Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Three-Body Problem, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Technology, Progress, and Destruction
Scientific Discovery and Political Division
Trauma and Cyclical Harm
Theory vs. Lived Experience
History and Legacy
Summary
Analysis
A series of documents, formatted as a report from the 1960s, explains what happened at Red Coast Base. Some of the most specific, sensitive information has been redacted. To begin, the report distinguishes between “gradualistic” and “saltatory” modes of science. In gradual science, theoretical results are slowly applied to the real world; in saltatory science, fundamental theory is immediately put into practice (as in the case of the atomic bomb). Saltatory science thus often leads to what the report deems a “technology leap.” At the time the report was written, both NATO and the Soviet Union were trying desperately to achieve these rapid technology leaps.
First, it is important to note the formal shift here. To talk more about the geopolitical ramifications of the characters’ decisions, the novel lets content dictate form—that is, rather than continuing to be immersed in the narrative, readers are confronted with a high-level government report. This report makes clear the stakes and scale of such “leaps” in scientific discovery—any invention is capable of changing the world, and most (like the atomic bomb) do more harm than good.
Themes
The report then argues that the Chinese, too, should be trying to make saltatory discoveries. There are four categories in which a technology leap could occur: physics, biology, computer science, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The report suggests that not very much research has happened in SETI, and that the Chinese should devote more resources to this quest.
The competitive nature of China’s research illustrates just how political science can be: China’s communist government is not trying to improve human welfare or solve real problems so much as they are trying to best their rivals. In a crafty sort of metaphor, the book thus suggests that different nations are so alienated from each other that real aliens are more likely to be a given nation’s allies than other human beings.
Themes
In the second section of the report, the anonymous author cites the work various other countries are doing to look for alien intelligence. Some examples include: the United States’ Project Ozma in West Virginia, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and the USSR’s attempt to build a new kind of radio telescope system. Though much of this section has been redacted, some analysis about the potential political implications of contacting extraterrestrial life remains intact. In the report, Chinese Central Leadership suggests that “others have already sent their messages out into space. It’s dangerous if extraterrestrials hear only their voices. We should speak up as well […] It’s not possible to get the truth by listening to only one side.”
There are several crucial points in this passage. First, the various sites of SETI research listed are real, historical places, showing that the search for alien life was very much a part of actual Cold War politics. Second, the redacted sections of the report reflect the amount of secrecy and distrust in governance during this period. And most importantly, the Chinese leaders’ desire to make contact with aliens stems entirely from their desire to present themselves in a positive light. Rather than viewing science as something objective, therefore, this section shows its immense symbolic and narrative potential.
Themes
Section three of the report reveals the ultimate goal of Red Coast Base: to search for alien life and potentially make contact with it. In addition to listing out some of the technical specifications of Red Coast equipment, this section also explains that the base created its own “elemental linguistic code” that could be understood by any society with an understanding of basic math. This code could then allow scientists in China to communicate with any somewhat advanced alien civilization.
After all of the misdirection, it turns out that the antenna on Radar Peak was indeed being used for communication (just not with people). Fascinatingly, math now becomes the language of communication, suggesting that STEM fields are somehow more universal than the linguistic and literary codes different groups of humans have invented for themselves.
Themes
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The fourth section of the report discusses what the content of the message sent into space should actually be. The first draft of the message criticizes both the U.S. and the USSR as imperialist superpowers and encourages extraterrestrial life to ignore these countries’ “lies.” The second draft of the message, run through China’s central government, was less obviously propagandistic. Instead, this final draft explains that though human civilization has done great things, it has also created vast inequality and strife. In the end, the message sent out to extraterrestrials expresses China’s desire to collaborate with alien life to build an ideal civilization.
In this fourth piece of the report, the Chinese strategize about how to win over any potential extraterrestrials they might encounter. Rather than directly attack their enemies, the Chinese try to present themselves as having the moral high ground and opting out of conflict. This is ironic given that the whole reasoning behind China’s outreach to alien life is driven by Cold War power politics.
Themes
Finally, the fifth section of the report emphasizes that though this work will not have immediate consequences, it is important for China to think in the long term. The report concludes by celebrating that “bystanders have the clearest view,” and so “truly neutral” aliens will “be able to comment on whether we’re the heroes or villains of history.”
This striking closing comment brings into focus China’s desire to use science as a way of making history. By being the first nation to contact aliens, the Chinese hope that they will get to become “heroes” in this new, outside narrative. Rather than winning their victory on a battlefield, therefore, the Chinese will win it in a laboratory.
Themes
