da.therestaurantattheendoftheuniverse-第38章

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　　〃Norway；〃　said　Arthur；　〃Slartibartfast's　signature　in　the　glacier。　Did　you　tell　them？〃
　　〃What's　the　point？〃　said　Ford；　〃What　would　it　mean　to　them？〃
　　〃Mean？〃　said　Arthur；　〃Mean？　You　know　perfectly　well　what　it　means。　It　means　that　this　planet　is　the　Earth！　It's　my　home！　It's　where　I　was　born！〃
　　〃Was？〃　said　Ford。
　　〃Alright；　will　be。〃
　　〃Yes；　in　two　million　years'　time。　Why　don't　you　tell　them　that？　Go　and　say　to　them；　'Excuse　me；　I'd　just　like　to　point　out　that　in　two　million　years'　time　I　will　be　born　just　a　few　miles　from　here。'　See　what　they　say。　They'll　chase　you　up　a　tree　and　set　fire　to　it。〃
　　Arthur　absorbed　this　unhappily。
　　〃Face　it；〃　said　Ford；　〃those　zeebs　over　there　are　your　ancestors；　not　these　poor　creatures　here。〃
　　He　went　over　to　where　the　apemen　creatures　were　rummaging　listlessly　with　the　stone　letters。　He　shook　his　head。
　　〃Put　the　Scrabble　away；　Arthur；〃　he　said；　〃it　won't　save　the　human　race；　because　this　lot　aren't　going　to　be　the　human　race。　The　human　race　is　currently　sitting　round　a　rock　on　the　other　side　of　this　hill　making　documentaries　about　themselves。〃
　　Arthur　winced。
　　〃There　must　be　something　we　can　do；〃　he　said。　A　terrible　sense　of　desolation　thrilled　through　his　body　that　he　should　be　here；　on　the　Earth；　the　Earth　which　had　lost　its　future　in　a　horrifying　arbitrary　catastrophe　and　which　now　seemed　set　to　lose　its　past　as　well。
　　〃No；〃　said　Ford；　〃there's　nothing　we　can　do。　This　doesn't　change　the　history　of　the　Earth；　you　see；　this　is　the　history　of　the　Earth。　Like　it　or　leave　it；　the　Golgafrinchans　are　the　people　you　are　descended　from。　in　two　million　years　they　get　destroyed　by　the　Vogons。　History　is　never　altered　you　see；　it　just　fits　together　like　a　jigsaw。　Funny　old　thing；　life；　isn't　it？〃
　　He　picked　up　the　letter　Q　and　hurled　it　into　a　distant　privet　bush　where　it　hit　a　young　rabbit。　The　rabbit　hurtled　off　in　terror　and　didn't　stop　till　it　was　set　upon　and　eaten　by　a　fox　which　choked　on　one　of　its　bones　and　died　on　the　bank　of　a　stream　which　subsequently　washed　it　away。
　　During　the　following　weeks　Ford　Prefect　swallowed　his　pride　and　struck　up　a　relationship　with　a　girl　who　had　been　a　personnel　officer　on　Golgafrincham；　and　he　was　terribly　upset　when　she　suddenly　passed　away　as　a　result　of　drinking　water　from　a　pool　that　had　been　polluted　by　the　body　of　a　dead　fox。　The　only　moral　it　is　possible　to　draw　from　this　story　is　that　one　should　never　throw　the　letter　Q　into　a　privet　bush；　but　unfortunately　there　are　times　when　it　is　unavoidable。
　　Like　most　of　the　really　crucial　things　in　life；　this　chain　of　events　was　pletely　invisible　to　Ford　Prefect　and　Arthur　Dent。　They　were　looking　sadly　at　one　of　the　natives　morosely　pushing　the　other　letters　around。
　　〃Poor　bloody　caveman；〃　said　Arthur。
　　〃They're　not。。。〃
　　〃What？〃
　　〃Oh　never　mind。〃
　　The　wretched　creature　let　out　a　pathetic　howling　noise　and　banged　on　the　rock。
　　〃It's　all　been　a　bit　of　waste　of　time　for　them；　hasn't　it？〃　said　Arthur。
　　〃Uh　uh　urghhhhh；〃　muttered　the　native　and　banged　on　the　rock　again。
　　〃They've　been　outevolved　by　telephone　sanitizers。〃
　　〃Urgh；　gr　gr；　gruh！〃　insisted　the　native；　continuing　to　bang　on　the　rock。
　　〃Why　does　he　keep　banging　on　the　rock？〃　said　Arthur。
　　〃I　think　he　probably　wants　you　to　Scrabble　with　him　again；〃　said　Ford；　〃he's　pointing　at　the　letters。〃
　　〃Probably　spelt　crzjgrdwldiwdc　again；　poor　bastard。　I　keep　on　telling　him　there's　only　one　g　in　crzjgrdwldiwdc。〃
　　The　native　banged　on　the　rock　again。
　　They　looked　over　his　shoulder。
　　Their　eyes　popped。
　　There　amongst　the　jumble　of　letters　were　eight　that　had　been　laid　out　in　a　clear　straight　line。
　　They　spelt　two　words。
　　The　words　were　these：
　　〃Forty…Two。〃
　　〃Grrrurgh　guh　guh；〃　explained　the　native。　He　swept　the　letters　angrily　away　and　went　and　mooched　under　a　nearby　tree　with　his　colleague。
　　Ford　and　Arthur　stared　at　him。　Then　they　stared　at　each　other。
　　〃Did　that　say　what　I　thought　it　said？〃　they　both　said　to　each　other。
　　〃Yes；〃　they　both　said。
　　〃Forty…two；〃　said　Arthur。
　　〃Forty…two；〃　said　Ford。
　　Arthur　ran　over　to　the　two　natives。
　　〃What　are　you　trying　to　tell　us？〃　he　shouted。　〃What's　it　supposed　to　mean？〃
　　One　of　them　rolled　over　on　the　ground；　kicked　his　legs　up　in　the　air；　rolled　over　again　and　went　to　sleep。
　　The　other　bounded　up　the　tree　and　threw　horse　chestnuts　at　Ford　Prefect。　Whatever　it　was　they　had　to　say；　they　had　already　said　it。
　　〃You　know　what　this　means；〃　said　Ford。
　　〃Not　entirely。〃
　　〃Forty…two　is　the　number　Deep　Thought　gave　as　being　the　Ultimate　Answer。〃
　　〃Yes。〃
　　And　the　Earth　is　the　puter　Deep　Thought　designed　and　built　to　calculate　the　Question　to　the　Ultimate　Answer。〃
　　〃So　we　are　led　to　believe。〃
　　〃And　organic　life　was　part　of　the　puter　matrix。〃
　　〃If　you　say　so。〃
　　〃I　do　say　so。　That　means　that　these　natives；　these　apemen　are　an　integral　part　of　the　puter　program；　and　that　we　and　the　Golgafrinchans　are　not。〃
　　〃But　the　cavemen　are　dying　out　and　the　Golgafrinchans　are　obviously　set　to　replace　them。〃
　　〃Exactly。　So　do　you　see　what　this　means？〃
　　〃What？〃
　　〃Cock　up；〃　said　Ford　Prefect。
　　Arthur　looked　around　him。
　　〃This　planet　is　having　a　pretty　bloody　time　of　it；〃　he　said。
　　Ford　puzzled　for　a　moment。
　　〃Still；　something　must　have　e　out　of　it；〃　he　said　at　last；　〃because　Marvin　said　he　could　see　the　Question　printed　in　your　brain　wave　patterns。〃
　　〃But。。。〃
　　〃Probably　the　wrong　one；　or　a　distortion　of　the　right　one。　It　might　give　us　a　clue　though　if　we　could　find　it。　I　don't　see　how　we　can　though。〃
　　They　moped　about　for　a　bit。　Arthur　sat　on　the　ground　and　started　pulling　up　bits　of　grass；　but　found　that　it　wasn't　an　occupation　he　could　get　deeply　engrossed　in。　It　wasn't　grass　he　could　believe　in；　the　trees　seemed　pointless；　the　rolling　hills　seemed　to　be　rolling　to　nowhere　and　the　future　seemed　just　a　tunnel　to　be　crawled　through。
　　Ford　fiddled　with　his　Sub…Etha　Sens…O…Matic。　It　was　silent。　He　sighed　and　put　it　away。
　　Arthur　picked　up　one　of　the　letter　stones　from　his　home…made　Scrabble　set。　It　was　a　T。　He　sighed　and　out　it　down　again。　The　letter　he　put　down　next　to　it　was　an　I。　That　spelt　IT。　He　tossed　another　couple　of　letters　next　to　them　They　were　an　S　and　an　H　as　it　happened。　By　a　curious　coincidence　the　resulting　word　perfectly　expressed　the　way　Arthur　was　feeling　about　things　just　then。　He　stared　at　it　for　a　moment。　He　hadn't　done　it　deliberately；　it　was　just　a　random　chance。　His　brain　got　slowly　into　first　gear。
　　〃Ford；〃　he　said　suddenly；　〃look；　if　that　Question　is　printed　in　my　brain　wave　patterns　but　I'm　not　consciously　aware　of　it　it　must　be　somewhere　in　my　unconscious。〃
　　〃Yes；　I　suppose　so。〃
　　〃There　might　be　a　way　of　bringing　that　unconscious　pattern　forward。〃
　　〃Oh　yes？〃
　　〃Yes；　by　introducing　some　random　element　that　can　be　shaped　by　that　pattern。〃　
　　〃Like　how？〃
　　〃Like　by　pulling　Scrabble　letters　out　of　a　bag　blindfolded。〃
　　Ford　leapt　to　his　feet。
　　〃Brilliant！〃　he　said。　He　tugged　his　towel　out　of　his　satchel　and　with　a　few　deft　knots　transformed　it　into　a　bag。
　　〃Totally　mad；〃　he　said；　〃utter　nonsense。　But　we'll　do　it　because　it's　brilliant　nonsense。　e　on；　e　on。〃
　　The　sun　passed　respectfully　behind　a　cloud。　A　few　small　sad　raindrops　fell。
　　They　piled　together　all　the　remaining　letters　and　dropped　them　into　the　bag。　They　shook　them　up。
　　〃Right；〃　said　Ford；　〃close　your　eyes。　Pull　them　out。　e　on　e　on；　e　on。〃
　　Arthur　closed　his　eyes　and　plunged　his　hand　into　the　towelful　of　stones。　He　jiggled　them　about；　pulled　out　four　and　handed　them　to　Ford。　Ford　laid　them　along　the　ground　in　the　order　he　got　them。
　　〃W；〃　said　Ford；　〃H；　A；　T。。。　What！〃
　　He　blinked。
　　〃I　think　it's　working！〃　he　said。
　　Arthur　pushed　three　more　at　him。
　　〃D；　O；　Y。。。　Doy。　Oh　perhaps　it　isn't　working；〃　said　Ford。
　　〃Here's　the　next　three。〃
　　〃O；　U；　G。。。　Doyoug。。。　It's　not　making　sense　I'm　afraid。〃
　　Arthur　pulled　another　two　from　the　bag。　Ford　put　them　in　place。
　　〃E；　T；　doyouget。。。　Do　you　get！〃　shouted　Ford；　〃it　is　working！　This　is　amazing；　it　really