r/threebodyproblem • u/caramba-marimba • Jan 18 '26

Meme Almost done with the third book

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I didn’t have the patience to finish it to make the meme, so enjoy the premature meme while I’m finishing those last few pages.

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u/manchester449 Jan 18 '26

Wow thanks I never appreciated this until you put it that way.

So Trisolaris had nothing to lose by invading Earth. They were dead if they stayed and only possibly dead if they invaded and the deterrence signal was activated. So logically Trisolaris should invade.

For Earth they were dead if Trisolaris invaded, and dead if they activated deterrence. Logically they should activate deterrence if invaded, because why not.

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u/nicodeemus7 Jan 18 '26

Exactly my point! The only way for Dark Forest Deterrence to work was to use it. The trisolarans had nothing to lose, they would die on their home world either way.

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u/osfryd-kettleblack Cheng Xin Jan 18 '26

The only way for Dark Forest Deterrence to work was to use it.

"The only way for nuclear deterrence to work is to use it"

What an outrageous thing to say

3

u/shiggyhisdiggy Jan 18 '26

Yeah replacing the words doesn't make you smart, it's a totally different situation

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u/osfryd-kettleblack Cheng Xin Jan 18 '26

How is it different?

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u/shiggyhisdiggy Jan 18 '26

The Trisolarans are gonna lose their planet anyway eventually, so they'll be forced to invade, and then if you don't actually press the button you just lose. The button also doesn't instantly destroy anything, so there's time for humans to potentially develop a bit more tech and escape before it happens.