The Quandary Phase
Fit the Nineteenth
Arthur discovers that the entry for "Earth" in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which had previously been edited down to "Mostly Harmless," has been expanded. Although he believes Earth has been destroyed, he heads for its co-ordinates. Finding Earth intact, he decides to find out if his house still exists, and tries to hitch a lift to Cottington. He is picked up by Rob McKenna, a man who does not realise that he is a rain god. Arthur realises that he is travelling in the wrong direction, and hitches a lift back with Russell, whose sister, Fenchurch, is unconscious on the back seat of the car. Arthur is instantly smitten, but Russell claims that she is mad, and has been ever since the 'hallucinations' of the spaceships that came to destroy the Earth. Meanwhile, a Vogon crew member has noticed that the Earth has re-appeared, but the captain declares that it must be gone as he saw it destroyed himself. Ford is stuck in a bar with a large bill, which he avoids paying by promising to write an entry for the bar in the Guide. He also discovers that his entry on Earth has been updated, and decides to investigate.
Fit the Twentieth
Arthur arrives at his house to find it standing. The contents of the house are as he left them, apart from a large pile of junk mail, and a strange bowl bearing the inscription 'So Long and Thanks for All the Fish'. He encounters Fenchurch again, and gives her a lift to the train station, saying that he has something he wants to tell her. At the station pub they attempt to talk, but are interrupted by someone offering raffle tickets. Fenchurch has to leave to catch her train, and leaves her phone number on a ticket - with which Arthur then wins the raffle. Feeling lost, Arthur decides to find the cave that he lived in during his time on prehistoric earth. He knocks on a few doors in Islington near where he thinks the cave had been. The second belongs to Fenchurch, who pulls out his lost copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide, and invites him in.
Fit the Twenty-first
Fenchurch tells Arthur that she received a revelation at the time the Earth should have been destroyed, and also explains that the dolphins have vanished. Arthur realises that her feet do not touch the ground, and he teaches her to fly with him. They decide to investigate the fate of the dolphins, and travel to California to visit Wonko the Sane, a scientist considered the foremost expert on the species. Wonko, who lives in an inside-out house called "The Outside of the Asylum", tells Arthur and Fenchurch that they all received the same glass bowls - farewell gifts from the dolphins that contain their final message to humans. Meanwhile, the Vogons have determined that Earth exists within a plural zone, which means that if destroyed, it is likely to be replaced by a new version. Nevertheless, they decide that all Earths must still be destroyed, even though the bypass project has been canceled.
Fit the Twenty-second
Fenchurch and Arthur return to England, to discover that a large spaceship has landed in Knightsbridge, London, with Ford Prefect on board. They all leave together on the ship. Arthur begins to suspect that this is not the Earth he and Ford knew - there is a "Tricia McMillan" on the news, with an American accent and blonde hair, but otherwise identical to the Trillian who left his earth with Zaphod Beeblebrox. Fenchurch and Arthur decide to find God's Final Message to His Creation, on the way they encounter Marvin, who is now 37 times older than the universe itself. Arthur helps him to read the message, which is: "WE APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE". Declaring that he "feels pretty good" about the message, Marvin dies. Fenchurch asks Arthur to show her the universe. However, on a commercial liner flight, Fenchurch disappears, and the ship's crew deny she ever existed.
