Item from deaths-end by
The Trisolaran-enforced relocation of all 4.5 billion humans to Australia in the days after deterrence collapses — the worst hour of the species.
Sophon orders the relocation in days. Anyone left off Australia after the deadline is killed by orbital strike. Once the population is in place, the Trisolarans destroy all electrical infrastructure on the continent, turn off the food synthesizers, and announce that the surviving population should reduce itself to roughly two hundred million by whatever means necessary. The cull begins immediately. Cheng Xin and AA spend it in the desert with Fraisse; Wade spends it in a labor camp; everyone else descends. The resettlement ends only when Blue Space's broadcast vote forces a new equilibrium by exposing both star systems.
Continuous global stream of evacuation transports — high-speed maglev caravans, cargo dirigibles loaded with refugees, suborbital ferries running every twenty minutes. Cities emptying behind them. Tent cities springing up at every Australian port within hours. The droplets visible from Earth's surface as silver sparks crossing the sky, enforcing the relocation deadline.