The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an incredibly interesting piece of literature that takes a step outside of the box then takes another laughs at space outside of the box while it takes another step into a parallel dimension from which it gawks at the science fiction literature that preceded it. I do not mean to illustrate a degree of grandeur that places this piece of work on a pedestal or golden throne in the kingdom of books, but to merely state it has a certain degree of bizarreness that places it in its own category. Take from it what you will but from what I understand it is quite a large satirical stab at Earth culture. A macrocosmic comparison of the workings of a microcosmic Earth if you will. I would believe this was made quite obvious from the beginning by comparing the 'necessity' of destroying a man's home so a road can go through the town then suddenly the same must be done to Earth. This destruction that came 5 minutes premature and brought upon by the " bureaucracy" known as the Vogons. A stab at parliament and/or conservatives in general I'm sure.
One of the best selling points of the book, for me anyways, is the absurdity in which everything is presented. What's great about it is that Douglas Adams uses quite compelling arguments for many of these absurdities that borderline probability. Well, maybe not quite so much "probable" but more believable at least. Adams' outlandish excuses for why something is the way it is just makes the book stronger. His probability drive, for example, is such a wild creation that pushes the boundaries of ones imagination that I cannot help but wonder if something could not exist. The fact that mice are a super intelligent inter-dimensional race and Earth is a giant computer is such a ridiculous notion that I can't help but question the true workings of the universe. How do things out there work? What is the Earth's role in the universe? Of course I would be a fool to forget the Babel fish. I find it quite amazing that such a small hapless fish can be the cause of the most and bloodiest wars ever since creation. Using it to prove God does not exist and making him 'poof' in a cloud of logic is quite wild. I cannot help but assume Douglas was making a comment on the relation between religion and war, but I tend to read too deep sometimes.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy makes a farce of the universe before we even discover how it truly works and I love it! To humans it is such an awe-inspiring thing filled only with unknowns and beauty but to the rest of the universe it is like a large collection of neighborhoods where some neighbors hate each other, some like each other and the rest simply do not care. I would feel sorry for Arthur Dent if I weren't so jealous of him. The poor guy gets sent on a highly improbable journey through dimensions and time through the aid of amazing technology. Sure it's a lot to take in at once, but it would be so mind-blowingly awesome that I wish that this would happen to me. There's even time travel to the end of the universe available. You can wine and dine and literally enjoy the last few minutes of existence and be back to your own time without a problem. The fact one can do this pretty much desensitizes everyone to the end of all existence. What I mean is: since we can travel back and forth through time we essentially remove what we know as "time" and simply confine ourselves to merely existing in any given space at any given time. As a result, there is no 'end of the universe' since time is no longer is an issue, simultaneously eliminating the concept of "end". I love metaphysical arguments and theories so you can imagine I love this book.
Unlike pretty much everything in the book, the big concept of knowing the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" is not beyond Earth. We are in a constant battle of trying to figure out our roles and meanings if not on a mental level then at least physically. We go day-by-day trying to better ourselves but to what end? Deep Thought's answer of 42 is such an oddity that I wonder if there really is an answer at all. What I think Adams was trying to get at was that questions like this only lead to exponentially more questions and that we are better off with just one question. Some things are best left unexplained. I find it interesting that the "ultimate question" can only be found in the mind of Earth's inhabitants yet the rest of the universe ignores the insignificant little blue and green planet. In fact it gets bulldozed with little to no consideration for life. This goes to show the overall feeling of the universe: everyone is trying to change it but no matter what you do, it is too large to be really influenced one way or another. In this book it seems everyone is out to make fools of themselves in a desperate attempt to define their own place in the universe. With so much going on out there, I am not surprised the first words you see on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is "DON'T PANIC".
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