A tiny couch made from rolled teal towels holds a brown paper bag beneath a floating pale halo.

Original artwork, not a still

Life, the Universe and Everything ‧ 1982

Douglas Adams

Arthur lay in startled stillness on the acceleration couch. He wasn't certain whether he had just got space-sickness or religion.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Arthur lies startled and cannot decide whether his experience is space-sickness or religion. The joke puts a physical discomfort beside a spiritual explanation as competing possibilities for the same moment. That surprising pairing makes his uncertainty comic without resolving what he has actually experienced.

Context reviewed

Share this quote