Chapter 4 Chapter two

The following is an explanation of wine from the Encyclopedia of the Galaxy.It says that wine is a colorless, volatile liquid fermented from sugar, and mentions its ability to intoxicate life forms based on carbon. Alcohol is also mentioned.The best drink in existence, it says, is the "Pan Galactic Gargle Blast". It says that drinking a glass of Pan Galactic Gargle Blast is like being smashed in the head by a chunk of gold wrapped in lemon. The Guide will also tell you which planets make the best pan-galactic gargle blasters, how much a serving will cost you, and what voluntary organizations exist to help you recover after drinking it.

The Guide even teaches you how to concoct a pan-galactic gargle blaster yourself. It sold much better than the Encyclopedia of the Galaxy. "Give me six pints of beer," said Ford Prefect to the waiter at "Horse and Groom." "Hurry up, please, the earth is dying." But this waiter shouldn't be ridiculed like this, he is a dignified old man.He raised his glass to his nose and winked at Ford Prefect.Ford ignored him and looked out the window, so he blinked back at Arthur, who shrugged helplessly and said nothing. The waiter took a breath. "Here, sir, six pints," he said.

Ford tapped a £5 note on the bar and said, "No need to look for it." "What, no change for five pounds? Thank you very much, sir." "You have 10 minutes left to spend it." So the waiter made a very simple decision to avoid it for a while. "Ford," said Arthur, "can you tell me what the hell is going on?" "Done," said Ford, "you've got three pints." "Three pints?" said Arthur. "At lunch?" "Time is but an illusion, especially so-called lunchtime." "Pretty profound," said Arthur. "You should send that to the Reader's Digest. They have a page just for people like you."

"Dry." "Why do you have to kill 3 pints at once?" "Relax your muscles, you're going to need this." "Relax your muscles?" "Yes, relax your muscles." Arthur stared at his beer. "Did I do something wrong today," he said, "or is this the way the world has always been and I just got so caught up in myself that I didn't notice?" "Well," said Ford, "I'll try to explain it to you. How long have we known each other?" "How long?" Arthur thought for a moment. "Well, almost five years, maybe six," he said. "Most of the time it still looks interesting."

"Well," said Ford, "if I told you now that I'm not from Guildford at all, but from an asteroid next to Betelgeuse, how would you react?" Arthur shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't know," he said, taking a sip of his beer. "Why, is that what you're going to tell me?" So Ford had to give up.The earth is almost destroyed, and it's not worth worrying about at this time.All he said was, "Done." Then, he added indisputably, "The earth is about to be destroyed." "It's got to be Thursday," Arthur said to himself, bowing his head into his beer glass. "I've never been sure about Thursday."