“Did you murder comrade Shen Yufei?” a man asked.
“Yes,” Pan said, perfectly calm. “It’s because the Adventists have traitors like her in our midst that the Organization faces the crisis it does today.”
“Who gave you the right to kill?”
“I did it out of a sense of duty to the Organization.”
“Duty? I think you’ve always had malice in your heart!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What has the Environment Branch done under your leadership? Your charge is to exploit and create environmental problems to make the population loathe science and modern industry. But in reality, you’ve only used our Lord’s technology and predictions to gain riches and fame for yourself!”
“Do you think I became famous for myself? To my eyes, the entire human race is a pile of garbage. Why would I care what they think? But if I’m not famous, how do I direct and channel their thinking?”
“You always pick the easy tasks. What you’ve done could have been better accomplished by regular environmentalists. They’re more sincere and passionate than you, and with just a little guidance, we could easily take advantage of their actions. Your Environment Branch should be creating environmental disasters and then exploiting them. For example, disseminating poison in reservoirs, leaking toxic waste from chemical plants… have you done any of those? No, not a single one!”
“We had devised numerous programs and plans, but the commander vetoed them all. Anyway, such acts would have been stupid, at least until recently. The Biology and Medicine Branch once created a catastrophe from the overuse of antibiotics, but that was soon detected. And the rash actions of the European Detachment almost drew attention to us.”
“Talk about drawing attention to us—you just murdered someone!”
“Listen to me, comrades! Sooner or later, it would have been unavoidable. You must already know that the governments of the world are preparing for war. In Europe and North America, they’re already cracking down on the Organization. Once the crackdown begins here, the Redemptionists will no doubt side with the government. So our first priority is to purge the Redemptionists from the Organization.”
“That is not within your authority.”
“Of course the commander must decide. But, comrades, I can tell you right now that the commander is an Adventist!”
“Now you’re just making things up. Everyone knows the scope of the commander’s power. If the commander really is an Adventist, then the Redemptionists would have been purged long ago.”
“Maybe the commander knows something we don’t. Perhaps that’s what the meeting today is about.”
After this, the crowd’s attention turned away from Pan Han to the crisis before them. A famous scientist who had won the Turing Award jumped onto the table and began to speak. “The time for talk is over. Comrades, what should be our next step?”
“Start a global rebellion!”
“Then we’re asking to be killed.”
“Long live the spirit of Trisolaris! We shall persevere like the stubborn grass that resprouts after every wildfire!”
“A rebellion will finally reveal our existence to the world. As long as we have an appropriate plan of action, I’m sure many people will support us.”
This last remark came from Pan Han, and many applauded.
Someone yelled, “The commander is here!” The crowd parted to form a path.
Wang looked up and felt dizzy. The world turned white and black in his eyes, and the only spot of color was the person who had just appeared.
Surrounded by a group of young bodyguards, the commander in chief of the Earth-Trisolaris rebels, Ye Wenjie, walked steadily into the crowd.
Ye stood in the middle of the space the crowd cleared for her, raised a bony fist, and—with a resolve and strength that Wang could not believe she possessed—said, “Eliminate human tyranny!”
The crowd responded in a way that had clearly been rehearsed countless times: “The world belongs to Trisolaris!”
“Hello, comrades,” Ye said. Her voice returned to the gentleness that Wang knew. It was only now that he could be sure that it was really her. “I haven’t been well lately, and haven’t spent much time with all of you. But now the situation is urgent, and I know everyone is under a great deal of pressure, so I’ve come to see you.”
“Commander, take care of yourself,” someone in the crowd said. Wang could hear the heartfelt concern.
Ye said, “Before we move on to more important matters, let’s take care of one small detail. Pan Han—” She kept her eyes on the crowd even as she called his name.
“Here, Commander.” Pan emerged from the crowd. Earlier, he had tried to lose himself in the throng. He appeared calm, but the terror in his heart was obvious. The commander had not called him comrade, a bad sign.
“You committed a severe violation of the Organization’s rules.” Ye spoke without looking at Pan. Her voice remained kind, as though talking to a child who had been naughty.
“Commander, the Organization is facing a crisis of survival! If we don’t take decisive measures and cleanse the traitors and enemies within, we will lose everything!”
Ye looked up at Pan, her eyes affectionate. But his breath stopped for a few seconds. “The ultimate goal and ideal of the ETO is to lose everything. Everything that now belongs to the human race, including us.”
“Then you must be an Adventist! Commander, please openly declare this to be true, because it’s very important. Am I right, comrades? Very important!” he shouted, and waved an arm as he looked around. But the crowd remained mute.
“This request is not yours to make. You have seriously violated our code of conduct. If you want to make an appeal, now is the time. Otherwise, you must bear the responsibility.” Ye spoke slowly, enunciating every word, as though afraid the child she was teaching had trouble understanding.
“I went intending to eliminate Wei Cheng, that math prodigy. The decision was made by Comrade Evans and ratified by the committee unanimously. If he really succeeds in creating a mathematical model of the three-body problem that gives a complete solution, our Lord will not come, and the great enterprise of Trisolaris on Earth will be ruined. I only shot at Shen Yufei since she shot at me first. I was acting in self-defense.”
Ye nodded. “Let us believe you. This is, after all, not the most important issue. I hope we can continue to trust you. Now, please repeat the request you made to me just now.”
Pan was stunned for a second. That she had moved on didn’t seem to relax him. “I… asked that you openly declare yourself to be an Adventist. After all, the action plan of the Adventists is also your ideal.”
“Then repeat the plan of action.”
“Human society can no longer rely on its own power to solve its problems. It can also no longer rely on its own power to restrain its madness. Therefore, we ask our Lord to come to this world, and with Its power, forcefully watch over us and transform us, so as to create a brand-new, perfect human civilization.”
“Are the Adventists loyal believers in this plan?”
“Of course! Commander, please do not believe false rumors.”
“It’s not a false rumor!” a man shouted. He made his way to the front. “I’m Rafael, from Israel. Three years ago, my fourteen-year-old son died in an accident. I had his kidney donated to a Palestinian girl suffering kidney failure as an expression of my hope that the two peoples could live together in peace. For this ideal, I was willing to give my life. Many, many Israelis and Palestinians sincerely strove toward the same goal by my side. But all this was useless. Our home remained trapped in the quagmire of cycles of vengeance.