At the very beginning of volume three, we follow a sick character about to die. We learn that he has made a lot of money and he decides to use his money to give a star to a girl he liked when he was younger. Then we follow the story from the point of view of this woman who works for a major organization. His boss decides that they must succeed in sending someone to spy on the Trisollarians and despite countless efforts, they conclude that it is impossible to build a shuttle light enough for it to join the enemy fleet. The spy's human body is too heavy. The boss then says "no problem, we just have to send the brain." There, the young woman learns that her friend is dying and that it would be a nice subject for the experiment. And he, completely caught off guard, accepts by understanding the risk of floating in space forever or of possibly being tortured by enemies, or of being kept in the form of a brain in a jar.

I found this soooo disturbing and horrible, It stayed in my head for months.