People
“We would love to stay and help,” shouted Ford, picking his way over the mangled debris, “only we’re not going to.”
— Douglas Adams • Life, the Universe and Everything
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
A brisk, comically honest brush-off. The speaker shouts that they'd love to stay and lend a hand, then admits, with no shame, that they're leaving anyway. The humour is the polite phrasing followed by a flat refusal, amid the wreckage around them.
Context reviewed