Chapter 10 chapter Ten

The universe, as observed before, is disturbingly large.Most people prefer to ignore this fact in order to live a peaceful little life. Many would happily relocate out of the universe, if possible, to a much smaller place of their own creation.Most living things actually do exactly that. For example, in a corner of the eastern arm of the Milky Way, there is a huge forest planet called Oglaven, but all the "intelligent" creatures on the planet live permanently on a small and crowded nut tree. .On this tree, they were born, grew up, fell in love, carved on the bark thoughts on the meaning of life, the meaninglessness of death, the importance of birth control, etc., as well as a few rather small scriptures. After a battle, Sheng finally died, and his body was tied up under some inaccessible rocks far away from the tree trunk.In fact, Li committed the unforgivable heinous crime because of the tree he was able to support life, or, are the other trees really hallucinations caused by eating too much Ogra fruit?

The behavior of the Oglawens may seem a little unusual, but in fact, there is no life form in the galaxy that has not made the same mistake in one way or another, which is why the absolute perspective vortex is so terrifying s reason. For, once you are thrown into this vortex, you will have a momentary glimpse of the utterly unimaginable infinity of all things, and a tiny mark somewhere in it, a tiny mark on an infinitesimal point. Stick out its tiny dots that say "You are here" The gray plain lay before Zaphod, an abandoned, ruined plain.The wind whipped the ground wildly. Halfway as far as he could see was the hummock of the steel vault, and there, Zaphod figured, was where he was going: the Absolute Perspective Vortex.

He stopped and looked darkly at the place.Suddenly, there was an inhuman horrifying wail, as if a person's soul had been separated from the body under the burning of the flames; the sound penetrated the wind and gradually disappeared. Zaphod continued to walk forward in fear, his blood was as cold as liquid nitrogen. "Hey, what's that?" he murmured in a barely audible voice. "A recording," said Jagrawa, "from the last person thrown into the vortex. It's always played for the next victim. It's kind of a prelude." "Hmm, that sounds bad..." Zaphod stammered, "Can we get away for a while and go to a party or something? How about some time to think about it?"

"As far as I know," said Jugguravar's ethereal voice, "I'm probably at a party right now. I mean my body. It's been to many parties without me. It keeps saying, I It's just getting in the way." "What the hell is going on with your body'" said Zaphod, desperate to put off whatever was about to happen to him. "Well, you know, it's very busy," Garzantova stammered. "You mean it has a consciousness of its own?" Zaphod asked. There was a long, slightly desolate pause before Jagrawa spoke again. "I have to say," he finally replied, "I find your words lacking in taste."

Zaphod mumbled an apology, bewildered and rather embarrassed. "It's all right," said Gajjanrava. "Those who don't know are not guilty." The voice floated unhappily. "The truth is," the voice continued, in a tone that suggested he was struggling to contain his emotions, "the truth is that we are currently in a separation phase, pending a court decision. I expect it will end in divorce." The sound stopped again, leaving Zaphod to say something.He had no choice but to murmur a few times. "I think we're probably not quite right for each other," said Gargrawara at last. "We've never been happy doing the same thing. The most violent fights have always been about sex and fishing. In the end, we tried to make this Combine the two, and as you can probably imagine, the result is utter disaster. Now, my body refuses to let me in. It won't even come to see me!"

He paused sadly again.The wind continued to whip the plain. "It says I'm just living in it, and I point out that, in fact, I'm supposed to live in it according to the rules. And it says it's this kind of clever comment that they can't stand physically, and it's kind of irritating. It hurts in its left nostril, so it will leave me, and it will probably withhold my name." "Oh," whispered Zaphod, "what's the name?" "Pizpot," said the voice, "my full name is Pizpot Gargutowa. That's really complete, isn't it?"

"Well," said Zaphod sympathetically, "that's why I, as a disembodied strand of consciousness, got the job... of the administrator of the Absolute Perspective Vortex. No one would be on the ground of this planet Walking... except for the victims of the vortex, but I'm afraid they don't count." "I'll tell you the story here. Would you like to hear it?" "Many years ago, this was a prosperous, happy planet...people, cities, shops...a normal world. There were more shoe stores on the main streets of these cities than needed. And, the The slow, imperceptible increase in numbers is a well-known economic phenomenon, but it is a tragedy to watch it develop, because the more shoe stores there are, the more shoes must be produced, and the more shoes The worse the quality of the shoes, the more uncomfortable it is to wear, and the more uncomfortable the shoes are, the more people will have to buy shoes...to ensure that they have shoes to wear, which will lead to an increase in the number of shoe stores until The economy of this place crossed the line, what I call the shoe event, and it was no longer possible to build anything other than a shoe store. The result was—destruction and famine. Most of the population died out. Genetically unstable, they've all mutated into birds...you've seen some of them just now. They cursed their feet, they cursed the land, they swore they would never walk on it again. What a great misfortune .Come on, I must take you to the vortex."

Shaking his head in bewilderment, Zaphod stumbled along the plain. "You're a native? . . . " he asked, "from this dreadful place, aren't you? . . . " "No, no," said Gargraava, as if taken aback, "I'm from the Frog Galaxy c world. Beautiful place, good fishing. I fly back every night and all I can do is watch looking at it. The only functioning absolute perspective vortex on this planet. It was built here because no one wants to build it on their doorstep." Another horrific scream ripped through the air, and Zaphod shuddered. "What the hell can that thing do to a man?" he asked, panting.

"To allow you to see the universe," said Gargraava succinctly, "the whole infinite universe. The infinite number of stars, the infinite distances between them, and yourself... a small to the invisible point, the infinitely small.” "Hey, you know, buddy, I'm Zaphod Beeblebrox," grunted Zaphod, trying to muster up what was left of his self-esteem. Jagravara didn't answer, just resumed his mournful hum, until they came to the tarnished steel vault in the middle of the plain. When they arrived, a door on the side opened with a bang, revealing a small dark room inside.

"Go in." Jagrawa said. Zaphod was filled with fear. "Huh? What? Now?" he said. "Now." Zaphod stared nervously inside.The room is small, the walls are made of steel, and there is almost no room for a second person. "This thing...well doesn't look like the vortex I had in mind," said Zaphod. "It's not what it is," said Jagravarar, "it's just an elevator. Get in." With 120,000 panic, Zaphod walked in.He could feel Juggalava entering the elevator, right next to him, although the disembodied creature didn't say a word.

The elevator begins to descend. "I'll have to be properly prepared to handle this," grumbled Zaphod. "There is no proper mental preparation at all," said Jagrawa sternly. "You really know how to make a guy feel worthless." "I can't. Vortex is good at this." At the bottom of the shaft, the elevator opened from behind, and Zaphod stumbled into another steel-walled... small room, apparently designed for some special purpose. Standing alone at the far end of the room is a vertical metal box just big enough for a person to stand inside: It's that simple. The box is connected by a thick wire to a small collection of components and instruments. "That thing?" asked Zaphod in surprise. "yes." It doesn't look too bad, Zaphod thought. "I have to stand in, don't I?" Zaphod asked again. "Of course," said Jugguravar, "and, I'm afraid you'll have to do it now.'· "Yes, yes," said Zaphod, opening the lid of the case and stepping in. He waits in the box. Five seconds later, with a "click", the entire universe was in this box with him.