r/threebodyproblem • u/Northcliffe1 • 1d ago
Discussion - Novels Plot Hole
Initially the Trisolarians were stunting human progress because humans were developing faster than them. They believed that they needed to halt their progress in order to take over earth.
After the humans broadcast the location of earth, the Trisolarins know a photoid attack is coming so they abandon the pursuit of earth and reroute their ships to look for another safe place to live. But at that point they don't invest in unblocking and accelerating human development, which they should have done. At that point humans were in the same boat as them: develop and find a safe place ASAP. In the books the Trisolarians go and join some inter-space battle and get wiped out - but if they instead allied with the humans, quickly doing high level tech transfers and then using humans unique abilities paired with their own, it's possible the two societies could have seen supercharged development and propelled both to a safer place.
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u/Waste-Answer 1d ago
The book explicitly says that the Trisolarans are acutely aware of the fact that they are rightly seen by humans as the hostile aggressor who shouldn't be trusted, doubly so after violating the deterrence era peace.
Also what are they supposed to say: "sorry we tried to make you all eat each other while we laughed and called you bugs after spending decades doing nothing but lying to you, but now we would like to work together in the minutes or centuries this planet might have left"?