous policeman and will definitely not hesitate to choose.

Killing a possible prisoner in the dark with one shot was more likely for him. Because if you don't shoot, you are very likely to be killed by the other party. 

When police apprehend criminals, they must also ensure their own survival. Furthermore, the United States gun policy plays a role in determining the firepower of both prisoners and the police. The question arises: who holds the upper hand?

Of course, people will always say that such shooting is immoral and lacks restraint. However, in the face of survival, people cannot always make the most restrained choice. Since humans can't do it, how can we ask other civilizations to do it?

After understanding this, people realized what the sociologists meant by transmitting broadcasts into the universe. Broadcasting your position to the entire universe is tantamount to exposing yourself to hunters and beasts throughout the universe. 

Some of these other civilizations in the universe may be very friendly, but as long as one of these civilizations is malicious, then human civilization will be destroyed.

Just like the destroyed planet, it was killed by a higher civilization - this is determined by the instinct of survival.

The audience quickly figured out this theory. A very simple theory, but it makes people feel chilling. In countless novels, people have seen various theories of the universe, but this one is undoubtedly the darkest one.

"What the Trisolarans are afraid of is that we announce the location of the Earth to the entire universe. If we really do this, then our planet will be exposed to the entire universe. 

 As long as there is any civilization that has the ability to destroy the Earth, the Earth is no longer safe. The Trisolaran people have been living under the possibility of destruction for many years and are worried their civilization will encounter mishaps again."

At this point, the analysis of sociologists has been completed. What he did was all clear.

"I launched a signal into the universe just to let other civilizations in the universe track it. If it is as expected and there are other civilizations in the universe, this means that as long as we can launch a signal towards the sun, we have the capital to negotiate with the Trisolaris people, and we still have hope for a comeback!" 

He spoke out his plan with some pride, and the sociologist's idea was presented before Renault.

This plan not only shows his pride but also makes the audience feel extremely excited at this time.

Throughout the movie, human beings' plans failed again and again, the human fleet was annihilated, and human beings were forced into desperate situations by the Trisolaris again and again, but there was no possibility of resistance. 

The Trisolarans have repeatedly faced humans with silence and contempt. This attitude has long made humans feel desperate.

The gap between different civilizations makes people feel extremely small, and as humans, they are naturally unwilling to accept the fate of their own destruction. 

Therefore, when they learned that humans have a way to defeat the aliens and that aliens are indeed extremely afraid of this method, the human audience will naturally feel excited.

Unexpectedly, this obscure sociologist actually has such a side.

His ideas actually coincided with Rey Diaz's in many ways. They also used destruction to threaten the Trisolarans from invading. However, unlike Rey Diaz's self-destruction, his idea is to bring death to the enemy, and because of the uncertainty of this plan, it is also more frightening.

And this idea was also presented to the audience at this time. This made the audience somewhat applauded. As long as they can put this idea into practice, then the Trisolaran invasion may be terminated.

Can this idea be realized?

"We will leave for the United Nations immediately. We will definitely be able to save the Earth."

Renault has always been an activist. After understanding the plan, he immediately took action. He got into the hover car and drove to the United Nations. After getting in the car, he also turned on the car TV.

However, at this moment, the picture on the TV screen suddenly became blurry.

"What's going on? Broadcasting accident?" Renault knocked on the old TV with some confusion. The sociologist also frowned a little, but immediately, he figured out something, "No... we're done."

"What do you mean?" Renault asked.

"This is not a broadcast accident - this is done by the droplet. It is emitting strong electromagnetic waves toward the sun, interfering with the waveband that the sun can amplify. In other words, the possibility of us emitting spells into the universe through the sun is broken." The sociologist smiled bitterly, "The droplet is not here to kill me; it is ready to kill all mankind." 

It was like a bucket of cold water was poured on the head. The conclusion had just come out, but it seemed to be useless immediately. The droplet blocked the sun, making it impossible for humans to send broadcasts into the universe.

Humanity's hope was once again stifled.

*****

Thanks and kudos for my patreons 

Marcelo Maia

Britanna

Mandy G

Oluwatimileyin Olayemi

Herylle Ian Gloria

You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.