Chapter 3
Important facts from Galactic history, number one:
(Reproduced from the Siderial Daily Mentioner’s Book of popular Galactic History.)
The night sky over the planet Krikkit is the least interesting sight in the entire Universe.
It was a charming and delightful day at Lord’s as Ford and Arthur tumbled haphazardly out of a space-time anomaly and hit the immaculate turf rather hard.
The applause of the crowd was tremendous. It wasn’t for them, but instinctively they bowed anyway, which was fortunate because the small red heavy ball which the crowd actually had been applauding whistled mere millimetres over Arthur’s head. In the crowd a man collapsed.
They threw themselves back to the ground which seemed to spin hideously around them.
What was that? hissed Arthur.
Something red, hissed Ford back at him.
Where are we?
Er, somewhere green.
Shapes, muttered Arthur. I need shapes.
The applause of the crowd had been rapidly succeeded by gasps of astonishment, and the awkward titters of hundreds of people who could not yet make up their minds about whether to believe what they had just seen or not.
This your sofa? said a voice.
What was that? whispered Ford.
Arthur looked up.