Original subtitles

Ji Chang, it's been eight nights.

We're in another Chaotic Era.

The sun has never risen again.

My king, this is temporary.

The sun will soon rise.

The Stable Era and the spring will resume.

Heat the quadripod.

My king! My king!

There are...

There are three flying stars in the sky!

You don't know what it means to have three flying stars in the sky, I presume?

It means a harsh winter is about to come.

It can freeze hard rocks into powder.

Dehydrate!

- Dehydrate me. - Dehydrate.

Dehydrate!

Dehydrate me!

Dehydrate.

Dehydrate!

Use slow fire.

Those who want to quit may quit now.

This game doesn't have anything to offer anymore.

You didn't quit the game either.

I think it's raining dry ice now.

These snowflakes are solid oxygen and nitrogen.

The atmosphere is gradually dissolving at absolute zero.

Then we'll soon lose oxygen.

(The long night lasted 48 years.)

(Civilization No. 137 was destroyed by the extreme cold.)

(This civilization had advanced to the Warring States Period.)

(The seed of civilization remains.)

(It will germinate)

(and again progress through the unpredictable world)

(of Three-Body.)

(We invite you to log in to the game again.)

Did you lose or win?

Did you lose or win?

It was awe-inspiring.

How did I die?

Did I die of thirst?

You dehydrated.

All the water in your body evaporated.

All your blood vessels shrivelled.

You turned into a man-shaped skin.

Those jerks lied to me.

It was really so awe-inspiring.

A civilization was destroyed just like that.

Destroyed?

The farmer kicked the bucket?

What on earth is this game about?

King Wen of Zhou told me.

This is a Chaotic Era.

The Stable Era seems to be an obsession of theirs.

Even now,

I still haven't figured out what we should do exactly.

Should we look for patterns about the Stable Era?

Or should we find a way from among Stable Eras

and Chaotic Eras to continue the civilization?

Why is it so disorderly?

I don't know.

Maybe the game's not disorderly.

It's just we haven't understood.

How about we get back in and try again while our morale's still high?

This time we swoop in and kill King Zhou of Shang together,

and this whole thing will be over, won't it?

This game is not about killing people.

King Wen told me the goal of this game

is to figure out the pattern of the sun's movement.

The pattern of the sun's movement

is that it rises in the east and sets in the west, isn't it?

In the world of Three-Body, the sun's movement does not follow that pattern.

When it's a Chaotic Era, in particular,

the sun's movement is completely irregular.

It's a game. It does things as it pleases.

But have you noticed this?

In this game, many feelings are a bit too real.

Of course.

I've drunk three bottles of water.

It strikes me that the purpose of making this game so realistic

is not to give players a better experience.

I specially checked the pyramid buried under the snow before quitting.

The bottom layer of the snow is solid water. The middle layer is dry ice.

The uppermost layer is solid oxygen and nitrogen.

Which company designed this game?

I don't know.

Practice makes perfect.

Let's give it another few shots, and get to the bottom of this matter.

Come in.

Mr. Wang.

Play another round. Play another round.

One more time. One more time. Come on. One more time.

Buddy, get me my gloves. Thanks.

It's time for the meeting.

♪ Countdown counter ♪

♪ Hidden in eyes ♪

♪ Explore deep dreams in the dark ♪

♪ What is waiting for me at the end of the mysterious space-time ♪

♪ Don't break the hope given to the world ♪

♪ The sun still sets every day ♪

=Three-Body=

=Episode 8=

You hit my bike, but don't worry.

I'm not going to demand compensation.

You're almost a blackmail-meister now. Your imagination is working overtime.

How could I cause such a severe car accident when I wasn't even in my car?

What do you want?

Look carefully.

Today I have no digital recorder on me.

It doesn't matter.

I got nothing to say to you.

Not even about the Frontiers of Science?

That's right.

It seems you're still inept at dealing with media workers.

When asked by a media worker,

you should say "No comment", or "Never heard of it".

Saying that you got nothing to say

means you know a lot, but are unwilling to disclose anything.

I don't want to say "No comment".

I do know a lot, but why should I tell you?

Alright.

This proves my investigation's heading in the right direction.

I'm looking into the Frontiers of Science as well.

- Move your bike and get out of my sight. - Alright.

What a pity.

You didn't disclose anything useful.

Hello?

I need you to keep looking into that Mu Xing girl for me.

We must find out what she's up to.

What happened exactly?

Why did you call me here in such a hurry at this late hour?

Are you Wang Miao?

I'm Professor Ye's student, Sha Ruishan.

Nice to meet you.

It's really an honor to meet you.

They are used for observation, but they have nothing to do with my project.

Come.

Huh?

Come in with me.

Aren't they breathtaking?

They are all like the ears of a deaf man.

Ever since construction was completed,

interference has been unceasing in the observational bands.

First, there were the paging stations during the 80s.

Now, it's the mobile communication.

Most of the tasks that need

metre-wave aperture synthesis radio telescope can't be performed.

What on earth are you rambling on about?

Come on. Come on.

Solve it?

Who will solve it?

Should mobile communication be stopped

just because we want to explore the universe?

We don't have the money.

Right now, we can only use technical means to shield against interference.

My project only depends on satellite data.

The ground interference doesn't affect me much.

What do you want exactly?

We're running out of time.

Let's go.

Let me show you around.

This is my lab.

It's like home to me.

I usually live here.

Hurry. Hurry.

Come on. Hurry. Make yourself at home.

Come on. Come in here. Have some water.

- I don't want to drink it. - You must drink it.

Take it.

My lab is used to receive the data sent by three satellites

and display them in real time on the eight terminals. I...

Stand here.

Come here.

Hurry.

Stand here.

Stop.

Alright.

My job is to use these observational data to create a more detailed map

of the cosmic microwave background.

What kind of data do you want to see?

Can you be more specific?

Professor Wang, you're not a specialist in the field, right?

Do you have some basic understanding of the cosmic microwave background?

The overall fluctuation in the cosmic microwave background

is almost negligible.

Stop.

Alright. Stay there.

Even with the sensitivity of the Planck satellite,

continuous observation for a million years might not detect a...

Stop.

You called me here at this late hour,

had me wear the same clothes as the last time,

and then you said exactly what you said on that day.

What is this about?

Stop.

Don't sit there.

Sit here.

Come on. Come on.

Hurry.

Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down.

This morning, I ate a fried egg, and then went out on my bike.

I was two minutes late.

At noon, I knocked over a cup of coffee.

Before dinner, I hurt my foot when overhauling a piece of equipment.

And then in the evening, you came.

All these things were exactly the same as what happened on June 13th.

You and I saw the universe flicker.

It's almost time to make observations.

Come on. Sit straight.

The universe is not going to flicker tonight.

It's almost time.

Three, two, one.

Like I said, the universe is not going to flicker tonight.

Did you wear black socks on that day as well?

Do you think the universe will flicker again if we repeat all this?

Are you implying we're controlling cosmic flicker?

Is it you or me who has that ability?

You really believe the universe can flicker?

Hold on a second.

The whole universe flickered on such a massive scale.

I don't believe that.

If you tell me someone placed a gigantic screen in the universe

to make us think the universe flickered, I won't believe that either.

Both cosmic flicker and gigantic screens

are things we can neither believe nor comprehend,

but it did happen right in front of our eyes.

We are the chosen ones.

Chosen?

By who?

A lot of people got hit by apples: orchardists, children, Newdon, Newmen,

but only Newton was the chosen one.

I've been feeling since my childhood that someday I'll become an astronomer.

I believe all these things are the guidance a deity is giving me.

So a deity led you into scientific research?

Professor Wang.

Do you believe God parted the Red Sea for Moses?

I'm a scientist.

I mustn't believe that, but how is what we saw that day

any different from God parting the Red Sea?

I want to research all this.

I want to understand all this.

I want to know the truth.

Professor Wang, don't you want to know the truth?

I don't.

Comrades, this is a war.

Although we still don't know who our enemies are,

or what they look like, or how they exist, we do know one thing.

Those dead scientists were important assets to the world, and even to mankind.

If a war breaks out, or post-war reconstruction becomes necessary,

they'll have a very important role to play.

We need them.

Almost all the suicides were connected to the Frontiers of Science.

Why don't we just attack them?

The Frontiers of Science is still an international academic group.

We have no reason to attack them.

Besides, they're scholars.

Any move against them will cause severe social influences.

Do you have any suggestions, General Chang?

I suggest we keep top scientists of all Combat Zones under surveillance.

If we detect any signs of the Frontiers of Science contacting or swaying them,

we'll immediately adopt protection measures.

Morning.

Wang Miao, come here.

Your timing's perfect.

My ten assistants wrote this report on Three-Body.

Yesterday they played it all night.

Alright.

You had ten assistants play a video game?

Just... Just read it.

Okay.

(Asian Defense Council Three-Body game report)

This report is pretty long.

And it seems pretty meticulous.

I had several gaming sessions,

collecting one type of game information at a time.

Information about the environment, the creatures, and how players feel.

Then I sorted and summarized it.

My assistant, Xu Bingbing.

Well, when playing it,

did you ten people figure out the pattern of the sun's movement?

Yeah.

But so far we haven't been able to draw any conclusions.

The shift between the Chaotic Era and the Stable Era is random.

It switches between extreme cold and scorching heat without any warning.

Sometimes it even happens repeatedly in an hour.

When it's a Chaotic Era, apart from dehydration,

are there any other ways of survival?

I did some observing.

Some mire fish can survive extremely hot weather.

If humans dig a hideout before the mire dries up as those fish do,

and the Chaotic Era is short enough, maybe they'll survive.

Are the mire fish you talk about similar to the African lungfish?

Herring?

The kind they make stinky canned fish with?

- Lungfish. - It's lungfish.

Africans once found that some fish would burrow into the mud

for shelter during the dry season, leaving only some small air vents.

Lungfish can stay alive in dormancy for almost four years.

So the ten of you guys wrote this report together?

Didn't I introduce her to you on your arrival? My ten assistants.

Xu Bingbing.

She's worth ten assistants. Very knowledgeable.

Almost as capable as me.

You, uh...

Don't mop the floor again.

Let's continue.

But humans are unable to lie dormant as lungfish do,

so this information is useless.

Professor Wang.

Does it strike you that this game is alarmingly meticulous in terms of details?

Yeah.

There are mire fish in the mire.

What falls from the sky is dry ice instead of snow.

Though it's just a video game, it's unduly realistic.

I told him the other day that these massive details

were far beyond the concept of gaming experience.

Then what are they?

I... I'll figure out how to explain this to you.

Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Surely you know that picture.

I do.

- The one with hundreds of people on it. - Yeah.

Which one contains more information?

Along the River During the Qingming Festival or this one?

This picture... It contains information?

It does, and its information is tens, even thousands of times

that of Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

Normally, the details of a video game

are designed to give the players better experience,

so game designers will capture more character movements and render more images

to increase the amount of information as much as they can

so as to make the game more realistic.

Just like Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

But the designer of this game did the exact opposite.

There's a huge amount of information hidden behind this game.

Just like this picture.

It attempts to drastically compress the information,

as if trying to hide some kind of enormous truth.

Since the designer has so many ideas,

who don't we just seek him out and get the answers from him?

I looked into it,

but I couldn't find any information about the designer of Three-Body.

Well, did you look into who might be capable of

designing a video game like this?

I don't think any individuals can develop a game like this.

Only very established and strong video game companies

or top-notch game designer groups can do it.

The login interface of the domestic version of this game is in Chinese,

so I sifted out all the outstanding video game companies.

I think these ones might be capable enough to do this.

(Game Design Companies) We may consult them.

Alright.

A quick aside here.

What's the monthly salary of the ten of you?

Not much.

I get only the normal salary.

How can they do this?

How can they give you only the normal salary?

From now on, mopping the floor will be my job.

Actually, this game has been there for quite some time.

We just never paid any attention to it.

Our investigation shows most of the players of this game

are scientists, or elite intellectuals.

Many of them are members of the Frontiers of Science.

Yang Dong never played this game, right?

And neither did Munphy, right?

We looked into those dead scientists.

None of them even owned a VR device.

Why did they pick Wang Miao to play this game?

Maybe it's an interview.

Wang Miao agreed to join them,

and he needed to clear this game to gain their recognition.

Xu Bingbing, you...

The ten of you should clear this game as soon as possible.

Me clearing it won't do any good.

This test is for Wang Miao.

Why won't it do any good?

If you clear it, you'll know the key to the clearance,

which will be helpful to Wang Miao.

You're doing much better than I did when I first played the game.

What's the pattern of the sun's movement in the world of Three-Body?

You play it every day?

You told me I needed to see the farmer's world with my own eyes,

but where on earth is the farmer?

The gathering is about to begin.

Why don't you come and do some reviewing?

Is it still about the shooter and the farmer?

I've heard that twice.

Hearing it one more time will help you know more about Lord.

How did it go?

Do you know any of today's attendees?

I've met some of them before.

Which ones?

Which ones have frequent dealings with Shen Yufei? Tell me.

Don't "Ah" me.

Think back.

I didn't recognize all of them.

Just tell me the ones you recognized. Think back carefully.

I just know one of them was Pan Jianzhong.

He specializes in quantum optics.

There have been many reports about him lately.

Give the others some thought, okay?

Try to remember.

Think back carefully.

Mr. Pan.

Mr. Pan, I'm sorry.

Looks like I'm late anyway.

What would you like to drink? My treat.

Shi, lately another couple of foreign scientists have died.

Also suicide?

The Combat Zones have made a new plan.

How many have you recalled?

Captain Shi, Professor Wang, this is the roster.

Wh-what?

Roster.

I, uh, have a list of names.

It can be said the names of all top-notch scientists of all fields are on the list.

We need to keep them under surveillance?

Under protection.

Read it carefully and see if any of them

attended today's gathering, or has close ties with Shen Yufei.

There are too many of them, so I can't protect every one of them.

Then we protect those in contact with the Frontiers of Science.

Dude!

(Pan Jianzhong, Sun Bogang, Zhang Feiyang.) You recalled only three during the ride?

Well, I can remember nanotech devices, but I'm really not good with names.

Besides, why do you want me to think about this?

Many attend the gatherings of the Frontiers of Science,

but only a few of them are truly interested.

I got an audacious assumption.

Those having dealings with the Frontiers of Science have two possible endings.

One is that they pretend to trust them, cooperate with them,

and join them as you do.

The other is that they commit suicide because they can't stand it.

Right now we need to seek out all the scientists who might kill themselves,

- so we can protect them. Understood? - Yeah.

Seek them out!

Mr. Pan, I've read all the infosheets.

I find them very thought-provoking.

You mentioned a set of data in your infosheets.

(Impact of Environmental Pollution on Ecology)

In the last 40 years, due to human activities,

the number of sparrows in Country T has decreased by 57%.

The number of aquatic birds in Albax is 81% smaller over the previous year,

and that of Asian white-backed vultures has decreased by 99.9%.

They've almost become extinct.

Our earth is faced with such a dire environmental situation,

but we're turning a blind eye to it.

Unless their own lives are in danger, most people will choose to ignore it.

Yeah.

They don't care about the ozone hole, or water pollution, or air pollution.

You're ignoring one thing.

Yeah.

Light pollution.

You mentioned it in the infosheets.

I find that thought-provoking as well.

Bright light at night

makes it difficult for flying insects to orient themselves,

and the flowers that rely on nocturnal insects

to spread their pollen will have difficulty to multiply.

They'll gradually disappear from the earth.

In the long run, it'll damage the earth's ecosystem.

(Pan Jianzhong)

No. I really can't remember so many names. I'm about to pass out.

Keep it up.

You can do this.

I can only recall that earlier today,

there was this guy who's a bit older than others.

His hair's a bit grizzled.

He has a small beard on his chin which is also grizzled.

He talked about something about northern construction.

I found him.

A fluid dynamics expert.

Cheng Yuan.

Come on.

Keep it up. This is the sixth one.

I remember one more guy.

He had this dimple on the right side of his face when smiling.

I think he specializes in quantum dynamics.

Is there a guy like that?

What's his name? Do some digging.

Zhai Yiming.

He works at Central China University.

Awesome!

Keep it up, Wang Miao. This is the seventh one. Go for it.

There's another one.

He works in the Atmospheric Physics Research Center.

He's well-featured and a bit square-faced,

but he has asthma, because he keeps using a spray.

Zhang Jiuchao.

Attaboy!

You're the man!

You can do this. Go for it.

I will. I will.

Mr. Pan, I think if I put all these on newspaper,

the public are bound to be shocked by them.

Shocked?

Will shocking them do any good?

Will anybody care?

Take you for example.

When you gunned your bike to make it to this interview in time,

did you think of what the exhaust gas might do to the environment?

Will you feel guilty

when turning on the headlight of your bike on the road at night?

In the interests of hygiene,

you had the waiter put your coffee into a takeout cup.

Did you think of the damage it might cause?

You've read all the infosheets, but what influence did they have on you?

Did you change in any way?

What's the point of putting them in an article?

Mr. Pan, your words are even more thought-provoking than the infosheets.

Well, what can I do?

Your efforts to publicize these are commendable enough.

If everyone is environmentally aware enough to ask what they can do,

we'll have a chance.

Do you know the correct way to dispose of batteries?

With this list,

(List of scientists in need of protection) we've kept nine scientists

who have close ties with Shen Yufei under constant surveillance.

Most of them specialize in branches of physics.

What have physicists done to deserve this?

If anything abnormal is detected, we'll put them under protection immediately.

Liar!

You liar, Newton!

Schrodinger, you liar!

Einstein, you liar.

Cavendish, you liar.

Dirac, you liar.

You liars.

Fortunately, it's Sunday, so there's nobody working in the lab.

The one who found the body was the security guard on duty this weekend.

We've handled it, minimizing the aftermath of this incident.

Did he have dealings with anybody?

No.

It's still suicide, without doubt.

Only days ago, his research received international recognition.

He was scheduled to give many interviews in the next few days,

and his department was going to hold a meeting to commend him next week.

He even prepared an acceptance speech.

Then he killed himself?

Yeah, he did.

Mandatory protection.

I'm very sorry to have brought you here

in this fashion, but you have nothing to worry about.

We're protecting you.

Lately, a lot of scientists committed suicide without warning.

We suspect that there's more to those suicides.

I don't want anything like that to happen to you.

You're all elites of our country.

It can be said that you've made great contributions to

our nation, our country, even mankind.

I really hope you can leave aside the scientific research you're doing

and stay under our protection.

We'll ascertain the truth asap lest your lives be threatened again.

(Transfer Letter from Battle Command Center) As for your original departments and families,

you may rest assured that we'll make proper arrangements.

All of us will claim that you're transferred temporarily

for a scientific research project.

Please trust me.

Everything I did is to ensure your safety.

Do you know that these places were covered in greenery only years ago?

But now they're a scene of utter desolation.

Actually, what we need to know is much more than these.

On earth, dozens of species go extinct every day.

And the carbon dioxide levels in the air are the highest in three million years.

Even in the untraversed Antarctica, plastic trash has been found.

Maybe you feel that none of this has anything to do with you.

To save time, you press your foot down sharply on the gas pedal

without realizing how much damage the exhaust gas might cause.

That Mu Xing girl you told me to look into recorded a program in the studio.

Still about environmental protection.

You buy a bubble tea at the roadside

and use a takeout container without a second thought.

If the contents of her recording is problematic, don't let her release it.

Yes.

Where will plastic litter end up?

Someone visited her during the filming.

They had a talk, and then she left without finishing the filming.

Where did she go?

Don't worry. I had someone tail her.

(Mu Xing)

So you're Mu Xing?

Nobody attacked him.

All his vitals are normal.

He just has blurred vision.

Blurred vision?

Yeah.

He says his field of view is filled with sparks.

Sparks and electrical sparks.

He can hardly see anything else.

Send him to a hospital.

Make sure he's properly protected.

Yes.

That man was carried onto an ambulance.

He's a scientist specializing in quantum electrodynamics,

Zhai Yiming.

How's the definition of the footage?

Impressive.

You found out as well?

Found out what?

These scientists are under house arrest.

Apart from him, there are others.

I strongly suspect that this has something to do with the suicides of those scientists.

This is a protection measure.

It was your doing?

- Come with me. - Please don't.

Now!

Speak!

According to the regulations, I can stay here for 24 hours, right?

24 hours.

I doubt you can sit here for 24 hours without telling me anything.

Those are my lines.

I should say the same thing to you.

How did you know Zhai Yiming was there?

Who told you?

Who's the guy visiting you in your studio this afternoon?

Do you think it's possible that he told me the address

because he's also worried about the scientists' safety?

If he was worried, he would've told the police.

He told you because he wanted you to cause panic.

I'm spreading the truth.

That's bullshit.

What you should do the most is to keep your nose clean and cause us no trouble.

What's the point of burying your head in the sand like an ostrich?

Everybody deserves to know the truth.

You think I was the only one who found out about those scientists' whereabouts?

You can stop me, but can you stop everybody else from spreading the truth?

Officer Shi.

Please be cooperative.

You got the information I want, and I got the information you want.

Why don't we just trust each other and be honest with each other?

You think this is a cafe or something?

Do you know what this place is?

I do.

Then why are you bargaining with me?

You think you're in a position to bargain with me?

Captain Shi, why don't you let me ask her?

Do you think...

Describe what you saw.

I can't.

I couldn't see anything else.

One second, there were sparks. Then next, there were electrical sparks.

Anyway, it's like there were fireworks crackling in front of my eyes.

The glare almost blinded me.

Fireworks crackling?

No firecrackers?

No.

Then why did you hear the crackle?

There was no crackle.

Just glare.

What about now?

It suddenly... suddenly stopped.

Are you sure there were only fireworks?

I'm sure.

No numbers?

Even if there were, I wouldn't have been able to see them.

There were sparks everywhere.

What did the doctor say?

Severe floater.

How's he now?

He's recovered.

♪ 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 ♪

♪ 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 ♪

♪ When I woke up in the morning ♪

♪ Everything is different though ♪

♪ The world is still out there ♪

♪ But nobody else is here ♪

♪ When I woke up in the morning ♪

♪ I can't find you anymore ♪

♪ Where you are ♪

♪ When I woke up in the morning ♪

♪ Everything is different though ♪

♪ The world is still out there ♪

♪ But nobody else is here ♪

♪ When I woke up in the morning ♪

♪ I can't find you anymore ♪

♪ Where you are ♪

=Three-Body=