Chapter 34 Chapter Thirty-Four

They finally started traveling around again. Originally, Arthur Dent did not want to travel anymore.He said that it was the Mathematics Spaceship of the Yiguan that inspired him: time and space are one, spirit and universe are one, perception and reality are one.The farther a person travels, the more he tends to be still.What is the relationship between these things, he needs to calm down and figure it out—since they are all one with the universe, it probably won't take much time.After figuring it out, he can rest, practice flying, and learn cooking skills, which he has always wanted to learn.That jar of Greek olive oil is now his most prized possession.He said it had come back to him so miraculously that it gave him an all-that-is inspiration that made him feel...  

He yawned and fell asleep. The next morning, they were going to take him to a peaceful planet where he could say what he wanted.Before they set off, they received a distress signal from the computer and began to investigate the matter. It turned out that there was a small, intact Merida-class spacecraft that seemed to be doing an eerie jig in space.A preliminary intelligent scan showed that the spaceship was fine, the central computer was fine, it was just that the pilot was crazy. "Half crazy, half crazy." When the man was rescued, he declared so persistently.They got him on the Heart of Gold.

He is a reporter for the Stellar Daily Review.They sedated him and kept Marvin with him.At last he assured everyone that he could try to speak rationally. "I was covering a trial," he said at last, "in Agabzon." His frail and thin shoulders trembled suddenly, his body straightened up, and his eyes were full of horror.His white hair stood up, as if greeting someone in the next room. "It's all right," said Ford.Trillian put her hand lightly on his shoulder to comfort him. The man lay back again, staring straight at the ceiling of the ward. "The case itself," he said, "isn't important anymore. But there's a witness... a witness... whose name is Placker. He's a weird, difficult guy. So they had to give him a The medicine of the truth. The medicine of the truth."

His eyeballs fluttered helplessly. "They fed him too much," his voice wailed. "They fed him too much." He cried. "I think the robots must have hit the doctor's hand." "Robot?" Zaphod asked alertly. "What robot?" "Some white robots," the man whispered, "they broke into the courtroom and took the judge's scepter. The Scepter of Agabzon of Justice, a broken thing made of glass. Don't know why they did it. he cried again, "but I think they bumped into the doctor's hand..." He shook his head feebly, dazed and sad.He closed his eyes tightly in pain.

"But the trial went on," he said, sobbing, "and they asked the most unfortunate question. They called him..." He shuddered and choked, "Tell the truth, the whole truth , the exact truth. But... don't you understand?" He jumped up on his elbows and shouted fiercely: "They gave him too much medicine!" He slumped down again, still whimpering in a low voice. "Too much too much too much..." Everyone gathered around the bed, you looked at me, I looked at you, goose bumps all over your body. "What's the matter?" Zaphod finally asked.

"Oh, he did," replied the man viciously. "And as far as I know, he's still talking about it. It's all about weird...horrible things...terrible...terrible things!" he screamed. They tried to comfort him, but he got up on his elbows again. "Terrible things, incomprehensible things," he cried, "things that drive a man mad!" He looked at the crowd excitedly. "Or, as far as I'm concerned..." he said, "half mad. I'm a reporter." "You mean," Arthur asked softly, "you're used to facing the truth?"

"No," the other party frowned in confusion, "I mean I made an excuse and left first." He collapsed again, unconscious. He woke up only once afterwards, and for a short time. At the only time when he was awake, everyone asked the following situation: Now that the pulak could no longer be stopped, and the truth was finally and completely revealed, everyone withdrew from the court to clear the court. Not only was the venue cleared, but the courtroom was sealed—with Placker.An iron wall was erected around the court.And, for safety reasons, barb wires, electric grids, alligator ponds, and three army units were added around.That way no one could hear Placker speak.

"It's a pity," said Arthur, "I'd like to hear him. Maybe he knows the ultimate answer to the ultimate question. We never found out. I've always wanted to know." "Think of a number," the computer said, "any one." Arthur gave the passenger consultation telephone number of King's Cross Road subway station.There must be some use for this number, and perhaps this is the time to use it. The computer feeds the phone number into the reassembled improbability drive. According to the theory of relativity, matter bends space, and space makes matter move.But the Heart of Gold can tie the space together, and then it can appear exactly in the center of the steel inner wall of the Agabzon Judgment Hall.

The hall is very modest.It's an empty, dark hall, clearly built for justice, not for...for example, pleasure.No one wants to throw a dinner party here—at least, it won't be a success.The decor here will turn off guests. The ceiling was so high that it was very dark.I don't know how many malicious shadows are hidden on it.The paneling of the walls and benches, the cladding of the heavy columns, the timbers used in these places came from the blackest and most forbidding trees of the dreadful forest of Agobard.The huge black podium of justice in the middle of the hall is simply majestic and frightening.If one day, a ray of sunlight manages to sneak into this building of justice in Agabzon, it will definitely turn around and sneak out all the way.

Arthur and Trillian went in first.Ford and Zaphod heroically reared him. When I first entered, I saw darkness and loneliness.The sound of their footsteps echoed in the hall like ghosts.This is very strange.The protective facilities outside are in normal condition, and they have checked them all.So, they guessed, that person should still be telling the truth. But nothing. Then, when their eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, they saw a dim red light in the corner.Behind the red light, there is a figure.They held up the torches a little closer. Praker sat carelessly on a bench, smoking a half-burned cigarette.

"Hi." He said, raising his hand lazily.His voice echoed in the hall. He was a small man with thinning hair.He sat hunched over, shaking his head and knees. Everyone stared at him. "What's wrong?" Trillian asked. "It's nothing." The man said, shaking his shoulders. Arthur held the torch forward, illuminating Placker's face. "We heard..." he said, "that you're telling the truth here." "Oh, that," said Placker, "yes, I did. I've said it. Most of it is unimaginable stuff. Some of it's funny, though." He burst out laughing like crazy for about three seconds, then stopped.He sat there, shaking his head, shaking his knees.He smiled, and took another drag on his cigarette. Ford and Zaphod approached from the shadows. "Tell us about it," said Ford. "Oh, I don't remember," Placer said. "I thought about taking notes, but, first of all, I don't have a pencil. Then I thought, why bother?" There was a long silence.They can almost feel the universe getting a little older.Plage gazed into the light of the torch. "Not at all?" Arthur asked, "You don't remember anything?" "Don't remember. By the way, some things about frogs are not bad. I remember that." Suddenly, he laughed maniacally again, stomping his feet on the ground, "You'll never believe those things about frogs." He gasped with laughter . "Come on, let's go find the frogs. Man, I've got to see them with new eyes!" He jumped up, danced a few steps, stopped, and took a deep breath on his cigarette. "Go to the frog and laugh at it," he said. "By the way, who are you?" "We're here to find you." Cui Lian didn't hide the disappointment in her voice, "My name is Cui Lian." Praker shook his head. "Ford sir." Ford shrugged. Praker shook his head. "And me," began Zaphod.After waiting for a while, when he thought it was long enough to make an important announcement, he said lightly, "It's Zaphod Beeblebrox." Praker shook his head. "Where's this guy?" Placker shook his shoulders at Arthur.The latter was in a daze with a look of disappointment on his face. "Me?" said Arthur. "Oh, my name is Arthur Dent." Praker was so startled that his eyeballs almost fell out. "Are you kidding?!" he cried. "You're Arthur Dent? That Arthur Dent?" He staggered back a few steps, covered his stomach, and burst out laughing wildly again. "Hey! I was just trying to see you!" he gasped. "Dude," he exclaimed, "you're the most... oh, you can't even beat a frog!" He looked up and laughed.He collapsed on the chair laughing.He laughed hysterically.He laughed, kicked his legs, beat his chest.Gradually, he calmed down and became out of breath.He looked at them, at Arthur.He fell back and laughed again.Finally, he fell asleep. Arthur stood there, pursing his lips a few times.The others carried the sleepy Placa back to the ship. "Before I came to Placker," said Arthur, "I said I was going away. I think so now. And as soon as I can." The others nodded wordlessly.There was silence.However, the silence was finally broken by a faint, hysterical laugh from Placker in the farthest cabin of the spaceship. "We've asked him," continued Arthur, "at least, you have. I, you know—can't get near him, so I can't do anything. And he doesn't seem to have anything useful to say. Come on. Except for the bits about frogs that don't interest me." The others suppressed laughter. "Well I know what you're laughing at..." Arthur had to wait for everyone else to finish laughing before continuing. "I'm the first one," he paused again.This time I stopped because it was quiet.At this moment, there was a real silence, a very sudden silence. Plaque fell silent.For the past few days, they've been living with outbursts of maniacal laughter that occasionally morph into a chuckle in sleep, when they can relax a bit.Arthur felt like he was going paranoid. The silence at this time does not seem to be sleeping.A beep sounded, and they looked towards the console, and it turned out that it was Praker who rang the buzzer. "He's not good." Trillian whispered, "Excessive laughing completely ruined his body." Arthur's lips twitched twice, but he said nothing. "We'd better go see him," said Trillian. Cui Lian came out of the cabin with a serious expression. "He wants you in," she said to Arthur. Arthur was looking depressed and his mouth was tightly pursed.He put his hands in the pockets of his dressing-gown, tried to say something generous, and though it wasn't fair, he couldn't. "Please," Trillian said. He shrugged and went in.She still had a gloomy look on her face, and her mouth was tightly pursed, all because of Plaque. He looked down at this guy who was annoying him.The man lay quietly on the bed, pale and weak.His breathing was weak.Ford and Zaphod stood awkwardly by. "You want to ask me some questions." Pula was coughing softly, out of breath. Arthur's face changed when he heard the cough.Still, he tried to calm down. "How do you know?" he asked. Praker shrugged feebly. "Because it's true," he said clearly. Arthur admitted. "Yes," he was still a little reluctant, and his voice dragged on, "I have a question. Actually, there is an answer. I want to know what the question is." Praker nodded in understanding.Arthur felt better. "It's... Well, it's a long story. That question is the ultimate question about life, the universe and everything. We only know the answer is 42. Not only is it useless, but it makes it more troublesome." Praker nodded again. "42, yes, that's right." He paused, and the shadows of thoughts and memories appeared on his face, like the shadows of clouds floating across the earth. "I'm afraid..." he added at last, "questions and answers are incompatible. Logically speaking, to know one must conceal the other. Both cannot be known in the same universe at the same time." He paused again.Arthur looked disappointed, but quickly returned to normal. "And," said Placker, thinking hard, "if it were really known, then the question and the answer would delete each other, and the universe, and something even stranger and unexplainable would appear in its place. They. Such a thing may well have happened." He smiled weakly, "but with considerable uncertainty." Arthur sat on the stool. "Oh, well," he gave up, "I just wish there was a reason or something." "You know," Placker said, "the story of reason?" Arthur said he didn't know, and Placker said he knew he didn't know. He starts telling stories. One night, he told how a spaceship appeared on a planet where no spaceship had ever been seen.That star is Darvuras, and that ship is that ship.It moved slowly in the sky like a brilliant new star. The primitive tribal people sitting on the cold slope raised their heads.They saw the star through the steaming heat of their supper, and pointed to it with trembling fingers, and they were certain that it was a sign, a sign from the gods, that they must rise at once against the wicked princes of the plain. The Princes of the Plains, when they looked up from the towers of their palaces to see the nova twinkling, they were convinced that it was a sign from the gods, and that they must set out at once to deal with the loathsome Hanpo tribesmen. And between the two, the inhabitants of the forest looked up at the heavens, and saw the sign of the new star, and felt the horror come again.They also accurately understood this sign and knew what it meant, so they lowered their heads in despair. They knew that if it was raining, it was a sign. If the rain stops, that is also a sign. If it's windy, it's a sign. If the wind dies, that's a sign. If a three-headed kid is born on the night of the full moon, it is a sign. If, sometime in the afternoon, a perfectly normal cat or chicken is born with no spectacle, or even just a baby with a turn-up nose, that's probably a sign too. So, it goes without saying that if a new star appears in the sky, it is definitely a sign of something big. Moreover, all the new signs indicate the same thing: the Princes of Pingyuan and the tribesmen of Hanpo are about to fight again. This incident itself was not particularly tragic, but every time the Pingyuan Prince and the Hanpo tribe fought, they chose the forest as the battlefield.After a battle, the forest residents always suffer the most casualties.Although they feel that they have absolutely nothing to do with it. Sometimes the casualties were so severe that the forest dwellers would send an emissary to the Prince of the Plains or the leader of the Cold Slope Tribe to ask the reason for this intolerable behaviour. And the leader, no matter which side it is from, will call the messenger to his side and explain the reason to him.Give your reasons slowly and in detail, especially with some important details. Unfortunately, that reason is very good, very clear, very comprehensive, very powerful.The messenger bowed his head, his heart filled with self-blame and sorrow.I was so stupid that I didn't realize how complicated the real world is. Living alone, I have to face so many thorns and ups and downs. "Now do you understand?" said the Chief. The messenger had nothing to say and nodded. "Do you understand that this war is inevitable?" Still having nothing to say, he nodded. "See why wars are fought in the forest, and why it's best for everyone - including the forest dwellers?" "Uh……" "Look in the long run." "Uh, um." So the messenger figured out the reason and set off to return to the forest.But when he got back there -- when he was walking in the forest, under the trees, he found that the only thing he remembered was how clear the conversation had been.He has completely forgotten the specific content. That way, of course, when the tribesmen and princes burn their way, step into the forest, and hack every forest dweller they encounter, it's good not to know the reason. Praker stopped and coughed for a long time. "I am the emissary," he said, "as soon as your ship appeared, the war broke out. It was brutal. Many people died on my side. I thought I could bring back the reason. I will go to the leader of the princes. He told me. But on the way back, it slipped out of my head and melted away like snow in the sun. That was a long time ago. A lot has happened since then." He looked at Arthur and smiled softly. "About the things I said after taking the truth potion, besides the frog, I still remember one thing. It was God's last message to his creation. Do you want to hear it?" Everyone hesitated for a long time, wondering if they should take it seriously. "Really," he said, "to be honest. I mean it." His chest heaved weakly and he was breathing with difficulty.His head drooped limply. "When I first found out, I didn't take it seriously." He said, "But after hearing the princes' reasons, I took it very seriously, but I forgot it so quickly. I think this may be more important than that. Do you want to hear it? Do you want to hear it?" Everyone nodded without saying anything. "You absolutely want to hear it. If you're interested, I suggest you go find it. It's written in thirty-foot-tall letters of fire, on the Quinta on the continent of Severnbiopstri on the planet Preliutan The peak of the Les Quazga Mountains, this star is the third planet of the Chas star in the QQ7 radiation J Gamma military area of ​​the Milky Way. It is guarded by Lob's Majesty Fanchashere." There was a long silence.At last Arthur spoke and broke it: "Sorry, where are you?" "It is," repeated Placker, "inscribed in letters of fire thirty feet high, in the Quintalus Quazga Mountains The pinnacle of this star is..." "Sorry," said Arthur again, "what mountains?" "Quintalus Quazga Mountains, it's in the Continent of Servenbiopstri, in that..." "What continent? I haven't heard clearly..." "Severn Beopstree Continent, that planet is called..." "Severn what?" "Oh, my God," Placer said, and died of impatience. In the following days, Arthur thought about this issue for a while, but finally decided not to get entangled in it, but according to the original plan, find a good place to live and live a peaceful retirement life.Having saved the universe twice in one day, he figured he should take it easy. Everyone put him on the version of Qiuxing.Now, it's back to a quiet, rural look, though the songs are annoying at times. He often practice flying. He learned to communicate with the birds and found it boring as hell.They talk about wind speeds, wing spans, weight-to-strength ratios, and questions about berries.Unfortunately, Arthur discovered that once you learned the bird language, it seemed like birds were all around you.All that nonsense talk, with nowhere to hide. So Arthur finally gave up flying and tried to live on the ground.He still likes it.Of course, those boring words are occasionally heard on the ground. One day, he was walking on a country road, humming a very touching song he heard recently, when a silver spaceship fell from the sky and landed in front of him. The cabin door opened, the gangway stretched out, and a tall gray-green creature stepped out and came in front of him. "Arthur Filly..." it said, casting a sudden suspicious glance at him, then looking at the folder in its hand, and frowning.It looked at him again. "I scolded you, didn't I?" it asked.