A2-01 Dawn of the Deterrence Era

Year 2270 AD. Year 62 of the Deterrence Era.

You open your eyes.

The first sensation is warmth. Not the artificially maintained temperature of a hibernation pod, but sunlight — real sunlight, streaming through glass.

It takes you several minutes to readjust to your body. Muscles ache, joints are stiff, vision blurry. A gentle female voice speaks near your ear: "Ms. Cheng Xin, welcome back. Please don't try to get up too quickly — your body needs time to recover."

You turn your head and see a... you're not sure what to call her. She looks human, but her skin has a subtle luminescence, her eyes slightly larger than normal. She wears a flowing white dress, looking like a character from a science fiction film.

"I am your awakening coordinator," she says. "It is now the year 2270 AD. You have been in hibernation for approximately two hundred years."

Two hundred years.

Over the following days, you gradually come to understand this new world.

The Deterrence Era — this age takes its name from the "Dark Forest Deterrence" established by Luo Ji. Sixty-two years ago, Luo Ji, as a Wallfacer, set up a system on Earth: should the Trisolarans ever attack, he would broadcast the coordinates of both Earth and the Trisolaran system to the universe, inviting annihilating strikes from other civilizations. Mutual assured destruction.

This is "deterrence" — like the nuclear deterrence of the Cold War, but on the scale of two civilizations.

Luo Ji alone, hand on the button, held his ground against the entire Trisolaran civilization. For sixty-two years.

During those sixty-two years, peace reigned. The Trisolarans dared not attack, because Luo Ji could press the button at any moment. Humanity used this period of peace to develop at breathtaking speed — technological leaks obtained from the Trisolarans elevated Earth's civilization by several orders.

You step outside the hibernation center and see a world beyond your imagination.

Cities float in the sky — massive tree-like structures rise from the ground, their branch-like buildings reaching toward the heavens. The surface has been returned to nature — forests, rivers, and grasslands once again cover the ruins of old cities. Humanity lives in the sky.

People's features — the distinctions between male and female have become soft, blurred, and a neutral, elegant aesthetic has become the mainstream. Violence, conflict, war — these words feel as remote as the dinosaurs.

This is a gentle era. An era that has forgotten fear.

But there is a problem.

Luo Ji has grown old. He has held the sword for sixty-two years — he is the last Wallfacer, but he cannot live forever. He is now a white-haired old man, his finger hovering over the button, racing against death every single day.

Humanity needs a new Swordholder.

This news is delivered to you on your third day after awakening.

A United Nations representative comes to see you — in the Deterrence Era, the UN has been upgraded to the core institution of Earth's federal government.

"Ms. Cheng Xin," the representative says, "you have been nominated as one of the Swordholder candidates."

You are stunned.

"Why me?"

"Because of what you represent." The representative explains, "Over the past sixty-two years, humanity has undergone enormous changes. The peace of the Deterrence Era has made us more civilized, more kind. People can no longer accept a 'cold-blooded' Swordholder — in the public eye, Luo Ji has increasingly become a frightening specter, a madman holding the doomsday button."

"People want a Swordholder they can trust. Someone kind, compassionate, someone who would never actually press the button."

"And you — the originator of the Staircase Project, a woman willing to sacrifice for humanity's future — in the polls, you are the most trusted candidate."

You notice the contradiction in his words.

A Swordholder who "would never actually press the button" — would deterrence still mean anything?