novelhk Chapter 17 The Bizarre "Engineer" Civilization
Chapter 17 The Bizarre "Engineer" Civilization
The Trisolarans were highly enthusiastic and efficient in their work. As soon as Cheng Yuan gave the order, they immediately began to carry it out.
The mission to study the "Engineers'" spaceships, in particular, was one of the Trisolarans' most enthusiastic endeavors.
Many Trisolaran scientists and engineers who had just finished their work in the Alien universe learned that they would be involved in the mission of restoring the spaceship, reverse engineering the spaceship technology, and building their own faster-than-light spaceship. Without taking a break, they started working on a new project.
When hungry, they eat nutritional paste; when sleepy, they take stimulants; and when they need to defecate, they have a portable excretion device…
A golden opportunity for civilization to escape the crisis is right in front of us. We can rest later if we want, but we must seize this opportunity!
The Trisolarans have suffered under the weight of three giant stars for too long, yet they still cannot resolve the crisis. Now that they have seen a glimmer of hope, how can they not seize it with all their might?
The scientists and engineers of Trisolaris were thinking: they had to consider whether the opportunity that had presented itself to them might be the only one they would ever have.
It is our duty to resolve the Three-Body crisis. They can work themselves to death as long as it helps to solve the crisis!
What is there to fear in death?
It was just a cool summer night!
Many Trisolaran scientists and engineers were prepared to work themselves to death at their posts, but the mission was progressing too fast and didn't give them the chance to die from exhaustion.
Half a Trisolaran time later, the Engineers' spaceship was restored; two and a half Trisolaran time later, the reverse engineering of the spaceship was completed; five and a half Trisolaran time later, they designed and manufactured the first faster-than-light engine; seven Trisolaran time later, the faster-than-light engine was successfully tested and had excellent performance.
The reason it happened so quickly is because the Trisolaran civilization's technology was far ahead of the "engineers".
Just like a Fields Medal winner doing a middle school math competition problem, they can immediately tell what knowledge point the problem is testing and how many ways there are to solve it.
Apart from their relatively novel and unique engine design, the "Engineers'" spaceships are inferior to those of the Trisolarans in every other aspect. Trisolaran scientists and engineers can analyze their spaceships as easily as reading the lines on the palm of their hand.
However, while analyzing the spaceship, the Trisolaran scientists and engineers discovered some strange things on board:
According to records in the deciphered spaceship database, the civilization that built the spaceship was called "Engineers (Note 1)," and they visited Earth many years ago.
They altered Earth's climate to create conditions conducive to the emergence of life. Later, an "engineer" ingested a substance called "CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15 (Black Water)" in ancient Earth, decomposing himself and thus giving birth to humans.
So this is how humans came to be?
Even after life emerged on Earth, the "Engineers" continued to come to Earth to observe various forms of life, guide their development, and leave behind numerous traces on the planet.
Upon seeing this, the Trisolaran scientists and engineers realized something was amiss:
To their knowledge, there are no records of a race called "Engineers" on Earth.
If this "Engineers" civilization is related to the Earth as they know it, how could it not have been discovered by humans?
Something's not right, nine out of ten things are wrong!
As their observation and contact with life on Earth deepened, the Engineers gradually discovered the terrifying nature of the human race and decided to destroy humanity. On the planet designated "LV-223," they manufactured the CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15 substance as a weapon.
CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15 is the culmination of the "Engineers" civilization's biotechnology. Small amounts can promote the mutation and evolution of organisms, while excessive amounts will cause organisms to decompose and carbonize.
Given the technological level of humanity on Earth at that time, it was impossible to withstand the CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15 substance released by the "Engineers," and humanity on Earth would have been wiped out.
This was supposed to be a very easy task, but an accident occurred during its execution.
四名负责执行任务的「工程师」在LV-223上製造出足够的CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15物质，并将之搬运到飞船上后，其中一名「工程师」操作失误，导致有CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15物质泄露。
The "Engineers" are also living organisms, and excessive amounts of CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15 can kill them as well.
Two of the "engineers" were dismembered on the spot, and one "engineer" was beheaded by a closed hatch while trying to escape. Only one "engineer" managed to escape into the ship's main control room and hibernation pod, thus escaping death.
The records on the spacecraft ended there, and what followed was just the routine daily operation log.
If it weren't for this accident, Earthlings would have been wiped out by the "Engineers" millions of years ago.
Another strange thing is that the Trisolaran scientists and engineers saw a holographic star map on the spaceship, which recorded the Earth's position in the universe. However, when the Trisolaran scientists compared it with a star map drawn by their own civilization, they found that they did not match.
Even if the star charts of the "Engineers" are outdated, the difference wouldn't be that significant.
It's as if it was drawn in two different universes!
The Trisolaran scientists and engineers found the "Engineers" race utterly absurd, seeing their civilization as unprofessional and sloppy.
Even in ancient times, Earth was capable of traversing the universe, but after so many years, technology has not advanced at all. Spaceflight technology remains the same as it was back then, and materials science is still inadequate.
The substance CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15, considered by the "Engineers" civilization to be the pinnacle of biotechnology, was discovered by Trisolaran scientists and engineers after they investigated it:
Isn't this a rather radical nanoscale bio-robot (Note 2) that deserves to be regarded as a supreme treasure?
Using the technology of the Three-Body Problem, it is possible to create nanorobots that are more powerful than the CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15 material.
The CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15 substance is far from being as perfect as the "Engineers" themselves believe. One of its most obvious drawbacks is that it only attacks non-plant organic life forms and not plant life forms.
而且，「工程师」文明製造出CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15物质后，居然没有反制手段，让CHEMICAL-A0-3959X-15变成了一种对「工程师」也不可控的物质。
According to information from the spacecraft database, the Engineers did not even take any cover or defense measures for their home system.
How did this civilization develop into an interstellar civilization, wandering aimlessly in the universe, without being struck by the Dark Forest?
The "Engineers" are eerily mysterious, giving the Trisolaran scientists and engineers a strong sense of "pseudo-civilization".
However, the "Engineers" civilization is not without its merits. While the "Engineers'" technology is not as comprehensive or professional as theirs, some of their designs have given the Trisolaran scientists and engineers a jolt.
Like the design of a faster-than-light engine, like the "engineer's" modification of his own genes.
The former uses nuclear fusion as its power source to exceed the speed of light, while the latter achieves a lifespan of tens of thousands of years simply by editing genes with nanoscale robots.
Nuclear fusion and nanoscale robots were already somewhat outdated technologies in the Trisolaran world, but the "engineers" used their ingenious designs to create amazing results that even the Trisolarans had never achieved.
This is like someone wielding a plastic sword and using skillful swordsmanship to cut down a star from the sky with a single strike.
Note 1: Engineers probably don't refer to themselves as "engineers".
Note 2: According to the information found, in the behind-the-scenes footage of the movie, David explains that "Blackwater" is a radical artificial intelligence composed of nanoparticles.