“How can I tell,” said the man, “that the past isn’t a fiction designed to account for the discrepancy between my immediate physical sensations and my state of mind?” Zarniwoop stared at him. The steam began to rise from his sodden clothes. “So you answer all questions like this?” he said. The man answered quickly. “I say what it occurs to me to say when I think I hear people say things. More I cannot say.” Zaphod laughed happily. “I’ll drink to that,” he said and pulled out the bottle of Janx Spirit. He leaped and handed the bottle to the ruler of the Universe, who took it with pleasure.
