3 Body Problem

We extend our best wishes to you, inhabitants of another world.

We hope to establish contact with other civilized societies.

We look forward to working with you

to build a better life in this vast universe.

We extend our best wishes to you, inhabitants of another world.

How long have we been transmitting our message?

A few years.

And the Americans? The Russians?

Longer than that.

It's the Fermi Paradox.

It comes from a question that Enrico Fermi asked his colleagues at Los Alamos.

There are a hundred billion stars in our galaxy.

Many of these stars must have planets similar to our own.

And many of these planets must have developed intelligent life.

So where is everybody?

Maybe there's no one out there.

Our signal is too weak.

25 megawatts is too weak?

It's one of the most powerful transmitters on the planet.

Nobody will hear it.

I need to contact the scientist who wrote this article. Can you do that?

Where is he?

California.

You want me to contact an American?

If they find out they will question us.

Then don't tell them about it.

Any messages from outer space?

I don't know how you do it.

It's like listening to the ocean for eight hours.

I work out problems while I'm listening.

What's this?

Our secret?

EARTH

On June 12th last year, Dr. Peterson's team in California

observed strong bursts

of electromagnetic radiation from Jupiter.

JUPITER

On the same day, we detected an intense radio burst.

So we detected the same thing as America?

No. Our recordings picked up the burst 13 minutes after Mt. Wilson.

And not from Jupiter.

From the Sun.

SUN

From Jupiter to the Earth, it took 38 minutes.

From Jupiter to the Sun, it took 43 minutes.

From the Sun to the Earth,

8 minutes.

43 plus 8 equals 51. A difference of 13 minutes.

I simplified the math for you.

The Sun reflected the radio waves from Jupiter?

Not just reflected. It amplified them.

The signal from the Sun was millions of times stronger than the one from Jupiter.

So we can use the Sun as a super-antenna?

By aiming our signal at the Sun?

Exactly.

"We extend our best wishes to you, inhabitants of another world."

Ye Wenjie. This is genius.

It could take us many years to get a reply,

but imagine China leading the world in interstellar communication.

I want to take it to Commissar Lei.

Yes. We should.

This is a radical idea, Comrade Yang.

Yes. I've been working on it for some time.

It could take many years to get a response, but…

Enter.

I want her to verify your work.

Comrade Yang has devised a way to use the Sun to amplify our transmission.

His numbers are compelling.

You believe his calculations to be correct?

They are correct.

You want to aim a super-powerful radio beam at the Sun.

At the Red Sun?

Have you thought about the political symbolism of such an experiment?

Well. Commissar, I…

Who is the Red Sun in the heart of the People?

This is very disappointing from you, Comrade Yang.

And I would think, Comrade Ye Wenjie,

that as the daughter of a class enemy

you would have warned him

how dangerous his ideas were.

Sir. Imagine our great Red Sun, our Chairman,

amplifying the words of the People, a hundred millionfold.

Absolutely not. I forbid it.