Chapter 38 Chapter Thirty-eight

The crowd gathered as close as they could get to the huge silver spaceship, which wasn't even close.Small flying robot servants patrolled the makeshift perimeter.The outer circle is a security zone for the army. They have no ability to rush into the inner area, and if someone tries to rush in, they will be condemned.The outer layer is the police cordon, although it is not clear and still debated whether they are to protect the public from the military, or to protect the military from the public, or to guarantee the diplomatic immunity of the giant spacecraft and avoid It got a parking ticket.

The cordon inside is being lifted.The army stirred uneasily, as if they were here to get up and walk away, and they didn't know how to react to the situation. The gigantic robot had lumbered into the ship at lunchtime, and it was five o'clock and there was no sign of it anymore.But there were many sounds—more scraping and rumbling from the depths of the ship, the music of a million horrific mechanical failures; That's the disappointment they're nervously anticipating the robot will bring them.This wonderful and special thing has come into their lives, and now it's time to leave them alone.

Two people in particular know this feeling well.Arthur's and Finchitch's eyes searched anxiously through the crowd, and there was nowhere to be seen Sir Ford, nor any sign of his approaching in the slightest. "Is he reliable?" Finchitch asked in a low voice. "Is he reliable?" said Arthur, and he let out a hollow laugh. "Is the sea shallow?" he said. "Is the sun cold?" The last part of the droid's vehicle was being moved into the ship, and the last bits of the cordon had been piled up under the ramp to be moved in.The soldiers on guard around the ramp were tense for no apparent reason, orders were shouted back and forth, emergency meetings were called, but of course nothing could affect it.

Arthur and Finchchi, giving up hope, and without a definite plan, began to push their way through the crowd, but their efforts were useless as the whole crowd was also trying to push its way through. After another few minutes, there was nothing left outside the spaceship, and every link of the cordon had been moved into the ship.A couple of flying chainsaws and a spirit level make a final check here before screaming themselves through the huge hatch. A few seconds passed. The chaotic mechanical sound from the spaceship became high-pitched, and slowly, heavily, the huge steel ramp began to lift from Harold's food hall.Accompanied by this voice were the tense and excited voices of thousands of people who were completely ignored.

"Wait a moment!" A loudspeaker in a taxi blares as it screeches to a halt on the edge of the huddled crowd. "There's one," shouted the megaphone, "major scientific intrusion! No. Breakthrough!" It corrected.The car door opened, and a small man from near Betelgeuse jumped out wearing a white coat. "Wait a minute!" he called again, this time waving the little black stick with the light on it.The lights flickered softly, the ramp stopped, followed by the signal of the "thumb" (half the electrical engineers in the galaxy have been trying to find some new way to plug it, while the other half have been trying to find some new way to block the jamming signal), and slowly put it down again.

Ford Prefect pulled the megaphone out of the cab and started yelling at the crowd through it. "Make way," he yelled, "please make way, this is a major scientific breakthrough. You and you, go and get the equipment in the taxi." By sheer chance he pointed at Arthur and Finchitch, who struggled their way through the crowd and hurried to the taxi. "Okay, I want you to help me out of the way, some important scientific equipment," Ford yelled, "please rest assured. Everything is under control, nothing to look at. Just a major scientific breakthrough. Please rest assured. Vital scientific instrument. Get out of the way."

The crowd was hungry for new excitement, and Ford abruptly interrupted their disappointment, and everyone eagerly backed out of the way. Arthur was a little taken aback when he saw what was printed on the box containing important scientific equipment in the back of the taxi. "Put your clothes on it," he said as he handed the box to Finchitch.Then he hurriedly hauled out the large supermarket trolley stuck in the back seat.The shopping cart fell to the ground with a clatter, and they put the boxes in together. "Get out of the way, please," Ford yelled again. "Everything is under proper scientific control."

"He said you'd pay," the taxi driver said to Arthur, who pulled out some bills and paid.There was the sound of sirens in the distance. "Stand back," cried Ford. "No one will be hurt." The crowd surged and closed behind them as they desperately pushed and pulled clattering supermarket carts across the gravel to the ramp. "Nothing," Ford continued shouting down, "nothing to see, it's all over. None of this actually happened." "Make way, please," the voice of a police loudspeaker came from behind the crowd, "There has been a break-in, please make way."

"Breakthrough," screamed Ford demurred, "a scientific breakthrough!" "We are the police! Please make way!" "Science equipment! Make way, please!" "Police! Let's go!" "Walkman!" Ford screamed, pulling out a half dozen Walkmans from his pocket and throwing them into the crowd.The ensuing few seconds of commotion allowed them to push the cart over the side of the ramp and drag it up. "Hold on tight," whispered Ford, and released a button on his electronic thumb, and the giant ramp began to shudder and slowly close upward.

"Okay guys," Ford said, as the surging crowd descended below, pushing shopping carts staggering down the sloping ramp into the spaceship, "looks like we're on our way."