Chapter 307: The Clash of Values

Mozi continued,

"The cornerstone of the law is the fair respect for human rights. It's precisely because human society is imperfect that law exists.

"The essence of the law should not be about punishment, but about protection, about giving everyone a fair chance to dialogue.

"In the Trisolaran world, human rights are absolutely fair, or it could be said that there are no human rights, so the law has no meaning.

"Our biggest difference lies in the judgment of right and wrong, which is to say, our worldviews and values differ.

"You cannot accept the values of the Trisolarans, but how can you make the Trisolarans accept your values and willingly submit to the sanctions of your laws?

"I even envy 1379, at least he could have a dialogue with their Head. You, on the other hand, are always immersed in your own set of values and are never willing to hear any different voices.

"You cannot hear the voices from the bottom, and you pretend not to hear the voices from Trisolaris. Can you really build the ideal society you envision this way?

"Human hypocrisy and arrogance have never changed.

"I am a failure; I want to use my humble voice to beg you to listen more to voices outside of your value system."

Arguing point by point in legal terms was pointless; Mozi was appealing directly from the essence of human law.

Mozi's words also left many present in silence. Humanity had always judged the Trisolarans by its own standards of right and wrong, and it seemed that Humanity also should listen to the voices of the Trisolarans.

Lin Sen slowly stood up, and in an instant, the entire hall fell silent, with all the eyes of the world focusing on him as if under a spotlight. His voice always carried a kind of magic:

"This trial is not only a scrutiny of the Trisolarans but also a challenge to our own self-awareness, urging us to listen to voices from beyond our value system.

"Perhaps we cannot truly understand the Trisolarans, but this critical step still needs to be taken.

"I also hope everyone will listen to each Trisolaran's thoughts and concepts, and try to understand their world and perspective.

"Humanity should also listen with a more inclusive mindset to the voices of every class and group, for each voice represents a state of life, a dimension of thought that deserves our understanding and attention.

"Humanity's greatness is not reflected only in the numerous eye-catching feats we have achieved, the many technological challenges we have conquered, or the splendid civilization we have built.

"True greatness lies in our ability to face our imperfections, to self-criticize and reflect, to persistently move forward and strive for better, regardless of the difficulties we face.

"We are always on the path in pursuit of perfection, and both Mozi and the Trisolarans are worth our listening to."

Humanity has an instinctive obedience to the Wallfacers; next, the court invited thousands of Trisolaran Prisoners to attend and to understand all processes from their journey from the Trisolaran world to the human world and their inner thoughts at each stage.

This was a fierce clash of different values, allowing Humanity to directly and visually recognize the Trisolarans for the first time.

Below are some excerpts from the dialogues:

...

Prosecutor: "In this war, you caused the deaths of so many innocent humans; do you feel remorse?"

Trisolaran: "We will admit our mistakes, but we do not feel remorse."

Prosecutor: "Why not?"

Trisolaran: "Such a strategy was not the best one, that is our mistake. But why feel remorse if sacrificing a part of Humanity does not significantly affect Humanity as a whole? Most of the humans who died were those not yet adapted to the Interstellar Era, and their removal is beneficial to Humanity.

"On our home planet, some of the less outstanding individuals are also periodically selected for removal; too many individuals are not conducive to our own development."

Prosecutor, shocked: "You regularly choose to kill your own kind? Do you not have any empathy at all?"

Trisolaran: "Yes, we do have empathy, but we do not consider this unacceptable. Doesn't Humanity also purge its own? You just use different methods, clearing yourselves through various forms of war from groups external to you. Even without external threats, you split into multiple factions and then clean yourselves in the same way."

Prosecutor: "Your understanding is not correct. There are wars fought for interests, but more are fought for ideals and justice, and our goal is not to purge—that can't be explained in just a few words."

Trisolaran: "I understand what you are trying to say, but I think your thinking is too limited.

"Actually, it's all the same—just a way of civilization's metabolism. The ideals and justice you speak of essentially better fit the social development model; such wars are still fundamentally about purging the inferior parts of civilization."

Prosecutor: (Silence for a moment)

Trisolaran: "Humanity follows the principle of being human-centered; the law reflects the simple will of the majority.

"Trisolarans follow the collective, the sacrifice of individuals is insignificant, so our laws do not show care for the individual."

Prosecutor: "From the viewpoint of interests, don't you think that respecting individuals would benefit the development of your world?"

Trisolaran: "We view issues from a different angle than you do.

"Perhaps you're right, respect for the individual can be beneficial to societal development, but it is contingent on the premise of extremely abundant resources.

"In my world, at times, mistakenly killing a flesh bug (a kind of food for Trisolarans) can be a much graver offense than killing a Trisolaran."

Prosecutor: "Your food is worth more than human life?"

Trisolaran: "Trisolarans rarely engage in exchanges with one another, so we don't have much of a concept of value, but I understand your point.

"In our world, mistakenly killing a flesh bug will result in the death penalty, whereas mistakenly killing a Trisolaran, after explaining the reasons, generally results in acquittal."

Prosecutor: "Wouldn't this lead to large-scale vendettas among you?"

Trisolaran: "Not at all. We harbor no hatred towards each other; the primary reason for killing another person is a shortage of food.

"We can treat others as our food, and even in times of great disasters, we will kill some Trisolarans in advance to reserve as food."

Prosecutor: "This... is indeed shocking. You are like demons from hell. Do you not see anything wrong with this?"

Trisolaran: "That is correct."

Prosecutor: "Then, what do you think of our laws?"

Trisolaran: "Although its rationality can be proven through logic and mathematics in some aspects, we still completely fail to comprehend it, we can't accept it, and even feel aversion to it.

"According to the original texts of our laws, it is humanity that is truly guilty. The excessive consumption of resources and the severe damage to the ecosystem by humans are the greatest evils.

"Humans always assume that all resources are endless and renewable, willfully destroying ecosystems.

"Humans always believe they are superior to other species, yet the species communism we adhere to, which you consider nihilistic species communism, is widely believed in Trisolaris.

"Trisolaran Society isn't just composed of Trisolarans, but includes all living species from Trisolaris. Trisolarans cannot survive apart from other species. This is species communism, where all species collectively own this planet.

"All species share this planet with no disparity in stature, only different roles.

"In contrast, humans produce countless products, capture countless prey, not to use or consume but to waste needlessly.

"There are even absurd notions that wasting promotes social and economic development, which is unacceptable in our legal system.

"As for the principle of respecting individuals you mentioned earlier, it is impossible for us to achieve.

"We cannot respect all species; that is the real nihilism, just like you cannot respect cockroaches.

"If we were to limit respect only to Trisolarans, it would also be unjust towards the other species of this planet.

"Human laws are the result of thousands of years of effort by humanity, while Trisolaran laws are the sum of hundreds of millions of years of the blood and tears of Trisolarans, ingrained in every cell of every Trisolaran."

Prosecutor: "We can understand that. We live in different environments with different survival needs and ethical perceptions.

"Your practice of eating other Trisolarans might have its reasoning, but it's unacceptable within our ethical and legal frameworks.

"As Mozi said, laws are the powerful conventions that maintain the stability of their respective societies."

Trisolaran: "Yes, we might have reached a consensus here, fair laws may never have existed."

Prosecutor: (Silent)

...

The chasm of differing values makes it difficult to find common ground on many issues.

This unprecedented trial went through six months of intense debates and discussions.

Ultimately, after fully understanding the history, culture, and values of the Trisolarans, as well as the invasion process by the Trisolarans, the Solar System Alliance announced the disposition of the Trisolaran prisoners.

One, grant Trisolaran prisoners the same human rights as humans.

Human laws lack jurisprudence to try Trisolarans, so these Trisolarans must first be granted the basic rights relevant to humans.

Two, the Trisolaran prisoners are convicted for violating the security of human beings in the Solar System and for breaching the peaceful codes of interstellar civilizations.

According to the court's verdict, the Trisolaran prisoners are to serve a sentence of 150 years, starting from the effective date of the judgment. During their imprisonment, the Trisolaran prisoners are to engage in uncompensated labor as punishment and compensation for their crimes.

PS: The self-purging of Trisolarans was also mentioned in the original text; the author has only expanded upon it, and it isn't an alternative setting, or fan fiction.

So far, apart from technological aspects, the author hasn't really introduced any alternative settings, and even if there are any, they're very minor, like the story of Mozi, etc.