Fate vs Destiny in Three Body, aka Remembrance of Earth’s Past

This is a geeky note about the Three Body trilogy by Liu Cixin, influenced by personal memories and expectations about history, technology, and relationships.  It’s an attempt to answer the question “why”.    

“Because everything that begins must end. What causes us to suffer is not in the past or the future: it is here, now, in our memory, in our expectations.”
― Carlo Rovelli, L'ordine del tempo/the Order of Time

I first read the Three Body books by Liu Cixin in 2018, when I was obsessed with the works of Isaac Assimov, Arthur C. Clarke, & Neal Stephenson.  The fascination was instant, though it took me a couple of re-reads to get a grip on the meanings of the epic.  Most Sci-fi heavy weights in the past have focused on the finite horizons of a human-centric world, men’s intergalactic conquests and the dynamic relationship between human and machine.  Liu’s cosmic sociology was unprecedented both in its grand scheme across time and space, and in its impersonal depiction of the universe as it is, instead of what we wish it to be.  The original name for the trilogy “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” best prescribes the sentiment.  At the meta level, our civilization on earth is young and ignorant.  All things end, time crumbles, the universe doesn’t care.  Then what’s the point? 

In essence, the point is: Nature sets our fate, heroes choose their own destiny. 

To accommodate the epic scale of the timeline, Liu chose to be economic with his words when articulating the characters.  Heroes were reduced to the key moments in their lives: their decisions and their execution.  It’s a matter of individual taste, but to me this is a worthwhile tradeoff.  It afforded Liu the latitude to showcase the big picture, to operate on a “higher dimension”.  Maybe as a result of the absence of details, these heroes leave distinct and lasting impressions, much like Da Vinci’s sketch drawings that became masterpieces.  In the face of impending doom, some turn to faith or despite, some take extraordinary paths that make or break a crisis.  Everything that happened, happened: Ye Wenjie pressed the red switch, Wade advance at all cost; and Yun Tianming joined alien civilization to send his fairytales to preserve humanity.  In the end, nothing could reverse the course of destruction, but humanity get a happy ending of Remembrance: a history written by Cheng Xin will become a permanent relic in the universe reincarnate. 

Another profound point: science is relative, fairytale is salvation.

Fundamental physics provide insight to the laws of nature.  Trisolarians tried to hold back human civilization by destroying our scientists.  The universe was shaped by violent alien wars, weaponizing fundamental elements such as space and speed of light.  A toddler compared to other intelligence, earth’s best hope for survival is coded in fairytales.  What are we if not story tellers?    Throughout history, human societies were built on shared stories and memories.  Those without the shared memories would be lost even if they understand every single word.  It’s the most robust way to send a secure message.  BTW, one would not be able to fully appreciate Liu Cixin’s storytelling without sufficient learning of Chinese history and philosophy.  This is likely the root of the disappointment from Chinese book fans in Netflix’ adaptation. 

Against the backdrop of cosmic survival, human struggles over ideology & geopolitics seem petty.  Human tragedies and triumphs through time capture our hearts.  This gives meaning to sci-fi.       

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