Event Description
The Deterrence Era was a period of peace built upon a balance of terror. Luo Ji, as Swordholder, alone guarded the gravitational wave broadcast control switch, keeping the Trisolaran civilization from daring to act rashly. Within this framework of enforced peace, a limited exchange relationship was established between the two civilizations. The Trisolaran civilization imparted some advanced technologies to humanity — including more efficient energy utilization, new materials science, and space technology — enabling a significant leap in human technological capability.
However, fifty-four years of peace also brought profound social changes. A new generation of humans grew up in safety and prosperity, having never experienced the terror of the Three-Body Crisis and lacking visceral understanding of the Dark Forest principle's cruelty. Public opinion increasingly questioned the practice of entrusting two civilizations' fates to a single individual, raising growing challenges to the legitimacy of the Swordholder system. People began to view Luo Ji as a dangerous figure wielding excessive power rather than a hero safeguarding humanity's security. This shift in social sentiment ultimately led to the decision to replace the Swordholder — selecting Cheng Xin to succeed Luo Ji. The Deterrence Era's prosperity masked a fatal truth: peace existed not because of safety but because of the balance of terror. When that balance was broken, peace would collapse in an instant.