Chapter 9: The Redemption of Civilization_2

"You're right, I was too fanciful. Something that could frighten the Trisolaran civilization can't be simple. According to Professor Ye, it's more likely to be some kind of universal rule of civilization. If it's an unbearable burden for the Trisolaran civilization, then it's likely to be the same for human civilization. We might not be able to bear the cost of its disclosure."

"From today on, you can't reveal any information about that conversation, and even I can't reveal it anymore.

Her conversation with you may have been her attempt to leave behind one last redemption for human civilization, the redemption of civilization..."

Logic only took a few minutes to write down the conversation with Ye Wenjie without missing a single word and put it into an envelope before placing it in the safe. He must have pondered over that conversation countless times before.

Lin Sen put the wristwatch on Logic and closed the safe.

"Alright, let's leave the rest to fate!"

"Wumu, sometimes I think about how peculiar fate can be. Professor Ye betrayed humanity, but humanity's last salvation lies with her. And me, an indifferent cynic, was chosen by fate to be a Wallfacer."

"To be honest, I admire Ye Wenjie greatly. One could say Ye Wenjie is the greatest traitor in the history of human civilization, but from her perspective, did she really do wrong?

Utilizing the power of a higher civilization to transform humanity—could that not be the opportunity we need to break free from the constraints of our own civilization?

Whether we like it or not, our contact with Trisolaran civilization will become a reality. Even if she hadn't replied to that message, or if that cry had never been sent, would the Trisolarans not sail forth?

No, nothing could have changed that. The Trisolarans would still have set course for the Solar System, canvassing every nearby star system; the Solar System was actually the best choice. Sophons would have been sent here in advance, nothing changed. From this perspective, she's not guilty; in fact, she allowed us to learn about the existence of the Trisolarans ahead of time.

Her entire life was spent in contemplation. At the end of her life, she might have felt repentance, but there should be no regret."

"Yes, she's a sage. Her vision and understanding may have transcended both civilizations. The Trisolarans should have trusted her more; perhaps there was still hope for cooperation between our two civilizations."

"Maybe there's that possibility, maybe the Trisolarans initially also hoped to communicate with us, but there will no longer be any cooperation between us."

Lin Sen knew that the Trisolarans had long been aware of the Dark Forest (the most reasonable assumption was that they observed the Heisen Strike), but they initially still hoped to communicate with humans, even though the aim of such communication was more geared towards invasion.

Upon learning of their own flaw of transparent thought, they decisively abandoned communication, although there could be other reasons. The Trisolarans are not weak in cognition, only in cunning.

"Why not? Is it just because of their transparent thought? There are actually many ways to circumvent their deficiencies."

"It's not that simple. Think about the downfall of Evans and the Second Red Shore, and the capture of Ye Wenjie. Why did the Trisolarans abandon them?"

"Was it not because Trisolarans fear communication due to their transparent thought? Is there something else hidden in this?"

"Staying hidden is wisest. The Trisolarans are not good at scheming, but they are certainly not stupid, quite the opposite, they are very smart. They are like computers, incapable of making logical mistakes. They value information above everything else.

Trisolarans fear Evans because of their transparent thought, which is why they gave up on Evans and the Second Red Shore. For this, they even risked revealing 28G of information about Trisolaris; this is the suspicious point.

Having gone through the destruction and rebirth of their civilization 200 times, they've faced disasters beyond our imagination. How could they fear us just because we are capable of cunning and concealment? Against absolute power, cunning is hardly effective.

So my guess is that due to transparent thought, the Trisolarans might have also leaked some information while interacting with Evans—information they believed to be safe at the time, but which might pose a threat to them given the deductions that can be made from it.

The Trisolarans would rather reveal 28G of information and have Evans eliminated through human governments."

The Trisolarans, despite their transparent thought, wouldn't talk to the ETO about the Dark Forest, but some information might inadvertently be revealed. For instance, the idea that there are as many civilizations in the universe as there are stars in the sky (as will be introduced later) is a crucial piece of information.

Lin Sen had no intention of deceiving the Trisolarans with the Dark Forest, so he didn't mind delving deeper into the analysis.

Lin Sen continued, "I've studied Evans; he is a terrifying person, one to be revered. Evans must have been someone both civilizations wanted to eliminate, someone who stood against both civilizations.

Evans had a profound understanding of the Trisolarans and taught them how to conceal. Evans's ideal was species communism, where humans and cockroaches should be equal.

'We don't know what the Trisolarans are like, but we know humanity.' The deeper meaning of this statement is his belief that the Trisolarans should also embrace species communism.

He wanted to use the Trisolarans to eliminate humanity. So didn't he want to destroy the Trisolarans as well? The Trisolarans are not inept at deception and lying, not stupid. Simple logical traps cannot fool them. Even if they didn't understand at first, they would surely have analyzed the level of threat posed by Evans afterward.

A man who desires to destroy two civilizations, and whom the Trisolarans had inadvertently given the key to their destruction, must be eliminated by the Trisolarans at any cost."