And Another Thing... Part 38

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Original full-cast radio dramas Starring Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Stephen Moore and a full supporting cast

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Includes bonus programme: Douglas Adams's Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams's Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

SPECIAL EDITION.

Includes bonus interview with Douglas Adams

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The ULTIMATE GUIDE to the ULTIMATE QUESTION.

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ZZ9 PLURAL PLURAL Z Z ALPHA ALPHAis the Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyAppreciation Society, founded in 1980. Owning a towel is not obligatory, but it"is about the most ma.s.sively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have."If you are interested in the the Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's trilogy and the works of Douglas Adams, we publish a quarterly magazine trilogy and the works of Douglas Adams, we publish a quarterly magazine Mostly Harmless Mostly Harmless with news, reviews, artwork, fiction and compet.i.tions with news, reviews, artwork, fiction and compet.i.tionsZZ9 also offer a range of Guide-related merchandise, available to members by post, which includes towels, T-s.h.i.+rts and our famous two-headed, three-armed Beeblebears. ZZ9 organises meetings around the UK (and occasionally other countries), and has members all over the world. On subscribing, members receive one year's members.h.i.+p and four copies of the magazine.Visit www.zz9.org you can join online or download a members.h.i.+p form. you can join online or download a members.h.i.+p form.

DON'T PANIC!THE END IS NIGH.But nevermind. You can find out more about life, the universe and everything, including: The story behind the least expected comeback of all s.p.a.ce and time The song inspired by the book, 'And Another Thing' by The Blizzards, taken from their debut alb.u.m 'Domino Effect' The greatest Hitchhiker fans this side of the galaxy Improbable events, ridiculous games and unexpected compet.i.tions to celebrate 30 years of a wholly remarkable bookJust type the following into any nearby terminal:

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A Rough Guide to The Science of Hitchhiker's The few scientists who appear in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are not spared the mockery dished out to pract.i.tioners of most other professions. One particular group, for instance, dedicate their time to thoroughly pointless experiments involving a robot and a herring sandwich. Yet Adams was, of course, very far from being sceptical of scientific endeavour as a whole. are not spared the mockery dished out to pract.i.tioners of most other professions. One particular group, for instance, dedicate their time to thoroughly pointless experiments involving a robot and a herring sandwich. Yet Adams was, of course, very far from being sceptical of scientific endeavour as a whole.

Science fiction and science fact have long enjoyed a symbiotic relations.h.i.+p, and several concepts in Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's are at least half-rooted in real-life discourse. Unfortunately, many involve quantum theory, in which physics steers dangerously close to metaphysics, in the process mangling the lay reader's brain as surely as a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Here, then, is an attempt to explain some of the thinking behind concepts such as time travel and parallel universes, without once mentioning Schrodinger's cat. (If you haven't yet become acquainted with that hypothetical feline, simultaneously dead and alive inside a sealed box, you'd be well advised to keep it that way.) The following pages also doc.u.ment how some of Adams's more inspired creations the "Dish of the Day", sub-etha networks and the like have proved impressively prescient of later developments in the realms of science and technology. are at least half-rooted in real-life discourse. Unfortunately, many involve quantum theory, in which physics steers dangerously close to metaphysics, in the process mangling the lay reader's brain as surely as a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Here, then, is an attempt to explain some of the thinking behind concepts such as time travel and parallel universes, without once mentioning Schrodinger's cat. (If you haven't yet become acquainted with that hypothetical feline, simultaneously dead and alive inside a sealed box, you'd be well advised to keep it that way.) The following pages also doc.u.ment how some of Adams's more inspired creations the "Dish of the Day", sub-etha networks and the like have proved impressively prescient of later developments in the realms of science and technology.

The birth of the Universe The best explanation of the Universe's origins in the Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's saga comes from an inebriated Ford Prefect although he promptly ruins everything by announcing that he was not detailing the Universe's origins at all, but simply describing a good way to relax. Still, Ford constructs a decent, if rather basic, descriptive model: simply fill a bath with fine sand, film it all trickling down the plughole, and then reverse the film. That, he says, is the birth of the Universe. saga comes from an inebriated Ford Prefect although he promptly ruins everything by announcing that he was not detailing the Universe's origins at all, but simply describing a good way to relax. Still, Ford constructs a decent, if rather basic, descriptive model: simply fill a bath with fine sand, film it all trickling down the plughole, and then reverse the film. That, he says, is the birth of the Universe.

Ford is essentially describing the Big Bang theory, the idea that the Universe exploded from an infinitely dense singularity approximately 15 billion years ago. In Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's, the theory is referred to indirectly via the "Big Bang Burger Bar", and in Eccentrica Gallumbits' description of Zaphod as "the Best Bang since the Big One".

Most scientists seem to regard the Big Bang as the best explanation we've got for the birth of our Universe. The tricky question, and not just in terms of a measurement of Zaphod's s.e.xual potency, is: what was there before the Big Bang? One theory states that the Big Bang wasn't the beginning of everything at all, merely the beginning of our our Universe. Another, supported by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, says that the Big Bang could have been preceded by an unstable, ten-dimensional universe; the Big Bang represented that universe splitting into the four dimensions of our current existence. Still others say that we can't hope to answer pesky questions like this until we have developed a Theory of Everything see Universe. Another, supported by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, says that the Big Bang could have been preceded by an unstable, ten-dimensional universe; the Big Bang represented that universe splitting into the four dimensions of our current existence. Still others say that we can't hope to answer pesky questions like this until we have developed a Theory of Everything see the Ultimate Answer the Ultimate Answer.

Computers The computer population of Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's ranges from the irritating (Eddie) to the downright malevolent (Hactar). Its most prominent figures, however, are Deep Thought and its successor Earth both, incidentally, portrayed in a rather more positive light. ranges from the irritating (Eddie) to the downright malevolent (Hactar). Its most prominent figures, however, are Deep Thought and its successor Earth both, incidentally, portrayed in a rather more positive light.

As with many aspects of Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's, Adams's most fantastical, far-fetched predictions have been achieved, even surpa.s.sed by the staggering speed of technological progress. It now seems ludicrous to contemplate a computer that is, like Deep Thought, as big as a small city. And the power of computers has increased beyond all recognition. We are not told the speed at which Deep Thought processes data, but it's debatable whether it could compete with IBM's Roadrunner computer, which made computing history in 2008 when it achieved a processing speed of more than a thousand trillion operations a second.

Even if Deep Thought were able to triumph over Roadrunner in a game of cyber Top Trumps, its period of triumph would be limited due to Moore's Law, which effectively states that computer processing speed doubles every two years, thus increasing exponentially. Adams even refers indirectly to computer obsolescence, in that Deep Thought can only calculate the Ultimate Answer; working out the Ultimate Question requires a more powerful successor.

Incidentally, Deep Thought itself has become a reality in one very literal sense, in the form of a chess computer named in its honour. Though that computer lost to grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1989, Kasparov was subsequently defeated by its successor not planet Earth, but another chess computer called Deep Blue. Ironically, the Earth too is in a sense fulfilling its function as a supercomputer, following the rise of the Internet (see sub-etha networks sub-etha networks). Unlike the Earth designed by Deep Thought, however, our version seems to be largely dedicated to p.o.r.nography.

Dish of the Day One of the greatest bit-part characters in Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's is the Dish of the Day, a large dairy animal that actually wants to be eaten so much so that it will recommend various parts of its anatomy to diners. Arthur is horrified by the concept, though Zaphod points out that eating an animal that wants to be eaten is surely better than eating one that doesn't. The animal heartily agrees, disapproving of Arthur's preference for a green salad; as it explains, it knows many vegetables that, by contrast, don't want to be eaten at all. is the Dish of the Day, a large dairy animal that actually wants to be eaten so much so that it will recommend various parts of its anatomy to diners. Arthur is horrified by the concept, though Zaphod points out that eating an animal that wants to be eaten is surely better than eating one that doesn't. The animal heartily agrees, disapproving of Arthur's preference for a green salad; as it explains, it knows many vegetables that, by contrast, don't want to be eaten at all.

On one level, the Dish of the Day and the morals of consuming said creature in relation to a green salad is just a quick joke at the expense of the vegetarian lobby. As usual, however, there are serious issues alongside the humour, most notably in the parallels with genetically modified food. The Dish of the Day was created only through careful breeding of the kind that has been going on for hundreds of years and has, for example, bred the mothering instinct out of chickens to increase their laying rate but GM has vastly increased our ability to manipulate nature in such ways.

As science-fiction author A.M. Dellamonica has pointed out, if Adams was alluding to GM food, he was predicting, rather than commenting on, a societal trend. The Flavr Savr tomato was not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration until 1994, a decade and a half after Adams created the Dish of the Day. But, yet again, Adams's fiction was very close to the mark: Dellamonica notes that Arthur's refusal to consume his Dish of the Day steak with the same gusto as Ford or Zaphod is very much echoed in twenty-first-century scepticism regarding transgenic food.

Though talking cows are a way off, science writer Michael Hanlon has noted that the Dish of the Day throws up ethical dilemmas that are not so far removed from our own reality, particularly given NASA's experiments with growing meat in a Petri dish. If, for instance, it became possible to breed animals that didn't feel pain, would vegetarians feel comfortable eating them?

The end of the Universe Though we never get to see the actual end of all Creation, Adams does offer some idea of what to expect via the extended sequence in Milliways, the "Restaurant at the End of the Universe". Max Quordlepleen, the ultimate s...o...b..z host, describes the last remaining red-hot suns being destroyed by photon storms, followed by an incredibly bright light before all of Infinity collapses into a void.

This, essentially, is the reverse of the Big Bang theory (see the birth of the Universe the birth of the Universe), a point Zaphod makes explicit by describing the Milliways climax as "nothing but a gnab gib". Known by scientists as the Big Crunch hypothesis, this is certainly accepted as one possible (although unlikely) way the Universe could end, perhaps in a few tens of billions of years. The science basically says that the expansion of the Universe would slow down and eventually be stopped by the immense gravitational pull of all the matter and dark matter. Everything would then implode into the infinitely dense singularity in which it existed prior to the Big Bang.

In Adams's scenario, this moment is followed by a state of affairs "that wasn't merely a vacuum, it was simply nothing". But there are those who suspect that there may be a more cyclical process at work, just as the Time Turbines pull Milliways back into existence, ready for the lunch sitting. According to this view, the contraction of the Universe would be swiftly followed by another Big Bang, the whole Universe constantly yo-yoing between the Bang and the Crunch. Though no entirely respectable scientist has put it in quite quite these terms, it's basically the existence of Agrajag blown up to cosmic scale. these terms, it's basically the existence of Agrajag blown up to cosmic scale.

The Big Crunch, and the a.s.sociated Big Bounce, is only one theory of the end of the Universe, however. Another possibility is the Big Freeze, whereby the Universe simply continues to expand ad infinitum. Stars burn out and the temperature of the Universe drops, leaving a cold, dark wasteland of dead stars that exists for all eternity. There is also a third theory, dubbed Steady State, that says the Universe will continue to expand but is nevertheless in a state of equilibrium, because new matter is being continuously created to populate the expanding Universe. In other words, no Big Freeze, no Big Crunch, and everyone lives happily ever after. Unfortunately for us, however, this last scenario is considered highly unlikely by the majority of scientists.

The Guide Though its appearance has changed somewhat between different formats of the story, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy remains fundamentally an electronic guidebook with the words "Don't Panic" printed on the front. Of course, what might have seemed futuristic in the late 1970s has now become ubiquitous, even old-fas.h.i.+oned. In 1984's remains fundamentally an electronic guidebook with the words "Don't Panic" printed on the front. Of course, what might have seemed futuristic in the late 1970s has now become ubiquitous, even old-fas.h.i.+oned. In 1984's So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Adams compares The Guide to a small laptop, but for a machine that is meant to represent cutting-edge technology, even that description seems outmoded in an age when even a mobile phone can take photos and send emails.

To give him his due, however, Adams was well aware of subsequent technological developments, particularly those that enabled mobile Internet access. Though smartphones occurred too late for the novels or original radio scripts, he certainly realized their importance to his "Earth edition" of the Hitchhiker's Guide Hitchhiker's Guide, h2g2. Indeed, h2g2 Ltd actually launched a WAP version in 1999, with the aim of offering location-specific information on cinema or bus timetables.

Though WAP may now be old news, The Guide is still reminiscent of several items that const.i.tute everyday pocket or handbag content (most of them sadly beyond the reach of someone on a budget of just 30 Altairian dollars a day). Described in the first novel as looking like a large pocket calculator with a hundred or so tiny b.u.t.tons, The Guide apparently appears to be something like a BlackBerry, except with a slightly larger screen. In terms of function, it combines elements of the iPhone or iPod, in that it speaks its entries with those of eBook readers such as the Sony Reader or Amazon's Kindle. Indeed, Randall Munroe's XKCD XKCD comic made explicit the link with the latter product, depicting the Kindle as simply comic made explicit the link with the latter product, depicting the Kindle as simply The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with a fresh coat of paint. with a fresh coat of paint.

Infinite Improbability Drive It is thanks to the Infinite Improbability Drive that the Heart of Gold Heart of Gold is the most powerful s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p ever built. From transforming its occupants into woollen dolls to turning entire planets into banana fruitcake, it can undertake any conceivable action, however seemingly improbable. The only condition is that someone on board must know precisely how improbable that action is. is the most powerful s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p ever built. From transforming its occupants into woollen dolls to turning entire planets into banana fruitcake, it can undertake any conceivable action, however seemingly improbable. The only condition is that someone on board must know precisely how improbable that action is.

Science writer Michael Hanlon has been impressed by Adams's emphasis on the power of improbability, pointing out that highly unlikely things happen all the time without contradicting the laws of physics. Indeed our whole Universe may owe its existence to some highly unlikely quantum shenanigans. Hanlon also notes that probability is today being utilized perhaps more than ever before, be it in synthesizing new drugs or monitoring terrorist threat.

From a scientific viewpoint, there are two key ideas involved in Adams's description of the Infinite Improbability Drive: the Theory of Indeterminacy and the concept of Brownian Motion. Both are real enough. The former is a cornerstone of quantum physics, describing the incompleteness of the physical state. Brownian Motion, meanwhile, is a concept relating to the zigzag "random walk" of particles in a gas or liquid, in this case a cup of tea.

The Drive performs many tasks, at one point turning a pair of incoming missiles into a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias. Its primary function, however, is as a method of crossing vast interstellar distances. This too is at least partly based on genuine scientific theory, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle stating that the more precisely we can measure the velocity of a subatomic particle, the less accurately we can know its position. If an electron doesn't have a definite location but rather an infinite number of possible possible locations, then the locations, then the Heart of Gold Heart of Gold could theoretically at least pa.s.s through every place in existence before "collapsing the wave function" and deciding where to stop. It would thus achieve spontaneous s.p.a.ce travel. could theoretically at least pa.s.s through every place in existence before "collapsing the wave function" and deciding where to stop. It would thus achieve spontaneous s.p.a.ce travel.

Science hasn't yet made this a reality but, then again, it's not something one wants to rush. Adams himself makes this quite clear through the tale of the ominously monikered Stars.h.i.+p t.i.tanic t.i.tanic, constructed so that any malfunction was infinitely improbable. Unfortunately, this represented a rather fundamental misunderstanding of probability: even an infinitely improbable event will happen some time, given a long enough window of opportunity, and may even happen right away if you're extraordinarily unlucky. Twisting this logic for comic effect, Adams declares that the infinitely improbable is in fact "very likely to happen almost immediately". As a result, his Stars.h.i.+p t.i.tanic t.i.tanic suffers Total Existence Failure mere moments into its maiden voyage. suffers Total Existence Failure mere moments into its maiden voyage.

Machines From robots Marvin, of course, but also the Krikkiters and others to talking doors and elevators, the Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's universe is one run by electronic machines (among them, of course, universe is one run by electronic machines (among them, of course, computers computers see above). And again, in many ways, Adams's vision has been borne out in practice, in-car satellite navigation systems being just one example, even sharing the anthropomorphic properties of Marvin or Eddie. Lifts don't yet attempt to persuade their occupants into going down rather than up, but it's surely not too far off. see above). And again, in many ways, Adams's vision has been borne out in practice, in-car satellite navigation systems being just one example, even sharing the anthropomorphic properties of Marvin or Eddie. Lifts don't yet attempt to persuade their occupants into going down rather than up, but it's surely not too far off.

Digitization is clearly not without benefits. We are told, for instance, that The Ultra-Complete Maximegalon Dictionary The Ultra-Complete Maximegalon Dictionary requires a fleet of lorries for its transportation, and is therefore markedly less practical than the requires a fleet of lorries for its transportation, and is therefore markedly less practical than the Hitchhiker's Guide Hitchhiker's Guide. And Adams himself was certainly no Luddite, his fascination with gadgets, particularly Apple Mac computers, suggesting that at least one part of him was thoroughly in favour of the digital revolution.

At the same time, however, machines are portrayed with a certain ambivalence in Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's. Like the b.u.t.ton on the Heart of Gold Heart of Gold, the sole function of which seems to be the illumination of a panel reading "Please do not press this b.u.t.ton again", they can be ill-designed, frustrating and pointless. They can also be malevolent, as with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mk 2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mk 2, which threatened to spark a Terminator Terminator-style rise of the machines, although the story is not allowed to develop that far. Unlikely though it sounds, Arthur even becomes the dressing-gown-clad equivalent of John Connor, the Terminator Terminator franchise's anti-machine warrior. His argument with a Nutri-Matic drink dispenser has unwittingly made him a hero on the planet of Bront.i.tall, whose population have exiled their robots and built a statue of Arthur in tribute. franchise's anti-machine warrior. His argument with a Nutri-Matic drink dispenser has unwittingly made him a hero on the planet of Bront.i.tall, whose population have exiled their robots and built a statue of Arthur in tribute.

Parallel universes Closely linked to infinite improbability, parallel universes though strictly speaking, as The Guide explains, neither "parallel" nor "universes" are a prominent theme in Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's. In the first novel, we encounter the idea of a replacement Earth. In So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Arthur learns that the dolphins saved Earth from destruction by replacing it at the last minute with a planet from another dimension. And in Mostly Harmless Mostly Harmless, we discover the planet of NowWhat, occupying exactly the same location as planet Earth but in a h.e.l.lish parallel dimension; "right planet, wrong universe", as Arthur gloomily puts it.

Though parallel universes might feel like the stuff of science fiction, they're actually regarded by many scientists as perfectly possible. One reason for this is simply that s.p.a.ce is so enormous; the odds are that somewhere out there is a planet identical to ours (and, on it, someone very nearly identical to you). This is essentially the well-worn argument, alluded to when Arthur and Ford first encounter the Infinite Improbability Drive, that even a monkey could write Shakespeare, given a typewriter and sufficient time. Somewhere in the cosmos it's probably already happened.

There's also a quantum interpretation for parallel universes that, like everything involving the dreaded Q word, is rather harder to get one's head around. Simply, this states that whenever an event has multiple possible outcomes, all all of these outcomes will occur: new universes are constantly being created. In of these outcomes will occur: new universes are constantly being created. In Mostly Harmless Mostly Harmless, for instance, Tricia McMillan fails to leave the party with Zaphod, but another version of herself does does leave the party and goes on to lead an entirely independent life gallivanting around the Galaxy. According to this view, the answer to the "grandfather paradox" see leave the party and goes on to lead an entirely independent life gallivanting around the Galaxy. According to this view, the answer to the "grandfather paradox" see time travel time travel is that in one universe you kill your grandfather, and in another you don't. is that in one universe you kill your grandfather, and in another you don't.

One other type of parallel existence in Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's is that experienced by Zaphod on Frogstar World B not a real world at all, but rather a virtual reality: an electronically synthesized universe controlled from Zarniwoop's briefcase. Like the characters in Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Zaphod is unable to distinguish reality from the shadows in this case, shadows of the digital variety, like the simulacra beloved of theorist Jean Baudrillard. Anyone who thinks this is merely the stuff of films such as is that experienced by Zaphod on Frogstar World B not a real world at all, but rather a virtual reality: an electronically synthesized universe controlled from Zarniwoop's briefcase. Like the characters in Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Zaphod is unable to distinguish reality from the shadows in this case, shadows of the digital variety, like the simulacra beloved of theorist Jean Baudrillard. Anyone who thinks this is merely the stuff of films such as The Truman Show The Truman Show or or The Matrix The Matrix has perhaps not encountered Second Life, a virtual world whose appeal is all too real. has perhaps not encountered Second Life, a virtual world whose appeal is all too real.

Sub-etha networks When Ford Prefect hitches a ride on a pa.s.sing s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, he does so by means of an electronic sub-etha "thumb". When Trillian visits Arthur on Lamuella, she informs him that she is now working for a major sub-etha broadcasting network. And it is via the sub-etha net that field researchers submit their material to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy itself. itself.

Unlike many of Adams's ideas, the sub-etha network requires no hypothetical quantum physics to evaluate its chances of one day becoming a reality. It is, of course, here already, in the form of the Internet. Though its use in military and academic fields pre-dates Adams's initial radio script by some years, the World Wide Web as we know it didn't arrive until at least a decade later, thanks to the invention of HTML, not to mention the growth in home computing. (Adams was a predictably enthusiastic early adopter, first going online in 1983.) Just as the sub-etha network became a reality in the guise of the Internet, Adams actually attempted to launch an Earth-based Hitchhiker's Guide Hitchhiker's Guide, in the form of online encyclopedia h2g2.com. The collaborative nature of this site, open to contributors all over the world, parallels that of The Guide, whose entries are as likely to come from pa.s.sing strangers as from established researchers such as Ford Prefect.

Of course, this editorial stance has become standard practice with the growth of "wiki" sites, of which by far the best known is Wikipedia, launched in 2001. As with Wikipedia, The Guide's content can be biased towards the interests of its particular demographic, and neither is it always reliable. (One apparently minor typo has led many trusting interplanetary hitchhikers to their death at the hands of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beasts, which unfortunately make a good meal of, of, rather than rather than for, for, visiting tourists.) Also like Wikipedia, however, it has clear advantages over its book-based equivalent. Not only does The Guide have more entries and greater portability than the visiting tourists.) Also like Wikipedia, however, it has clear advantages over its book-based equivalent. Not only does The Guide have more entries and greater portability than the Encyclopaedia Galactica Encyclopaedia Galactica, but as every Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's fan knows, it is also slightly cheaper and has "Don't Panic" inscribed on the cover. fan knows, it is also slightly cheaper and has "Don't Panic" inscribed on the cover.

Recent phenomena such as blogging and social networking sites like Mys.p.a.ce and Facebook are also reminiscent of The Guide's egalitarian editorial policy. And the concept of open-source software, developed in a transparent, collaborative fas.h.i.+on via peer review rather than behind closed doors by copyright holders, goes one step beyond Adams's wildest predictions.

Teleportation When Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, Trillian and Marvin find themselves on a stolen s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p heading into the heart of a sun, they escape via a teleport. Indeed, it's the same mode of transport that allowed Arthur and Ford to escape from Earth right at the start of the Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's story. story.

Though it may sound just as unlikely as travel via the Infinite Improbability Drive, teleportation or matter transference is in fact far closer to reality. The basis for this is a seemingly impossible but readily observable phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, which appears to contradict Einstein by seemingly operating faster than the speed of light. (It is not known how its speed compares with the Hingefreel s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, powered by the one thing faster than light: bad news.) Much like time travel, however, teleportation throws up some tricky questions. Would it really be you you that arrived at the other end, or simply a facsimile? Does the original subject simply vanish (and would this const.i.tute an act of murder?), or remain in the original that arrived at the other end, or simply a facsimile? Does the original subject simply vanish (and would this const.i.tute an act of murder?), or remain in the original UniversesAs if parallel universes weren't confusing enough already, they also throw up some pretty awkward questions in terms of semantics. For if the Universe by definition encompa.s.ses all of existence, how can there can be a parallel version? Some have responded by referring to the counterparts in different terms: rather than parallel universes, some suggest "alternative realities", "interpenetrating dimensions", "parallel worlds" or "alternative timelines". Others, adherents to the so-called "many universes interpretation", have instead coined new umbrella terms for the Whole Sort of General Mish Mash, including "multiverse", "meta-universe" and even "omniverse". This last term found a strong champion outside the scientific community in the form of the late cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra, whose Arkestra for a while actually incorporated the term into their ever-changing group moniker. Sadly, scientists have thus far been unable to conclusively prove whether or not the bandleader was, as he claimed, born on Saturn.

location like a faxed piece of paper? The answers to such conundrums are as yet unknown beyond the cast of Star Trek Star Trek.

Time travel Though less prominent than in some science-fiction tales H.G. Wells's The Time Machine The Time Machine (1895) remaining the cla.s.sic example time travel still plays an important role in (1895) remaining the cla.s.sic example time travel still plays an important role in Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's. It is the only means, for instance, of reaching the Restaurant at the End of the Universe (except for Marvin, of course, who gets there by simply being very patient indeed).

Thankfully for those of us without a robot's longevity, scientists have suggested it would not be inconceivable to reach Milliways the short way. Certainly some believe that we could achieve a sort of time travel via the very method unwittingly practised by Arthur Dent, who in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish returns from eight years in s.p.a.ce only to discover that a mere six months have pa.s.sed on Earth. In reality, however, this time discrepancy would actually work in reverse: that is, more time would have pa.s.sed on Earth than in s.p.a.ce, the logic being that the faster one moves through s.p.a.ce, or the further one is from a ma.s.sive object such as Earth, the slower one moves through time. Arthur's cover story that he's had a "face drop" would not, therefore, be necessary. returns from eight years in s.p.a.ce only to discover that a mere six months have pa.s.sed on Earth. In reality, however, this time discrepancy would actually work in reverse: that is, more time would have pa.s.sed on Earth than in s.p.a.ce, the logic being that the faster one moves through s.p.a.ce, or the further one is from a ma.s.sive object such as Earth, the slower one moves through time. Arthur's cover story that he's had a "face drop" would not, therefore, be necessary.

If a brief holiday from Earth feels like a bit of a cheat as a means of time travel and let's face it, it's not going to get you to Milliways then rest a.s.sured that many other methods have also been deemed worthy of scientific consideration. Mathematical logician Kurt Goedel, best known for his Incompleteness Theorem, suggested that twists in the fabric of s.p.a.ce time could allow for time travel. There is also talk, for instance, of entering a wormhole in one era and exiting in another.

Moving any of this from the theoretical realm to the practical has, as usual, proved a little tricky. Yet Adams seemed less concerned by the science of time travel than by a.s.sociated philosophical questions, such as a situation in which you travel back in time and kill your grandfather (in a strictly hypothetical sense, it must be stressed). This, of course would mean that you yourself were never conceived so how could you have travelled back in the first place? Adams offers his own take on this "grandfather paradox", except that in Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's, the danger is not killing but becoming becoming one's own father or mother; it might be dubbed the "Marty McFly paradox" in honour of cult movie one's own father or mother; it might be dubbed the "Marty McFly paradox" in honour of cult movie Back to the Future Back to the Future. Adams, however, says that becoming one's own parent is nothing a broadminded family can't handle.

Adams even offers his own time travel paradox, in the story of the great poet Lallafa, who was offered an endors.e.m.e.nt deal by manufacturers of correcting fluid who travelled back in time for the purpose. So lucrative was the deal that Lallafa never actually got round to writing the poems in the first place. It was this event, we're told, that led to the formation of the Campaign for Real Time. Lacking such a real-life pressure group, some quantum physicists get round this sort of paradox by suggesting that if one travelled back in time, every change one made would result in the creation of a parallel universe see parallel universes parallel universes.

Total Perspective Vortex No removal of fingernails, no electrodes to the genitals the Total Perspective Vortex does nothing but reveal to its victim their size in relation to the whole of the Universe. And yet, it is the cruellest torture method in the whole Hitchhiker's. .h.i.tchhiker's saga, worse even than Vogon poetry in that only Zaphod Beeblebrox has ever survived it (and only then because he was in an electronically synthesized universe). saga, worse even than Vogon poetry in that only Zaphod Beeblebrox has ever survived it (and only then because he was in an electronically synthesized universe).

Invented by a character named Trin Tragula in an attempt to silence his nagging wife, the Total Perspective Vortex relies on channelling the whole of Creation through one small piece of fairy cake. Adams's logic here was that every piece of matter in the Universe is in some way affected by every other piece of matter, and thus the whole thing can be extrapolated from any individual component.

Michael Hanlon has confirmed that this idea has at least one foot in pa.s.sable scientific theory; it does seem to chime, for instance, with the "cosmic web" idea that the whole Universe is bound together by an invisible cobweb of dark matter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, Hanlon points out that extrapolating the entire Universe from a piece of fairy cake might in practice not be so easy. Again, the relevant arguments concern Werner Heisenberg and the multiplicity of possible electron locations (see Infinite Improbability Drive Infinite Improbability Drive).

The Ultimate Answer It may have been conceived, let us never forget, as a joke, but the number 42 has a tendency to have theories thrust upon it. Some of the more creative interpretations have been dealt with in the previous chapter, but there is also a scientific approach to this most enthusiastically investigated number.

Certainly, the concept of distilling Infinity into numerical form has become markedly less ridiculous in the years since Adams conceived of the idea. In 1999, Martin Rees, the UK's Astronomer Royal, declared that the Universe could be boiled down to six numbers, including the strength of gravity and the speed at which the Universe is expanding. Each has a value that, for whatever reason, falls within the terrifyingly narrow conditions required for life.

Admittedly, none of Rees's figures was 42. Yet that number did enjoy specific, if short-lived, scientific endors.e.m.e.nt, as the exact value of the Hubble Constant, a measure of the rate of expansion of the Universe. This was truly "a delicious moment", as Adams's friend and collaborator John Lloyd recalls. The joy was tempered somewhat, however, by the discovery that Hubble's Constant wasn't constant at all, and hence promptly changed to a completely different number.

Of course, Adams conceived the notion of the Ultimate Answer well before either of these events, rendering them of pa.s.sing interest only (though he was apparently deeply tickled by the Hubble episode). Instead, he was presumably poking fun at the broader desire for a single unifying theory to explain our existence. It's this same concept, indeed, that he mocked in Mostly Harmless Mostly Harmless as the Whole Sort of General Mish Mash, which "doesn't actually exist but is just the sum total of all the different ways there would be of looking at it if it did". as the Whole Sort of General Mish Mash, which "doesn't actually exist but is just the sum total of all the different ways there would be of looking at it if it did".

Absurd though it may sound, however, the idea of the Ultimate Answer is not too far removed from a genuine drive in contemporary physics that towards a Grand Unified Theory, or the even more ambitious Theory of Everything. This latter is, in essence, an attempt to reconcile the fundamental forces of gravity, electromagnetism, and weak and strong nuclear forces. Each makes sense on its own terms but the otherwise elegant theories cannot yet Time travel grammarFar from killing your grandfather or becoming your own mother, Adams writes in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe The Restaurant at the End of the Universe that the most challenging problem a.s.sociated with time travel is in fact one of syntax. Apparently, the only solution in such circ.u.mstances is to consult the that the most challenging problem a.s.sociated with time travel is in fact one of syntax. Apparently, the only solution in such circ.u.mstances is to consult the Time Traveller's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations Time Traveller's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations by Dr Dan Streetmentioner. Among the grammatical constructions contained within are "wioll haven be", in place of "which is"; "willing watchen" for "whilst watching"; and, as the correct subst.i.tution for "can meet and dine with", the spectacularly verbose "mayan meetan con with dinan on-when". We would go on, but Dr Streetmentioner's book stops dead at the Future Semi-Conditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past Subjunctive Intentional. So rare was it for a reader to get beyond the section, it was deemed unnecessary to actually print the subsequent pages. by Dr Dan Streetmentioner. Among the grammatical constructions contained within are "wioll haven be", in place of "which is"; "willing watchen" for "whilst watching"; and, as the correct subst.i.tution for "can meet and dine with", the spectacularly verbose "mayan meetan con with dinan on-when". We would go on, but Dr Streetmentioner's book stops dead at the Future Semi-Conditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past Subjunctive Intentional. So rare was it for a reader to get beyond the section, it was deemed unnecessary to actually print the subsequent pages.

be encompa.s.sed within a single theoretical framework. In technical terms, "big stuff" (stars, black holes) doesn't seem to work like "small stuff" (electrons).

While some scientists don't believe in a unifying Theory of Everything, others are pinning their hopes on superstrings, M-branes and mind-meltingly complex ten-dimensional Calabi-Yau shapes. Whether the number 42 plays any particularly significant role within these Calabi-Yau shapes, of course, remains to be seen.

About the book

The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Question.

This new Rough Guide explores the ever-expanding universe created by Douglas Adams. A must-have companion for both long-term enthusiasts and those discovering the Hitchhiker's stories for the first time.

Features include: A lightspeed crib of the stories so far Everything you need to know about the saga's numerous incarnations: book, TV show, movie, radio series and more Coverage of key Hitchhiker's concepts and plot devices: tea, cricket, towels and small yellow fish.

The stories behind all your favourite characters: Ford, Arthur, Zaphod and, of course, Marvin.

The life and times of Douglas Adams: his influence, pa.s.sions and an overview of his other works.

Details of online resources, including the lowdown on the official fanclub, "ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha".

You've been reading an extract from The Rough Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy by Marcus O'Dair, 7.99.