A3-06 Pressing at the Last Second

One minute.

Your finger falls.

Not a decisive press — but a drowning person's spasmodic lunge for driftwood. Your index finger slams onto the button with such force that your knuckle produces an audible crack.

Gravitational wave broadcast initiated.

Characters dance across the screens. Your vision blurs — not tears, but visual distortion from adrenaline overload.

Then you see the final frame:

At the exact instant the antenna signal goes out — the North American gravitational wave antenna is struck by the first droplet. On the screen, the massive structure spanning several square kilometers shatters like paper in the shockwave.

But it is too late. The signal has already been sent.

You completed your duty at the very last second.

But —

Because you waited until the final moment, the gravitational wave antennas operated for only a very brief period. The signal's power and duration fell far below the preset levels.

The scientific advisor later tells you: the signal may have been too weak. Perhaps distant civilizations can receive it; perhaps they cannot. The coordinates may be clear, or they may be blurred and incomplete.

You pressed the button — but because of your hesitation, the outcome has become uncertain.

This is the worst possible middle ground.

You bear the moral weight of "pressing the button" — you made that decision. But you may not have gained the strategic value of "pressing the button" — the signal may not be strong enough, the deterrence may not be complete.

The Trisolarans' response confirms this uncertainty. Their fleet decelerates but does not fully retreat. They are watching and waiting — to see whether other civilizations received the signal.

Humanity falls into a terrifying Schrödinger state: your coordinates may have been exposed, or they may not have been.

You don't know whether to prepare for a cleansing strike or a Trisolaran invasion — or both.

In the months that follow, something unpredictable happens.

Gravity — a human expedition warship stationed at the edge of the solar system — also possesses a gravitational wave transmitter.

They receive your incomplete signal and make an independent judgment:

They use their own equipment to transmit a complete coordinate broadcast.

The captain of Gravity says over an open channel:

"Since the Swordholder has made the decision, we have a duty to ensure that decision is carried through to the end."

A complete, high-power gravitational wave broadcast is emitted from the edge of the solar system.

This time, the signal is strong enough. Clear enough. Loud enough for the entire universe to hear.

The coordinates of Earth and the Trisolaran system — shouted at maximum volume.

You are sitting in the command center when you hear the news, and you feel an absurd sense of relief.

You are not the only one who pressed the button. The crew of Gravity shared the weight.

But the price is the same.

The coordinates of two civilizations are exposed.

⟲ Return to the button decision point