The Three-Body Problem

Wang had a new idea. He asked the driver to take him to Ding’s address instead.

5

A Game of Pool

As soon as he opened the door to Ding Yi’s brand-new three-bedroom apartment, Wang smelled alcohol. Ding was lying on the sofa with the TV on, staring at the ceiling. The apartment was unfinished, with only a few pieces of furniture and little decoration, and the huge living room seemed very empty. The most eye-catching object was the pool table in the corner.

Ding didn’t seem annoyed by Wang’s unannounced visit. He was clearly in the mood to talk to someone.

“I bought the apartment about three months ago,” Ding said. “Why did I buy it? Did I really think she was going to become interested in starting a family?” His laugh sounded drunk.

“You two…” Wang wanted to know the details of Yang Dong’s life, but didn’t know how to ask the questions.

“She was like a star, always so distant. Even the light she shone on me was always cold.” Ding walked to one of the windows and looked up at the night sky.

Wang said nothing. All he wanted now was to hear her voice. But a year ago, as the sun sank in the west, when she and he had locked eyes for a moment, they had not spoken to each other. He had never heard her voice.

Ding waved his hand as though trying to flick something away. “Professor Wang, you were right. Don’t get involved with the police or the military. They’re all idiots. The deaths of those physicists had nothing to do with the Frontiers of Science. I’ve explained it to them many times, but I can’t get them to understand.”

“They seem to have conducted some independent investigation.”

“Yes, and the investigation’s scope was global. They should already know that two of the dead never had any contact with the Frontiers of Science, including … Yang Dong.” Ding seemed to have trouble saying her name.

“Ding Yi, you know that I am already involved. So … as far as why Yang made the choice that … she did, I’d like to know. I think you must know some of it.” Wang thought he must sound very foolish as he tried hard to disguise his real intent.

“If you know more, you’ll only get pulled in deeper. Right now you’re just superficially involved, but with more knowledge your spirit will be drawn in as well, and then it will mean real trouble.”

“I work in applied research. I’m not as sensitive as you theoreticians.”

“All right, then. Do you play pool?” Ding walked to the pool table.

“I used to play a little in college.”

“She and I loved to play. It reminded us of particles colliding in the accelerator.” Ding picked up two balls: one black and one white. He set the black ball next to one of the pockets, and placed the white ball about ten centimeters from the black ball. “Can you pocket the black ball?”

“This close? Anyone can do it.”

“Try.”

Wang picked up the cue, struck the white ball lightly, and drove the black ball into the pocket.

“Good. Come, now let’s move the table to a different location.” Ding directed the confused Wang to pick up the heavy table. Together they moved it to another corner of the living room, next to a window. Then Ding scooped out the black ball, set it next to the pocket, and again picked up the white ball and set it down about ten centimeters away. “Think you can do it again?”

“Of course.”

“Go for it.”

Again, Wang easily made the shot.

Ding waved his hands. “Let’s move it again.” They lifted the table and set it down in a third corner of the living room. Ding set up the two balls as before. “Go.”

“Listen, we—”

“Go!”

Wang shrugged helplessly. He managed to pocket the black ball a third time.

They moved the table two more times: once next to the door of the living room, and finally back to the original location. Ding set up the two balls twice more, and Wang twice more made his shot. By now both were slightly winded.

“Good, that’s the conclusion of the experiment. Let’s analyze the results.” Ding lit a cigarette before continuing, “We ran the same experiment five times. Four of the experiments differed in both location and time. Two of the experiments were at the same location but different times. Aren’t you shocked by the results?” He opened his arms exaggeratedly. “Five times! Every colliding experiment yielded the exact same result!”

“What are you trying to say?” Wang asked, gasping.

“Can you explain this incredible result? Please use the language of physics.”

“All right … During these five experiments, the mass of the two balls never changed. In terms of their locations, as long as we’re using the frame of reference of the tabletop, there was also no change. The velocity of the white ball striking the black ball also remained basically the same throughout. Thus, the transfer of momentum between the two balls didn’t change. Therefore, in all five experiments, the result was the black ball being driven into the pocket.”

Ding picked up a bottle of brandy and two dirty glasses from the floor. He filled both and handed one to Wang. Wang declined.