Chapters 4-8 Summary

Arthur and Ford are astonished that Slartibartfast's ship propels them so quickly away as Chapter 4 opens. After a surge of acceleration, the ship settles into a regular course and they relax. Arthur sits distractedly on a couch while Ford tries to convince Slartibartfast to take them somewhere they can have a good time. Slartibartfast is very serious, however, and tells them they are on their way to confront a "nightmare of the universe" and save the universe from complete destruction. Ford seems disinterested in this and continues to try to convince him to let them off somewhere fun.

Slartibartfast ignores Ford and tells both men to come with him to see what he means. They follow him up some stairs to a room that looks exactly like the interior of an Italian bistro. Gathered around a large table are several robots...