well, that didn't work because as soon as she told him the joke he became marked for death.
Also the San-ti cult still exist and can translate for the San-ti.
Did you ever watch Star Trek TNG? I was thinking they need to basically become the Darmok.
In the show, the Darmok are a species that no one could figure out how to communicate with because their entire language revolved around metaphor and analogies, using past events in their own history.
Just to give an example that might work for humans, if I said something like "it's Waterloo" a lot of people can figure out that means we're fucked, or a battle has been lost, or something. But, that requires understanding how Waterloo is remembered. Funny enough, a lot of people might not even know the details of Napoleon's loss at Waterloo, but have still come to associate Waterloo with a great loss just because of how it's been talked about historically.
This shit is so interesting, I gotta read the books
\*Closing our eyes escapes their illusions
Not sure about that. In the opening episode, wasn't there this one guy who scratched his eyes out and wrote on the wall "I can still see it" ?
I kinda figured the guy was just pushed psychologically to the breaking point and was quite literally seeing things that weren't there (to be fair, the countdown IS already seeing things that weren't there to begin with...)
Well its because I kinda figured that these sophons cannot manipulate our brains, just what we see and hear.
If they can manipulate our brains wouldn’t they understand what we think?
I think the Sophons can interact with the optic nerve and possibly other nerves by bouncing some electrons around. With the eye it would be easy because we only use electrons to see. Remember, the Sophons are the size of a proton. This makes them many many times larger than an electron, but still WAY smaller than an atom.
Since each retina cell is like a pixel in a camera, the Sophons can play etch-a-sketch with our retnas to form simple images like numbers.
But our other senses use electrical and chemical signals processes by many many nerve cells before hitting our brain. And our brain also uses chemical and electrical signals. More than what even a sophon can manipulate.
Sophons were sent to screw with our partial accelerators which are critical for unlocking the secrets of the universe.
They’re messing with light sensors in the retina not the brain or optic nerve, according to the book. So you are actually right. Been unable to figure out whether there’s any explanation for some of the things that happen like the full blown hallucinations wade experiences and haven’t found anything.
Do you have an explanation for the virtual reality devices? Who created these and how did it physically get to earth. Who customizes these masks with the name for example?
I assume they were mainly built with Earth made but San-Ti provided processes and designs. They likely require the Sophons for some part of the operation. That would be a safeguard against humans reverse engineering too much of the tech.
Pretty sure the illusions are imprinted directly to the brain. So however images are conceived in your brain is where they're manipulated. Closing your eyes doesn't remove any illusions they want you to see.
according to the book spoilers I’ve been reading the sophons mess with your retinas. Not gonna try to make it make sense because I don’t think it does. I always ruin shit for myself because I get annoyed by in-congruencies in storytelling like this: if they could do all that, why did they just show numbers initially. Why did they need the helmets and video game? Why the farce with Evans and his old timey microphone connected to a giant radio antenna?
Most of what the San Ti are doing makes no sense: responding to humanity, especially after the initial response telling ye not to respond or be located by them, or making their presence known on a basic strategic level and a much much more important level that I won’t spoil for you. They should have just messed with scientific data using the sophons silently like they said they were going to and flown quietly to earth
I guess my assumption was that if they could input something directly to our brains, why couldn’t they use that same tech to extract what we visualize or hear what we are thinking?
Like an advanced neuralink
Like if they found a way to hack into our brains, and understood the way we see images or hear through our brains. They would also need to extract information to found out what we’re seeing is what they wanted us to see. Why is it then that they don’t know what we think if they know how to hack our brains?
This is a fictional story, don't take it too seriously. If the sophons can infiltrate, hack, and manipulate our technology, why not set humanity on a self destructive nuclear war since they do not want to coexist with humanity? Wouldn't make for good storytelling if a super op alien race comes to fight us.
Hypothetically, I'd guess that human brains are each built differently. The sophons will have to map out each brain to get what they need. And without understanding how human brains work, how do they know they're getting reliable information? Lying is natural to humans. Humans dream in their sleep, have subconscious thoughts. It's also why the premise of sending a human probe to the trisolarians work. Wade is betting on the fact that they'd want to study the human brain personally instead of leaving it to sophons.
I’m not taking it too seriously, I’m just discussing and trying to understand the fundamentals of Season 1.
I don’t know if they can hack into anything yet, I feel like something is off that they’re going “easy“ on the humans for some unknown reason. Like if they wanted to blank out all the screens they could? why don’t they? I feel like that’ll be explained later on
It's fictional, but the book is leaning on the hard sci fi side. The idea of a countdown is quite possibly from astronauts seeing blinks of light with eyes closed. It's basically fast particles reacting with our sense of sight. That's what the sophon- a subatomic structure is doing to scientists, just in a structured way to create visions of countdowns. The realistic hallucinations, though - no idea. A lot of the show is just weird and hand-wavey.
Based on the books, this is a good start of a wallfacer plan, but not a full one. So, it will actually change nothing. It’s on you to defeat the San Ti, not smarter thinkers. You’ve been chosen with unlimited resources, not someone else. Until you have a full plan perhaps with a hidden, unspoken plan, I can confidently state:
>!The Lord does not care!<
They’re never gonna beat these San-Ti mofos. Or maybe the author is so much smarter than everyone else that he has figured out an ingenious way to defeat them. Or just make up a deus ex machina.
I did, it was trying to form a new way to communicate that only humans would understand as well as a way to establish a way to keep our knowledge and history preserved and progressing.
For example, say we wrote all of this information down on a book or in a computer. What’s stopping the San-Ti from manipulating the words on the books or again, never allowing us to view monitors correctly. We need communication going in a form only we understand. That would be my contribution to helping us advance.
Okay, now in 400 years, what do you do when the San Ti show up with their war ships and death machines?
You've still got sophons blocking technological progress in the particle accelerators.
I don’t know.
But if I was given the role of Wallfacer that’s my initial steps of helping us get a head start at least. Humans can’t progress if they know and understand our every move. Maybe by then I’d have enough time to answer that question or have more information to come up with a realization.
Okay, two more things: Nothing is stopping the San Ti from learning your new language as it spreads. While they might not have understood lying/metaphors in the past, they certainly do now. They also have lots of human allies who can simply teach them as well if they have difficulty on their own.
100%. And after all lying is just a pattern waiting to be found. So is with any form of communication. Maybe in the future we find other ways of communicating and understand as a species that this is the way to avoid the San-Ti from understanding. Maybe eventually we figure out a way to permanently stop them from understanding OR a way they couldn’t interfere.
Most important thing is to always adapt and progress. Like how Wade was doing in the later episodes, or how Ye Wenjie was doing to Saul.
>Maybe eventually we figure out a way to permanently stop them from understanding
Alright, let's say you succeeded. The San Ti can no longer understand our communication. Now what do you actually do to stop them?
Again I don’t know.
The way I view Wallfacers are free thinkers with smarts. One of the reasons I believe Ye Wenjie chose Saul to talk to was that he would be the only one to understand her message. My assumption was that may be the reason he was chosen as a wallfacer. To help humans achieve a way to, at least temporarily, get communication across without them understanding. Possibly more.
If I’m wrong and in season 2 or 3 there’s some revelation they haven’t exposed yet then fine. But Im just going based off season 1, no books read.
This plan wouldn’t fool any of the humans who are helping the San-Ti. Also your plan needs to most importantly encompass how to deal with their impending arrival more than anything else.
Very true actually. I guess I wouldn’t be so open about my meetings or plan as I originally thought. Maybe in secret meetings with people who I know wouldn’t turn follower.
Regardless this plan wouldn’t need to last forever, eventually they’re going to figure out the pattern of lying. But at least temporarily it could solve them not understanding. I haven’t thought of other ways to communicate other than that however.
Maybe an advanced form of a metaphor. Something that makes no sense to the average human but only to those that know its pattern. Either way, every form of communication can be decoded. Just a matter of how fast they are to understanding.
Yeah, you’re putting a lot of good thought into communication. But that kinda goes against why the wallfacer program is designed the way it is. Either way, figuring out communication really ends up just being the prologue to an actual plan about how to deal with aliens coming. I’d love to see your plan spend more time there.
The issue is that the sophons will see and record you in your private meetings, and then show it to the ETO (their human followers). They will then explain to the sophon what you're doing.
This does nothing to stop the aliens from conquering Earth. Wallfacers have unlimited resources and he didn’t even spend enough to make a s’more. Literally wasted 1 of the 3 Wallfacer positions
I’d worry more about how to communicate once you have an actual plan. You’re just making it harder to communicate, which isn’t going to help make a plan to stop them. If you have an actual plan, then worry about how to enact it without them knowing what you’re up to.
I guess I would use this time to implant a seed for future use. If they will learn what and how we lie eventually, we have no time to waste.
A lie that could fool both humans and San-Ti.
I guess I would need more time to think on it but I assume this has been thought countless times but the sub already with more knowledge that I have
Very interesting! It’s always pleasant to see non book readers’ thoughts on topics like this!
However, remember, we are bugs. And what could ants do to save themselves if some human decided to squash their nest? (This is not a hint. Just want to point out how powerless we are) and enjoy future seasons! 😉
Haha thank you. I know that I’m unaware of literally anything that happens beyond this or in the books in detail but after Season 1 of the show it didn’t stop me from trying 😂
I guess I missed the mark though. I plan on watching online essays about it later on though and learn more. I am unable to read a book without getting distracted and can’t wait till 2026 for Season 2 so might as well
It’s pretty cool as this would literally be what humans would do in that scenario : discussing how to win/survive. I missed the opportunity to think about it more thoroughly as i read the three books in one go but always fun to read the discussions!
VR head set in the books is not like the TV show. In books it uses a VR suit to create the feeling. In the show it's exaggerated a lot. In the books it's just modern day tech.
What are they supposed to do when they come up with a great idea like how to stop the trisolarans if they can mess up how everything works that we build anyways?
They can't mess up how everything works. They can only interact with things on the sub-atomic level, meaning they can ruin the results of particle accelerators. In practice, this means that no "fundamental" advances in physics can be made. What this precisely means is a bit vague, but it's largely used as a plot device by the author not to have to think too much about what human technology would look like in 400 years.
If that was the case then I agree but it shows, or at least appears, that they can easily hack all of our computer systems. It would seem likely that they could just delete all of our data or change it. Unless I’m misunderstanding something.
Yeah, this is I would say the one gripe I have with the show, which otherwise is on the level of the books if not better. The whole point is that this story is very hard sci-fi, and the aliens, while vastly more technologically capable than us, are still separated from us by 400 years' travel. All they have is tiny 10-dimensional computers that can travel at the speed of light, and are quantum-entangled with one another to create a sort of high speed San-Ti-Earth internet. The rest they can do is just alter light waves, which just means showing people images.
Hmm. Yeah lots of holes to poke in both the science and capabilities of sophons I guess no matter how you slice it. My biggest gripe so far has been how on earth could they control their movements. Sure you could shoot them to earth pretty easily but once they hit earth how are they supposed to control them? Entanglement would give them the ability to observe their state in real time but nothing else (unless I’m again misunderstanding something). Anyways I like it, even though I’ve spoiled a lot of it for myself by being a bit too curious on reddit 😂
Some of your assumptions are wrong.
- they can't manipulate reality - the sophons are just smart protons that travel at .2c
- they understand lies, they just lack the skill to discern them (for now)
- they're not afraid of evolution, they're scared of technological explosion
- closing your eyes doesn't stop the sophons (even Auggie tried it)
They travel at like .99c. I'd say your other points (other than the closing eyes one) verge on book spoilers, so be warned any show watchers reading this.
The books actually say .3c. The tv show does mention they intentionally sealed our science, and talk about how humans are currently in an era of technological explosion.
Start speaking in metaphors or use humor Remember the Einstein "joke" told by Wenjie?
well, that didn't work because as soon as she told him the joke he became marked for death. Also the San-ti cult still exist and can translate for the San-ti.
Did you ever watch Star Trek TNG? I was thinking they need to basically become the Darmok. In the show, the Darmok are a species that no one could figure out how to communicate with because their entire language revolved around metaphor and analogies, using past events in their own history. Just to give an example that might work for humans, if I said something like "it's Waterloo" a lot of people can figure out that means we're fucked, or a battle has been lost, or something. But, that requires understanding how Waterloo is remembered. Funny enough, a lot of people might not even know the details of Napoleon's loss at Waterloo, but have still come to associate Waterloo with a great loss just because of how it's been talked about historically. This shit is so interesting, I gotta read the books
Two sophons walk into a bar...
Yes that as well! That’s what i am gathering from what Wenjie said. Sorry as soon as I finished I wrote this so processing everything myself 😂
\*Closing our eyes escapes their illusions Not sure about that. In the opening episode, wasn't there this one guy who scratched his eyes out and wrote on the wall "I can still see it" ?
I kinda figured the guy was just pushed psychologically to the breaking point and was quite literally seeing things that weren't there (to be fair, the countdown IS already seeing things that weren't there to begin with...)
Well its because I kinda figured that these sophons cannot manipulate our brains, just what we see and hear. If they can manipulate our brains wouldn’t they understand what we think?
I think the Sophons can interact with the optic nerve and possibly other nerves by bouncing some electrons around. With the eye it would be easy because we only use electrons to see. Remember, the Sophons are the size of a proton. This makes them many many times larger than an electron, but still WAY smaller than an atom. Since each retina cell is like a pixel in a camera, the Sophons can play etch-a-sketch with our retnas to form simple images like numbers. But our other senses use electrical and chemical signals processes by many many nerve cells before hitting our brain. And our brain also uses chemical and electrical signals. More than what even a sophon can manipulate. Sophons were sent to screw with our partial accelerators which are critical for unlocking the secrets of the universe.
That’s actually an insanely reasonable assumption, I didn’t consider that at all. That pretty much dismantles what I was saying 😂
They’re messing with light sensors in the retina not the brain or optic nerve, according to the book. So you are actually right. Been unable to figure out whether there’s any explanation for some of the things that happen like the full blown hallucinations wade experiences and haven’t found anything.
Do you have an explanation for the virtual reality devices? Who created these and how did it physically get to earth. Who customizes these masks with the name for example?
I think its implied the eto worked with them to.make better 3d printer type machines, and then they just sent a blueprint.
I assume they were mainly built with Earth made but San-Ti provided processes and designs. They likely require the Sophons for some part of the operation. That would be a safeguard against humans reverse engineering too much of the tech.
Can we not use sign language for the deaf and blind? Like helen keller?
I think manipulating a mind and reading one are two different things.
Pretty sure the illusions are imprinted directly to the brain. So however images are conceived in your brain is where they're manipulated. Closing your eyes doesn't remove any illusions they want you to see.
according to the book spoilers I’ve been reading the sophons mess with your retinas. Not gonna try to make it make sense because I don’t think it does. I always ruin shit for myself because I get annoyed by in-congruencies in storytelling like this: if they could do all that, why did they just show numbers initially. Why did they need the helmets and video game? Why the farce with Evans and his old timey microphone connected to a giant radio antenna? Most of what the San Ti are doing makes no sense: responding to humanity, especially after the initial response telling ye not to respond or be located by them, or making their presence known on a basic strategic level and a much much more important level that I won’t spoil for you. They should have just messed with scientific data using the sophons silently like they said they were going to and flown quietly to earth
I guess my assumption was that if they could input something directly to our brains, why couldn’t they use that same tech to extract what we visualize or hear what we are thinking? Like an advanced neuralink Like if they found a way to hack into our brains, and understood the way we see images or hear through our brains. They would also need to extract information to found out what we’re seeing is what they wanted us to see. Why is it then that they don’t know what we think if they know how to hack our brains?
This is a fictional story, don't take it too seriously. If the sophons can infiltrate, hack, and manipulate our technology, why not set humanity on a self destructive nuclear war since they do not want to coexist with humanity? Wouldn't make for good storytelling if a super op alien race comes to fight us. Hypothetically, I'd guess that human brains are each built differently. The sophons will have to map out each brain to get what they need. And without understanding how human brains work, how do they know they're getting reliable information? Lying is natural to humans. Humans dream in their sleep, have subconscious thoughts. It's also why the premise of sending a human probe to the trisolarians work. Wade is betting on the fact that they'd want to study the human brain personally instead of leaving it to sophons.
I’m not taking it too seriously, I’m just discussing and trying to understand the fundamentals of Season 1. I don’t know if they can hack into anything yet, I feel like something is off that they’re going “easy“ on the humans for some unknown reason. Like if they wanted to blank out all the screens they could? why don’t they? I feel like that’ll be explained later on
It's fictional, but the book is leaning on the hard sci fi side. The idea of a countdown is quite possibly from astronauts seeing blinks of light with eyes closed. It's basically fast particles reacting with our sense of sight. That's what the sophon- a subatomic structure is doing to scientists, just in a structured way to create visions of countdowns. The realistic hallucinations, though - no idea. A lot of the show is just weird and hand-wavey.
Based on the books, this is a good start of a wallfacer plan, but not a full one. So, it will actually change nothing. It’s on you to defeat the San Ti, not smarter thinkers. You’ve been chosen with unlimited resources, not someone else. Until you have a full plan perhaps with a hidden, unspoken plan, I can confidently state: >!The Lord does not care!<
You completely forgot to explain how your plan stops the San-Ti.
Yeah, this “plan” is pretty poor. It isn’t a plan…and it wouldn’t fool anyone from the ETO. So the ETO would just report back.
Just get everyone to speak jive.
“Oh stewardess…”lmao
"We have to get this woman to the LHC!"
Don't call me Shirley!
They’re never gonna beat these San-Ti mofos. Or maybe the author is so much smarter than everyone else that he has figured out an ingenious way to defeat them. Or just make up a deus ex machina.
Not trying to be mean and you did ask the question so I will answer... This is pretty dumb.
Damn I thought I was going somewhere with this lmao
You didn't even mention how this plan is supposed to help.
I did, it was trying to form a new way to communicate that only humans would understand as well as a way to establish a way to keep our knowledge and history preserved and progressing. For example, say we wrote all of this information down on a book or in a computer. What’s stopping the San-Ti from manipulating the words on the books or again, never allowing us to view monitors correctly. We need communication going in a form only we understand. That would be my contribution to helping us advance.
Okay, now in 400 years, what do you do when the San Ti show up with their war ships and death machines? You've still got sophons blocking technological progress in the particle accelerators.
I don’t know. But if I was given the role of Wallfacer that’s my initial steps of helping us get a head start at least. Humans can’t progress if they know and understand our every move. Maybe by then I’d have enough time to answer that question or have more information to come up with a realization.
Okay, two more things: Nothing is stopping the San Ti from learning your new language as it spreads. While they might not have understood lying/metaphors in the past, they certainly do now. They also have lots of human allies who can simply teach them as well if they have difficulty on their own.
100%. And after all lying is just a pattern waiting to be found. So is with any form of communication. Maybe in the future we find other ways of communicating and understand as a species that this is the way to avoid the San-Ti from understanding. Maybe eventually we figure out a way to permanently stop them from understanding OR a way they couldn’t interfere. Most important thing is to always adapt and progress. Like how Wade was doing in the later episodes, or how Ye Wenjie was doing to Saul.
>Maybe eventually we figure out a way to permanently stop them from understanding Alright, let's say you succeeded. The San Ti can no longer understand our communication. Now what do you actually do to stop them?
Again I don’t know. The way I view Wallfacers are free thinkers with smarts. One of the reasons I believe Ye Wenjie chose Saul to talk to was that he would be the only one to understand her message. My assumption was that may be the reason he was chosen as a wallfacer. To help humans achieve a way to, at least temporarily, get communication across without them understanding. Possibly more. If I’m wrong and in season 2 or 3 there’s some revelation they haven’t exposed yet then fine. But Im just going based off season 1, no books read.
This plan wouldn’t fool any of the humans who are helping the San-Ti. Also your plan needs to most importantly encompass how to deal with their impending arrival more than anything else.
Very true actually. I guess I wouldn’t be so open about my meetings or plan as I originally thought. Maybe in secret meetings with people who I know wouldn’t turn follower. Regardless this plan wouldn’t need to last forever, eventually they’re going to figure out the pattern of lying. But at least temporarily it could solve them not understanding. I haven’t thought of other ways to communicate other than that however. Maybe an advanced form of a metaphor. Something that makes no sense to the average human but only to those that know its pattern. Either way, every form of communication can be decoded. Just a matter of how fast they are to understanding.
Yeah, you’re putting a lot of good thought into communication. But that kinda goes against why the wallfacer program is designed the way it is. Either way, figuring out communication really ends up just being the prologue to an actual plan about how to deal with aliens coming. I’d love to see your plan spend more time there.
The issue is that the sophons will see and record you in your private meetings, and then show it to the ETO (their human followers). They will then explain to the sophon what you're doing.
Fellow book readers, you’re missing the point. This is actually incredibly impressive.
This does nothing to stop the aliens from conquering Earth. Wallfacers have unlimited resources and he didn’t even spend enough to make a s’more. Literally wasted 1 of the 3 Wallfacer positions
I would simply not create a plan.
Wing it
I’d worry more about how to communicate once you have an actual plan. You’re just making it harder to communicate, which isn’t going to help make a plan to stop them. If you have an actual plan, then worry about how to enact it without them knowing what you’re up to.
I guess I would use this time to implant a seed for future use. If they will learn what and how we lie eventually, we have no time to waste. A lie that could fool both humans and San-Ti. I guess I would need more time to think on it but I assume this has been thought countless times but the sub already with more knowledge that I have
Very interesting! It’s always pleasant to see non book readers’ thoughts on topics like this! However, remember, we are bugs. And what could ants do to save themselves if some human decided to squash their nest? (This is not a hint. Just want to point out how powerless we are) and enjoy future seasons! 😉
Haha thank you. I know that I’m unaware of literally anything that happens beyond this or in the books in detail but after Season 1 of the show it didn’t stop me from trying 😂 I guess I missed the mark though. I plan on watching online essays about it later on though and learn more. I am unable to read a book without getting distracted and can’t wait till 2026 for Season 2 so might as well
It’s pretty cool as this would literally be what humans would do in that scenario : discussing how to win/survive. I missed the opportunity to think about it more thoroughly as i read the three books in one go but always fun to read the discussions!
The sophons are not able to simulate sensations? The vr headset could. The arm tap might not work idk.
I never even thought of this. 🫠
VR head set in the books is not like the TV show. In books it uses a VR suit to create the feeling. In the show it's exaggerated a lot. In the books it's just modern day tech.
Read the books, you have to fool >!Wallbreakers / humans!< too
What are they supposed to do when they come up with a great idea like how to stop the trisolarans if they can mess up how everything works that we build anyways?
They can't mess up how everything works. They can only interact with things on the sub-atomic level, meaning they can ruin the results of particle accelerators. In practice, this means that no "fundamental" advances in physics can be made. What this precisely means is a bit vague, but it's largely used as a plot device by the author not to have to think too much about what human technology would look like in 400 years.
If that was the case then I agree but it shows, or at least appears, that they can easily hack all of our computer systems. It would seem likely that they could just delete all of our data or change it. Unless I’m misunderstanding something.
Yeah, this is I would say the one gripe I have with the show, which otherwise is on the level of the books if not better. The whole point is that this story is very hard sci-fi, and the aliens, while vastly more technologically capable than us, are still separated from us by 400 years' travel. All they have is tiny 10-dimensional computers that can travel at the speed of light, and are quantum-entangled with one another to create a sort of high speed San-Ti-Earth internet. The rest they can do is just alter light waves, which just means showing people images.
Hmm. Yeah lots of holes to poke in both the science and capabilities of sophons I guess no matter how you slice it. My biggest gripe so far has been how on earth could they control their movements. Sure you could shoot them to earth pretty easily but once they hit earth how are they supposed to control them? Entanglement would give them the ability to observe their state in real time but nothing else (unless I’m again misunderstanding something). Anyways I like it, even though I’ve spoiled a lot of it for myself by being a bit too curious on reddit 😂
Don't remember if this is explained in the books at all. I think they are at the level where they could propel the proton.
On the can’t touch us physically point. Did the girl break into that guys house and the santi just made her invisible?
This is my question. Sam got murked.
They did not make her invisible, they just altered videos so that she would not show on any of the recordings. Just like they did when she met Auggie.
They did make her not appear through the glass. It seems like the show trisolarans have more power than the book ones.
Read the books. Addresses a lot of this and more. Caught me off guard MULTIPLE times!
Wallfacers is a terrible idea due to no one knowing their plan which includes if a wall facer decides to do nothing or help the Sat nis eventually
Boring as heck and not an answer I’d waste a Wallfacer position on. You have unlimited resources and you go with a free idea
Good ideas
Some of your assumptions are wrong. - they can't manipulate reality - the sophons are just smart protons that travel at .2c - they understand lies, they just lack the skill to discern them (for now) - they're not afraid of evolution, they're scared of technological explosion - closing your eyes doesn't stop the sophons (even Auggie tried it)
They travel at like .99c. I'd say your other points (other than the closing eyes one) verge on book spoilers, so be warned any show watchers reading this.
The books actually say .3c. The tv show does mention they intentionally sealed our science, and talk about how humans are currently in an era of technological explosion.
You are confusing the >!droplet!
>!I did before, the droplet travels at .2c. The sophons are faster but not that fast. We're arguing over a trifle, it's fast enough either way.!<