Yes, said Marvin. Why stop now just when I’m hating it? I got to find Trillian and the guys. Hey, you any idea where they are? I mean, I just got a planet to choose from. Could take a while. They are very close, said Marvin dolefully. You can monitor them from here if you like. I better go get them, asserted Zaphod. Er, maybe they need some help, right? Maybe, said Marvin with unexpected authority in his lugubrious voice, it would be better if you monitored them from here. That young girl, he added unexpectedly, is one of the least benightedly unintelligent life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting. Zaphod took a moment or two to find his way through this labyrinthine string of negatives and emerged at the other end with surprise. Trillian? he said. She’s just a kid. Cute, yeah, but temperamental. You know how it is with women. Or perhaps you don’t. I assume you don’t. If you do I don’t want to hear about it. Plug us in. –…totally manipulated. What? said Zaphod. It was Trillian speaking. He turned round. The wall against which the Krikkit robot was sobbing had lit up to reveal a scene taking place in some other unknown part of the Krikkit Robot War zones. It seemed to be a council chamber of some kind Zaphod couldn’t make it out too clearly because of the robot slumped against the screen. He tried to move the robot, but it was heavy with its grief and tried to bite him, so he just looked around as best he could. Just think about it, said Trillian’s voice, your history is just a series of freakishly improbable events. And I know an improbable event when I see one. Your complete isolation from the Galaxy was freakish for a start. Right out on the very edge with a Dust Cloud around you. It’s a set-up. Obviously. Zaphod was mad with frustration because he couldn’t see the screen. The robot’s head was obscuring his view of the people Trillian as talking to, his multi-functional battleclub was obscuring the background, and the elbow of the arm it had pressed tragically against its brow was obscuring Trillian herself. Then, said Trillian, this spaceship that crash-landed on your planet. That’s really likely, isn’t it? Have you any idea of what the odds are against a drifting spaceship accidentally intersecting with the orbit of a planet? Hey, said Zaphod, she doesn’t know what the zark she’s talking about. I’ve seen that spaceship. It’s a fake. No deal. I thought it might be, said Marvin from his prison behind Zaphod. “是啊，”馬文說，“我已經很難過的時候你就不能別再提了？” “我得去找崔莉安他們。嘿，你知道他們在哪嗎？我是說，我要在一顆星球上找人呢，可得好找。” “他們很近了。”馬文哀愁地說，“如果你願意，可以在這裏監視到他們。” “我最好還是去找他們。”贊福德堅持己見，“嗯，也許他們需要幫助，對不對？” “也許，”馬文那陰鬱的嗓音突然帶上了一點堅決，“從這兒監視他們更好。那個女孩，”他突然補充道，“是我最沒有興趣避免不見到的極其無知的非智慧生物之一。” 贊福德想了好久，才把這團亂麻似的否定詞理順了。於是驚奇地問道： “崔莉安？”他說，“她只是個孩子。挺可愛的，嗯。但也挺任性。你知道，女人嘛。或許你不知道。我猜你不知道。即便你知道我也不想聽。連過去吧。” “……完全是受了操縱。” “什麼？”贊福德問。 那是崔莉安在說話。他轉過身去。 剛纔版求機器人靠着哭的那堵牆，現在變成了屏幕。屏幕上顯示出版求戰區的某個地方，看上去像個會議廳——贊福德無法確定，因爲那機器人靠在上面。 他想把機器人挪開，但太重了。而且人家正忙着傷心呢，贊福德伸過手去，它還會咬。所以贊福德只好圍着它看了。 “想想吧，”崔莉安說，“你們的歷史就是一連串古怪的不可能事件。我要是碰上不可能事件，我會有意識的。你們一開始就完全與銀河系隔絕，已經夠奇怪了。外面還恰好有團雲。這是個圈套。很明顯。” 贊福德焦躁不堪，他什麼也看不見。機器人的頭遮住了聽崔莉安說話的人，它的多功能戰棒遮住了北京，它舉起來蒙着眼睛的手則遮住了崔莉安。 “然後，”崔莉安說，“那艘飛船落到你們星球上。這是很有可能的——真是這樣嗎？你知不知道一艘太空飛船恰好橫穿某顆行星軌道的機率有多小？” “嘿，”贊福德說，“她不知道自己在說什麼，我見過那飛船，假的。不可能的。” “我想它應該是假的。”馬文在它的“牢房”裏接口道。
