The Dark Forest

This article is about the novel. For the hypothesis, see Dark forest hypothesis. For other uses, see Dark Forest.

The Dark Forest

Cover page
Author	Liu Cixin
Original title	黑暗森林
Translator	Joel Martinsen
Language	Chinese
Series	Remembrance of Earth's Past
Genre	Science fiction, Hard science fiction
Publication date	2008
Publication place	China
Pages	400
ISBN	978-1784971595
Preceded by	The Three-Body Problem
Followed by	Death's End

The Dark Forest
Chinese	黑暗森林
Literal meaning	dark forest
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin hēi'àn sēnlín IPA [xéɪ.an sə́n.lǐn] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping hak1 am3 sam1 lam4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ hek-àm serm-lîm

The Dark Forest (Chinese: 黑暗森林) is a 2008 science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. It is the sequel to the Hugo Award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem in the trilogy formally titled Remembrance of Earth's Past (colloquially referred to by Chinese readers by the title of the first novel). The English version, translated by Joel Martinsen, was published in 2015.

The novel revolves around humanity's attempts to construct a defence against an impending invasion fleet from an alien planet. It explores the dark forest hypothesis (so-named after the novel), a possible solution to the Fermi paradox, though similar theories have been described as early as 1983.

Plot

Following the events of The Three Body Problem, humanity unites to defend Earth. The invasion fleet from the alien planet Trisolaris will arrive in approximately 400 years. Earth's defence is severely hampered by Trisolaran "sophons", omnipresent but unobservable supercomputers that spy on all Earth activity and prevent major technological advancement.

Because sophons cannot surveil human thought, the United Nations appoints four "Wallfacers" to develop defence strategies known only to themselves. They are provided near-unlimited power and resources. Trisolaris counters the strategy by assigning Wallbreakers to each Wallfacer. Three of the plans are exposed, allowing Trisolaris to strategize against them.

Obscure sociologist and former astronomer Luo Ji is chosen as a Wallfacer because he is the only person Trisolaris attempted to assassinate. While the other Wallfacers consume extravagant resources and make major news, Luo Ji's only concrete effort is to broadcast a cryptic message to the universe which he calls a "spell".

Luo Ji hibernates for 200 years and is revived into a utopian society with advanced technology. Earth no longer reveres Wallfacers or fears Trisolaris. That confidence is shattered when Earth's entire space fleet is annihilated by a single Trisolaran probe. Several ships escape into deep space, but they eventually cannibalize each other for scarce resources.

Luo agrees to oversee Project Snow, which will use explosives to create a dust cloud intended to reveal the approach of any more Trisolaran probes. One day, his neighbors revere him again as a Wallfacer, and he knows his spell must have worked. Luo realizes Trisolaris feared him because of his encounter with astrophysicist Ye Wenjie, the first human to establish contact with Trisolaris. She encouraged Luo to develop "cosmic sociology".

He has long known that civilizations expand, while resources remain finite. Because survival is a civilization's primary concern, this led Luo to conceive of the universe as a "dark forest". A hunter in the forest knows there are other hunters like him in the forest. Therefore, his only response to any life form he encounters, must be to annihilate it in order to survive.

The message he sent to the universe was the location of a star system 50 light-years away that could support an advanced civilization. It is destroyed by an unknown advanced civilization, which proves Luo's dark forest hypothesis.

After the star's destruction, the Trisolaran probe jams Earth's ability to broadcast any further messages to the universe. Luo grows increasingly despondent and decides to end his life. Before he kills himself, he demands to speak to Trisolaris through the sophons.

He reveals that he has engineered a dead man's switch that will trigger the explosives in Project Snow when his heart stops beating. Those explosions will thwart the probe and allow Earth to transmit Trisolaris' location to the universe. The threat of mutual assured destruction echoes the plan of another Wallfacer. Trisolaris immediately accedes to Luo's demand that their fleet change course. They also agree to aid humanity's scientific progress.

Characters

Chinese and Japanese names are written with the family name first.

• Ye Wenjie (叶文洁) - Astrophysicist who initiated contact between Earth and Trisolaris. Spiritual leader of the Earth Trisolaris Organization (ETO), the network of pro-Trisolaris human agents on Earth.
• Zhang Beihai (章北海) - Political commissar in the PLA Navy and later the Chinese Space Force, responsible for promoting "triumphalism": the conviction that Earth will eventually prevail over Trisolaris. He secretly believes Earth is doomed and escape to another Solar System is the only option.
• Shi Qiang (史强) - Nicknamed Da Shi (大史), the Wallfacer Program's Head of Security who becomes a close ally to Luo Ji. (appears in The Three-Body Problem)
• Ding Yi (丁仪) - Theoretical physicist, the first human to physically make contact with a Trisolaran object. (appears in The Three-Body Problem)
• Zhuang Yan (庄颜) - Graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, she marries Luo Ji.

Wallfacers

• Frederick Tyler (弗雷德里克·泰勒) - Former US Secretary of Defense, suggests feigning defection to the Trisolaran fleet in order to launch an attack. His plan is exposed by Wallbreaker "von Neumann".
• Manuel Rey Diaz (曼努尔·雷迪亚兹) - Former President of Venezuela, suggests threatening mutual assured destruction by crashing Mercury into the Sun to destroy the Solar System. His plan is exposed by Wallbreaker "Mozi".
• Bill Hines (比尔·希恩斯) - English neuroscientist, physicist and former President of the European Commission, suggests spreading defeatism to promote escapism. His plan is exposed by the Wallbreaker "Aristotle", who is actually his wife Yamasugi Keiko (山杉恵子).
• Luo Ji (罗辑) - Ex-astronomer and sociologist. He forces a truce by threatening to broadcast Trisolaris' position which will invite its destruction by a third party.

Adaptations

• Waterdrop, referring to the Trisolaran droplet probe, is a 14-minute tribute film produced by Wang Ren, who was then a graduate student studying Architecture in Columbia University. The author Liu Cixin commented, "This is the kind of film I have in mind. If the feeling of such an atmosphere can be delivered in a Three Body Problem film, I would rest in peace after I die."
• MC Three Body - The Dark Forest is an animation series produced by a group of Chinese fans. Initially a machinima series produced using the video game Minecraft, they later switched to using professional animation software. The series was released online at the beginning of 2018.
• A Chinese animated series based on The Dark Forest aired from December 10, 2022 to March 25, 2023.
• A three-part documentary series entitled Rendezvous with the Future which explores the science behind Liu Cixin's science fiction was produced by BBC Studios and released by Bilibili in China in November 2022. The second episode covers many ideas featured in The Dark Forest such as the space elevator and artificial hibernation. An international version of the series has not yet been released.
• Part of the novel was adapted in the 2024 Netflix series 3 Body Problem.

See also

• Dark forest hypothesis
• Drake equation
• Fermi paradox
• The Headquarters of the United Nations and the UN meditation room, which play a major role in the plot
• Hobbesian trap
• Search for extraterrestrial intelligence

External links

• Ken Liu's website