Chapter 24 Summary

Slartibartfast takes Arthur deep into the tunnels to the factory where the luxury planets were made. When Arthur asks whether they have started production again, Slartibartfast tells him they have only been awakened by a special client to perform a single commission. He points out a planet that Arthur recognizes as Earth. Slartibartfast says they are making an exact copy from the original blueprints. It dawns on Arthur that Slartibartfast is telling him that Earth was a custom-made luxury planet to begin with. Because he had actually won an award for the work he did creating Norway, Slartibartfast was very upset when he'd heard of its destruction. Slartibartfast then adds that the mice were even more so. They were furious, in fact. Arthur is astonished when he is next told that the original Earth was commissioned, paid for, and run entirely by the...