Original subtitles

♪ Endless drifting ♪

♪ To the end of the dark forest ♪

♪ The wind is like a hand ♪

♪ Trying to keep time ♪

♪ Who is the hunter with a gun ♪

♪ Trying to devour the entire universe ♪

♪ The light is like an eye ♪

♪ That penetrates dreams ♪

♪ Don't answer ♪

♪ Who is eager to fill his eyes with the starry sky ♪

♪ The earth is no longer rotating ♪

♪ You gave me a small universe ♪

♪ In the arms of the universe ♪

♪ Calling humbly for the vast space and time ♪

♪ The world aches dully ♪

=Three-Body=

=Episode 18=

Wenjie, this is an official decision.

From this day onwards, you'll be working in the Monitoring Department.

Now I'll explain the work of the Monitoring Department to you.

Simply put, the goal is to keep an eye

on all enemy activities in space,

including intercepting communications

between enemy space vessels and the ground, and between the space vessels themselves,

track the orbits of enemy space vessels,

collaborate with our telemetry and tracking centers,

and provide data for Red Coast's combat systems.

In other words, the eyes of Red Coast are here.

Political Commissar Lei,

I think you should reconsider whether it's necessary to tell her this.

Political Commissar Lei, if it's too sensitive, then...

No, Wenjie.

Weining, like I said, work must be done.

She needs all the information in order to do her job.

Fine.

I'll report this to the high-ups.

Sure.

You have the right to do so.

But I give you my word that I'll take full responsibility for my action.

Alright.

I'll take your word for it.

Don't mind him.

That's just the way he is.

He can be too cautious to be openhanded at work.

Wenjie, come here.

Take a seat.

Sit.

Look, when we first brought you here, the goal was simple.

Red Coast's monitoring system often had interference

caused by electromagnetic radiation from solar flares and sunspots.

Then we came across your paper

and believed that you were an expert in solar activity.

And your predictive model was the most accurate.

So we wanted to solicit your help in solving this problem.

After you came, you demonstrated strong abilities,

so I decided to entrust you with more important work.

You've worked in Transmission for a while

and gained an overview of Red Coast.

Now that you're transferred,

your assignment in Monitoring will be discussed later.

Of course, as you can see, there's some resistance.

But I trust you.

Personally, I have faith in you.

I hope you can keep up the good work and earn the trust of the organization.

Wenjie, honestly,

I sincerely hope that someday,

I'll be able to call you Comrade Ye.

Don't let me down.

Even though Political Commissar Lei trusted me,

my activities were severely restricted.

I had access to the software source code, but not the database.

And I had to learn the software techniques from scratch.

That was far from being easy.

(File Bag) (According to the latest weather forecast,)

(from 8:00 AM today to 8:00 PM tomorrow,)

(parts of the Northwest will see light snow or sleet.)

(The local high will be 9 degrees Celsius.)

Report.

Come in.

Chief Engineer Yang, after being deciphered by the computer,

what we had received turned out to be a few satellite photographs.

GSD's Surveying and Mapping Bureau said

they're images of our important military targets,

including the naval harbor at Qingdao and several key factories

of the Third Front program.

Did we monitor their satellites?

Analysis confirmed that these images came from the KA-9

Reconnaissance System of the West.

The first KA-9 had just been launched.

Although it mainly relied on recoverable film capsules for intelligence gathering,

it was also being used to test out

the more advanced radio transmission of digital images.

As the...

As the technology is undeveloped, the satellite transmitted at a low frequency,

which increased its range of reception sufficiently for it to be intercepted by us.

Abandon this target.

Change the frequency.

I'll let you know about the direction.

We're having a rare opportunity to learn more about the Western satellite reconnaissance system.

Are you sure about letting it go?

How many times do I have to tell you?

Change the direction and the frequency!

Transmission has a machine down.

Go and check it.

Yes, sir.

So, it was Yang Weining who kept holding you back?

He was acting weird, always lashing out at me for no reason.

But I didn't mind.

What mattered to me was those unexplainable matters at work.

They made me realize that Red Coast was

far more complex than I had imagined.

(The 299th transmission of Red Coast Project is finished.)

(Shutting down transmission system.)

(Red Coast entering monitoring mode.)

(Monitoring frequency range: 1,000 MHz to 40,000 MHz.)

(Monitoring channels: 15,000.)

(Key frequencies to monitor: Hydrogen atom frequency at 1,420 MHz.)

(Hydroxyl radical radiation frequency at 1,667 MHz.)

(Water molecule radiation frequency at 22,000 MHz.)

(Repeat.)

(Key frequencies to monitor: Hydrogen atom frequency at 1,420 MHz...)

The designated frequencies for the three transmissions

were lower than microwave range and couldn't result in

any heating effect in the target.

Both Yang Weining's strange attitude

and those abnormal cases said one thing.

That is, the real purpose of Red Coast was top-secret.

(Calling Wang Miao End Call)

(Chang)

Chang, it's me.

We're in Qijiatun. I've checked with the village committee.

(Red Coast File Bag)

That red ginseng factory checks out.

The locals can get paid by working there.

Where are we on declassifying the files?

You've promised me. I need them today.

I've got them.

What's inside is way beyond imagination.

Don't keep me guessing, OK?

What on earth is Red Coast for?

Their research is indeed the most confidential.

(Troubleshooting of Magnetic Core Memory is complete.)

(Clear fault codes.)

Hello?

Ye Wenjie, come to my office now.

Yes, sir.

(A routine work meeting will be held at 3:00 PM.)

(Please be prepared.)

(Department heads are to attend on time.)

Report.

Come in.

Ye Wenjie, come here.

I assumed Political Commissar Lei

was being punished for promoting me.

I told myself that no matter what,

I couldn't drag him down even if I had to lie.

(Ye Wenjie Experience)

Ye Wenjie, first, let me be clear that I disagree with all this.

The decision was made by Chief Engineer Yang

after seeking the high-ups' permission.

He alone will take all the consequences.

To better utilize your skills, he talked to the superiors repeatedly.

Army Political Department did their investigation, too.

Now, we've been authorized to disclose the true nature

of the Red Coast Project to you.

I hope you'll treasure this opportunity and work hard to redeem your sins.

From now on, you must behave with the utmost propriety.

Any transgression

will receive the harshest punishment.

Understood?

Yes, sir.

It wasn't until then that I realized

everything Lei Zhicheng had told me was a lie.

Red Coast was neither a powerful weapon

nor a monitor on enemy space vessels.

All his care, promotion, and protection were all an act.

That's why Yang Weining tried to stop him.

Yang Weining was a good man.

When the leaders doubted me for my background,

he stood up for me.

And it was also he

who told me the truth about Red Coast.

If you want to quit, it's not too late now.

I'll do it.

Are you sure?

Once you said yes, the last ray of hope of leaving Radar Peak would be gone.

You'd spend the rest of your life here.

Yes, I'll do it.

The truth was an incredible fairy tale for the ages.

It's a lot.

Read it yourself.

(A Question Largely Ignored by Trends in Fundamental World Scientific Research)

(Space Science and Technology)

This file talks about two ways to convert the results

of fundamental scientific research into practical applications:

gradualistic mode and saltatory mode.

That's right.

Gradualistic mode refers to theoretical, fundamental results

being gradually applied to technology

such as the development and application of space technology.

Saltatory mode means theoretical, fundamental results

rapidly become applied technology,

(Nuclear Weapons) leading to a technological leap.

Examples include nuclear weapons.

Yes.

Now, both NATO and the Warsaw Pact

are intensely active in fundamental research

and investing heavily in it.

At this rate, technological leaps may occur anytime.

That will pose a major threat to our strategic planning.

Here it lists the fields where such leaps are most likely:

physics, biology, computer science.

(SETI)

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

If a leap occurs in this field,

its impact will exceed the sum of that in the other three.

That's what I'm talking about.

Several NATO states have already prioritized SETI.

For example, they launched Project Ozma

(Green Bank Telescope at NRAO) and built NRAO.

(Concise Star Chart) The project examined the stars

Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani and planned to broaden

the frequency range in 1972.

The Pioneer 10 and 11 probes would be launched,

each carrying a metal plaque

with information about civilization on Earth.

And in 1977, they'd launch the Voyager 1 and 2 probes,

each with a metal audio record.

This is the Arecibo Observatory.

It's ready to use and extremely powerful.

Its effective energy collection area is about 20 acres,

greater than that of all the others in the world combined.

Together with the computer system,

it can simultaneously monitor 65,000 channels,

and it's capable of ultrahigh energy transmissions.

Look.

This is in Europe.

They've also made huge investments.

The entire world is working on SETI.

That's true.

Except for us who are paying little attention to it.

You should know, if any country gets in touch with extraterrestrials,

it'll overturn the global landscape, especially those superpowers.

If they beat us to it, we'll no longer have a chance.

As a major socialist power, we cannot fall behind.

This unknown area must be conquered for strategic importance.

There's a long way ahead of us.

Ye Wenjie, from this moment on,

your job is to develop the Red Coast Self-Interpreting Code System.

Precisely, using universal, basic mathematical,

and physical laws to construct an elemental linguistic code

that can be understood by any civilization that has mastered basic algebra,

Euclidean geometry, and the laws of nonrelativistic physics.

Building on that, create a brand-new linguistic system

including Chinese and Esperanto.

Do you get it?

Yes, sir.

So, the mysterious Red Coast Project was established for SETI,

and you alone created the Red Coast Self-Interpreting Code System.

At that time, the Cold War was at its height.

The insanity of the human race had reached its historical zenith.

Nuclear submarines and nuclear weapons lurking in the corners

could be launched at a moment's notice.

Once they were let go, hundreds of cities would be leveled,

killing hundreds of millions of people.

With such technical leaps in sight,

an intense sense of crisis was shared all over the world.

Professor Ye, you're an astrophysicist.

Do you really think astronomy will be taking a technological leap?

As destructive as nukes are, the universe

is harboring even more terrible forces

such as black holes and anti-matter.

Compared with them, a nuclear bomb

is nothing but a tiny candle.

There used to be a waveform monitor.

It was to display the waves that Red Coast picked up from space.

My daily work was to

monitor and record that curve,

waiting to hear from the extraterrestrials.

Over there, we had a radio receiver,

quite sophisticated.

A ruby-based traveling-wave maser amplified the signals received by

the gigantic antenna.

But there was interference.

Wouldn't it affect the accuracy?

Wang, you're underestimating Red Coast.

As immature as the technology was,

it could do more than you think.

The core of the reception system

was immersed in liquid helium at -269 degrees Celsius.

A helicopter came to resupply liquid helium regularly.

The reception system was thus

capable of picking up faint signals.

Back then, our monitoring range was

within a radius of 1,000 light years, containing some 20 million stars.

Other than searching for and monitoring possible extraterrestrial intelligence,

we also tried to

(20 Million Stars) send messages to the universe

to establish contact and communication.

So did you really make such attempts?

We did.

♪ In the blue sky float white clouds ♪

♪ Below the white clouds run horses ♪

♪ I swing my horsewhip and the crack travels far and wide ♪

Ye Wenjie and I have redrafted the letter.

Ye Wenjie, read it.

(PLA Letter Paper)

"We extend our best wishes to you, inhabitants of another world.

After reading the following message,

you should have a basic understanding of civilization on Earth.

By dint of long toil and creativity, the human race

has built a splendid civilization, blossoming with diverse cultures.

We're also getting to know the laws of nature and the development of human societies.

We cherish all that we've accomplished.

But our world is still flawed.

Hate exists, as do prejudice and war.

Contradictive productive forces and relations

are causing extremely uneven distribution of wealth.

And large portions of humanity are living in poverty and misery.

Human societies are working hard to resolve the difficulties they face,

striving to create a better future for Earth civilization.

The country that sent this message is also engaged in this effort.

We are dedicated to building an ideal society

where the labor and value of every human are fully respected,

and everyone's material and spiritual needs are fully met

so that civilization on Earth may become more perfect.

With the best of intentions, we look forward to establishing contact

with other civilized societies in the universe.

We look forward to working with you

to build a better life in this vast universe."

This letter of humans' best wishes was sent to the universe.

Enclosed was an overview of Earth,

life on Earth,

and human society as well as basic world history.

All that was sent after transmitting the Self-interpreting Code System.

Red Coast is a great project, no doubt.

When sending messages to the universe,

how did you ensure our security?

It was carefully vetted to ensure that it didn't give away

the Earth's coordinates relative to the Milky Way.

At the 2,280 MHz, 12,000 MHz, and 22,000 MHz channels,

the transmission times of the message were

31 minutes, 7.5 minutes, and 3.5 minutes respectively.

Transmission at the higher-frequency 12,000 MHz

and 22,000 MHz channels was minimized

in case our location was exposed.

Back in those days, SETI at Red Coast

was marginalized research.

But why such a high security rating?

They asked the same question at the very beginning of the Project

and it was asked until the very end.

But now, you should have the answer.

We can only marvel at the foresight

of the top decision-maker of the Project.

Had Red Coast succeeded,

the world would be utterly different.

Well, it's still too soon to tell whether it succeeded or not.

The radio waves sent out

haven't gone too far in the universe yet.

The farther the signals travel, the weaker they become,

and the less likely that any extraterrestrial civilization will receive them.

In order for extraterrestrials to detect our signals,

we broadcast at a power level equal to the energy output of a mid-sized star.

Soviet astrophysicist Nicolai Kardashev once proposed

that we could divide civilizations

based on the power they could command for communication purposes,

He divided them into three types:

A Type I civilization can muster an amount of energy equal to

the total output of the Earth.

A Type II civilization can marshal the energy equal to

the output of a typical star.

A Type III civilization can utilize its communication energy

equal to the energy output of a galaxy.

Civilization on Earth is currently not even a full Type I.

And the transmissions from Red Coast used only about one ten-thousandth

of the power the Earth could muster.

Our call wasn't any louder

than the buzzing of a mosquito.

No one could hear it.

But the Type II and III civilizations Kardashev proposed do exist,

we should be able to hear them by now.

In this case, our efforts seem to have only proven one thing

that in the vast universe, only the Earth has intelligent life.

Theoretically, there might never be a definitive answer to that question.

But emotionally, I and everyone else

who went through Red Coast all believed so.

Too bad the Project was decommissioned.

It was there already and should've kept going.

It was a great cause worth fighting for.

In the late 70s,

there was a large-scale renovation.

The transmission system was automated.

Data processing of monitoring became far more advanced.

40,000 channels could be monitored simultaneously.

The more people knew, the clearer they became

about the difficulty of SETI.

And the leadership lost interest in Red Coast.

After the renovation,

the first change we experienced was lowered security rating.

The security detail was reduced to a group of five guards.

Salute!

Red Coast remained within the Second Artillery Corps,

but management of its scientific activities

was turned over to the Astronomy Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

and it took on some research projects that had nothing to do with SETI.

I believe you achieved most of your accomplishments then.

At the time, we had China's largest radio telescope.

Following all those changes, we first took on some radio astronomy projects.

Later, more and more such observatories were built,

and Red Coast shifted to the observation and

analysis of solar electromagnetic activity

with an added solar telescope.

I bet practical applications were a ton.

Correct.

The mathematical model we built for solar electromagnetic activity

was state-of-the-art.

With such fruition, the large investment in Red Coast

saw a little bit of return.

Actually, much of the credit should go to Political Commissar Lei,

although he did have his own agenda, too.

Political Commissar Lei?

Wasn't he a political officer in that technical unit?

Before enlisting, he had studied astrophysics as well.

Research projects we took on outside of SETI were all due to his efforts.

It wasn't easy to return to technical work.

Without Lei, Red Coast would've been long gone.

When it was converted for civil use,

the military basically abandoned it.

Chinese Academy of Sciences could no longer keep the base running.

Inevitably, it was shut down.

In the dead of the night, when I was alone

in the empty monitoring room,

I could hear in my headphones

the lifeless noise of the universe.

It was faint but continuous,

more eternal than the stars.

Sometimes I thought it sounded like

the endless cold winds of Radar Peak.

I was chilled to the bone.

There weren't enough words

to describe such loneliness.

SETI is quite a unique discipline.

It can shape researchers' perspectives on life.

It occurred to me repeatedly that life was truly an accident

among all the accidents in the universe.

And the universe was an empty palace

in which humankind was the only ant.

This kind of thinking made me live a conflicted life since.

Sometimes I thought life was precious

and more important than anything.

But other times,

I found humans so insignificant that nothing was worthwhile.

Anyway, despite such internal conflicts,

my life slipped away,

and before I knew it, I was already old.

I'm not getting any younger or healthier.

I can't predict the future.

All I can do is live my life as it is.

♪ 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 ♪

♪ 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=