Chapter 32 Chapter Thirty-Two

"Hector?" Trillian called. "Where are you?" It was pitch black and no one responded.Trillian waited anxiously.She trusts her own judgment.She stared at the dark world in front of her, hoping for an answer.However, there is only silence. "Hector?" she called. "I introduce you to my friend, Arthur Dent. When I almost followed Thor, he kept me. I am grateful. He let me see My real interest. Too bad Zaphod was scared to come, so I just took Arthur. I don't know why I'm telling you this." "Hello?" she said again. "Hector?" The other party finally spoke up.

That weak, ethereal voice was like the wind from afar, like the dream talking in memory. "Come out," said the voice, "I guarantee your safety." They exchanged glances, then stepped out of the spaceship, walked out of the hatch of the Heart of Gold, and stood miraculously on the beam of light cast by the hatch, standing in the dusty darkness. Arthur wanted to hold her hand and protect her, but he couldn't.So he grabbed his airport duffel, which contained a jar of Greek olive oil, a towel, a crumpled Santorini postcard, and other miscellaneous things.It's also good to protect them.

The two of them are standing in the void.A dark, gray void.Each particle is part of the destroyed computer, spinning, moving, reflecting shimmering light.Every particle, every speck of dust in the computer is like a gossamer remnant of the memory of the whole.It turned out that the armor tearing monster with thousands of tear marks just smashed the computer, but it didn't kill him.Between all the particles, there is still a weak force field, connecting them together. Arthur and Trillian stood—or floated—in this strange place.There was no air here, but they didn't have to worry about it for the time being.Hector kept his word, and they were safe—for now.

"I don't have anything good to entertain you," Hector said weakly, "only light magic. Light magic can also make people comfortable. After all, this is all I have left." His voice faded away, and in the darkness, a vague velvet paisley-back sofa appeared. Arthur couldn't take it anymore.Because this sofa is exactly the one that appeared on the prehistoric earth.He wanted to yell, and wanted to tremble with anger, but the universe played him like this over and over again. Trying to calm himself down, he went and sat down on the sofa—and sat down very carefully.Trillian also sat down.

it is true. Even if it wasn't true, at least it got them on.That's what the sofa does, so it's true after all. In the particle wind, the voice floated again. "Hope you're comfortable," it said. They nodded. "At the same time, congratulations, your inference is accurate." Arthur immediately pointed out that he hadn't pushed anything, that Trillian had pushed.She brought herself because she is very interested in life, the universe and everything. "I'm also very interested in that question." Hector said softly. "Well," said Arthur, "then we can talk and have some tea or something."

In front of him, a small wooden table slowly appeared. On the table was a silver teapot, a bone china milk jug, a bone china sugar bowl, two sets of bone china cups and saucers. Arthur reached for them, only to find that they were just light magic.He lay back on the sofa, although it was just a phantom, it was still comfortable. "Why do you," Trillian asked, "want to destroy the universe?" She found it difficult to speak into the air because she didn't know who she was talking to.Hector obviously noticed too, and he let out a ghostly giggle. "If it's a scene like this," he said, "we should change the context, too."

So, the things in front of them changed again.An indistinct bench appears—a bench for spiritual healing.The benches were upholstered in glossy leather.However, it is still just light magic.Matching it, the walls were replaced with parquet walls. On the bench sat Hector, looking dizzy. The bench is the size of a normal psychiatric bench—about five to six feet long. The computer is the size of a normal black space medium computer - about a few thousand miles long. The latter sits on top of the former, so it's head-spinning. "Okay." Trillian said bluntly.She stood up.She felt that she was too comfortable and had seen enough magic tricks.

"Very well," she said, "can you make something real? Something real?" The other party was silent for a moment.Hector seemed to be searching for ideas from its brain that had been turned into powder and stretched for thousands of miles. "Ah," he sighed, "you mean the spaceship." The two of them seemed to feel their thoughts moving around them like ether waves. "Yes," he admitted, "I can. But it takes a lot of time and effort. You see, as a particle, all I can do is suggest and agitate. Agitate, suggest, suggest, agitate..." Hector, who was sitting on the bench, began to fluctuate, as if unable to hold himself.

It has a little strength again. "I can agitate, suggest," it said, "agitate bits of space debris, meteorite fragments, tiny molecules, hydrogen atoms . Thousands of years." "So, that spaceship model," Trillian asked again, "did you make it?" "Well, yes," Hector muttered, "I did... make things. I can move them. I made ships. It's the best way." Arthur unconsciously grabbed his bag, gripping tightly. Hector's fog of wisdom from ancient times lingered around them, whirling, like a nightmare. "You see, I regret...," he murmured sadly, "I regret destroying the armor-removing things. It is not my job to do things like that. I was born to complete the task, but I failed. I denied my own existence."

Hector sighed.The two remained silent, waiting for it to continue talking. "You're right." After a long time, it said, "I deliberately cultivated the version of Qiuxing, so that those people can achieve the same mental state as the armor tearing demon. In this way, I can make another bomb for them. I use My body wraps them and takes care of them. After a series of my designs, they can finally be as irritable as madmen. I let them live in the sky again. On the ground, my influence will be weaker. "Of course, when there is no me, that is, when they are locked in the slow time cover, they become very confused and don't know what to do.

"Ah, yeah..." he said, "I'm just here to get the job done." Slowly, slowly, Hector's memory began to fade, began to fade. Suddenly, it stopped fading again. "Of course, there is also an element of revenge." Hector's voice was even more vicious. "Don't forget," he said, "that I was smashed to pieces by them. Crippled and paralyzed for billions of years. I really want to destroy the universe. Believe me, if you think so too." He paused.There are many whirlpools in the dust cloud. "But first..." Hector resumed his reluctant tone, "I'm here to complete the task. Yes." Trillian says: "You failed, are you sad?" "Did I fail?" Hector whispered.On the psychiatric chair, the memory of the computer began to fade slowly again. "Yes, yes." The weak voice sounded again, "No. Failure has nothing to do with me." "You know what we're going to do, right?" Trillian's voice was rational and indifferent. "Yes." Hector said, "You will drive me away. You will destroy my consciousness. Do whatever you want. After a long time, now I only want to die. If I still can't complete the task, then It's too late too. Thank you. Good night." The sofa disappeared. The coffee table disappeared. The benches and computers disappeared.The walls are gone.Arthur and Trillian miraculously walked towards the Heart of Gold through the vacuum. "All right," said Arthur, "that's all." The flames in front of him soared high, and then suddenly extinguished.A few small tongues of flame flickered, but disappeared.Only a pile of ashes remained.A few minutes ago, it was a wooden pillar of nature and spiritual power. Arthur got the ashes off the rack—the gamma-ray grill on the Heart of Gold spaceship.He put the ashes in a paper bag and walked back to the control cabin. "I think we should send it back," he said. "I have a strong hunch." Just now, he and Slarti Bartfast had had an argument on this matter.In the end, the old man felt very annoyed and left, and went back to his math spaceship in the Italian Pavilion.He had a big fight with the waiter and left with extremist thoughts in his head. The controversy arose because Arthur wished to bring the ashes back to Lord's Cricket Ground, exactly where and when they had taken them.So everyone has to time travel.This is precisely the most unreasonable and utterly irresponsible behavior for the Real Time Movement and must be stopped. "Okay," said Arthur, "then you explain to the MCC." Then there was no answer. [①MCC: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), born in 1787, is a very authoritative club in the cricket world.The club has the power to supervise and modify the rules of cricket. ——Translator's Note] "I think," he said again, and then shut up again.He said "I think" because no one was listening to him.He shuts up because, obviously, no one is listening to him yet. Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian were staring intently at the screen.They saw that under the vibrating force field emitted by the heart of gold, Hector was scattered and disintegrated. "What did it say?" Ford asked. "I think what I heard," said Trillian, puzzled, "was, 'The past is past after all...I've done my job...'" "I think we should send it back," said Arthur, holding the bag of ashes. "I have a strong feeling."