The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (tuhgttg-1) by Douglas Adams

Author:Douglas Adams [Adams, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sf_humor
ISBN: 0345391802
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 1995-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Marvin trudged on down the corridor, still moaning.

“… and then of course I’ve got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left hand side…”

“No?” said Arthur grimly as he walked along beside him. “Really?”

“Oh yes,” said Marvin, “I mean I’ve asked for them to be replaced but no one ever listens.”

“I can imagine.”

Vague whistling and humming noises were coming from Ford. “Well well well,” he kept saying to himself, “Zaphod Beeblebrox…”

Suddenly Marvin stopped, and held up a hand.

“You know what’s happened now of course?”

“No, what?” said Arthur, who didn’t want to know.

“We’ve arrived at another of those doors.”

There was a sliding door let into the side of the corridor. Marvin eyed it suspiciously.

“Well?” said Ford impatiently. “Do we go through?”

“Do we go through?” mimicked Marvin. “Yes. This is the entrance to the bridge. I was told to take you to the bridge. Probably the highest demand that will be made on my intellectual capacities today I shouldn’t wonder.”

Slowly, with great loathing, he stepped towards the door, like a hunter stalking his prey. Suddenly it slid open.

“Thank you,” it said, “for making a simple door very happy.”

Deep in Marvin’s thorax gears ground.

“Funny,” he intoned funerally, “how just when you think life can’t possibly get any worse it suddenly does.”

He heaved himself through the door and left Ford and Arthur staring at each other and shrugging their shoulders. From inside they heard Marvin’s voice again.

“I suppose you want to see the aliens now,” he said. “Do you want me to sit in a corner and rust, or just fall apart where I’m standing?”

“Yeah, just show them in would you Marvin?” came another voice.

Arthur looked at Ford and was astonished to see him laughing.

“What’s…?”

“Shhh,” said Ford, “come in.”

He stepped through into the bridge.

Arthur followed him in nervously and was astonished to see a man lolling back in a chair with his feet on a control console picking the teeth in his right-hand head with his left hand. The right-hand head seemed to be thoroughly preoccupied with this task, but the left-hand one was grinning a broad, relaxed, nonchalant grin. The number of things that Arthur couldn’t believe he was seeing was fairly large. His jaw flapped about at a loose end for a while.

The peculiar man waved a lazy wave at Ford and with an appalling affectation of nonchalance said, “Ford, hi, how are you? Glad you could drop in.”

Ford was not going to be outcooled.

“Zaphod,” he drawled, “great to see you, you’re looking well, the extra arm suits you. Nice ship you’ve stolen.”

Arthur goggled at him.

“You mean you know this guy?” he said, waving a wild finger at Zaphod.

“Know him!” exclaimed Ford, “he’s…” he paused, and decided to do the introductions the other way round.

“Oh, Zaphod, this is a friend of mine, Arthur Dent,” he said, “I saved him when his planet blew up.”

“Oh sure,” said Zaphod, “hi Arthur, glad you could make it.” His right-hand head looked round casually, said “hi” and went back to having his teeth picked.

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