英文原版

And that’s the deciding factor. We can’t win against obsession. They care, we don’t. They win.
I care about lots of things, said Slartibartfast, his voice trembling partly with annoyance, but partly also with uncertainty.
Such as?
Well, said the old man, life, the Universe. Everything, really. Fjords.
Would you die for them?
Fjords? blinked Slartibartfast in surprise. No.
Well then.
Wouldn’t see the point, to be honest.
And I still can’t see the connection, said Arthur, with whelks.
Ford could feel the conversation slipping out of his control, and refused to be sidetracked by anything at this point.
The point is, he hissed, that we are not obsessive people, and we don’t stand a chance against…
Except for your sudden obsession with whelks, pursued Arthur, which I still haven’t understood.
Will you please leave whelks out of it?
I will if you will, said Arthur. You brought the subject up.
It was an error, said Ford, forget them. The point is this.
He leant forward and rested his forehead on the tips of his fingers.
What was I talking about? he said wearily.
Let’s just go down to the party, said Slartibartfast, for whatever reason. He stood up, shaking his head.
I think that’s what I was trying to say, said Ford.
For some unexplained reason, the teleport cubicles were in the bathroom.
“而那是关键因素。我们赢不了着魔的人。他们在乎，我们不在乎。他们会赢。”
“我在乎很多事。” 司拉提巴特法斯说，他的声音在颤抖，一半因为恼火，一半却是因为不确定。
“比如？”
“嗯，”老人说，“生命，宇宙，一切。真的。峡湾。”
“你会为它们而死吗？”
“峡湾？” 司拉提巴特法斯惊讶地眨眨眼，“不。”
“就是罗。”
“可我还是不知道重点，坦白地说。”
“我也不知道它有什么联系，”阿瑟说，“和娥螺之间。”
福特感到，谈话渐渐不被他所控制，但他不允许话题有任何转变。
“重点是，”他吸了口气，“我们不是着魔的人，我们根本没有机会去……”
“你倒突然对娥螺着了魔。”阿瑟补上一句，“我还是不明白。”
“你能不能不谈娥螺！？”
“你不谈我就不谈。”阿瑟说，“你起的头。”
“我错了，”福特说，“忘了它吧。这才是重点。”
他往前靠过来，用手指撑起额头。
“我刚才说什么来着？”他弱弱地问道。
“咱们去参加派对吧。” 司拉提巴特法斯说，“不管为了什么。”他一边站起来，一边摇着头。
“我想那就是我要说的。”福特说。
不知为什么，传输通道在浴室里。

背景阅读

作者简介：