“Volume One in the Trilogy of Five”

‘Ford,’ insisted Arthur, ‘I don’t know if this sounds like a silly question, but what am I doing here?’
‘Well, you know that,’ said Ford. ‘I rescued you from the Earth.’
‘And what’s happened to the Earth?’
‘Ah. It’s been demolished.’
‘Has it,’ said Arthur levelly.
‘Yes. It just boiled away into space.’
‘Look,’ said Arthur, I’m a bit upset about that.’
Ford frowned to himself and seemed to roll the thought around his mind.
‘Yes, I can understand that,’ he said at last.
‘Understand that!’ shouted Arthur. ‘Understand that!’
Ford sprang up.
‘Keep looking at the book!’ he hissed urgently.
‘What?’
‘Don’t Panic.’
‘I’m not panicking!’
‘Yes you are.’
‘All right, so I’m panicking, what else is there to do?’
‘You just come along with me and have a good time. The Galaxy’s a fun place.”

(Douglas Adams, in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”)

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