If x appears in the sequence, the next term x3−3x2+3 is the same if and only if 0=x3−3x2−x+3=(x−3)(x−1)(x+1). Moreover, that next term is strictly larger if x>3 and strictly smaller if x<−1. It follows that no values of a0 with ∣a0−1∣>2 yield a0=a2007. Now suppose a0=a2007 and write a0=1+eαi+e−αi; the values a0 we seek will be in bijective correspondence with solutions α where 0≤α≤π. Then a1=(a0−1)3−3a0+4=e3αi+3eαi+3e−αi+e−3αi−3eαi−3e−αi−3+4=e3αi+e−3αi+1 and an easy inductive argument gives a2007=e32007αi+e−32007αi+1. It follows that a0=a2007 is equivalent to cos(α)=cos(32007α). Now, cos(32007α)−cos(α)=2sin((232007+1)α)sin((232007−1)α) so since sin(kx)=0 for a positive integer k if and only if x is a multiple of kπ, the solutions α are {0,32007−12π,32007−14π,…,π}∪{0,32007+12π,…,π}. Because our values k are consecutive, these sets overlap only at 0 and π, so there are 32007 distinct α.