科幻一直被认为是最具前瞻性的文学形式之一。历史告诉我们，无数只存在于科幻作品中的预言正被一步步演变成为现实。刘慈欣在《三体I》英文版后续中的观点被网友们盛传：
“人们面对宇宙所表现出来的天真和善良显示出一种奇怪的矛盾：在地球上，他们可以毫无顾忌地登上另一个大陆，用战争和瘟疫毁灭那里的同类的文明，却把温情脉脉的目光投向星空......
我觉得事情应该反过来，让我们把对星空的善意转移到地球上的人类同类身上，建立起人类各种族和文明之间的信任和理解，但对于太阳系之外的星空，要永远睁大警惕的眼睛，也不惜以最大的恶意来猜测太空中可能存在的'他者'。”
的确，科幻作家所拥有的宏观的大局思维是普通人所不能比拟的。在被既得利益蒙蔽双眼时，科幻总能带我们凌驾于迷雾之上，站在更高的角度去思考世界。
以下是刘慈欣在《三体I》英文版中的后记全文，希望每个读完的人都会有所启发。

刘慈欣：《三体》英文版后记

A night from my childhood remains crisply etched in my memory: I wasstanding by a pond before a village somewhere in Luoshan County, HenanProvince, where generations of my ancestors had lived. Next to me stood manyother people, both adults and children. Together, we gazed up at the clearnight sky, where a tiny star slowly glided across the dark firmament.
童年时代的一个夜晚清晰地蚀刻在我的记忆中：那时我正站在一个池塘边上。这个池塘位于中国河南省罗山县的一个小村庄，我的祖祖辈辈都生活在那里。身边还有好多人，有大人，也有小孩。我们一起注视着清澈的夜空。在那里，一颗小小的星星缓缓地划过黑色苍穹。
It was the first artificial satellite China had ever launched: DongfanghongI (“The East is Red I”). The date was April 25, 1970, and I was seven.
这是中国发射的第一颗人造卫星：东方红一号。日期是1970年4月25日，那时我7岁。
It had been thirteen years since Sputnik had been launched into space, andnine years since the first cosmonaut had left the Earth. Just a week earlier,Apollo 13 had safely returned from a perilous journey to the moon.
彼时距“伴侣号”（译注：前苏联发生的第一颗人造卫星）升空已经过去了13个年头，苏联宇航员上天也已经有了9年。就在一周前，阿波罗13号刚从月球的危险之旅平安返航。
But I didn’t know any of that. As I gazed at that tiny, gliding star, my heart was filled with indescribable curiosity and yearning. And etched in my memory just as deeply as these feelings was the sensation of hunger. At that time, the region around my village was extremely poor. Hunger was the constant companion of every child. I was relatively fortunate because I had shoes on my feet. Most of the friends standing by my side were barefoot, and some of the tiny feet still had unhealed frostbite from the previous winter. Behind me, faint light from kerosene lamps shone out of cracks in the walls of dilapidated thatched huts—the village wasn’t wired for electricity until the eighties.
但那时我对此毫不知情。我望着那颗在天际划过的小星星，心中充满了难以言表的好奇和渴望。这些情愫，伴随着一种饥饿感，深深地蚀刻在我的记忆中。那时，我所在的村庄附近的地区极度贫穷。每一名孩子都与饥饿为伴。我相对还算比较幸运，因为脚上有鞋穿。而身边大多数小伙伴都是赤着脚的，有些小脚因为前一年冬天的严寒被冻伤了，难以痊愈。在我后面是破烂不堪的茅草房，墙面的缝隙里透着煤油灯微弱的灯光——那个村庄直到80年代才通电。
The adults standing nearby said that the satellite wasn’t like an airplanebecause it flew outside of the Earth. Back then the dust and smoke of industryhadn’t yet polluted the air, and the starry sky was especially clear, with theMilky Way clearly visible. In my mind, the stars that filled the heavensweren’t much farther away than the tiny, gliding satellite, and so I thought itwas flying among them. I even worried that it might collide with one as itpassed through the dense stellar clusters.
站在身边的大人说，卫星并不像飞机，因为它是在地球外层飞的。那个时侯，空气尚未被工业制造的尘埃和烟雾污染，星星点缀的夜空特别清澈，银河清晰可见。在我的概念中，天空中的那些星星并不比那颗划过的小卫星远多少。因为，我认为卫星是翱翔在星星之间的。乃至当它穿过茂密的星群时，我还担心它会撞上去。
My parents weren’t with me because they were working at a coal mine morethan a thousand kilometers away, in Shanxi Province. A few years earlier, whenI had been even younger, the mine had been a combat zone for the factionalcivil wars of the Cultural Revolution. I remembered gunshots in the middle ofthe night, trucks passing in the street, filled with men clutching guns andwearing red armbands.… But I had been too young back then, and I can’t be surewhether these images are real memories, or mirages constructed later. However,I know one thing for certain: Because the mine was too unsafe and my parentshad been impacted by the Cultural Revolution, they had had no choice but tosend me to my ancestral home village in Henan. By the time I saw DongfanghongI, I had already lived there for more than three years.
我的父母并不在场，他们当时正在一千多里以外，在山西省的一座煤矿工作。再往前几年，那座煤矿是一个文ge期间帮派内战的战区。那时我更小，还记得半夜的枪声，一辆辆卡车在街头驶过，上面载满了握着枪、戴着红袖章的人……但那时我太小了，不确定这些景象是真实的记忆，抑或只是后来臆测的幻象。但是有一件事是确定的：因为那座煤矿太不安全，而且我的父母受到了冲击，他们别无选择，只能将我送到河南老家村庄。在看到东方红一号之前，我已经在那里生活了三年多。
A few more years passed before I understood the distance between thatsatellite and the stars. Back then I was reading a popular set of basic sciencebooks called A Hundred Thousand Whys. From the astronomy volume, I learned theconcept of a light-year. Before then, I had already known that light couldtraverse a distance equal to seven and a half trips around the Earth in asingle second, but I had not contemplated what kind of terrifying distancecould be crossed by flying at such a speed for a whole year. I imagined a rayof light passing through the cold silence of space at the speed of 300,000kilometers per second. I struggled to grasp the bone-chilling vastness andprofundity with my imagination, felt the weight of an immense terror and awe,and simultaneously enjoyed a druglike euphoria.
又过了几年，我理解了卫星和星星之间的距离。那时，我正在读一套流行科学读物：《十万个为什么》。我从天文学的章节里学到了光年的概念。而此前虽已知道，光一秒传播的距离相当于绕地球七圈半，但我从未盘算过：以这种速度传播一年，那会是怎么一个骇人的距离？我想象着，在一片寂静寒冷的空间中，一束光以每秒30万公里的速度穿过；以自己的想象力尽力去理解那彻骨的广阔和深奥；感受着浩瀚的恐惧和敬畏；同时，还享受着一种嗑药般的欢欣。
From that moment, I realized that I had a special talent: Scales andexistences that far exceeded the bounds of human sensory perception—both macroand micro—and that seemed to be only abstract numbers to others, could take onconcrete forms in my mind. I could touch them and feel them, much like otherscould touch and feel trees and rocks. Even today, when references to the15-billion-light-year radius of the universe and “strings” many orders of magnitudesmaller than quarks have numbed most people, the concepts of a light-year or ananometer can still produce lively, grand pictures in my mind and arouse in mean ineffable, religious feeling of awe and shock. Compared to most of thepopulation who do not experience such sensations, I don’t know if I’m lucky orunlucky. But it is certain that such feelings made me first into a sciencefiction fan, and later a science fiction author.
自那之后，我意识到自己有一种特殊才能：那些远超人类感知界限的大小和存在（不管是宏观的还是微观的），对其他人来说仅仅是抽象的数字，我却可以在脑海中建立起具体形象。我能够触碰它们，感受它们，就像其他人可以触碰、感受树木和岩石一样。宇宙150亿光年的半径以及比夸克都要小很多数量级的“弦”，这些概念当今大多数人都麻木无感觉。但光年和纳米的概念却依然能在我心中催生出生动、壮观的图景，让我唤起一种妙不可言的、宗教般的敬畏和震惊。大多数人并未经历过这种感觉，相比他们，我不知自己是幸运还是不幸。但可以确定的是：这种感觉首先让我变成了科幻小说爱好者，然后是科幻小说作者。
In that same year when I was first awed by the concept of a light-year, aflood (known as the Great Flood of August ’75) occurred near my home village.In a single day, a record-breaking 100.5 centimeters of rain fell in theZhumadian region of Henan. Fifty-eight dams of various sizes collapsed, oneafter another, and 240,000 people died in the resulting deluge. Shortly afterthe floodwaters had receded, I returned to the village and saw a landscapefilled with refugees. I thought I was looking at the end of the world.
在我首次对光年的概念产生敬畏的同一年，我家乡村庄附近发生了洪水（1975年8月河南大洪水）。有一天，河南驻马店地区降雨量破纪录地达到了100.5厘米。58座大小不一的水坝接二连三地崩塌，24万人在洪水中丧生。洪水退去不久，我回到村庄，眼前尽是难民。我觉得那是世界末日。
And so, satellite, hunger, stars, kerosene lamps, the Milky Way, theCultural Revolution’s factional civil wars, a light-year, the flood … theseseemingly unconnected things melded together and formed the early part of mylife, and also molded the science fiction I write today.
因此，人造卫星、饥饿、星星、煤油灯、银河、文ge帮派内战、光年、洪水……这些表面上毫不相关的东西混在一起，形成了我的早期生活，同样也塑造了我今日写的科幻小说。
As a science fiction writer who began as a fan, I do not use my fiction asa disguised way to criticize the reality of the present. I feel that thegreatest appeal of science fiction is the creation of numerous imaginary worldsoutside of reality. I’ve always felt that the greatest and most beautifulstories in the history of humanity were not sung by wandering bards or writtenby playwrights and novelists, but told by science. The stories of science arefar more magnificent, grand, involved, profound, thrilling, strange, terrifying,mysterious, and even emotional, compared to the stories told by literature.Only, these wonderful stories are locked in cold equations that most do notknow how to read.
作为一个最初是爱好者的科幻小说作者，我并不将我的小说作为批评现实的幌子。我觉得，科幻小说最大的吸引力在于现实以外无数想象世界的创造力。我向来认为，人类社会最伟大、最美丽的故事并非由游吟诗人所吟唱，亦非由剧作家和小说家所撰写，而是由科学讲述。比起文学故事，科学的故事要远远来得更壮丽、更宏大、更复杂、更深远、更引人入胜、更奇特、更骇人、更神秘，甚至也更富情感。只是，这些美妙的故事被禁锢在冰冷的方程式中，大多数人不知如何去阅读。
The creation myths of the various peoples and religions of the world palewhen compared to the glory of the big bang. The three-billion-year history oflife’s evolution from self-reproducing molecules to civilization containstwists and romances that cannot be matched by any myth or epic. There is alsothe poetic vision of space and time in relativity, the weird subatomic world ofquantum mechanics … these wondrous stories of science all possess anirresistible attraction. Through the medium of science fiction, I seek only tocreate my own worlds using the power of imagination, and to make known thepoetry of Nature in those worlds, to tell the romantic legends that haveunfolded between Man and Universe.
世界上有各种民族和宗教，然而它们的创世神话在宇宙大爆炸的辉煌前，也都显得苍白无力。从自我复制的分子到文明，30亿年的生命进化史包含了任何神话或史诗都无法匹及的曲折和浪漫。相对论里的空间和时间不乏诗意，那是量子机制中古怪的亚原子世界……这些奇妙的科学故事都拥有一种难以抗拒的吸引力。我只是用自己的想象力，通过科幻小说这一媒介来创造自己的世界，告诉大家蕴含在这些世界中大自然的诗意，讲述人和宇宙间展开的罗曼传奇。
But I cannot escape and leave behind reality, just like I cannot leavebehind my shadow. Reality brands each of us with its indelible mark. Every eraputs invisible shackles on those who have lived through it, and I can only dancein my chains. In science fiction, humanity is often described as a collective.In this book, a man named “humanity” confronts a disaster, and everything hedemonstrates in the face of existence and annihilation undoubtedly has sourcesin the reality that I experienced. The wonder of science fiction is that itcan, when given certain hypothetical world settings, turn what in our realityis evil and dark into what is righteous and bright, and vice versa. This bookand its two sequels try to do just that, but no matter how reality is twistedby imagination, it ultimately remains there.
但是，我无法逃避现实，就好像我不能不顾自己的影子一样。现实在我们每个人身上烙上了难以磨灭的印记。生活在任何时代，人们身上总会套上那个时代隐形的桎梏，而我只能戴着自己的镣铐跳舞。在科幻小说中，人类经常作为一种整体来被描写。而在这本书中，一个名为“人类”的人遭遇了一场灾难。面对存在和湮灭，他表露的一切毫无疑问都可以在我经历过的现实中找到根源。科幻小说的奥妙在于，在假想的世界观中，它可以将那些在我们现实中邪恶和黑暗的事物变得正当和光明，而反之亦然。这部书以及两部续集旨在于此。但是，不管现实如何被想象扭曲，归根结底它还在那里。
I’ve always felt that extraterrestrial intelligence will be the greatestsource of uncertainty for humanity’s future. Other great shifts, such asclimate change and ecological disasters, have a certain progression andbuilt-in adjustment periods, but contact between humankind and aliens can occurat any time. Perhaps in ten thousand years, the starry sky that humankind gazesupon will remain empty and silent, but perhaps tomorrow we’ll wake up and findan alien spaceship the size of the moon parked in orbit. The appearance ofextraterrestrial intelligence will force humanity to confront an Other. Beforethen, humanity as a whole will never have had an external counterpart. Theappearance of this Other, or mere knowledge of its existence, will impact ourcivilization in unpredictable ways.
我经常觉得，在人类未来的不确定因素中，地外文明将会是最大根源。其它重大转变，比如气候变化和生态灾难，总有一个确定的进程和固定的调节时间。但人类和外星人的接触可以发生在任何时间。也许再过一万年，人类注视的那片星空依旧空旷而寂静，但也许明天我们醒来就会发现地球轨道上停着一艘月球般大小的外星飞船。地外文明的出现会迫使人类面对一个异类。在那之前，人类作为一个整体永远不会有外来的同类者。这种异类的出现，或仅仅知道它存在，就会对我们的文明造成难以预测的影响。
There’s a strange contradiction revealed by the na?veté and kindnessdemonstrated by humanity when faced with the universe: On Earth, humankind canstep onto another continent, and without a thought, destroy the kindredcivilizations found there through warfare and disease. But when they gaze up atthe stars, they turn sentimental and believe that if extraterrestrial intelligencesexist, they must be civilizations bound by universal, noble, moral constraints,as if cherishing and loving different forms of life are parts of a self-evidentuniversal code of conduct.
面对宇宙，人类显示出幼稚和善意，它们揭示了一种奇特的矛盾：在地球上，人类可以踏足另一块大陆，可以不假思索地通过战争和疾病毁灭同类文明。但当仰望星空时，人类变得多愁善感起来，他们相信如果地外文明存在，那些文明也必然普遍为一种高贵的道义所约束，就好像珍惜、热爱不同的生命形态是不言而喻的普遍行为准则一样。
I think it should be precisely the opposite: Let’s turn the kindness weshow toward the stars to members of the human race on Earth and build up thetrust and understanding between the different peoples and civilizations thatmake up humanity. But for the universe outside the solar system, we should beever vigilant, and be ready to attribute the worst of intentions to any Othersthat might exist in space. For a fragile civilization like ours, this iswithout a doubt the most responsible path.
我认为事实恰恰相反：应该把对待星空的善意转向地球上的人类成员；对于组成人类的不同民族和不同文明，应当建立起信任和理解。但是，对于太阳系以外的宇宙，我们应该时刻保持警觉，以最坏的恶意来揣测任何可能存在于宇宙空间中的异类。我们的文明如此脆弱，这无疑是最负责任的做法。
As a fan of science fiction, it has molded my life, and a considerable partof the science fiction I’ve read comes from America. The fact that Americanreaders can now enjoy my book makes me both pleased and excited. Sciencefiction is a literature that belongs to all humankind. It portrays events ofinterest to all of humanity, and thus science fiction should be the literarygenre most accessible to readers of different nations. Science fiction oftendescribes a day when humanity will form a harmonious whole, and I believe thearrival of such a day need not wait for the appearance of extraterrestrials.
作为一个爱好者，科幻小说塑造了我的生命。我读过的科幻小说中，很大一部分来自美国。现在，美国读者可以读到我的作品，这让我既愉快又兴奋。科幻小说是属于全人类的文学，它描述的是全人类都感兴趣的事件，因此对于各国读者，应当是最容易获取的文学体裁。科幻小说经常描写这么一种时刻：全人类形成了一个和谐的整体。而我相信，不必等到外星人出现，这个时刻就会来临。
I express my heartfelt thanks to Ken Liu, the translator of this and thethird volume, and to Joel Martinsen, the translator of the second volume. Theirdiligence and care created the English edition. I am grateful to ChinaEducational Publications Import & Export Corporation Ltd. (CEPIEC), ScienceFiction World Publishing, and Tor Books, whose trust and faith have made thispublication possible.
我向本书、以及系列第三部的译者刘宇昆（Ken Liu），第二部译者乔尔·马丁森（Joel Martinsen）表示衷心感谢。他们的勤奋和关切创造出了《三体》的英译本。我还要感谢中国教育图书进出口有限公司，《科幻世界》出版社和美国Tor Books出版社，是他们的信任和信心促成了本书出版。
　　—Liu Cixin
　　December 28, 2012
　　——刘慈欣于2012年12月28日
刘慈欣：告诉“科幻迷”不要暴露自己，是因为我们的社会中有人不喜欢那种离开现实、胡思乱想的人……设想宇宙存在文明社会有多种状态，如果有一种最糟的状态，就是“黑暗森林”。“三体”就是最糟糕的宇宙。也许下一部作品会描写一个比较好的宇宙。实际上，我以前的短篇小说就描写过很好的宇宙，比如《乡村教师》、《朝闻道》，那里没有“黑暗森林”，只有对生命的尊重，对文明的尊重，对智慧的尊重。


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