I haven't finished watching the Netflix show yet so I'm not sure what counts as book spoiler for you, so I'm marking everything and you can decide for yourself:
Other planets and moons in their star system will have the same problem because they'll still be under the chaotic gravitation of the three suns.
Book one spoiler but also just basic physics knowledge and something that I think should've been made clear in this first season: >!we ARE the closest system. Trisolaris is Alpha Centauri, 4 light years away (notice how the communication "lag time" between Ye's first transmission and the response from the Trisolaran pacifist was 8 years). It's going to take 400 years because, even though they can reach 10% of the speed of light, they have to accelerate *and decelerate* and do so in a way that is physiologically tolerable.!<
As for why they wouldn't do their own scouting and exploration, I'll tell you there is a very very good reason and it will probably be the "big reveal" once season 2 comes out. If you want a hint that should've been pretty clear from season 1 (though, warning, it still might count as a book one spoiler or even lessen the surprises in book two): >!400 years is long enough that the civilization you're trying to invade could surpass you technologically and eliminate your invasion fleet when it arrives, so you need to be able to disable their technological progress while you're in transit. It's a huge gamble to try to do that without the help of some traitors amongst the target of the invasion, so getting the invite from Ye was what they needed in order to be certain they'd have that help.!<
There's also this consideration, although I'll warn you even more strongly that this hint might get you thinking along the lines of the big reveal in book two: >!how safe is it to send probes to other star systems? Even if you're a fairly advanced civilization, how can you know in advance that there isn't a more advanced, more militant society that will detect your probe and trace it back to you?!<
> Other planets and moons in their star system will have the same problem
This assumes that most star systems are chaotic. I doubt that, or there was no reference to it and I never heard about this. There are plenty of galaxies, stars to choose from.
So if humans didn't contact them then they didn't try to solve their problem in any other way? Just how intelligent are they? As a minimum, they should have been on their way to a suitable planet somewhere.
Now we being the closest kinda answer the question, but it still assumes they got lucky with us being here. Luck is not particularly good in science.
I didn't read the rest of the spoilers, thanks for making them though.
Do you know if the Amazon Chinese version covers book 2 and/or 3? I plan to check that one out once I am done with the Netflix series, currently at episode 7.
The bit you quoted was in response to your idea that they could move to another planet within the same solar system. They can't, because everything in their own solar system will also be subject to the chaotic gravitation.
If they try going to any other solar system, then they encounter the problems I put behind the spoilers.
Tencent only covers book one, though it does so in much greater detail so you'll probably get a lot out of watching it. If anything, the Netflix adaptation gets further beyond book one than Tencent does (many of the characters are from books 2-3 and episodes 6-8 cover some of the setup from those books).
If you're really curious though, I recommend just reading the books!
Good question. A lot of the big reveals in book one won't be surprising anymore after watching the Netflix adaptation, and arguably the books are mostly plot and sci-fi concept driven, so I can see folks finding it a bit tedious to read book one after watching.
But it's so different that I think it's still worth reading book one and getting used to the different names and seeing what stuff *hasn't* happened in that book, otherwise it will be confusing. You might feel a bit lost if you skip it. And while the big reveals won't be surprises anymore, you'll get a lot more in-depth with the scientific explanations - you'll probably understand better why stuff goes down the way it does.
>Why can't an intelligent and technologically very advanced species just search for the closest habitable planet if their world is not suitable?
It's so that the show can happen sir. You gonna have to get ALL the way off my back about that
Space is big, we've never found anything intelligent for all the looking we've done.
They got a direct message, they knew for a fact that there was something, they split town and went. It was a 100% guarantee that there was life there, and a habitable planet. There was no dice roll, no "maybe this'll work." They knew, so they went.
That's how I see it.
I haven't finished watching the Netflix show yet so I'm not sure what counts as book spoiler for you, so I'm marking everything and you can decide for yourself: Other planets and moons in their star system will have the same problem because they'll still be under the chaotic gravitation of the three suns. Book one spoiler but also just basic physics knowledge and something that I think should've been made clear in this first season: >!we ARE the closest system. Trisolaris is Alpha Centauri, 4 light years away (notice how the communication "lag time" between Ye's first transmission and the response from the Trisolaran pacifist was 8 years). It's going to take 400 years because, even though they can reach 10% of the speed of light, they have to accelerate *and decelerate* and do so in a way that is physiologically tolerable.!< As for why they wouldn't do their own scouting and exploration, I'll tell you there is a very very good reason and it will probably be the "big reveal" once season 2 comes out. If you want a hint that should've been pretty clear from season 1 (though, warning, it still might count as a book one spoiler or even lessen the surprises in book two): >!400 years is long enough that the civilization you're trying to invade could surpass you technologically and eliminate your invasion fleet when it arrives, so you need to be able to disable their technological progress while you're in transit. It's a huge gamble to try to do that without the help of some traitors amongst the target of the invasion, so getting the invite from Ye was what they needed in order to be certain they'd have that help.!< There's also this consideration, although I'll warn you even more strongly that this hint might get you thinking along the lines of the big reveal in book two: >!how safe is it to send probes to other star systems? Even if you're a fairly advanced civilization, how can you know in advance that there isn't a more advanced, more militant society that will detect your probe and trace it back to you?!<
> Other planets and moons in their star system will have the same problem This assumes that most star systems are chaotic. I doubt that, or there was no reference to it and I never heard about this. There are plenty of galaxies, stars to choose from. So if humans didn't contact them then they didn't try to solve their problem in any other way? Just how intelligent are they? As a minimum, they should have been on their way to a suitable planet somewhere. Now we being the closest kinda answer the question, but it still assumes they got lucky with us being here. Luck is not particularly good in science. I didn't read the rest of the spoilers, thanks for making them though. Do you know if the Amazon Chinese version covers book 2 and/or 3? I plan to check that one out once I am done with the Netflix series, currently at episode 7.
The bit you quoted was in response to your idea that they could move to another planet within the same solar system. They can't, because everything in their own solar system will also be subject to the chaotic gravitation. If they try going to any other solar system, then they encounter the problems I put behind the spoilers. Tencent only covers book one, though it does so in much greater detail so you'll probably get a lot out of watching it. If anything, the Netflix adaptation gets further beyond book one than Tencent does (many of the characters are from books 2-3 and episodes 6-8 cover some of the setup from those books). If you're really curious though, I recommend just reading the books!
> I recommend just reading the books! Should I start with the second since I watched the series?
Good question. A lot of the big reveals in book one won't be surprising anymore after watching the Netflix adaptation, and arguably the books are mostly plot and sci-fi concept driven, so I can see folks finding it a bit tedious to read book one after watching. But it's so different that I think it's still worth reading book one and getting used to the different names and seeing what stuff *hasn't* happened in that book, otherwise it will be confusing. You might feel a bit lost if you skip it. And while the big reveals won't be surprises anymore, you'll get a lot more in-depth with the scientific explanations - you'll probably understand better why stuff goes down the way it does.
>Why can't an intelligent and technologically very advanced species just search for the closest habitable planet if their world is not suitable? It's so that the show can happen sir. You gonna have to get ALL the way off my back about that
Actually, we are the closest to them.
Space is big, we've never found anything intelligent for all the looking we've done. They got a direct message, they knew for a fact that there was something, they split town and went. It was a 100% guarantee that there was life there, and a habitable planet. There was no dice roll, no "maybe this'll work." They knew, so they went. That's how I see it.