Errant de Volcan

Readers learn in Chapter 3 that on one Thursday, both Arthur Dent's house and the Earth are destroyed. Besides occurring on the same day, the reasons for the destruction are similar; Arthur's house is being knocked down to make way for a bypass. Earth is being vaporized to make way for a hyperspatial expressway. The beings in charge of the projects—Mr. L. Prosser and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz—differ only in their species. Otherwise, they are both civil servants and bureaucrats at heart. Both explain that the plans for demolition have been available in the local planning offices and all someone had to do to find them was go there. Of course, the existence of these documents was unannounced. Furthermore, the plans for demolition of Arthur's house are buried in an unlit cellar, at the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, in an unused bathroom featuring a sign that says, "Beware of the Leopard." The plans for Earth's destruction, even harder to find, are located in distant Alpha Centauri. Both Prosser and Jeltz have no sympathy for the objects of destruction. Prosser observes that Arthur's house is not a particularly nice one. Jeltz refers to Earth as apathetic and unworthy of sympathy. Together, the destruction of Arthur's house and of Earth displace Arthur permanently and begin his hitchhiking adventure through the galaxy.