Chapter Text
Before going any further, the chronicler would like to inject a little explanation of what has bridged the gap between the previous books and this book:
After Arthur disappeared on the fateful hyperspace jump, Fenchurch, as was mentioned earlier, continued to travel the Galaxy but without Arthur by her side, everything was faded. Dull. Disinteresting. She had gone back to Earth once, yes, and got some things from her flat in Islington but left soon after, never to return.
She hadn't even thought about Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha since that final trip and it was probably for the better. A few years after the two, Fenchurch and Arthur, that is, not Earth and Fenchurch, were separated, Vogons whose skin was an odd colour of grey, instead of green, engineered a clever plot involving a multidimensional second version of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. This plot, evil though it may have been, succeeded in every way, destroying every incarnation of the Earth in every universe, including the one in which Arthur ducked a bullet from his daughter and brought about the next in a series of increasingly frustrating deaths to a spirit that seemed permanently doomed to be killed at the hands of Arthur himself.
Zaphod Beeblebrox moved on to travel the Galaxy with Trillian, aka Tricia McMillan, and the Starship Heart Of Gold, doing absolutely no good to anyone. Their relationship fractured a few years after the Earth was destroyed permanently and Trillian left Zaphod with her own starship, an inherited Starship Bistromath, which she received from the mysterious fjord-maker Slartibartfast after he passed on. After that, Zaphod continued to travel the Galaxy until, by some universal and unrelated coincidence, the Infinite Improbability Drive that powered the Heart Of Gold took him to Constructoria, where he currently resided, almost constantly chugging Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters.
Trillian travelled some more in the Bistromath before becoming romantically involved with a private detective named Lars Sweetly and travelled with him on his many cases, most involving suicides by elevators.
Arthur's friend from a small planet in the vicinity of Beteguese named Ford Prefect continued making general mischief about the Galaxy until he discovered a way into the Grey Vogons' universe. He perished along with Arthur, Arthur's daughter, and the Earth.
At the end of this brief overview, the chronicler feels he must bring up the fact that the Universe consists of many parallel universes. These universes include the universe in which Trillian went back for her bag at the party in Islington, never went with Zaphod, met a mad race of aliens called Grebulons, and perished with the Earths in Stavro Mueller's Beta club in New York City.
Another one is the one in which Trillian went on to become a Galactic reporter, changed her name to Trillian Astra, and had a daughter because of a coincidence involving Arthur Dent's DNA which she named Random Frequent Flyer Dent. This Trillian cared little for Random and soon passed her on to the care of Arthur, who had been thrown into that universe due to a hyperspatial problem and was separated from Fenchurch. This is also the universe which contained the Grey Vogons and InfiniDim Enterprises and the Guide Mk II. It is currently unknown how Ford Prefect found his way into this universe but find his way he did. He then rode, along with Arthur Dent, on a wild ride on the backs of some Perfectly Normal Beasts on the planet of Lamuella to the Domain Of The King. This ride took them to the universe where Trillian went back for her bag and where the Guide Mk II took Random, Arthur's daughter. He perished along with the Earths.
After a long and prudent bridge, we now return to the sixth entry in the increasingly unintelligently named The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy trilogy.