Chapter 135: Cultural Invasion_1

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Evan was an elderly man in his sixties or seventies, with a long white beard that lent him the demeanor of a philosopher just by appearances.

He smiled and said, "We have already received the notice that our group will be disbanded next month.

"Being the first project team to be disbanded, I don't know whether to feel happy or ashamed."

Jiang Yu said, "No matter what, you all have made a tremendous contribution to humanity. At the very least, the human world has once again gained secrets to a certain extent, and that is crucial."

With a gesture of invitation, Evan said, "That should be our highest achievement."

He led Jiang Yu into a room that was empty except for two rows of straw mats.

Several other elders were also there, all members of the "Deception Plan."

Evan said, "I apologize, as we were engaged in the purest form of contemplation, we stripped the room of its decor and removed all office supplies.

"In this respect, we are like Wallfacers, except we are contemplating overt strategies."

As they spoke, everyone took seats on the straw mats.

Jiang Yu asked, "I am very keen to know what achievements you have made in these five years."

Evan replied, "Our greatest achievement might be in proving that overt strategies are ineffective against the Trisolarans.

"We analyzed the disaster brought to Earth by the Trisolarans revealing their existence and found it to be a tactic that Earth's civilization cannot replicate.

"Such a tactic only works when our side has a certain advantage or a certain level of deterrence.

"But the reality is that Earth is at an absolute disadvantage, and we simply cannot deter the other side."

Jiang Yu nodded slowly, his thoughts already spotlighting the crux of the issue: with Earth at an absolute disadvantage, there were only two paths to take.

One was flight, the other deterrence.

Just like the nuclear deterrence of the past, when everyone possessed weapons capable of mutual assured destruction, a fragile balance could be maintained.

Only Evan and his colleagues couldn't think of anything that could deter the Trisolarans.

Rediaz also went down the path of deterrence, but humanity simply didn't have the resolve for it.

It must be said that the emergence of the "Dark Forest" law had a very strong element of chance.

It conformed to many triggering conditions, only then taking shape.

For example, Ye Wenjie's long-term contemplation of extraterrestrial civilizations and her indifferent attitude toward the world and the universe.

For example, Logic's unique way of thinking and so on.

All these elements coincidentally came together to eventually form the "Dark Forest" law.

Ordinary people, even if they thought in this direction, would not believe that this could deter the Trisolarans.

Jiang Yu took a deep breath and asked, "So, does the 'Deception Plan' stop here?"

Evan smiled and said, "This is the second result I was about to mention. Based on our contemplation, our current stratagems against the Trisolarans are the most intelligent and effective methods and policies.

"Because our current thinking on strategies and policies has maximized human intelligence.

"The framework has already been built; it's just a matter of filling in some details.

"Unless human intelligence evolves to a new level, we might find a better way.

"And the 'Deception Plan' can only stop here because, as it stands, human perspectives are just that narrow.

"When we truly reach the level of the 'Sun Nation,' when our perspectives widen, perhaps our intelligence will see a new breakthrough.

"At that time, it might not be a bad idea to continue with this plan."

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Jiang Yu nodded, "The result of the 'Deception Plan' coincided with the thoughts on human wisdom by Thirty-Six without prior consultation."

Evan continued, "We did come up with a direction, perhaps our culture could bring a substantial shock to the Trisolarans.

"But the problem is, we have no way to convey our culture to every Trisolaran.

"Using Sophon as an intermediary is unrealistic, at least we haven't figured out how to deceive Sophon and the Trisolaran monitors in order to spread our culture across forty thousand light-years."

Evan sighed, "That distance is too far for us; we keep discovering this star system and that star system.

"It's like we are blindly gobbling down dates, setting our sights too far.

"Yet, we know so little about the several major planets right beneath our feet.

"Many people don't want to admit it, but we must acknowledge that we are infants who haven't even crawled out of the cradle.

"If we consider the Solar System as our home, we haven't even left the cradle, let alone the house, and we haven't even clearly observed the outside world.

"Our understanding of the entire Solar System, Milky Way, and universe is a state of confusion and ignorance!"

Jiang Yu nodded, "I've always believed that even with the threat of the Trisolarans, we should firmly step out and not falter ourselves."

Evan responded with relief, "We should promote this kind of solid thinking.

"Right now, faced with threats, we flounder like infants; four centuries is enough time for us to achieve a certain level of growth."

Suddenly changing the topic, Jiang Yu asked, "If I am willing to continue funding the 'Deception Plan,' would you be willing to continue the work?

"Not to think about overt plans anymore, but to simulate the Trisolarans' way of thinking and ponder some issues for me."

Evan thought for a few seconds before shaking his head, "We know too little about our opponent, not even a single detail.

"Ways of thinking stem from the environment in which one lives. For instance, Westerners, due to the barren land on the islands of the Aegean, had to engage in trade early on, exchanging unique products for the grain needed to survive.

"Therefore, Westerners don't value their homeland and the land beneath their feet as much as Easterners do.

"The homeland didn't provide them with a rich life, only wandering and trade could make them wealthy.

"Now, our understanding of the Trisolarans' living environment comes solely from the Three-Body Game; we don't even know what Trisolarans look like or what kind of food they eat.

"Such simulation can only be modeled on some basic logic; it's hard to form substantive conclusions and references."

Jiang Yu nodded, "I understand."

After concluding his visit with the project team, Jiang Yu got into the car and saw Evan standing at the doorway, his white beard fluttering in the breeze.

Jiang Yu suddenly felt their helplessness, and that human wisdom should not come to a halt here, nor should humanity stop here.

But they really did try their best, yet they couldn't find a way out for humanity.

Back at the hotel, Jiang Yu called Colin, his contact, to inquire about the investigation results regarding ETO, using the technology from the 'Poison Apple Project' as a clue.

This was the last thing he planned to do at the United Nations; he was preparing to return to his country tomorrow.

To his dismay, Colin stated that after PDC's meticulous investigation, no trace of ETO's involvement was found in the incident.

Jiang Yu was so angry that he smashed the water glass in his hand, and upon further inquiry, he discovered that the PDC had not taken his warnings seriously at all.

It was not until two days after Jiang Yu's reminder that PDC set up a small investigation team of five people.

Such slow progress with so few people, it would be a miracle if they could investigate anything!

Jiang Yu paced back and forth in the living room several times before gradually calming down.

He suddenly missed the days when Da Shi was still around.

Then, Jiang Yu's determination to establish his own power became firmer. These inefficient bureaucrats were just like a bunch of pigs on a team, completely unreliable!