Yes, said Marvin. Why stop now just when I’m hating it? I got to find Trillian and the guys. Hey, you any idea where they are? I mean, I just got a planet to choose from. Could take a while. They are very close, said Marvin dolefully. You can monitor them from here if you like. I better go get them, asserted Zaphod. Er, maybe they need some help, right? Maybe, said Marvin with unexpected authority in his lugubrious voice, it would be better if you monitored them from here. That young girl, he added unexpectedly, is one of the least benightedly unintelligent life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting. Zaphod took a moment or two to find his way through this labyrinthine string of negatives and emerged at the other end with surprise. Trillian? he said. She’s just a kid. Cute, yeah, but temperamental. You know how it is with women. Or perhaps you don’t. I assume you don’t. If you do I don’t want to hear about it. Plug us in. –…totally manipulated. What? said Zaphod. It was Trillian speaking. He turned round. The wall against which the Krikkit robot was sobbing had lit up to reveal a scene taking place in some other unknown part of the Krikkit Robot War zones. It seemed to be a council chamber of some kind Zaphod couldn’t make it out too clearly because of the robot slumped against the screen. He tried to move the robot, but it was heavy with its grief and tried to bite him, so he just looked around as best he could. Just think about it, said Trillian’s voice, your history is just a series of freakishly improbable events. And I know an improbable event when I see one. Your complete isolation from the Galaxy was freakish for a start. Right out on the very edge with a Dust Cloud around you. It’s a set-up. Obviously. Zaphod was mad with frustration because he couldn’t see the screen. The robot’s head was obscuring his view of the people Trillian as talking to, his multi-functional battleclub was obscuring the background, and the elbow of the arm it had pressed tragically against its brow was obscuring Trillian herself. Then, said Trillian, this spaceship that crash-landed on your planet. That’s really likely, isn’t it? Have you any idea of what the odds are against a drifting spaceship accidentally intersecting with the orbit of a planet? Hey, said Zaphod, she doesn’t know what the zark she’s talking about. I’ve seen that spaceship. It’s a fake. No deal. I thought it might be, said Marvin from his prison behind Zaphod. “是啊，”马文说，“我已经很难过的时候你就不能别再提了？” “我得去找崔莉安他们。嘿，你知道他们在哪吗？我是说，我要在一颗星球上找人呢，可得好找。” “他们很近了。”马文哀愁地说，“如果你愿意，可以在这里监视到他们。” “我最好还是去找他们。”赞福德坚持己见，“嗯，也许他们需要帮助，对不对？” “也许，”马文那阴郁的嗓音突然带上了一点坚决，“从这儿监视他们更好。那个女孩，”他突然补充道，“是我最没有兴趣避免不见到的极其无知的非智慧生物之一。” 赞福德想了好久，才把这团乱麻似的否定词理顺了。于是惊奇地问道： “崔莉安？”他说，“她只是个孩子。挺可爱的，嗯。但也挺任性。你知道，女人嘛。或许你不知道。我猜你不知道。即便你知道我也不想听。连过去吧。” “……完全是受了操纵。” “什么？”赞福德问。 那是崔莉安在说话。他转过身去。 刚才版求机器人靠着哭的那堵墙，现在变成了屏幕。屏幕上显示出版求战区的某个地方，看上去像个会议厅——赞福德无法确定，因为那机器人靠在上面。 他想把机器人挪开，但太重了。而且人家正忙着伤心呢，赞福德伸过手去，它还会咬。所以赞福德只好围着它看了。 “想想吧，”崔莉安说，“你们的历史就是一连串古怪的不可能事件。我要是碰上不可能事件，我会有意识的。你们一开始就完全与银河系隔绝，已经够奇怪了。外面还恰好有团云。这是个圈套。很明显。” 赞福德焦躁不堪，他什么也看不见。机器人的头遮住了听崔莉安说话的人，它的多功能战棒遮住了北京，它举起来蒙着眼睛的手则遮住了崔莉安。 “然后，”崔莉安说，“那艘飞船落到你们星球上。这是很有可能的——真是这样吗？你知不知道一艘太空飞船恰好横穿某颗行星轨道的几率有多小？” “嘿，”赞福德说，“她不知道自己在说什么，我见过那飞船，假的。不可能的。” “我想它应该是假的。”马文在它的“牢房”里接口道。
