Three Body Problem | The Great Ravine

Transcript

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Hi guys, it's Quinn here. If you appreciate my content, consider hitting the like button. It's the best way to get the YouTube algorithm to notice this channel. If you want to do more to support this channel, consider checking out the Patreon link in the description. The Three Body Problem Series has been described as one of the most terrifying modern science fiction series. And this is not just because of the cosmic existential concepts that it brings up, but also what it says about humanity and our seemingly self-destructive nature. Keep in mind this video will have spoilers for the Remembrance of Earth's past trilogy by Lo Shishin. This series, of course, tells the story of a humanity grappling with the fact that a powerful race of beings known as the Trisolarens have set their sights on the Earth. In 400 years they will reach the planet and begin their invasion. I've covered many of the major events in this series in several different videos, which will be linked below in a playlist. This series follows humanity over the course of many eons, and this video we will focus on a specific time period, the Great Ravine. During the early crisis era, humanity was lost. Through use of sofon technology, the aliens known as the Trisolerans had stifled all human scientific progress, limiting and drastically reducing the progress of its development. Humankind made several plans that could potentially deal with the threat in the long term, but the immediate effects on humanity would be drastic. For the better part of two decades, things were chaotic but relatively stable, but around the year 2030, humanity began to see shifts in the economic and social climate. A shift towards wartime. The pace of this social and economic transformation would increase exponentially. It was here that the standard of living globally began to decline significantly. People became paranoid. No one knew who was potentially ETO, traitors to humanity that supported the Tricelarans. Forms of speech and expression began to be restricted. Film and television from earlier eras was banned. A major event that occurred during the Great Ravine was the dismissal of all environmental protection. Organizations like Greenpeace were akin to traitors. In the minds of much of humanity, there was no point in saving the Earth if the Trisolarans were coming. Why save a world that would in the end not be for us? The environmental laws were there, but in those pessimistic times, the general attitude was, what the hell is environmental protection for? Even if Earth turns into a garden, isn't it all going to the Triselarans anyway? Eventually, environmental protection was seen as no less treasonous to humanity than the ETO. Although these feelings are understandable, what wasn't considered on a large scale was the effect that these environmental changes would have on food production. The governments of the world were heavily focused on the space forces. This was an immense heavy industry on a scale never seen before, which essentially made environmental pollution and deterioration unstoppable. This led to anomalies in climate. This led to an increase in the greenhouse effect, and most importantly, desertification. Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert. This sometimes happens naturally due to reasons like drought, or sometimes because of human influence, like deforestation or inappropriate agriculture. This time around, it happened because of the environmental changes that were occurring globally. And when desertification began to occur on Earth, it happened extremely fast, faster than anyone previously could have imagined. It's not what you imagine. Like the desert advancing from the Great Wall. No, it was patchwork erosion, perfectly fine plots of land in the interior began turning to desert simultaneously, and it spread from those points like how a damp cloth dries in the sun. Because of this extremely fast patchwork desertification, agriculture production plummeted to a halt, and then the grain reserves were exhausted. This led to mass starvation on a level never before witnessed. This was the beginning of the Great Ravine. Up until this point in history, the Great Ravine was the most trying event humankind had ever faced. Did the prediction that the standard of living would go backward a hundred years come true? Lu Ji asked. Xizoming gave a few bitter chuckles. Ah, Dr. Luo, a hundred years? In your dreams. A hundred years back from that time would have been around 1930 or so. A paradise compared to the Great Ravine. No way the two are the same. For one thing, there were so many more people than in the Great Depression. 8.3 billion. He pointed at Zhang Yan. He saw the Great Ravine when he reawakened for a while. You tell them. Zhang Yan's description of the Great Ravine tells of a hell world full of cannibalism, hunger, violence, suffering so widespread on such a massive scale that it would be difficult to imagine. And for 50 years this would continue. And in that time period, the population of the earth would drop from 8.3 billion to 3.5 billion. He speaks of massive, dry, great plains stretching endlessly. Millions of humans fleeing famine, marching through this endless desert, those who died were eaten by the others. He speaks of the scorching earth and the scorching air and sand in the air so thick that it blocks out the sun. He refers to it as the Grand March of Hunger. A shift would eventually occur, however, but it required a change in the thinking of most people. As people came to terms with the Great Ravine, the more they wondered if all of this was worth it. Was the long-term victory of humanity and the doomsday battle against the Tricellarans ultimately worth all of this death and suffering? Ultimately, in the end, it wasn't. Think about what's more important. The child dying of starvation in your arms, or the continuation of human civilization. Right now you might think the latter choice is more important, but you wouldn't have in that day and age. No matter what the future might bring, the present is more important. As time went on, more and more people begin to think this way. A slogan was formed: make time for civilization, for civilization won't make time. Essentially, civilization was meant for us, and the present should not rob itself of a functioning civilization for the sake of future-proofing, especially when there was no guarantee of victory. And from this point on comes a second enlightenment, a renaissance. The various governments of the world got rid of their space strategies. They put all of their attention into improving the lives of the people. And out of this, essential and critical technology emerged. They were able to solve their food problem through genetic engineering. From this point on, the production of food would no longer be weather dependent. Everything moved quickly after that. There were fewer people, after all. And in the space of just two decades, life returned to pre-Great Ravine levels. Then golden age levels were restored. People had set their hearts on this road of comfort, and no one wanted to go back. After the Great Ravine, all of the world's cities began to develop underground. Most humans no longer lived on the surface of the earth. Now that humankind had restabilized itself, it again turned its attention to the Trisalarin crisis, who had marched on steadily this entire time, monitoring Earth from their homeworld. The key difference in their strategy and thinking surrounding the Triselarans this time around was humanism comes first, perpetuating civilization comes second. With this form of thinking and the new technologies that were rapidly forming, humanity for the first time was optimistic that they could face the Trisilarans. The book brings up the concept of civilization immunity. It essentially means that when a planet has suffered a serious illness, this can trigger society's immune system. Essentially, the idea was that since humanity had gone through the Great Ravine, humanity could never return to that state. Whether or not this would be true in the long run would remain to be seen. Thanks guys so much for watching. Make sure you like and subscribe for more Quinn's ideas. Definitely check out the playlist in the description for more three body problem videos.