There was also the matter of revenge, of course, said Hactar, with a sharpness which was new in his voice.
Remember, he said, that I was pulverized, and then left in a crippled and semi-impotent state for billions of years. I honestly would rather wipe out the Universe. You would feel the same way, believe me.
He paused again, as eddies swept through the Dust.
But primarily, he said in his former, wistful tone, I was trying to fulfill my function. Ah well.
Trillian said:
Does it worry you that you have failed?
Have I failed? whispered Hactar. The image of the computer on the psychiatrist’s couch began slowly to fade again.
Ah well, ah well, the fading voice intoned again. No, failure doesn’t bother me now.
You know what we have to do? said Trillian, her voice cold and businesslike.
Yes, said Hactar, you’re going to disperse me. You are going to destroy my consciousness. Please be my guest after all these aeons, oblivion is all I crave. If I haven’t already fulfilled my function, then it’s too late now. Thank you and good night.
The sofa vanished.
The tea table vanished.
The couch and the computer vanished. the walls were gone. Arthur and Trillian made their curious way back into the Heart of Gold.
Well, that, said Arthur, would appear to be that.
The flames danced higher in front of him and then subsided. A few last licks and they were gone, leaving him with just a pile of Ashes, where a few minutes previously there had been the Wooden Pillar of Nature and Spirituality.
He scooped them off the hob of the Heart of Gold’s Gamma barbecue, put them in a paper bag, and walked back into the bridge.
I think we should take them back, he said. I feel that very strongly.
He had already had an argument with Slartibartfast on this matter, and eventually the old man had got annoyed and left. He had returned to his own ship the Bistromath, had a furious row with the waiter and disappeared off into an entirely subjective idea of what space was.
The argument had arisen because Arthur’s idea of returning the Ashes to Lord’s Cricket Ground at the same moment that they were originally taken would involve travelling back in time a day or so, and this was precisely the sort of gratuitous and irresponsible mucking about that the Campaign for Real Time was trying to put a stop to.
Yes, Arthur had said, but you try and explain that to the MCC, and he would hear no more against the idea.
I think, he said again, and stopped. The reason he started to say it again was because no one had listened to him the first time, and the reason he stopped was because it looked fairly clear that no one was going to listen to him this time either.
Ford, Zaphod and Trillian were watching the visiscreens intently as Hactar was dispersing under pressure from a vibration field which the Heart of Gold was pumping into it.
What did it say? asked Ford.
I thought I heard it say, said Trillian in a puzzle voice, “What’s done is done… I have fulfilled my function…”
I think we should take these back, said Arthur holding up the bag containing the Ashes. I feel that very strongly.
“当然，也有报复的成分。”黑克特的声音里竟然多了一分恶毒。
“别忘了，”他说，“我被他们弄得粉身碎骨。残废着、瘫痪着过了几亿万年。我真心希望毁掉整个宇宙。相信我，要是你也会这么想的。”
他停了一下。尘云中卷起许多漩子。
“但是，首先……”黑克特又恢复了依依不舍的语调，“我是为了完成任务。是啊。”
崔莉安说：
“你失败了，你难过吗？”
“我失败了吗？”黑克特轻声道。精神治疗椅上，那电脑的影象又开始慢慢消退了。
“是啊，是啊。”那虚弱的声音又响了起来，“不会的。失败已与我无关。”
“你知道我们将要做什么吧？”崔莉安的声音理智而冷漠。
“是的。”黑克特说，“你们将逐散我。你们将摧毁我的意识。一切请便。经过漫长的岁月，如今我只求一死。如果说，我依然没能完成任务，那也已经太迟了。谢谢你们。晚安。”
沙发消失了。
茶几消失了。
长椅和电脑消失了。墙壁不见了。阿瑟和崔莉安又神奇般地踏着真空向黄金之心走去。
“好啦。”阿瑟说，“就这样了。”
他面前的火焰高高地腾起，随后，倏然熄灭。几条小火舌窜了窜，还是消失了。只剩下一堆灰烬。几分钟前，它还是自然与精神力的木柱。
阿瑟把灰烬从架子上弄下来——这是黄金之心飞船上的伽玛射线烧烤架。他把灰烬放进纸袋，走回控制舱。
“我想我们应该把它送回去。”他说，“我有强烈的预感。”
刚才，他和司拉提巴特法斯已经就此事进行了一番争论。最后老人觉得很恼火就走了，回自己的意馆数学飞船去了。他和侍者大吵了一架，然后带着满脑子的极端主义思想离开了。
争论的导火索，是因为阿瑟希望把这些灰烬带回罗德板球场，而且要刚好在他们拿走的地点和时间。因此大家必须进行时间旅行。对于真实时间运动来说，这种事恰恰是最没有理由、完全不负责任的行为，必须予以制止。
“好啊，”阿瑟道，“那你去跟MCC①解释啊。”然后就没人答话了。
“我想”他又说道，然后又闭嘴了。他开口说“我想”是因为没人听他说话。他闭嘴是因为，显然还是没人听他说话。
福特、赞福德和崔莉安，正专心盯着显示屏。他们看见，在黄金之心发出的振动力场下，黑克特正在分散、解体。
“它说什么？”福特问。
“我想我听见的是，”崔莉安困惑地说，“‘过去的毕竟过去了……我已完成任务……’”
“我想我们应该把它送回去，”阿瑟拿着那袋灰烬，“我有强烈的预感。”