Original subtitles

You...

How long have you been married?

Eight years.

How old is your child?

Seven.

I bought this house

in preparation for marriage.

I thought she'd actually start a family with me.

Yang Dong.

She was like a star in the sky,

which was far, far away from you.

Even the light it shed on you felt

cold.

This afternoon, after you left,

people from the Battle Command Center talked to me in private.

They wanted me to join the Frontiers of Science.

Well,

you didn't agree, right?

No.

Right!

Your choice's quite right!

Let me tell you something. They're just a bunch of

arrogant idiots!

They seem to have done some digging.

Yeah. Worldwide digging.

So they should know that

there are

two people having nothing to do

with the Frontiers of Science at all.

And Yang Dong

was one of them.

=Three-Body=

=Episode 2=

Dr. Ding,

why did Yang Dong

make a choice like that?

Because

physics

doesn't exist anymore.

If physics didn't exist anymore,

and you release your hold right now,

this book would fly into the sky

instead of falling to the floor.

You're right.

If physics didn't exist anymore,

Schrodinger wouldn't have been on the floor.

He would've been...

in the sky.

So,

Einstein

wouldn't have been on the floor either.

Newton

wouldn't have been on the floor either.

None of these people

would've been on the floor.

They would've all been floating in the sky.

They're all on the floor now.

Do you know how to play this?

A little.

Yang Dong and I loved it,

because it reminded us of

the collision in a particle collider.

Help me clean this.

You may toss them wherever you want. It's okay.

No need. It's okay. You don't have to stack them up.

Just toss them away.

Can you hit it into the hole?

I think any normal person can do it.

Let's

rotate it 90 degrees.

Alright.

Okay. This will do.

Dr. Ding, what are we doing?

Do it again.

Okay, now the experiments are over.

Let's analyze the results.

We conducted five collision experiments in total, right?

The first four took place in different positions

at different times, and

the fifth one happened in the same position as the first one,

but at a different time,

so you're unsurprised by this outcome, right?

All five collision experiments generated the same result.

What do you mean?

I...

I'd like you

to explain this outcome

with the language of physics.

Language of physics.

In the five previous experiments,

there was no change whatsoever

in the mass of the two balls.

Their relative positions,

if using the pool table as a reference frame,

never changed either.

The velocity vector

at which the white ball hit the black one hardly changed,

which caused the momentum exchange

generated by the collision between the balls to remain unchanged as well.

That's the reason the black ball

went into the hole every time it got hit.

So now you've discovered

a great law:

the laws of physics are even

in terms of time and space.

From the start of human history

until now, all the discoveries made in the field of physics,

such as Archimedes' principle, the string theory,

every single one of those things

is based

on this law.

You know what I mean?

I understand your words,

but I don't know what you're trying to convey.

Do you dare to imagine

another result?

In the first experiment,

the black ball was hit into the hole.

In the second one,

well, the black ball

went off track.

In the third one,

the black ball

flew into mid-air.

In the fourth one,

the black ball, like a scared sparrow,

flew around in the room.

And then in the fifth one,

at near the speed of light,

it flew off this table, penetrated through the wall,

broke free from Earth's gravity,

and shot straight out of the solar system.

Just like

what Asimov depicts in his sci-fi.

If the results of the experiments

were like that,

what...

what would you think?

You and Yang Dong both liked playing pool,

because it reminded you of

the collision in a particle collider.

So this kind of thing really did happen?

In Yang Dong's lab?

The first data, recorded at 9:07,

the second date, recorded at 10:22,

the third data, recorded at 10:50.

They're all inconsistent.

They're also inconsistent with the calculation results.

The experiment failed.

It happened.

But that was always part of the experiment.

In terms of experiment, that was quite normal.

Yeah. In terms of experiment,

abnormal data is a normal thing, right?

But this time, things are different.

Let's get back to pool.

Uh, if in the fourth experiment,

the black ball flew all around like a sparrow,

and in the fifth one it flew out of the solar system,

if I need you

to verify that kind of results,

would you be able to do it with deduction?

I specialize in applied physics,

so I don't know much about this kind of stuff,

but I think that's very unlikely.

These are the faxes you sent to the victim.

You sent all these?

What's wrong?

Is your girlfriend okay?

What's going on exactly?

What's the matter?

Look at this.

Experiment results.

No.

The time.

This can't be happening.

Nine o'clock.

It couldn't be nine.

Impossible.

The data, which was the same as Yang Dong's,

had been delivered to Professor Munphy

when her experiment was still ongoing.

No way.

According to our known knowledge of physics,

that's absolutely impossible.

We think it's impossible,

because right now we still

believe in physics.

Yang Dong expounded and proved it?

I don't know either.

I want to find out as well.

If this is true,

then... the evenness of time and space

that laws of physics are based on

will be

non-existent,

which

means...

Which means physics doesn't exist anymore.

This will be a catastrophe

for the research of cutting-edge theory.

So, to make achievement

in theoretical physics,

you need an unswerving religious belief.

That's why there are people

believing the hypothesis about the shooter and the farmer.

The shooter and the farmer.

That's the theory of the Frontiers of Science.

Yeah. Anyway, those theories which cannot be proved right

and cannot be proved wrong either are actually, to put it bluntly...

You know, they give people hope.

But sometimes this kind of hope

might drive people

to their doom.

I always felt that

I was about to win her heart.

Maybe,

if you accept my proposal,

the experiment will go well.

The experiment failed.

Then do some extra ones.

But maybe I was wrong.

The data, which was the same as Yang Dong's,

had been delivered to Professor Munphy

when her experiment was still ongoing.

No way.

According to our known knowledge of physics,

that's absolutely impossible.

We think it's impossible,

because right now we still believe in physics.

Physics

doesn't exist anymore.

Physics doesn't exist anymore.

Are you blind?

What a psycho.

♪ Advance! Advance!♪

♪ The momentum of revolution is unstoppable ♪

♪ Advance! Advance!♪

♪ In the direction of victory ♪

♪ Three red flags are fluttering in the wind ♪

♪600 million people are striving for national prosperity ♪

♪ Working diligently to make this beautiful country stronger ♪

♪ Resolved to turn their mother country into a paradise ♪

♪ Advance! Advance!♪

(Spring Grass)

(Pierla Hutong 4-2)

Hi.

Welcome back to the Frontiers of Science.

Sorry to disturb you.

No.

I'm very happy you called.

You want me to join the Frontiers of Science?

I want everybody to join us,

and get to know us.

I still can't fully accept your theory,

though it sounds

fascinating.

Anything,

when you begin to doubt it

and want to break through it,

becomes the most fascinating.

That's why our organization is named

Frontiers of Science.

In this area,

owning such a large manor house,

the owner must be no ordinary person.

This is a private residence of one of our members.

It was offered

to us for communication.

Professor Wang?

Professor Wang?

That member specializes in quantum entanglement, right?

Yeah.

Welcome, friends visiting the Frontiers of Science for the first time.

And welcome back, Professor Wang Miao.

Professor Wang participated in some of our previous discussions,

so, next,

(Frontiers of Science) I'd like you to tell everybody

what our research is about.

I think it's the shooter hypothesis

and the farmer hypothesis.

(Assuming that a marksman)

(leaves bullet holes on a target)

(at intervals of 10 centimeters.)

(Suppose that on this target)

(resides a kind of two-dimensional intelligent species.)

(Their scientists,)

(after observing their universe,)

(discovered a great law.)

(Each time they travel 10 centimeters,)

(they're guaranteed to find a hole.)

(They mistake)

(what the shooter did on a whim)

(as an unchanging law of their universe.)

In the eyes of those two-dimensional creatures,

the holes made at intervals of 10 centimeters

might be the greatest wonder in their world.

Maybe they're planning on adventuring.

Maybe they're even researching surveying equipment,

trying to find out which material can help them

explore in a more efficient and safer way.

Maybe it's nano-material.

There's also

a farmer hypothesis.

There is a flock of turkeys on a farm.

Every day the farmer

feeds them at 11 AM.

One of the turkeys, a scientist,

observes the phenomenon.

It observes for almost a year,

and there's been no exception,

so it also announces

a great law of their universe.

Food arrives

at 11 AM every day.

One day, when it's 11 o'clock,

the farmer shows up again,

but

it's Thanksgiving Day.

Food

doesn't come.

The farmer walks inside,

takes them all and slaughters them.

We might be like the two-dimensional scientist

on that target,

or the turkey scientist on the farm.

If, in this world,

there is indeed a kind of supernatural power,

the shooter,

then the regularity that the shooter knows

is the truth.

Newton's classical mechanics

is totally useless in the micro-world,

and Einstein's theory of relativity,

when applied to the quantum world, raises even more problems.

If science has frontiers,

then what we're about to touch

is very likely to be the frontiers.

The "truth" that those two-dimensional creatures find is not the truth,

because in their world,

they can never find the truth.

Their science

has frontiers.

Then what's beyond the frontiers?

What regularities

do the shooter and the farmer know?

Personally,

this is not just science.

It's more like a ritual.

A ritual of infinite exploration

of the frontiers of science.

But what's the point of all this?

State your opinions.

I have no impressive opinions.

Every one of you

know more about theories than I do,

but I think

today's discussion

serves only to make scientists vulnerable.

In my eyes,

there's no way whatsoever to authenticate these hypotheses,

but if those two-dimensional creatures

and the turkeys on the farm

find out everything but are powerless to make any difference,

how despairing will they be?

Actually, your current attitude proves that

no matter whether you're willing to admit it or not,

you've come to believe this hypothesis.

Even if I believe it,

I will not accept

that I'm a turkey scientist.

Previous to this,

maybe you've never thought

that you might be a turkey scientist.

I will not accept I'm a turkey scientist.

Dr. Shen,

has it ever occurred to you

that such a statement can kill?

The turkeys on the farm

are meant to die on Thanksgiving Day.

(Defend Our Mother Country)

Professor Wang,

you don't look very well.

Rough night?

The other day, you said those words to me on purpose, right?

What words?

Asking me to talk to Ding Yi.

Making me become suspicious of the Frontiers of Science.

All those were tricks meant for me, right?

You set a trap for me and waited for me to step into it.

Although you're a science guy,

you're pretty smart.

Well, what did you find out?

Fill me in.

Was Yang Dong's death really suicide?

In terms of criminology

and forensic examination,

it was undoubtedly suicide,

but if all their deaths were suicide,

then what's the point of our investigation?

You're still trying to trick me.

You're trying to trick me into focusing on Yang Dong.

That's right.

I need to set another trap for you.

Yang Dong's funeral is in two days.

Go ahead. Go ahead.

Go ahead.

What are you doing?

Give me a ride downhill.

That's not even my car. Why are you pulling?

People are prone to make mistakes

when... when agitated.

He went to Ding Yi,

and then Shen Yufei.

Don't get too excited.

What's that going to prove?

I bet

he'll attend Yang Dong's funeral.

Why?

No particular reason.

This Wang Miao guy strikes me as very special.

Chang,

it's been such a long time,

and this is just a case about scientists' suicides.

With such a large Battle Command Center,

have you really found nothing?

It's about time you fill me in.

I mean, it's been some time since you transferred me here.

Does everything going on in this center

need to be reported to you?

All you have to do

is solve the case of the scientist.

Alright.

Consider it done.

I'll crack this case for you

following the clue of Wang Miao,

but

don't forget

our deal.

My suspension,

you need to handle it for me.

Have I not handled it for you?

Are you under suspension?

You're doing pretty well in my department, aren't you?

The first bow.

The second bow.

The third bow.

Kin's reciprocal bow.

Ms. Ye, sorry for your loss.

Who are you?

I'm Yang Dong's friend.

My name is Wang Miao.

Thank you.

You specialize in the string theory as well?

No.

I specialize in nanotechnology.

Applied physics.

A few days ago,

I read a news report,

and it's about nanotechnology.

It mentioned a kind of super-strength nano-material.

Its name's Flying Blade.

That's the very thing

we've been researching in our lab.

That's very audacious,

and very forward-looking.

You flatter us, Ms. Ye.

It happens that not long ago,

when the superstring model verification experiment was conducted in Liangxiang,

I took a picture of Yang Dong.

I brought it here so you could have it as a keepsake.

Sorry, Ms. Ye.

There was a technical glitch

when I was developing and printing it.

I'll develop and print another one

and deliver it to your house in a few days.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

See you around, Ms. Ye.

You look pretty good dressed entirely in black.

I know what you're going to say.

I came here purely to show

my respect for a scientist and offer my condolences.

Do I make myself clear enough?

Stop following me.

Did I ask you to make yourself clear?

You and Ye Wenjie,

Yang Dong's mother,

talked for a long time.

Is that so?

Sorry

for your loss.

Goodbye.

It took you that long to say those words?

What is this?

Hello?

Wang.

Li.

What's up?

What's going on?

I asked you to develop that roll of film for me.

Was there something wrong with your machine?

Why are there time codes on the pictures?

That... That's impossible.

That never happened to my other customers.

Could it be that your negative's problematic?

Hold on.

The negative has it too.

Could it be the film?

I bought the film from you as well.

It can't be.

I think it's your camera.

Could it be that you got the timer wrong?

Uh, what's the brand of your camera?

Leica.

M2, 1988.

Fully mechanical and manual.

Well, that's a beautiful thing!

You're such a big spender!

It can't be. Your camera

should have no timer in it.

Well, even if it had a timer,

there's no way the time could've appeared in the middle of the picture.

Well, I don't know.

How about you do some more research?

Something's not right.

The color of these codes changes with the background.

Well, I'll do some research about it. Talk to you later.

Alright.

Time.

They're all smaller than 60.

It's time.

Countdown.

It's a countdown.

There are...

1,194 hours left.

1,187 hours.

♪ It's just a matter of time ♪

♪ Should we say goodbye ♪

♪ Or should we keep it all ♪

(Yang Dong)

(Tsinghua University Relentless self-improvement. Unswerving virtue)

♪ Fireworks ♪

♪ You wasted it all just to watch me burn ♪

♪ And on and on and on ♪

♪ We can fight it back ♪

♪ Stop it with our love ♪

♪ Or should we keep it all ♪

1,187 hours.

49 days.

What's going to happen in 49 days?

♪ With the cost of all ♪

(After investigating the scene,)

(they discovered the victim's pacemaker had been suspended by someone.)

(Fingerprints have been lifted from the crime scene.)

(The victim's fingerprints)

(and the fingerprints found on the pacemaker)

(are being delivered to examiners for cross-reference.)

The data are identical,

so they definitely got the time wrong.

I only sent him faxes.

If it was he who photocopied them,

how could the faxes

have been photocopied at different times?

Nobody could've gotten the results

of your experiment before you conducted it.

It's definitely the machine.

Have some faith in science, okay?

Can a photocopier make mistakes with only the time?

♪ I've seen things you people won't believe ♪

♪ Soon our planet will vanish ♪

♪ I've known the future you people won't think of ♪

♪ Soon your planet will be punished ♪

♪ I've seen things you people won't believe ♪

♪ Soon our planet will vanish ♪

♪ I've known the future you people won't think of ♪

♪ Soon your planet will be punished ♪

=Three-Body=