Chapter 225: Final Battle, Tea Ceremony Meeting 1
Mr. Lin Sen and Logic were suddenly presented with a subtitle, the main person behind it was No. 7:
No. 7: "Can we talk about conditions? In fact, you are currently at an advantage."
Logic: "We just want to talk with you.
"I know that my deterrent power might not be enough now, but in moments of life and death for humanity, that's when I truly have the greatest deterrence.
"But you also want to talk with us, right? We are equals; we both want to survive, don't we?
"Perhaps the only mercy in this universe is that it grants the weak the same space to live."
With just one sentence, Logic took the initiative in the negotiations. Even though his deterrence was not high at the moment, the Trisolarans could not use this as leverage either.
Deterrence is not as simple as we imagine. If sacrificing oneself could save humanity, I believe many would be able to do it.
But Dark Forest Deterrence puts the lives of everyone in both worlds and the fate of their civilizations at stake. Without being in a state of complete despair, substantial deterrence is impossible.
The Trisolarans fear the Dark Forest, and Logic fears it even more!
In the original story, Logic was able to deter successfully. The fact that humanity abandoned him was also crucial. When Logic was abandoned by the whole world, his deterrence inadvertently increased.
At the same time, Logic made himself the most humble person, so humble that he felt he had no reason to exist. This also increased his deterrence, and in the end, he survived by almost begging.
But now, the battle between humanity and the Trisolarans has also chilled the Trisolarans. More precisely, it's humanity's strategic plan that has frightened them.
On a more equal basis between the two sides, the balance of deterrence will also be more stable.
No. 7: "First put down the gun, and then we can negotiate."
Logic: "I have only one demand, to make The Waterdrop stop its attack on the Solar System!"
No. 7: "That has been done as you asked. Don't you have other demands?"
Logic: "No more. Too many demands would be disadvantageous for both of us.
"The following negotiations will be handled by Mr. Lin Sen. I will only follow his orders. If you have studied my behavioral model, you should know that I will fulfill every bit of my responsibility."
A delicate table was set up in front of Mr. Lin Sen, carrying a tea set. Due to the rotation of the living pod, making tea in space as on the ground was possible.
Mr. Lin Sen took an appropriate amount of tea leaves from the canister, gently placed them into the teapot, and began to brew with water of just the right temperature, watching the tea leaves dance in the boiling water.
As the tea leaves unfurled, the scent of tea gradually permeated the air, and he evenly poured the brewed tea into each cup, as if hosting an honored guest.
Mr. Lin Sen: "Buddha said that humans have eight sufferings, and so do civilizations. We have always been struggling, fighting, pleading, but the ultimate aim is just... to live!
"Like this tea, whether it is bitter or sweet, tasting it, experiencing it, that is the essence.
"I would prefer to consider this conversation as a Tea Ceremony Meeting between two civilizations."
The Tea Ceremony Meeting between the Trisolarans and Logic both conveyed respect for Logic and also contained contempt for humanity. At this moment, Mr. Lin Sen responded to the Trisolarans with the tea ceremony.
No. 7: "Mr. Lin Sen, I don't really understand all this. You can state your demands.
But if it involves conditions that threaten the safety of our civilization, we can't agree, such as lifting the Sophon blockade.
If humanity lifts the Sophon blockade, they would surpass Trisolaris in a short period of time, and this would inevitably be a disaster for our civilization."
Mr. Lin Sen: "I have no other intentions; I just think that we've been struggling and fighting for too long. Perhaps it's time to stop and reflect on ourselves.
"Before that, I'd like to discuss some other topics with you."
No. 7: "Although I still don't understand your meaning, please elaborate!"
Lin Sen: "I've always had this idea that perhaps there's a misunderstanding about the Dark Forest.
"The two fundamental axioms of the Dark Forest have more complex interpretations, but they can indeed be considered self-evident.
"But I don't believe that communication barriers and technological explosion lead to the Dark Forest.
"The communication barriers, or the chain of suspicion, indeed trap different civilizations in a prisoners' dilemma, and with the technological explosion, it becomes impossible for us to trust each other. Logically, it does hold up, but it's a stretch.
"It's more like you Trisolarans concluded. Your thoughts are transparent, so you think of communication barriers as too severe.
"Your technological development has always been linear, so you also overemphasize the technological explosion.
"Additionally, you might have deduced a set of reversible theorems. Once a high-entropy entity discovers a low-entropy being, if it doesn't destroy the latter, the low-entropy being will eventually reencounter the high-entropy entity.
"Thus the most rational action would be for the high-entropy entity to eliminate the low-entropy one upon discovery, without communication.
"But I do not think so. I believe
"Suspicion and technology are not the greatest barriers to communication; it's rationality!
"You are too rational, always pursuing the optimal solution, which indeed has its advantages in the short-term adaptation to the environment.
"But did your civilization always need to cope with such harsh natural environments?
"From the moment you stepped into interstellar space, you were no longer the original Trisolarans. You became a whole new Trisolaran entity.
"You're facing the vast spaces of the universe, and even need to deal with more hostile civilizations. You also need to change."
No. 7: [We understand what you're saying, and we've always pursued such changes. But due to our own flaws, we must strive to hide ourselves to buy time for our development.]
Lin Sen: "Exactly, by facing our own shortcomings, we can go further.
"Have you not noticed that human tribes in their early development were like civilizations just entering the interstellar age? They could kill each other for living space, but eventually they could even form alliances.
"They can never truly trust each other, but that doesn't prevent them from watching each other's backs. Humans also cannot trust each other; trust is just not costly enough to betray, but these have formed the splendid civilization of humanity.
"Often, human development is irrational, and every time we let go of mutual barriers, it promotes a great development of civilization.
"That is what I have always longed for."
No. 7: [We understand your point, but this is impossible to achieve, let alone abandon rationality.
It's not just that we don't trust you; even if we trust you, we don't trust other humans.
The real reason is, it's our differences.
The speed of human technological development is much faster than ours. Once your technology surpasses ours, we will become fish on your chopping board.
The alliances you just mentioned among tribal civilizations presuppose that each tribe's level of civilization is on the same tier.
If there is a tribal civilization in the steam age, would that civilization still choose to ally with others?]
Lin Sen: "You're right, that example wasn't really appropriate. Let's use another one.
"Why do you think nature evolved species with females and males?
"Not only are we like that, but you are too."
No. 7: [There are many reasons, but the key one is to increase the genetic diversity of the population, enhancing the species' adaptability to environmental changes.
This is also a necessary condition for biological evolution. Asexual reproduction can only apply to lower organisms.
Two sexes are the optimal choice for higher organisms. Although theoretically three-sex species could exist, they would have much more difficulty finding mates, and ultimately only two-sex species have survived.]