Chapter 23 All right, shouted Ford at Arthur, so I’m a coward, the point is I’m still alive. They were back aboard the Starship Bistromath, so was Slartibartfast, so was Trillian. Harmony and concord were not. Well, so am I alive, aren’t I? retaliated Arthur, haggard with adventure and anger. His eyebrows were leaping up and down as if they wanted to punch each other. You damn nearly weren’t, exploded Ford. Arthur turned sharply to Slartibartfast, who was sitting in his pilot couch on the flight deck gazing thoughtfully into the bottom of a bottle which was telling him something he clearly couldn’t fathom. He appealed to him. Do you think he understands the first word I’ve been saying? he said, quivering with emotion. I don’t know, replied Slartibartfast, a little abstractedly. I’m not sure, he added, glancing up very briefly, that I do. He stared at his instruments with renewed vigor and bafflement. You’ll have to explain it to us again, he said. Well… But later. Terrible things are afoot. He tapped the pseudo-glass of the bottle bottom. We fared rather pathetically at the party, I’m afraid, he said, and our only hope now is to try to prevent the robots from using the Key in the Lock. How in heaven we do that I don’t know, he muttered. Just have to go there, I suppose. Can’t say I like the idea at all. Probably end up dead. Where is Trillian anyway? said Arthur with a sudden affectation of unconcern. What he had been angry about was that Ford had berated him for wasting time over all the business with the Thunder God when they could have been making a rather more rapid escape. Arthur’s own opinion, and he had offered it for whatever anybody might have felt it was worth, was that he had been extraordinarily brave and resourceful. The prevailing view seemed to be that his opinion was not worth a pair of fetid dingo’s kidneys. What really hurt, though, was that Trillian didn’t seem to react much one way or the other and had wandered off somewhere. And where are my potato crisps? said Ford. They are both, said Slartibartfast, without looking up, in the Room of Informational Illusions. I think that your young lady friend is trying to understand some problems of Galactic history. I think the potato crisps are probably helping her. 23 “好吧！”福特對阿瑟叫道，“對，我是個懦夫，可我至少還活着。”衆人已經登上意館數學飛船，司拉提巴特法斯，崔莉安，都在這兒。 “對啊，可我也活着，不是嗎？”阿瑟立即尖銳地回擊。他的眉毛上下跳着，像在打架似的。 “你小子差點就沒命了！”福特吼到。 阿瑟掉頭轉向司拉提巴特法斯，司拉提巴特法斯正坐在駕駛座上，盯着那瓶酒的底部，若有所思——這東西也許暗藏玄機。阿瑟問他： “你說，他有沒有聽懂我剛纔的話？”他很激動地問道。 “不知道，” 司拉提巴特法斯特心不在焉地回答，“我不確定自己聽清沒。”他看了阿瑟一眼，又將視線投向那個瓶子，比剛纔更爲專注、更爲嚴肅，“你可以解釋解釋。”他說。 “就是……” “不過等會兒。可怕的事就要來臨了。” 他輕輕敲着那假玻璃做的酒瓶子。 “恐怕，咱們的派對之行相當不成功。”他說，“現在，咱們的唯一希望，就是阻止機器人使用鑰匙了。怎麼阻止？我也不知道。”他喃喃地說，“總之得去。我想。當然，我也不希望這樣。也許會死吧。” “崔莉安呢？”阿瑟突然注意到。他很生福特的氣，因爲福特抱怨說，他不該老跟雷神糾纏，這樣大家還能逃得更快。阿瑟卻認爲——他也希望大家都認同——自己的行爲機智又勇敢。 可惜，大家普遍認爲，他的想法一文不值。更傷人的是，崔莉安什麼表示也沒有，而且不知又跑哪兒去了 “我的薯片又在哪兒？“福特問。 “他們倆，” 司拉提巴特法斯頭也不擡地答道，“都在信息幻影室裏。我猜那位女士正在研究一些銀河史的問題。我猜，那包薯片正在幫忙吧。”
