pkuong/hitchhikersguide · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 65
They all shook their heads.

"Oh well," he said, and stood up.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen. Ford
peered through the thick smoke that was billowing out of the
burning computer.

Cautiously he stepped out into the open.

Still nothing happened.

Twenty yards away he could dimly see through the smoke the
space-suited figure of one of the cops. He was lying in a
crumpled heap on the ground. Twenty yards in the other direction
lay the second man. No one else was anywhere to be seen.

This struck Ford as being extremely odd.

Slowly, nervously, he walked towards the first one. The body lay
reassuringly still as he approached it, and continued to lie
reassuringly still as he reached it and put his foot down on the
Kill-O-Zap gun that still dangled from its limp fingers.

He reached down and picked it up, meeting no resistance.

The cop was quite clearly dead.

A quick examination revealed him to be from Blagulon Kappa - he
was a methane-breathing life form, dependent on his space suit
for survival in the thin oxygen atmosphere of Magrathea.

The tiny life-support system computer on his backpack appeared
unexpectedly to have blown up.

Ford poked around in it in considerable astonishment. These
miniature suit computers usually had the full back-up of the main
computer back on the ship, with which they were directly linked
through the sub-etha. Such a system was fail-safe in all
circumstances other than total feedback malfunction, which was
unheard of.

He hurried over to the other prone figure, and discovered that
exactly the same impossible thing had happened to him, presumably
simultaneously.

He called the others over to look. They came, shared his
astonishment, but not his curiosity.

"Let's get shot out of this hole," said Zaphod. "If whatever I'm
supposed to be looking for is here, I don't want it." He grabbed
the second Kill-O-Zap gun, blasted a perfectly harmless
accounting computer and rushed out into the corridor, followed by
the others. He very nearly blasted hell out of an aircar that
stood waiting for them a few yards away.

The aircar was empty, but Arthur recognized it as belonging to
Slartibartfast.

It had a note from him pinned to part of its sparse instrument
panel. The note had an arrow drawn on it, pointing at one of the
controls.

It said, This is probably the best button to press.

=================================================================
Chapter 34

The aircar rocketed them at speeds in excess of R17 through the
steel tunnels that lead out onto the appalling surface of the
planet which was now in the grip of yet another drear morning
twilight. Ghastly grey lights congealed on the land.

R is a velocity measure, defined as a reasonable speed of travel
that is consistent with health, mental wellbeing and not being
more than say five minutes late. It is therefore clearly an
almost infinitely variable figure according to circumstances,
since the first two factors vary not only with speed taken as an
absolute, but also with awareness of the third factor. Unless
handled with tranquility this equation can result in considerable
stress, ulcers and even death.

R17 is not a fixed velocity, but it is clearly far too fast.

The aircar flung itself through the air at R17 and above,
deposited them next to the Heart of Gold which stood starkly on
the frozen ground like a bleached bone, and then precipitately
hurled itself back in the direction whence they had come,
presumably on important business of its own.

Shivering, the four of them stood and looked at the ship.

Beside it stood another one.

It was the Blagulon Kappa policecraft, a bulbous sharklike
affair, slate green in colour and smothered with black stencilled
letters of varying degrees of size and unfriendliness. The
letters informed anyone who cared to read them as to where the

They all shook their heads.

"Oh well," he said, and stood up.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen. Ford

peered through the thick smoke that was billowing out of the

burning computer.

Cautiously he stepped out into the open.

Still nothing happened.

Twenty yards away he could dimly see through the smoke the

space-suited figure of one of the cops. He was lying in a

crumpled heap on the ground. Twenty yards in the other direction

lay the second man. No one else was anywhere to be seen.

This struck Ford as being extremely odd.

Slowly, nervously, he walked towards the first one. The body lay

reassuringly still as he approached it, and continued to lie

reassuringly still as he reached it and put his foot down on the

Kill-O-Zap gun that still dangled from its limp fingers.

He reached down and picked it up, meeting no resistance.

The cop was quite clearly dead.

A quick examination revealed him to be from Blagulon Kappa - he

was a methane-breathing life form, dependent on his space suit

for survival in the thin oxygen atmosphere of Magrathea.

The tiny life-support system computer on his backpack appeared

unexpectedly to have blown up.

Ford poked around in it in considerable astonishment. These

miniature suit computers usually had the full back-up of the main

computer back on the ship, with which they were directly linked

through the sub-etha. Such a system was fail-safe in all

circumstances other than total feedback malfunction, which was

unheard of.

He hurried over to the other prone figure, and discovered that

exactly the same impossible thing had happened to him, presumably

simultaneously.

He called the others over to look. They came, shared his

astonishment, but not his curiosity.

"Let's get shot out of this hole," said Zaphod. "If whatever I'm

supposed to be looking for is here, I don't want it." He grabbed

the second Kill-O-Zap gun, blasted a perfectly harmless

accounting computer and rushed out into the corridor, followed by

the others. He very nearly blasted hell out of an aircar that

stood waiting for them a few yards away.

The aircar was empty, but Arthur recognized it as belonging to

Slartibartfast.

It had a note from him pinned to part of its sparse instrument

panel. The note had an arrow drawn on it, pointing at one of the

controls.

It said, This is probably the best button to press.

=================================================================

Chapter 34

The aircar rocketed them at speeds in excess of R17 through the

steel tunnels that lead out onto the appalling surface of the

planet which was now in the grip of yet another drear morning

twilight. Ghastly grey lights congealed on the land.

R is a velocity measure, defined as a reasonable speed of travel

that is consistent with health, mental wellbeing and not being

more than say five minutes late. It is therefore clearly an

almost infinitely variable figure according to circumstances,

since the first two factors vary not only with speed taken as an

absolute, but also with awareness of the third factor. Unless

handled with tranquility this equation can result in considerable

stress, ulcers and even death.

R17 is not a fixed velocity, but it is clearly far too fast.

The aircar flung itself through the air at R17 and above,

deposited them next to the Heart of Gold which stood starkly on

the frozen ground like a bleached bone, and then precipitately

hurled itself back in the direction whence they had come,

presumably on important business of its own.

Shivering, the four of them stood and looked at the ship.

Beside it stood another one.

It was the Blagulon Kappa policecraft, a bulbous sharklike

affair, slate green in colour and smothered with black stencilled

letters of varying degrees of size and unfriendliness. The

letters informed anyone who cared to read them as to where the