From: jjh37997@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (James J. Herlburt)
Subject: Re: Thoughts on MOSTLY HARMLESS (spoilers)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 23:30:25 GMT

In article <ksg1s=m@rpi.edu> danaf@rpi.edu writes:
>In article <1992Nov2.154220.19551@cs.mun.ca>, stevenn@irma.cs.mun.ca (Steven G. Newhook) writes:
>|> 
>|> *** WARNING. POSSIBLE SPOILERS! *** READ MOSTLY HARMLESS FIRST ***
>
>Ditto for me....
>
>|> 
>|> Did anyone else out there think that the Earth was _not_ destroyed at the
>|> end of Mostly Harmless?  I have a theory! My theory is this....
>|>    The Earth was _moved_!
>
>I disagree. I think the Earth, and its entire time stream, was completely and
>irrevocably destroyed. And I'm glad.
>
>I may be the ONLY person on the net to say this, but I **LIKED** the ending of
>MH. Just the way it's written, without reading anything into it. I thought it
>was a wonderful way to end the series and, like Blake's Seven, would only be
>ruined by another "tacked-on" installment. The HitchHiker's Guide to the
>Galaxy is over, as far as the original characters are concerned. We still don't
>know where Zaphod is, and the Guide Mk. II is still out there, so there could
>possibly be another installment ANYWAY, but Ford, Arthur, Trillian, Tricia, and
>Random are dead as can be.
>
>I prefer it this way. The ending reeks of delicious DNA irony, and IMHO makes
>the entire book - which I was not enjoying terribly until the end. I think it
>is a wonderful idea that Arthur spends all this time looking for the fictional
>planet of "Stavromula Beta", and feeling he is totally safe as a result, and
>then ends up dead in a bar on Earth. I, like Ford, laughed hysterically to see
>that the Universe has screwed our poor hero one final, magnificent time. If
>you've gotta go, that's the way to do it. The entire string of Earths being
>blown away seems like one last, fitting testimony to those damn Vogons, the
>ones who (in effect...) started Arthur on his journey and caused the events of
>5 books' worth of hilarity.
>
>
>
>Buuuut, let's assume it's not true that the Earth is gone...
>
>|>   If this is true, can the following points still apply?
>|> 
>|>   1. The Vogons could check the box on their distruction orders.
>
>Nope. You said it yourself, "destruction orders". Moving it may be good enough
>for the bypass committee (or whatever), but not for a Vogon. Destroyed it must
>be, and destroyed it was.
>
>|>   5. THHGTTG 6 is possible.
>
>'Course. But the Earth is gone-gone-gone-gone-(repeat infinitely....)

Of course this is only true if the Guide Mk II is never ordered to bring
the Earth back. Maybe if Fenny got her hands on it while looking for 
Arthur? 

Also since the Earth was man-made as described in the first book we 
could just have a new one made. As long as the blueprints are on file.


>
>
>|> - '' Anything that thinks logically can be fooled by something that thinks at
>|> - least as logically as it does.'' - Douglas Adams - 'MOSTLY HARMLESS' - p.42
>|> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>|> - This has not been a paid political announcement  - stevenn@irma.cs.mun.ca  
>|> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>-- 
>/////////////////////////[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
>(718)             (212)                        (516)             (518)
>=======Amiuser============Frank R. Dana, Jr.============Doc Ami=======     
>--------My opinions rarely reflect those of any sane person,----------
>	   living, dead, or undead... that's gonna CHANGE.