Chapter 56 "Poison" and "Smartmachines"_1

40 Trisolaran hours later.

Strategy Governor: "Your Excellency, the Strategist Advisory Group, in collaboration with the Sophon Surveillance Group and the Science Advisory Board, have drafted several plans.

Though the plans cannot completely annihilate humanity, they can significantly obstruct the development of human civilization. If implemented well, there's even a 20% chance that humans will not achieve interstellar escape before the Waterdrop arrives on Earth."

Your Excellency: "The most failed plans of the Trisolarans are the two we devised when we first made contact with humans. Reality has proven that we are still quite weak in terms of strategy.

A 20% probability is already quite high, and it's worth investing more resources."

Strategy Governor: "When we contacted Earthlings, we set two plans in motion. The first plan was codenamed 'Dye,' and the second, 'Miracles.'

But in some ways, both plans failed. They not only exposed the Earth-Trisolaris Organization but also exposed ourselves.

We had divulged tidbits about the Dark Forest to Evans, hence we did not inform others the human governments would attack them, allowing them to be eradicated by human governments. We should be thankful for this decision, as at that time, Evans was the greatest enemy of both worlds.

After the Zither Operation, the human world felt a sense of despair about the technological gap between us, and we devised a plan to not have any plan at all.

On one hand, to prevent the spread of defeatism, we anticipated that human thoughts would drastically change after the great depression. Any sort of idea could emerge. If humans accepted the notion of fleeing, it could lead to escapism, and humans focused solely on fleeing would be even more troublesome for us.

On the other hand, this was also a form of intangible psychological suppression for all human researchers, making them anxious, fearful, helpless, and depressed, drastically slowing down the progress of their research and subconsciously making them feel that everything they do is futile.

'Dye' was a plan that hoped non-scientific ways of thinking would overpower scientific thinking. The lockdown by the Sophons also aimed to suppress their thoughts.

Looking back, we didn't understand humans enough. After Lin Sen appeared, the human despair started to dissipate, and many of them seemed to have developed the confidence to overcome us.

Technologically, they have already made a breakthrough in the first generation of controllable nuclear fusion, and it's anticipated that the third generation's theory will also be completed in the near future. They even predict that it could be realized in 15 to 20 years. They have built up confidence, which could lead to even greater motivation in the future.

Due to our previous lack of understanding in strategy, both the 'Dye' and 'Miracles' plans had the opposite effect. The only success was the Sophons, which had a decisive impact.

Our new plan needs both definite strength to confront them and to avoid completely crushing them, causing them to lose any spirit of resistance.

My next plan also has two parts, the first codenamed 'Poison.' We designed a computer virus with autonomous infection capabilities, widely spreading it across human computers and frequently upgrading the virus so that they can't lock onto our virus's signature.

The goals are fourfold:

First, to destroy data from various scientific research units. Even if there are backups, recovery would be difficult. Destruction is always easier than construction. We can't stop them from continuing their research, but we can delay their progress, forcing them to disconnect from the internet, or even revert to paper-based work.

Second, to affect most people's means of accessing information, making them unable to use the internet normally, except for local area networks. They definitely can use antivirus software, but the gap between their computer technology and ours is too significant. We even know all the vulnerabilities of their computers.

Third, to use the virus to infiltrate various Internet of Things devices (all network-connected controllable devices), and even destroy them, such as self-driving cars, keeping humans busy with repairing and cleaning their devices of viruses, causing them to fear anything related to the network.

Fourth, a computer virus ultimately won't completely defeat them. While we delay their progress, they will also make weak victories, which can better suppress their defeatism and avoid the formation of escapism."

Our greatest technological gap with humans is not in the field of microscopic physics but in the field of computers. In the realm of computers, we are truly gods compared to them; here, any strategy is futile.

The most critical point is that this plan requires very few resources."

Leader: "Science Governor, is this plan feasible, and does it carry any other risks?"

Science Governor: "The plan is feasible. In fact, computer viruses are not as terrifying as we imagine. As long as the underlying protection is robust, their threat level is relatively low.

For example, viruses hidden in emails can be harmless as long as one does not click to confirm acceptance. In truth, most computer infections occur because the user clicks to accept the virus."

Our biggest advantage is that Sophon can monitor hard drive data; we know all their vulnerabilities. Moreover, our computer technology is far superior to that of humans. In this race against anti-virus softwares, they might win small victories, but the gap between us will remain as vast as a chasm."

As for the risks, our outdated computer virus shells may be dissected layer by layer by them, and they might learn some of our intelligent programming, but that is of no consequence. We can afford such risks.

With their computing power, it would take them several years to crack each layer. In the beginning, these computer viruses will almost be unsolvable for them."

Leader: "'Poison' plan approved. Perhaps we've been too protective of our technology before; it's time we made some changes.

Strategy Governor, tell us about your second plan."

Strategy Governor: "The second plan, codenamed 'Smartmachines,' is designed to work closely with the first to achieve maximum effect. The deployment and update of computer viruses cannot rely solely on the Earth-Trisolaris Organization; we need our own power.

The ETO has obtained a relatively advanced photolithography machine from the human world. We can have the ETO modify it to produce a Quantum Chip. Each quantum sensor within this chip can receive control signals from Sophon impacts, effectively serving as a Sophon control console."

Smartmachines crafted with this Quantum Chip possess the capability to execute a wide variety of tasks. Sophon operates at the speed of light and can even control hundreds of Smartmachines simultaneously. This is the first step of the plan."

The second step is to find an uninhabited island and dig downward to construct a large-scale base where Smartmachines can mine undersea ores and refine more resources.

The third step is to use the abundant resources to replicate Second Generation Smartmachines, which, aside from the control chip, have a technological level close to that of current human technology.

Second Generation Smartmachines are not directly controlled by Sophons; their intelligence processing chips can receive commands from First Generation Smartmachines and complete instructions independently.

Once we have a large number of Smartmachines, we can openly wage war against humans during the late Great Ravine period.

Even if Second Generation Smartmachines are captured by humans, it's not a problem. Smartmachines possess a certain self-destruct capability, and even without it, Second Generation Smartmachines do not carry a high level of technology. Humans would only gain access to a more advanced level of artificial intelligence programming."

First Generation Smartmachines are directly controlled by Sophon and have complete self-destruct capabilities. They must not be acquired by humans, or else it would lead to a significant leap forward in human technological advancement."

Smartmachines can't actually destroy human society. Humans could even locate our base and destroy it, but no one knows how many bases we actually have.

Our plan includes exhausting humans, spreading panic through human society, and even striking at some key research units."