The Three-Body Problem

Several men wearing hard hats appeared on both shores, looking like maintenance workers. Wang stood up, but the colonel pulled him down. “Professor, don’t worry. They know what to do.” Wang watched as those on the eastern shore rapidly winched back the steel wires attached to the nanofilaments and secured the tightened nanofilaments to the pillar. Then, slowly, the two pillars were stood upright using their mechanical hinges. As a disguise, the pillars were decorated with some navigational markings and water depth indicators. The workers proceeded leisurely, as though they were simply carrying out their boring jobs. Wang gazed at the space between the pillars. There seemed to be nothing there, but the deadly zither was already in place.

“Target is four kilometers from the zither,” the voice in the walkie-talkie said.

Stanton put the walkie-talkie down. He continued the conversation with Wang. “The second time I came to Panama was in 1999, to attend the ceremony for the handover of the canal to Panama. Oddly, by the time we got to the Authority’s building, the Stars and Stripes were already gone. Supposedly the U.S. government had requested that the flag be lowered a day early to avoid the embarrassment of lowering the flag in front of a crowd.… Back then, I thought I was witnessing history. But now that seems so insignificant.”

“Target is three kilometers from the zither.”

“Yes, insignificant,” Wang mumbled. He wasn’t listening to Stanton at all. The rest of the world had ceased to exist for him. All of his attention was focused on the spot where Judgment Day would appear. By now the sun that had risen over the Atlantic was falling toward the Pacific. The canal sparkled with golden light. Close by, the deadly zither stood quietly. The two steel pillars were dark and reflected no sunlight, looking even older than the canal that flowed between them.

“Target is two kilometers from the zither.”

Stanton seemed to not have heard the voice from the walkie-talkie. He continued, “After learning that the alien fleet is coming toward the Earth, I’ve been suffering from amnesia. It’s so strange. I can’t recall many things from the past. I don’t remember the details of the wars I experienced. Like I just said, those wars all seem so insignificant. After learning this truth, everyone becomes a new person spiritually, and sees the world anew. I’ve been thinking: Suppose two thousand years ago, or even earlier, humanity learned that an alien invasion fleet would arrive a few thousand years later. What would human civilization be like now? Professor, can you imagine it?”

“Ah, no…” Wang answered perfunctorily, his mind elsewhere.

“Target is one point five kilometers from the zither.”

“Professor, I think you will be the Gaillard of this new era. We’re waiting for your new Panama Canal to be built. Indeed, the space elevator is a canal. Just as the Panama Canal connected two oceans, the space elevator will connect space with the Earth.”

Wang knew that the colonel’s babbling was meant to help him through this very difficult time. He was grateful, but it wasn’t working.

“Target is one kilometer from the zither.”

Judgment Day appeared. In the light from the setting sun coming over the hills to the side, it was a dark silhouette against the golden waves of the canal. The sixty-thousand-ton ship was much larger than Wang had imagined. Its appearance was like another peak abruptly inserted among the hills. Even though Wang knew that the canal was capable of accommodating ships as large as seventy thousand tons, witnessing such a large ship in such a narrow waterway was a strange feeling. Given its immensity, the canal below seemed to no longer exist. The ship was a mountain gliding across solid earth. After he grew used to the sunlight, Wang saw that Judgment Day’s hull was pitch black, and the superstructure was painted pure white. The giant antenna was gone. They heard the roar from the ship’s engines, accompanied by the churning sound of waves that had been generated by the round prow slapping against the shores of the canal.

As the distance between Judgment Day and the deadly zither closed, Wang’s heart began to beat faster, and his breath became short. He had a desire to run away, but he felt so weak that he could no longer control his body. All at once, he was overwhelmed by a deep hatred for Shi Qiang. How could the bastard have come up with such an idea? Like that UN official said, he is a demon! But the feeling passed. He thought that if Da Shi were by his side, he would probably feel better. Colonel Stanton had invited Shi Qiang to come, but General Chang refused to give permission because he said that Da Shi was needed where he was. Wang felt the colonel’s hand on his back.

“Professor, all this will pass.”