Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

After a while, he ran across the plain in the direction of the ruins of the city. The cold, damp air rushed into his lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe, and he staggered with his depleted energy still haunting him.Night began to fall, and the rough land seemed dangerous. However, the excitement brought about by those experiences just now is also with him.The whole universe!He saw the whole universe stretching out around him, to infinity—all of it.And with it all came the clear, extraordinary message that he was the greatest murderer in the universe: it was one thing to have such a pompous sense of self; to be told exactly that by a machine , is a different matter entirely.

He didn't have time to think about it. Jaguravar had already said that he had to report to his masters what happened just now, but before that, he was going to set aside a just right interval so that Zaphod would have enough time to rest and find a place to hide. He doesn't know what he's going to do next, but he feels like the most important person in the universe.It gave him a certain confidence that something was going to happen, Other than that, there was nothing on this barren planet to give him grounds for optimism. He continued to run, and soon reached the outskirts of the abandoned city.

He was walking on the broken and cracked road.Weak weeds grow here and there, and cracked holes are filled with rotting shoes.The buildings he passed along the way were all decayed and collapsed, so he decided that it was not safe to go into any of them.Where can he hide?He just had to keep going. A little further ahead, the ruins of a wide road stretched from the side of the road he was walking on. At the end of the road stood a huge but low building, surrounded by various Small houses, all of them surrounded by the ruins of a fence.The huge main building seemed solid enough, so Zaphod walked over to it to see if it could provide him with...well, a little help =

He approaches the building.On one side of it—it looked like the front, since it was a wide concrete pad—was juxtaposed with a huge door, possibly sixty feet high.The far one was open, so Zaphod ran towards it, The room was dimly lit, dusty, and chaotic.Huge cobwebs were everywhere, part of the foundation had collapsed, part of the back wall had sunk in, and the floor was covered in a layer of dust several inches thick. Through the thick darkness, some huge black shadows loomed. Some of these dark shadows are cylindrical, some are bulbous, and some are like eggs, or more accurately, like cracked eggs.Most of them have cracked or collapsed, and some even have only skeletons left.

They are all space vehicles, all abandoned. Frustrated with disappointment, Zaphod walked among the abandoned ships.Nothing here will come in handy.Even the shock of his footsteps caused the precarious wreck to collapse further into its interior: There's a spaceship parked facing the back of the house.It's a little bigger than the others, and sinks deeper into dust and cobwebs.However, its outer contours appear to be undamaged.Zaphod walked towards it hopefully, and in doing so he was snapped by a supply hose. He tried to throw the supply tube aside, but was surprised to find it was still connected to the ship.

To his dismay even more, he realized that the supply pipe was still humming slightly. He stared at the ship in disbelief, then looked down at the supply tube in his hand again. He took off his jacket and tossed it aside.Fumbling slowly on hands and knees, he followed the supply tube to its connection point to the ship.After the connection is made, the slight humming and trembling sound is more obvious. His heartbeat started to speed up.He brushed some dirt off and put one ear against the side of the ship, but only faint, indistinct noises could be heard. He began frantically rummaging through the scattered debris on the floor around him, eventually finding a short length of tubing and a non-biodegradable plastic cup.Using these two things, he assembled a simple stethoscope and stuck it on the side wall of the spaceship.

What he heard exploded in his mind. A voice said: "Star Cruises apologizes to passengers for the ongoing delays on this flight. We are currently waiting for a resupply of lemon scented napkins to provide you with a comfortable, clean and hygienic journey = In the meantime, We appreciate your patience. The crew will be serving you coffee and refreshments again soon." Zaphod shook a few times, staring at the spaceship with burning eyes: He turned back and forth blankly for a moment.In doing so, he suddenly saw a huge boarding platform still hanging from the ceiling above his head, but there was only one point of support left: the boarding platform was covered with dirt, but some figures could still be made out .

Zaphod's eyes scanned the figures, and he made some simple calculations.His eyes widened. "Nine hundred years..." He took a deep breath and said to himself.This is the age of this spaceship. Two minutes later, he was on board the spaceship. Stepping into the airlock, the air is cool and fresh—obviously the air conditioner is still working.The lights were still on. He walked out of the small access room, entered a short and narrow corridor, and walked nervously inside. Suddenly, a door opened, and something came out and stood in front of him. "Please go back to your seat, sir," the robot stewardess said, then turned and walked ahead of him down the aisle.

He followed her, heart beating wildly, and she opened the door at the end of the passage and walked through. He followed her and also passed through. They were in the passenger compartment now, and for a moment Zaphod's heart stopped. In each seat sits a passenger, strapped to his own seat.The passengers' hair was long and uncombed, their fingernails were long, and the men were unshaven.All are apparently still alive - but asleep. Fear spread through Zaphod's body. He walked slowly down the aisle, as if in a dream.When he was halfway there, the robot stewardess had reached the end.She turned around and started talking.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," she said in a sweet voice, "thank you for your patience with this slight delay. We will take off as soon as possible. If you would like to wake up now, I will provide you Coffee and refreshments." There was a slight hum in the cabin. At this moment, all the passengers woke up. They woke up, screamed, and clawed at the seat belts and life support systems that held them tightly in their seats.Zaphod thought his ears were going to be deafened by the screams and wails and cries for help they uttered. They struggled and writhed while the robot stewardess moved patiently down the aisle, placing a small cup of coffee and a small packet of pastry in front of everyone.

Then, one of them got up from his seat. He turned and looked at Zaphod. The skin all over Zaphod's body began to throb, as if it wanted to come off him.He turned and ran away from the chaos. He rushed through the door and back into the hallway, the man chasing him. He frantically ran to the end of the corridor, walked through the entrance and exit, and climbed up.He came to the flight deck, slammed the hatch behind him, and bolted it.He leaned against the door, panting heavily. After a few seconds, a hand began knocking on the door from the other side. From somewhere on the flight deck came a harsh voice: "Passengers are not allowed on the flight deck. Please return to your seat and wait for the ship to take off. Coffee and refreshments will be served, this is your autopilot Yi is talking. Please go back to your seat." Zaphod said nothing.He continued to pant; behind him, the hand continued to knock on the door. "Please return to your seat," the autopilot repeated. "Passengers are not permitted on the flight deck." "I'm not a passenger," gasped Zaphod. "Go back to your seat, please!" "I'm not a passenger!" Zaphod bellowed again. "Please go back to your seat." "I'm not... hey, can you hear me?" "Please go back to your seat." "You're on autopilot?" Zaphod said. "Yes." The voice came from the flight console. "This spaceship is operated by you?" "Yes," said the voice, "there has been a slight delay. For the comfort and convenience of passengers, they have been temporarily restrained. We serve coffee and refreshments every year, after which passengers are Restrictions are being re-imposed for their continued comfort and convenience. This flight will depart as soon as the spacecraft is fully stocked. We are deeply sorry for the delay." Zaphod moved away from the door and the knocking stopped.He approached the flight console: "Delay?" he called. "You see the world outside the ship? It's a ruin, a wasteland. Civilization is gone, man. No more lemon-scented napkins coming!" "According to statistical generalizations," the autopilot continued solemnly, "other civilizations will emerge. Someday there will be lemon-scented napkins. Until then, there will be a short delay. Get back to your seats .” "But……" Just then, the door opened.Zaphod turned to see the man who had chased him standing there with a large briefcase in his hand.He was well dressed and had short hair.He has no beard and no long fingernails. "Zaphod Beeblebrox," he said, "my name is Zarniwoop. I believe you want to see me." Zaphod Beeblebrox was suddenly at a loss.His two mouths were talking like a fool.He slumped down on a chair. "Oh, God! Oh! God, where did you come from?" he said. "I've been waiting here for you," said Zarniwoop in a businesslike tone. He put down his briefcase and sat down in another chair. "I'm glad you followed directions," he said. "To be honest, I'm a little worried that you're going to leave my office by the door instead of the window. You're going to be in big trouble that way." Zaphod shook his two heads and grunted. "When the body steps through the door of my office, you enter my synthetic universe," Zarniwoop explained. "If you leave the door, you return to the real universe. The The man-made universe works from here." As he spoke, he patted his briefcase triumphantly. Zaphod glared at him in resentment and disgust. "What difference does it make?" he murmured. "No," said Zarniwoop, "they're exactly the same. Oh... except for one thing, I think the Frogstar battleships in the real universe are gray." "What the hell is going on here'" Zaphod said. "Simple," said Zarniwoop.His self-confidence and complacency annoyed Zaphod very much. "It's simple." He repeated, "I found the coordinates of the man—the man who ruled the universe, and found that his world was protected by a field of improbability. To protect my secret—and Myself - I retreated into this completely artificial safe universe, hiding on a cruise liner that has been forgotten. I am safe. In the meantime, you and I " "You and me?" said Zaphod angrily. "You mean I know you?" "Yes," said Zarniwoop, "we know each other very well." "I'm not interested in that," said Zaphod, returning to his sullen silence. "Meanwhile, you and I planned this together. You will steal the tools of the world of improbability and bring it to me. I believe you have done this by now, Congratulations." He smiled gravely.Zaphod couldn't help but want to throw a brick at him. "Oh, and in case you're wondering," Zarniwoop added, "I can tell you that this universe was created specifically for your coming. Therefore, you are the most important person in this universe. If you are in In the real universe, you will never be able to..." As he spoke, he smiled even more irritatingly, "Survived in the absolute perspective vortex. Can we go?" "Where?" asked Zaphod darkly.He felt himself about to collapse. "To your ship...'Heart of Gold'...you brought it, I believe." "No." "Where's your jacket?" Zaphod looked at him in bewilderment. "My jacket? I took it off and threw it outside." "Okay, let's go out and find it." Zarniwoop stood up and gestured for Zaphod to follow him. They came out again and heard the screams of the passengers being offered coffee and refreshments. "It's not a pleasant thing to wait for you in this place," said Zarniwoop. "You're not happy!" cried Zaphod. "What do you think...?" Just then, the hatch opened, and Zarniwoop raised a finger to signal him to be quiet.A few feet from them, the Yankee of Zaphod lay in a heap of debris; "A marvelous ship with a lot of power," said Zarniwoop. "Look." As they looked over, the pockets on the jacket suddenly swelled, and it gradually cracked and burst.The little metal model of the Heart of Gold, the tiny piece of metal that Zanhad had found puzzling in his pocket, was growing. It continues to grow.After two minutes, it reached full size. "At the level of a non-probability field," Zarniwoop said, "well... I don't know, but it's a big guy." Zaphod swayed. "You mean, I've always carried it with me?" Zarniwoop smiled.He picked up his briefcase and opened it. He flipped a switch in the bag. "Goodbye, Artificial Universe!" he said, "Hello, Real Universe!" The scene before their eyes flickered briefly - then reappeared, exactly as before, "See," said Zarniwoop, "exactly the same," "You mean," Zaphod's voice was strained, "I've always had it on me?" "Oh, yes," said Zarniwoop. "Of course. That's the crucial point." "That's all right," said Zaphod, "you can take me out. You can take me out from now on, I've had enough of it. You play your own game, " "I'm afraid you can't leave yet," said Zarnioop. "You've been entangled in the Field of Improbability. You can't escape."