If there’s one thing that the universe has taught us over the course of time, it’s that history is known to repeat itself, and so in a way that is totally and completely perplex that most of the actual people experiencing it are completely unaware of that they are, well, experiencing it. The dense, ape-like creatures that roamed the dull, backwater planet known plainly as the Earth are extremely perceptible to this, whereas practically all of the population never know what was going on to begin with. (It is a widespread theory that the select few Earthlings who actually have a clue had either achieved it under illegal methods or stumbled on to it by pure accident, when not operating their digital watches.) Thus came the popular term that spread rapidly through society like a badly digested Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster: deja vu. Roughly translated in its native language, deja vu means “A word or phrase so mind-numbingly catchy that it spreads through society more rapidly than a badly digested Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.” Of course, placed in today’s context, the term is incomprehensible and utterly meaningless.
Arthur Dent had had many bad days in his lifetime, but this had to be one of the worst. This thought immediately appeared in Arthur’s head, raced down to his central nervous system to take a consensus, and then raced back up to his head with one unanimous, resounding agreement. Arthur groaned, or at least he thought he did. When you find yourself slowly achieving consciousness, you cannot be bother by simple things like vocal outbursts. In all truth, the groan actually came from a slumped figure laying a few feet away from Arthur. The Earthman blinked, hoping this would somehow help to make sense of the whole ordeal. It didn’t. “I’m not dead,” he uttered, looking around the dark room, “I’m not dead! Why aren’t I dead? I should be dead!”
“Of course you should,” a voice swaggered, “We should. That’s the universe for you. Every time you think you’ve got a hold on it, it goes and pulls a fast one on you.” Arthur’s jaw dropped. “F-F-Ford?” Ford Prefect hobbled over to the other. “Hello Arthur,” he winced. “What’s going on here?” Rather than answering, Ford retrieved a familiar-looking object from the shadows. This object, which had the words “Don’t Panic” written in large, friendly letters on the cover, evoked instant dissatisfaction from Arthur. “Not that blasted thing again!” Ford ignored this comment and opened his copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He then brought up an entry under “D”, near the top of the page, right above “Dentrassi Cooking Techniques”.
“Déjà vu,” the Guide recited, “An odd occurrence usually leaving a person or persons with a nagging feeling that history has repeated itself. This is usually the case.” Ford smirked, pocketing the book. “There you go, Arthur. Cut and dry.” Arthur scoffed. “Cut and dry?!? That hasn’t told me anything!” “Oh, but it has.” “Listen,” the Earthman started, leaning up against the cold steel walls of the spaceship he was at the moment occupying, which he had no idea was one in the Vogon constructor fleet, “Enough with the double-talk. Where are we? Why aren’t we dead? Why did the Earth explode…again?”
Ford sighed. It was always so tedious explaining things to humans. “Ok, it’s like this. The Earth…well, the alternate Earth anyway, was just destroyed by a Vogon constructor fleet. And like last time, we happened to be on the miserable little planet at the time of explosion.” “Yes,” Arthur pointed out, “But unlike last time, we had no way of getting off other than death.” “Ah! But that’s where your wrong! Didn’t you find it odd that we found ourselves in the same situation, nearly met our fate the same way, and ended up as stowaways again at the same time?” Arthur shrugged, “Coincidence?” “Are you zarking mad, man?!?” “Er…no, I don’t think so.” “History repeats itself, Arthur! That’s why we’re here! Just another twist and turn in the mish mash that is the space-time continuum. You must understand that we’re part of something much bigger than the two of us.”
Arthur tried to grapple with this notion. “I think I need a drink.” Ford dropped his head into his hands. This was going to be a long day…
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"If you enjoyed the show, tell your friends. If you didn't, tell your enemies."
"Love's a joke. Unfortunately, I'm a comedian."
[This message has been edited by ComicKook (edited February 02, 2003).]
[This message has been edited by ComicKook (edited February 06, 2003).]
"If you enjoyed the show, tell your friends. If you didn't, tell your enemies." - RSC
"Love's a joke. Unfortunately, I'm a comedian." - Me
