About

On January 1st, 1980, Pan Books published Douglas Adams's Restaurant at the End of the Universe, the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Chapter 29 of that book features a minor, but fascinating character: the Man who Rules the Universe. He lives with his cat in a ramshackle hut on a desolate planet hidden and protected by a field of Unprobability. The most interesting feature about this man, however, is that he believes in nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even the things he perceives with his own eyes.

Most would call such a man insane, and that was clearly Adams's intent. But the fascinating thing about this character is that, in fact, he isn't. On the outside, the man is as he appears, weathered, rough and quite out if his mind, but underneath this facade is a sort of bemused, resigned but very perceptive intelligence. His insanity seems more like something to pass the time in the isolation on his lonely planet rather than an actual degradation of his psyche. My reasoning for this is as follows; the man seems to know exactly what is going on. With apparent awareness of the situation, he distracts Zarniwoop, allowing Trillian and Zaphod to escape unnoticed, then deliberately locks Zarniwoop out of the house and ignores him. These very calculated, specific actions lend evidence to the idea that the man who rules the universe is not only at least partially sane, but has an awareness and understanding of the world beyond his apparent doubt of everything he perceives. The way he acted, the actions he took imply that the man knows the consequences of the actions he took, and the consequences of the trio's presence on the planet.

The man's entire reality exists in a duality of doubt, and actions contradicting that doubt. His life symbolizes the somewhat bittersweet truth that every philosopher, every conspiracist, every human on this planet must face.

We are trapped by our experiences, they are inescapable, we can doubt them all we want but in the end, we must live our lives as human beings along with the rest of the world. We have no choice but to interact with the world under the assumption that it is real.

But is that such a bad thing?

Our lives, no matter how much we doubt them, are quite beautiful. Every day we have the chance to learn something new, something fantastic, to meet new people, to discover new places, to have some fun. Our lives, have the potential to be quite enjoyable. The Man who Rules the Universe can find excitement in everything he experiences, because he can experience them in a new way every time. He lives with his cat in a ramshackle hut on a desolate planet hidden and protected by a field of Unprobability, yet he can find something to do, something to enjoy every single day. What excuse do we have for stagnancy?

I say enjoy life, all of its doubts, assumptions and beauties.
After all, it's all that we got.

I bid you welcome to the Man Who Rules The Universe.