The five-part Hitchhiker’s guide trilogy deals with many things: cosmology, the causes of war, alien cultures, artificial life, the unreliability of number-based logic systems—so many things, in fact, that an essayist considering how to tackle this towering edifice of concepts feels rather like a climber surveying Everest armed with a roadside map, a length of clothesline and a committee of blind Sherpas; you possess at least rudimentary equipment, the bloody thing isn’t hard to find, and the overall consensus seems to be in favor of the direction “up” . . . but somehow, in deciding exactly which route to take, the whole process gets a bit bogged down.

So, some words about fish.

Now, you may think that an essay dealing with such lofty ideas as the Existence of God (and rest assured, this is exactly such an essay; if you’re looking for mindless entertainment and a few cheap laughs go download some presidential quotes, ’cause this is Serious Philosophical Stuff) has no place discussing anything with gills.

You would, however, be staggeringly wrong.

Fish occupy an extremely important place in the Adams universe. A somewhat damp place, it must be admitted, but important nonetheless. What is it that the lead singer of Disaster Area—the loudest rock band in existence—requires a doctor, a logician and a marine biologist to prove that he is not? A fish. What is it that the Ruler of the Universe offers to his hypothetical cat? A bit of fish. What is it that Arthur Dent  …