dark forest
Names: dark forestdark forest nature of the universecosmic dark forest
First appears in Book 2: The Dark Forest, chapter 9 (Year 208, Crisis Era)
Appearances
B1
B2
B3
What you know
Book 3: Death's End
- Ch 23Earth and Trisolaris concluded the two explored systems were lifeless, which was why the sophons were allowed to approach them.
- Ch 23Blind regions were seen as indirect proof of the dark forest, since something was preventing the universe from becoming transparent.
- Ch 33Trisolarans may have learned important information about the dark forest condition of the universe from another civilization, if the sophon exploration succeeded.
- Ch 44Most civilizations see the sun only as a dim dot light-years away, so gestures visible only up close would have almost no audience.
Key moments
- Book 3 · Ch 23Blind regions taken as evidence for the dark forest
Earth and Trisolaris interpreted the blind regions as likely artificial and as indirect proof of the dark forest, since the cosmos was being kept hidden.
- Book 3 · Ch 38The Ring's warning and the gift
The Ring says the dark forest exists between civilizations in the same dimension, urges humans to leave the puddle, and receives Guan's ecological sphere before falling silent.