Question: what is the restaurant at the end of the universe about

title: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
text: Zarniwoop explains that the total Perspective Vortex has not malfunctioned -- this is a virtual universe created by Zarniwoop for the sole benefit of Zaphod , making him the most important creature in this universe . It turns out that Zaphod had the shrunk Heart of Gold in his jacket pocket the whole time . It is reconstituted , and Zaphod is reunited with Trillian , Arthur and Ford . They escape from Zarniwoop by asking to be transported to the nearest restaurant . Milliways , the Restaurant at the End of the Universe , is the nearest restaurant in space but not time . They are transported there `` five hundred and seventy - six thousand million years '' into the future . Marvin is left stranded here for this incredibly vast amount of time parking diners ' spaceships while waiting for the humans to return . After the meal , Zaphod and Ford steal a spaceship , which turns out to be a stuntship belonging to the rock band Disaster Area , programmed to dive into a star to provide backing effects for a rock concert . There is a teleporter on the ship for which the guidance system was never built , as it was never intended to be used , and it also requires somebody to stay on the ship to operate it . Marvin is chosen to stay behind and teleport the others , who have no choice but to go wherever it takes them .