Fan Story: My 20 Years with Three-Body

Author's Note: This article is written for everyone who had their soul touched by Three-Body at some moment.

It was a sweltering summer. I was 18, fresh out of the college entrance exam. In the school bookstore, I picked up a Science Fiction World magazine — the cover had a giant countdown number against a mysterious starry background.

That issue serialized a new story called "Three-Body." The author was a name I'd never heard: Liu Cixin.

I remember the feeling of reading the first paragraph: "Wang Miao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, physicist..." Plain narration, no flashy opening. But when I read the scene of Ye Wenjie pressing that red button — I felt something explode in my chest.

That was the moment an 18-year-old realized for the first time: the universe is not a quiet sky — it's a dark forest.

Waiting for The Dark Forest: 2006-2008

Three-Body was serialized for 8 issues. During those 8 months, on each publication day, I would bike to the newsstand at my school gate. "Has SFW arrived?" I asked that question 8 times. The newsstand owner eventually recognized me: "That sci-fi kid is here again."

In January 2008, the "Three-Body" novel was published. Later that year, "The Dark Forest" came out. I read it overnight in my dorm bed with a flashlight. When Luo Ji broadcast the coordinates of star 187J3X1 — not with weapons, but with the rules of the universe — I almost shouted out loud.

Zhang Beihai's "Natural Selection, ahead four!" — I lost count of how many times I reenacted that on the school playground.

In November 2010, "Death's End" was published. It was my first year of work, and I took annual leave specifically to queue at the bookstore.

The night I finished this book, I went to the balcony and looked at the stars. Not the bright ones used for constellations, but the faint, barely-there specks. I suddenly understood why Luo Ji had such a calmly despairing expression when he was selected as a Wallfacer at the UN.

Because once you truly understand the size of the universe and the insignificance of humanity, you can never go back to living "normally."

On August 23, 2015, I was on the subway when a notification popped up: "Three-Body wins Hugo Award." I burst into tears in the carriage — people around me must have thought I'd lost it.

In 2019, "The Wandering Earth" premiered. I took my child — yes, I'm a dad now — to watch it. When the Earth started moving on the big screen, I said to my kid: "Daddy read another story by this author when he was young, even more incredible than this."

In 2023, Tencent's Three-Body TV series aired. I organized a viewing party, inviting a dozen old friends who followed Three-Body back in the day. Some laughed at Luo Ji's banter with Shi Qiang. Some fell silent when Ye Wenjie pressed the button.

In 2024, the Netflix version launched. Opinions were divided, but we old readers knew: Three-Body had traveled so far that it no longer belonged just to us. It belonged to the world.

Today, May 2026. Three-Body is 20 years old.

I'm almost 40 now. When I reread Three-Body, I see things completely different from when I was 18:

18: I saw physics and science fiction

28: I saw power and game theory

38: I saw choices and costs

Every reread feels like reading a new book.

Thank you, Liu Cixin, for every word you wrote on those ordinary Shanxi nights. Thank you for showing me that a kid from a small city can also gaze at the universe.

Thank you every member of the Three-Body community. Thank you for keeping this small corner of the forum alive. In the Dark Forest, at least we can warm ourselves here.

Finally, let me end with Zhang Beihai's last words:

"It doesn't matter. It's all the same."

No matter how dark the universe, no matter how unpredictable the future — under the eternal stars, we were once moved by the same work. And that, right there, makes it all worth it.

—— A reader who's been following Three-Body since 2006