The plot of this novel takes a big turn when the controversy about Luo Ji's work threatens to leave him dead or dying. Because of this, the government removes him to be cryogenically frozen. When he wakes up, he gets an objective look at what time is really like. Embedded in the daily flow of time, it seems one way, but then by merely comparing the state of culture or government to even twenty years earlier, the full weight of time's effect can be felt. For him, there is no choice. His experience literally skips two decades of time.
In a way, Luo Ji is a time traveler, but through cryogenic freezing. That technology gives him a unique point of view, because he has a unique experience of time, coming from the original situation and being thrust into a post-apocalypse. Now the crisis has truly bloomed; without intervention, life on earth will die, and the space fleet only solves so much. Most people will die and the Trisolarians will become victorious. This unimaginable transition is dramatic and troubling for Luo Ji, but it helps him solve the problems he needs to solve.
For instance, he often reflects on the Fermi Paradox, which for him is more important than ever, what with the aliens and whatnot! He realizes that if they exist, and the Trisolarian exists, there must infinite life in the universe. For this reason, he suspects that the Trisolarians do not want their location broadcasted to an infinite diversity of life. That helps him broker a deal with them, because he can easily exploit their location. Notice how he solves his problems; it is literally a full epiphany from paradox. By seeing one alien, he was able to deduce that there are more aliens, which means that they do not want to be seen.
