The world's about to end

The world's about to end

The book is a guide book, a travel book.

It is one of the most remarkable, certainly the most successful, books ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor - more popular than LIFE BEGINS AT FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY, better selling than THE BIG BANG THEORY - A PERSONAL VIEW by Eccentrica Gallumbits (the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six) and more controversial than Oolon Colluphid's latest block-busting title EVERYTHING YOU NEVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT HAVE BEEN FORCED TO FIND OUT.

It is of course that invaluable companion for all those who want to see the marvels of the known Universe for less than thirty Altairian Dollars a day - THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.

***

Ford slapped a five-pound note on the bar. He said, 'Keep the change.'

'What, from a fiver? Thank you, sir.'

'You've got ten minutes left to spend it.'

The barman decided simply to walk away for a bit.

'Ford,' said Arthur, 'would you please tell me what the hell is going on?'

Ford said, 'Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.'

'Very deep,' said Arthur, 'you should send that in to the READER'S DIGEST. They've got a page for people like you.'...

'All right,' said Ford. 'How would you react if I said that I'm not from Guildford after all, but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse?'

Arthur shrugged in a so-so sort of way.

'I don't know,' he said, taking a pull of beer.

Ford gave up. It really wasn't worth bothering at the moment, what with the world being about to end. He just said:

'Drink up.'

He added, perfectly factually:

'The world's about to end.'

(From Douglas Adams: THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, A TRILOGY IN FOUR PARTS, Pan Books/William Heinemann Ltd, Copyright © Serious Production Ltd.)

Author of BBC series Dr. Who?

WF?

Kishalay Sinha কিশলয় সিনহা किशलय सिन्हा जी [G]