Slow sci-tech development poses threat on human race: sci-fi writer

The sluggish development of science and technology might become the biggest source of uncertainty for the human beings in future, said sci-fi writer Liu Cixin, who penned the short story on which the Chinese sci-fi sequel blockbuster "The Wandering Earth II" is based.

The film, which follows the efforts of a determined scientific researcher to prolong human civilization and safeguard the Earth by transporting mankind's home planet away from an expanding sun, achieved box office takings of over 500 million yuan (more than 73.7 million U.S. dollars) on the first day of its release, which coincided with the Chinese New Year.

In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Liu gave free rein to his imagination and said that mathematics can play a key role in intergalactic communication, in which case the human beings might be able to witness an alien civilization outsmart the Earth.

"So I think that if we really come into contact with such an alien civilization in the future, it must be far more civilized and intelligent than us as it can travel tens of millions of light years to come here. Its wisdom is beyond your comprehension, so there is no way for you to communicate with them and to know that they are intelligent, despite efforts from both sides. You wouldn't understand the message based on even the lowest level of intelligence in this case," Liu said.

"I think at first we should communicate with them mathematically, as math is the universal law of the universe so far known to us. If one plus one equals two works here, it might also work outside the galaxy. So if we both acknowledge the same mathematic law or the same formula, and we can express them in our own ways, then that means (the aliens) are intelligent. And we can do further communications later on." he explained.

The sci-fi writer with rich imagination and insight said that the slowing down innovation progress of modern science and technology will pose the greatest threat to the human race.

"The sluggish development of science and technology might become the biggest source of uncertainty. The most recent epidemic, the partial wars going on across the world are actually quite normal in human history. In fact, all aspects of crisis and conflicts facing the human beings can essentially be attributed to the environment and resources. If we want to let human beings get enough resources, live in a better international environment and have a better life, then probably the only thing we can count on is an ever-developing science and technology. So I think the biggest danger we should face in future, perhaps most of us haven't realized, is not among what we in front of our eyes, but the slowing down development of science and technology even to a standstill. This is extremely dangerous," Liu said.

Liu said he is now trying to walk out of his "comfort zone" by writing something new other than sci-fi literature.

"I write all the time but in a slow and difficult way. Frankly speaking, people's appreciation of science fiction and the readers preferences now have changed a lot comparing with many years ago when I wrote the Three Body Problem. Anyway I want to write something different from the Three Body Problem. You can't stay in this one theme even if you are good at it, but you have to find something else to work on," he said.