Three-Body (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

Episode 2

You
How long have you been married?
Eight years.
How old is your child?
Seven.
I bought this house
in preparation for marriage.
I thought she'd actually
start a family with me.
Yang Dong.
She was like a star in the sky,
which was far, far away from you.
Even the light it shed on you felt
cold.
This afternoon, after you left,
people from the Battle Command Center
talked to me in private.
They wanted me to join
the Frontiers of Science.
Well,
you didn't agree, right?
No.
Right!
Your choice's quite right!
Let me tell you something.
They're just a bunch of
arrogant idiots!
They seem to have done some digging.
Yeah. Worldwide digging.
So they should know that
there are
two people having nothing to do
with the Frontiers of Science at all.
And Yang Dong
was one of them.
=Three-Body=
=Episode 2=
Dr. Ding,
why did Yang Dong
make a choice like that?
Because
physics
doesn't exist anymore.
If physics didn't exist anymore,
and you release your hold right now,
this book would fly into the sky
instead of falling to the floor.
You're right.
If physics didn't exist anymore,
Schrodinger wouldn't
have been on the floor.
He would've been
in the sky.
So,
Einstein
wouldn't have been on the floor either.
Newton
wouldn't have been on the floor either.
None of these people
would've been on the floor.
They would've all been floating
in the sky.
They're all on the floor now.
Do you know how to play this?
A little.
Yang Dong and I loved it,
because it reminded us of
the collision in a particle collider.
Help me clean this.
You may toss them
wherever you want. It's okay.
No need. It's okay.
You don't have to stack them up.
Just toss them away.
Can you hit it into the hole?
I think any normal person can do it.
Let's
rotate it 90 degrees.
Alright.
Okay. This will do.
Dr. Ding, what are we doing?
Do it again.
Okay, now the experiments are over.
Let's analyze the results.
We conducted five collision experiments
in total, right?
The first four took place
in different positions
at different times, and
the fifth one happened
in the same position as the first one,
but at a different time,
so you're unsurprised
by this outcome, right?
All five collision experiments
generated the same result.
What do you mean?
I
I'd like you
to explain this outcome
with the language of physics.
Language of physics.
In the five previous experiments,
there was no change whatsoever
in the mass of the two balls.
Their relative positions,
if using the pool table
as a reference frame,
never changed either.
The velocity vector
at which the white ball
hit the black one hardly changed,
which caused the momentum exchange
generated by the collision between
the balls to remain unchanged as well.
That's the reason the black ball
went into the hole
every time it got hit.
So now you've discovered
a great law:
the laws of physics are even
in terms of time and space.
From the start of human history
until now, all the discoveries
made in the field of physics,
such as Archimedes' principle,
the string theory,
every single one of those things
is based
on this law.
You know what I mean?
I understand your words,
but I don't know
what you're trying to convey.
Do you dare to imagine
another result?
In the first experiment,
the black ball was hit into the hole.
In the second one,
well, the black ball
went off track.
In the third one,
the black ball
flew into mid-air.
In the fourth one,
the black ball, like a scared sparrow,
flew around in the room.
And then in the fifth one,
at near the speed of light,
it flew off this table,
penetrated through the wall,
broke free from Earth's gravity,
and shot straight
out of the solar system.
Just like
what Asimov depicts in his sci-fi.
If the results of the experiments
were like that,
what
what would you think?
You and Yang Dong
both liked playing pool,
because it reminded you of
the collision in a particle collider.
So this kind of thing
really did happen?
In Yang Dong's lab?
The first data, recorded at 9:07,
the second date, recorded at 10:22,
the third data, recorded at 10:50.
They're all inconsistent.
They're also inconsistent
with the calculation results.
The experiment failed.
It happened.
But that was always
part of the experiment.
In terms of experiment,
that was quite normal.
Yeah. In terms of experiment,
abnormal data is a normal thing, right?
But this time, things are different.
Let's get back to pool.
Uh, if in the fourth experiment,
the black ball flew all around
like a sparrow,
and in the fifth one it flew
out of the solar system,
if I need you
to verify that kind of results,
would you be able
to do it with deduction?
I specialize in applied physics,
so I don't know much
about this kind of stuff,
but I think that's very unlikely.
These are the faxes
you sent to the victim.
You sent all these?
What's wrong?
Is your girlfriend okay?
What's going on exactly?
What's the matter?
Look at this.
Experiment results.
No.
The time.
This can't be happening.
Nine o'clock.
It couldn't be nine.
Impossible.
The data, which was the same
as Yang Dong's,
had been delivered to Professor Munphy
when her experiment was still ongoing.
No way.
According to our known knowledge
of physics,
that's absolutely impossible.
We think it's impossible,
because right now we still
believe in physics.
Yang Dong expounded and proved it?
I don't know either.
I want to find out as well.
If this is true,
then the evenness of time and space
that laws of physics are based on
will be
non-existent,
which
means
Which means physics
doesn't exist anymore.
This will be a catastrophe
for the research
of cutting-edge theory.
So, to make achievement
in theoretical physics,
you need
an unswerving religious belief.
That's why there are people
believing the hypothesis
about the shooter and the farmer.
The shooter and the farmer.
That's the theory
of the Frontiers of Science.
Yeah. Anyway, those theories
which cannot be proved right
and cannot be proved wrong either
are actually, to put it bluntly
You know, they give people hope.
But sometimes this kind of hope
might drive people
to their doom.
I always felt that
I was about to win her heart.
Maybe,
if you accept my proposal,
the experiment will go well.
The experiment failed.
Then do some extra ones.
But maybe I was wrong.
The data, which was the same
as Yang Dong's,
had been delivered to Professor Munphy
when her experiment was still ongoing.
No way.
According to our known knowledge
of physics,
that's absolutely impossible.
We think it's impossible,
because right now
we still believe in physics.
Physics
doesn't exist anymore.
Physics doesn't exist anymore.
Are you blind?
What a psycho.
Advance! Advance!♪
The momentum of revolution
is unstoppable ♪
Advance! Advance!♪
In the direction of victory ♪
Three red flags
are fluttering in the wind ♪
♪600 million people
are striving for national prosperity ♪
Working diligently to make
this beautiful country stronger ♪
Resolved to turn their mother country
into a paradise ♪
Advance! Advance!♪
(Spring Grass)
(Pierla Hutong 4-2)
Hi.
Welcome back
to the Frontiers of Science.
Sorry to disturb you.
No.
I'm very happy you called.
You want me
to join the Frontiers of Science?
I want everybody to join us,
and get to know us.
I still can't fully accept your theory,
though it sounds
fascinating.
Anything,
when you begin to doubt it
and want to break through it,
becomes the most fascinating.
That's why our organization is named
Frontiers of Science.
In this area,
owning such a large manor house,
the owner must be no ordinary person.
This is a private residence
of one of our members.
It was offered
to us for communication.
Professor Wang?
Professor Wang?
That member specializes
in quantum entanglement, right?
Yeah.
Welcome, friends visiting the Frontiers
of Science for the first time.
And welcome back, Professor Wang Miao.
Professor Wang participated
in some of our previous discussions,
so, next,
(Frontiers of Science)
I'd like you to tell everybody
what our research is about.
I think it's the shooter hypothesis
and the farmer hypothesis.
(Assuming that a marksman)
(leaves bullet holes on a target)
(at intervals of 10 centimeters.)
(Suppose that on this target)
(resides a kind of
two-dimensional intelligent species.)
(Their scientists,)
(after observing their universe,)
(discovered a great law.)
(Each time they travel 10 centimeters,)
(they're guaranteed to find a hole.)
(They mistake)
(what the shooter did on a whim)
(as an unchanging law
of their universe.)
In the eyes
of those two-dimensional creatures,
the holes made
at intervals of 10 centimeters
might be the greatest wonder
in their world.
Maybe they're planning on adventuring.
Maybe they're even
researching surveying equipment,
trying to find out
which material can help them
explore in a more efficient
and safer way.
Maybe it's nano-material.
There's also
a farmer hypothesis.
There is a flock of turkeys on a farm.
Every day the farmer
feeds them at 11 AM.
One of the turkeys, a scientist,
observes the phenomenon.
It observes for almost a year,
and there's been no exception,
so it also announces
a great law of their universe.
Food arrives
at 11 AM every day.
One day, when it's 11 o'clock,
the farmer shows up again,
but
it's Thanksgiving Day.
Food
doesn't come.
The farmer walks inside,
takes them all and slaughters them.
We might be like
the two-dimensional scientist
on that target,
or the turkey scientist on the farm.
If, in this world,
there is indeed
a kind of supernatural power,
the shooter,
then the regularity
that the shooter knows
is the truth.
Newton's classical mechanics
is totally useless in the micro-world,
and Einstein's theory of relativity,
when applied to the quantum world,
raises even more problems.
If science has frontiers,
then what we're about to touch
is very likely to be the frontiers.
The "truth" that those two-dimensional
creatures find is not the truth,
because in their world,
they can never find the truth.
Their science
has frontiers.
Then what's beyond the frontiers?
What regularities
do the shooter and the farmer know?
Personally,
this is not just science.
It's more like a ritual.
A ritual of infinite exploration
of the frontiers of science.
But what's the point of all this?
State your opinions.
I have no impressive opinions.
Every one of you
know more about theories than I do,
but I think
today's discussion
serves only
to make scientists vulnerable.
In my eyes,
there's no way whatsoever
to authenticate these hypotheses,
but if those two-dimensional creatures
and the turkeys on the farm
find out everything but are powerless
to make any difference,
how despairing will they be?
Actually, your current attitude
proves that
no matter whether you're willing
to admit it or not,
you've come to believe this hypothesis.
Even if I believe it,
I will not accept
that I'm a turkey scientist.
Previous to this,
maybe you've never thought
that you might be a turkey scientist.
I will not accept
I'm a turkey scientist.
Dr. Shen,
has it ever occurred to you
that such a statement can kill?
The turkeys on the farm
are meant to die on Thanksgiving Day.
(Defend Our Mother Country)
Professor Wang,
you don't look very well.
Rough night?
The other day, you said those words
to me on purpose, right?
What words?
Asking me to talk to Ding Yi.
Making me become suspicious
of the Frontiers of Science.
All those were tricks
meant for me, right?
You set a trap for me
and waited for me to step into it.
Although you're a science guy,
you're pretty smart.
Well, what did you find out?
Fill me in.
Was Yang Dong's death really suicide?
In terms of criminology
and forensic examination,
it was undoubtedly suicide,
but if all their deaths were suicide,
then what's the point
of our investigation?
You're still trying to trick me.
You're trying to trick me
into focusing on Yang Dong.
That's right.
I need to set another trap for you.
Yang Dong's funeral is in two days.
Go ahead. Go ahead.
Go ahead.
What are you doing?
Give me a ride downhill.
That's not even my car.
Why are you pulling?
People are prone to make mistakes
when when agitated.
He went to Ding Yi,
and then Shen Yufei.
Don't get too excited.
What's that going to prove?
I bet
he'll attend Yang Dong's funeral.
Why?
No particular reason.
This Wang Miao guy
strikes me as very special.
Chang,
it's been such a long time,
and this is just a case
about scientists' suicides.
With such a large
Battle Command Center,
have you really found nothing?
It's about time you fill me in.
I mean, it's been some time
since you transferred me here.
Does everything going on in this center
need to be reported to you?
All you have to do
is solve the case of the scientist.
Alright.
Consider it done.
I'll crack this case for you
following the clue of Wang Miao,
but
don't forget
our deal.
My suspension,
you need to handle it for me.
Have I not handled it for you?
Are you under suspension?
You're doing pretty well
in my department, aren't you?
The first bow.
The second bow.
The third bow.
Kin's reciprocal bow.
Ms. Ye, sorry for your loss.
Who are you?
I'm Yang Dong's friend.
My name is Wang Miao.
Thank you.
You specialize
in the string theory as well?
No.
I specialize in nanotechnology.
Applied physics.
A few days ago,
I read a news report,
and it's about nanotechnology.
It mentioned a kind of
super-strength nano-material.
Its name's Flying Blade.
That's the very thing
we've been researching in our lab.
That's very audacious,
and very forward-looking.
You flatter us, Ms. Ye.
It happens that not long ago,
when the superstring model verification
experiment was conducted in Liangxiang,
I took a picture of Yang Dong.
I brought it here
so you could have it as a keepsake.
Sorry, Ms. Ye.
There was a technical glitch
when I was developing and printing it.
I'll develop and print another one
and deliver it to your house
in a few days.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
See you around, Ms. Ye.
You look pretty good
dressed entirely in black.
I know what you're going to say.
I came here purely to show
my respect for a scientist
and offer my condolences.
Do I make myself clear enough?
Stop following me.
Did I ask you to make yourself clear?
You and Ye Wenjie,
Yang Dong's mother,
talked for a long time.
Is that so?
Sorry
for your loss.
Goodbye.
It took you that long
to say those words?
What is this?
Hello?
Wang.
Li.
What's up?
What's going on?
I asked you
to develop that roll of film for me.
Was there something wrong
with your machine?
Why are there time codes
on the pictures?
That That's impossible.
That never happened
to my other customers.
Could it be
that your negative's problematic?
Hold on.
The negative has it too.
Could it be the film?
I bought the film from you as well.
It can't be.
I think it's your camera.
Could it be
that you got the timer wrong?
Uh, what's the brand of your camera?
Leica.
M2, 1988.
Fully mechanical and manual.
Well, that's a beautiful thing!
You're such a big spender!
It can't be. Your camera
should have no timer in it.
Well, even if it had a timer,
there's no way the time could've
appeared in the middle of the picture.
Well, I don't know.
How about you do some more research?
Something's not right.
The color of these codes
changes with the background.
Well, I'll do some research about it.
Talk to you later.
Alright.
Time.
They're all smaller than 60.
It's time.
Countdown.
It's a countdown.
There are
1,194 hours left.
1,187 hours.
It's just a matter of time ♪
Should we say goodbye ♪
Or should we keep it all ♪
(Yang Dong)
(Tsinghua University
Relentless self-improvement. Unswerving virtue)
Fireworks ♪
You wasted it all just
to watch me burn ♪
And on and on and on ♪
We can fight it back ♪
Stop it with our love ♪
Or should we keep it all ♪
1,187 hours.
49 days.
What's going to happen in 49 days?
With the cost of all ♪
(After investigating the scene,)
(they discovered the victim's pacemaker
had been suspended by someone.)
(Fingerprints have been lifted
from the crime scene.)
(The victim's fingerprints)
(and the fingerprints found
on the pacemaker)
(are being delivered to examiners
for cross-reference.)
The data are identical,
so they definitely got the time wrong.
I only sent him faxes.
If it was he who photocopied them,
how could the faxes
have been photocopied
at different times?
Nobody could've gotten the results
of your experiment
before you conducted it.
It's definitely the machine.
Have some faith in science, okay?
Can a photocopier make mistakes
with only the time?
I've seen things
you people won't believe ♪
Soon our planet will vanish ♪
I've known the future
you people won't think of ♪
Soon your planet will be punished ♪
I've seen things
you people won't believe ♪
Soon our planet will vanish ♪
I've known the future
you people won't think of ♪
Soon your planet will be punished ♪
=Three-Body=
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