Chapter 302: Conversation between Lin Sen and No. 7
The Crisis Era, 270 years, one week after the Battle of Dust.
In the Trisolaran world, at the Regent's Residence.
No. 7 was currently filled with a strong sense of unease and anxiety.
No. 7 knew that ever since humanity could also produce Sophons, all of Trisolaris's secrets were laid bare before humans, exposing the Trisolarans in a way that was fatal.
Now, the only way out to save the Trisolaran civilization was to undergo a complete transformation, to propel Trisolaran society to rapid progress, and to unleash the unprecedented potential of the Trisolaran civilization.
Otherwise, apart from those Trisolarans who had fled, those who remained would likely face the fate of being completely eradicated by humanity.
No. 7 understood, no matter how pleasant Lin Sen's words sounded and how beautiful the idea of complementing and uniting civilizations was, humans would never miss any opportunity to eradicate Trisolarans.
More importantly, Lin Sen posed an even greater threat to himself, shadowing him closely.
No. 7 keenly felt that Lin Sen might have already sensed his identity. If the Trisolaran Civilians found out that he had collaborated with Lin Sen, the social structure of the entire Trisolaran world might collapse in an instant. He could not bear such a consequence.
Suddenly, a line of text flashed across No. 7's retina, a message left by human Sophons:
[Hello, No. 7!]
The Trisolaran Brainwave Cloaking Device also showed part of their thoughts, and No. 7 could transfer his thoughts into text using the Brainwave Blocker as well.
The inevitable had finally arrived, and No. 7 seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "Hello, Mr. Lin Sen.
"I didn't expect, you'd come so quickly, this is quite surprising.
"How long have you been in the Trisolaran world? I never thought you'd be able to create Sophons so fast."
Lin Sen was somewhat surprised that No. 7 was not excessively nervous and still managed to maintain such a calm demeanor in conversation, as if catching up with an old friend.
For No. 7, the fact that Lin Sen had chosen to seek him out instead of directly revealing his identity undoubtedly left him a glimmer of hope, indicating that negotiations might still be possible.
[You don't seem surprised? That's not surprising, with your intellect, you probably guessed that I was here the moment you found out that humans have acquired Sophons.
We've been here for several years now, and although we explored your world very carefully for fear of being detected, we've obtained enough information.
Next, apart from your Sophon-Blocked Zones, we'll scrutinize without reservation, unless you can devise Sophon Blind Zone Technology in the short term.
As for discovering you, on one hand, we've also established an action model analysis for Trisolarans. I've analyzed all members of the previous Cunning Governance Team for a long time, but their action models deviated greatly, only yours matched the most.
On the other hand, it was your performance during this battle that assured me it was you.
I also didn't expect you to directly use the codename "No. 7" you had in the previous Cunning Governance Team, which was a serious mistake.]
No. 7 spoke indifferently, "This was to be expected, nothing surprising."
He sighed softly and continued, "Trisolaris has no secrets left to you, you've even established behavior models for Trisolarans.
"Times change, what we once used to counter humans, now humans treat us in the same way.
"Although I do not quite understand how your technology has made such huge progress in such a short time, I suppose, this probably has much to do with your sudden disappearance for those years?"
Lin Sen did not hide it; the Trisolarans had already speculated about this, and there was no need to conceal. The human world would naturally disclose it eventually.
[Indeed, we encountered a piece of Four-Dimensional Space Fragments, which should now have completely reduced to a three-dimensional state.]
No. 7 was shocked, then came to a sense of resignation, "Four-Dimensional Space Fragments? I see, perhaps only by utilizing the properties of four-dimensional space could you quickly break through micro-level theories.
"The deeper you delve into micro-level research, the closer you get to discovering the essence of spatial dimensions. In four-dimensional space, particle collision experiments are not even necessary.
"We had thought your disappearance was due to capturing our battleship that had gone missing. After encountering the Sophon Blind Zone, we did not send more Sophons to look for you.
"We never imagined, this decision would make us miss the last chance."
Lin Sen: [Compared to the current predicament of Trisolarans, humanity faced a more grave situation at the initial stage of the Crisis.
But we have persisted all along, we would not give up just because the outcome seemed predetermined.
Not just the Wallfacer Project, but also humanity's main defense plan, the Staircase Program, the Stars Program... you may think these are meaningless, but they are our responsibilities.
I took action because of responsibility, we do not abandon our duty and efforts based on potential outcomes.
The world always offers us a thread of life, if it weren't for our accidental encounter with four-dimensional space, without the breakthrough in micro-level theories, without the development of Sophons, victory would have been impossible for us.
The best outcome would be to re-establish Dark Forest Deterrence, but that would also be sentencing human civilization to death.
You need only deploy numerous warships to completely blockade the Solar System, gradually compressing the space where humans can live.
Then, through cultural infiltration, slowly dissolve our determination to resist you. Perhaps in just a few hundred years, you would completely control the entire Solar System.]
No. 7: "Now, there is no point in saying these things.
"These were also our plans before the war, with so many Sophon-Blocked Zones in the Solar System, we couldn't possibly attack them all.
"So our battle plan is even more inclined to the idea that you're still hiding other Dark Forest Deterrence measures."
"Even if you breakthrough microscopic theory, as long as you haven't created Sophons, you have no hope."
"When you were building the Bunker, we never suspected it was for the creation of Sophons, only now realizing the grave mistake we made."
"Since you've already manufactured Sophons, you must have also achieved a breakthrough in Sophon Blind Zone Technology, haven't you?"
[Yes, we have broken through with Sophon Blind Zone Technology. Sophon communication is based on the entanglement resonance effect, curled up in higher dimensions, forming a quantum connection in the Sophon array.
The essence of the Sophon Blind Zone is to block the higher-dimensional channel of the quantum connection, which is one-time; once blocked, it cannot be restored.
Sophons entering the Sophon Blind Zone would get lost in space, and it's nearly impossible for them to return to their home star system purely by their intelligent programming. Even if they did return, it would be almost impossible for them to form a Sophon array with the other three Sophons again.
However, we cannot share this blocking technology with you for now, as it is also a result of our research in four-dimensional space. We believe that you will quickly achieve a breakthrough in this technology as well.
Once the Trisolaran Star System is also covered by a large Sophon-Blocked Zone, the war will revert to a battlefield we are more familiar with.]
No. 7, deeply moved, said: "Indeed, that is a battlefield you are all too familiar with.
"In the combat zone, neither side's Sophons dare enter, unable to gain advanced knowledge of the enemy's attack. The war relies entirely on the gamble of both sides."
Lin Sen: [The necessity of the transformation you're currently pushing forward goes without saying, and it's an unprecedented challenge for you as well.
Changes in human history have countless times driven leaps in society and the flourishing of civilizations. But there are just as many examples of failed revolutions, with many even accelerating their own demise.
The road to change is never smooth sailing; one must be prepared to face all sorts of difficulties and challenges.
In the Crisis Era, humanity has faced endless trials on its journey. Lessons from a century of gatherings, a century of teachings. This road has been lined with the bones of countless individuals, who have forged the resilience we have today.
Now, the path of change you face is no different. Even within an absolutely authoritarian society, it's difficult for one person alone to drive this profound transformation.
You're being a bit too aggressive right now, you need to lay out your plans gradually, everything you do before executing your second escape is critical.
You can cultivate a new social class to become a significant force for change. What you need is to work from behind the scenes to find the pivotal points that can tip the situation, and then gently nudge them.
Change depends on the inner desire and the outer push of the entire society, and it requires a leader with the foresight to see what the future holds.
Otherwise, the most probable outcome for the road to change is the demise of both people and policy.]
No. 7 was surprised; he hadn't expected Lin Sen to offer advice at this juncture. Two beings who had battled for centuries were now guiding him.
After pondering for a moment, No. 7 said, "I'll give it careful consideration."
"Just like your Moon Base plan, with clever strategies, step by step you made it a significant force in human power, and took advantage of the great depression's natural disasters to achieve a rebirth of human society through fire.
"The Moon project, the Shelter project, the Underground City project, the Isolation Island project, the Lagrange project... each of these plans is interlinked, having profound implications, steadily pushing humanity to its peak.
"Over the years, I've also dedicated myself to studying these plans, hoping to draw inspiration from them to carve a path for our future."
No. 7 also had doubts, as until now Lin Sen hadn't negotiated with him. Did he genuinely have no ulterior motives?
No. 7 even asked directly: "You discovered my identity, don't you have anything you want to negotiate?"
Lin Sen: [I don't need to get anything from you; what we want, we'll take ourselves.
Now, all you need to consider is how to ensure your civilization's survival amid the future onslaught of humanity.
Humanity's escape starships left the Solar System 70 years ago, and your first fleet escaped over a hundred years ago.
We have both left the seeds of our civilizations; it's our civilizational responsibility.
From now on, our future will be written by ourselves.
We hope that, like humanity, you can gather the lessons from a century, and after a hundred years, we'll look each other in the eye once more.
The human civilization is prone to making mistakes and getting carried away. Perhaps we still need you.
After all, we are surrounded by a multitude of Hunters; only by becoming Hunters ourselves as soon as possible may we have a chance to survive.
And there's one crucial point: in our two battles, we've launched countless directed-energy attacks into the universe, which will propagate indefinitely.
If the Hunters pick up these attacks, even though they may not locate our exact position, they would still be given a direction to investigate.
We may not have much time left!]
No. 7 shook his head with a wry smile: "How ironic!!"
"Our desperate struggle for survival now becomes a means for you to urge human civilization to keep progressing!
"You're one cunning Mr. Poison Snake, intent on squeezing out every last bit of value from us!
"What is even more sorrowful is that while we're still struggling for survival, you're already preparing for the challenge of the Dark Forest."