The Three-Body Problem

The 2008 Chinese hard science fiction novel by Liu Cixin is the first installment in the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy, blending elements of history, philosophy, and astrophysics. The narrative begins during China's Cultural Revolution, where young astrophysicist Ye Wenjie witnesses her father's death and is subsequently recruited into the secret military project "Red Coast," aimed at contacting extraterrestrial civilizations. Utilizing the Sun as an amplifier, Ye sends a message into space, intercepted by the Trisolarans, an alien species residing in an unstable three-star system. Disillusioned with humanity, she invites the Trisolarans to Earth, initiating a series of events that lead to the formation of the clandestine Earth-Trisolaris Organization, which seeks to prepare the planet for alien colonization. In the present day, nanotechnologist Wang Miao encounters a series of mysterious scientist suicides and anomalies in physical experiments, leading him to an investigation that uncovers the existence of the Trisolarans and their interference with Earth's scientific progress through "sophons"—microscopic devices capable of disrupting fundamental scientific processes. The novel delves deeply into themes of civilizational choice, moral responsibility, the limits of scientific understanding, and the consequences of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.