Chapter 6 Chapter Six

It seemed to Arthur as if the whole sky had suddenly split in two, allowing them to pass through it. It seemed to him that the atoms of his own brain and the atoms of the universe were intertwined and shuttled endlessly. It seemed to him as if he had been lifted up by the wind of the universe, and that wind was himself. It seems to him as if he is an idea of ​​the universal mind, and the universe is an idea of ​​his mind. From the perspective of those at Lord's Cricket Ground, as usual, another North London restaurant has moved and gone, and it's someone else's problem. "What happened?" Arthur whispered in awe.

"We're taking off," Slartibartfast replied. Arthur lay blankly on the accelerator sofa. He didn't know whether he was dizzy just now, or he had experienced a religious experience. "Nice boat," said Ford.He was terribly amazed at what Slartibatfast's ship was doing, which he tried unsuccessfully to hide. “Unfortunately, the decoration is poor.” The old man did not answer right away.He stared at the various contraptions of the ship with the look of a guy whose house is burning, trying to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius in his head.He stared at the large panoramic display in front of him for a while, and his brows gradually relaxed.What is displayed on the screen is a dizzying flow of stars, which look like countless silver lines.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something.Suddenly, his eyes turned sharply, and he stared at the devices again, his face gradually changed into an expression of continuous displeasure.He turned to the screen again.He was aware of his mood swings, and the unhappy expression first deepened and then relaxed. "Trying to understand math was a mistake," he said. "They just annoy me. What do you think?" "Renovation," said Ford, "what a pity." "In the deepest core of consciousness and the universe," said Slartibartfast, "there is a reason for this decoration."

Ford glanced around.He obviously thought it expressed optimism. The cabins inside the spaceship are dark green, dark red and dark brown, and they look cramped in the dim light.One thing that seems inexplicable: the resemblance between the spaceship and a trattoria doesn't stop outside the hatch: there are little spotlights to accentuate the potted plants; An illegible brass bauble. In the shadows, some raffia-wrapped bottles hide conspicuously there. The contraption that caught Slartibartfast's attention seemed to lie beneath the bottles, which seemed to be embedded in cement. Ford stepped forward and touched it.

fake cement.plastic.The fake bottle is embedded in fake cement. The deepest part of the core of consciousness and the universe can roll away.thought Ford.What rubbish.On the other hand, there's also something undeniable: Compared to the way this ship flies, the Heart of Gold is like an electric baby carriage. He lay down heavily on the sofa, then slid down the sofa.He looked at Arthur, who was humming softly.He looked at the screen again, but couldn't see anything.He looked again at Slarti Bartfast. "How far did we fly?" he asked. "About . . . " said Slartibartfast, "about two-thirds the diameter of the Milky Way's disk. I think, roughly, yes. Two-thirds I think."

"It's a curious thing," whispered Arthur, "that the farther and faster one travels in the galaxy, the more elusive one's position seems to be, and the more one is filled with a profound... or Poor..." "Yes, very strange," said Ford. "Where are we going?" "We're going," said Slartibartfast, "to face a nightmare from the ancient universe." "Then where are you going to disembark us both?" "I need your help." "Unlucky. Look, you could take us some fun place, I was thinking. We could get drunk there... and maybe listen to some exciting music. Wait, I'll find out." He pulls out his and links to pages that feature sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

"A curse has awakened from the mists of time," said Slartibartfast. "Yes, I know." Ford said, "Hey," he suddenly found a piece of information, and his face suddenly glowed, "Ixon reminded Ka Galenbitz, have you seen her? That girl on the sixth star of the Lust Galaxy A whore with three breasts. Some say her pleasure zone starts four miles away from her body. I don't agree. I think it's five kilometers." "A curse," said Slartibartfast, "that will bring the galaxy to war and destruction. It may even bring the universe to a premature end. I mean it," he added.

"Sounds awful," said Ford. "I'll be so drunk by then that I won't know anything. Here," he pointed his finger at the screen in the Guide, "is a great place, I think. We ought to go here. What do you think, Arthur? Stop reading your scriptures, and listen. You're going to miss something very important." Arthur struggled to get up from the couch, shaking his head. "Where are we going?" he asked. "To witness an ancient night." "Yes," said Ford, "Arthur, we're going to have some fun in the galaxy. Would you take that offer?"

"What's Slartibartfast nervous about?" said Arthur. "Nothing?" said Ford. "Bad luck," said Slartibartfast, "has come." He went on, suddenly solemn, "I must tell you something, show you something." He walked towards the very center of the cabin, where a green metal spiral staircase had inexplicably been installed.He climbed up the stairs.Arthur frowned and followed up. Ford tossed the Guide back into his bag rather gloomily. "My doctor says I have a deformed gland of public responsibility, and a congenital defect of moral fibrous tissue," he murmured, "so I keep avoiding saving the universe."

In any case, he still followed behind the two of them, thumping up the stairs. What they saw upstairs could only be described as stupid, or looked stupid.Ford shook his head heavily, buried his face in his hands, and slumped against a potted plant, pushing the plant against the wall. "Computer hub," Slartibartfast said nonchalantly, "that's where all the calculations that the ship relies on take place. Yes, I know how ugly it looks, but it's actually a complicated four-dimensional map, It is drawing some difficult mathematical functions." "Looks ridiculous," said Arthur.

"I know what it looks like," said Slartibartfast, and walked in.For a split second, a thought flashed through Arthur's mind: what does this mean?But he refused to believe the idea.The universe can't be like this, he thought, it can't be.That - he told himself - was ridiculous... He stopped himself from thinking about it.In his view, most of the most absurd things were over. It just so happens that this time is one of them. It was a huge glass cage, or box—actually a room. There is a table inside, which is very long.Around the table were about a dozen chairs, bentwood style chairs.There was a tablecloth on the table--a dirty red-and-white checked tablecloth.There were a few smoke scars scattered across the tablecloth, each positioned - probably - the result of some kind of mathematical calculation. On the surface of the tablecloth, there are some unfinished Italian dishes, unfinished baguettes and unfinished red wine beside the dishes, and all these are being manipulated by some listless robots. Everything is fake.Robot guests are being served by robot waiters, robot sommeliers and robot foremen.The furniture is fake, the tablecloths are fake, every food is good for advertising - "surprise chicken rice" or something - but it's not real chicken rice. They seem to be doing a group dance-there is a complicated process, including looking at the menu, sending the bill, taking out the wallet, flipping through the check folder, signing the credit card, looking at the watch, using pencils and napkins, it seems infinitely close to a violent act, but The limit was never crossed. Slarti Bartfast walked in hurriedly, and then chatted with the foreman, looking very leisurely.At this time, a robot guest slipped under the table stealthily, hinting at some girls with his eyes that he was going to do something to some guys. So Slartibartfast took the empty seat and cast a sharp glance at the menu.The entire process around the dining table seemed to speed up all of a sudden.Brawls broke out, and people seemed to want to prove something on napkins.They waved their arms at each other angrily, trying to check each other's chickens.The waiters brought the bills faster than a human could, and even faster than a human could see.The rate keeps rising.Soon a peculiar and persistent refinement of manners reappeared in the people.After a few seconds, everyone seemed to suddenly reach a consensus, and a new atmosphere filled the spaceship again. Slartibartfast stepped out of the glass room. "Mathematics of the Italian Museum," he said, "the most powerful form of computer power in the field of parascience to date. Come, come to the 'Information Phantom House.'" 【① Italian Pavilion Mathematics: Bistromathics in the original text is a word created by the author, which is composed of bistro (Italian restaurant) and mathematics (mathematics). ——Translator's Note] He strode forward, followed by two confused fellows.