Chapter 150 Personal Side Quest: A Tiny Planet
Among the stars of the universe, a "bar" floats alone in space, shining with a warm light in the empty darkness.
At that moment, a voice rang out in the bar.
"So you stopped time and then crashed into me on this track?"
Douglas opened his eyes wide and looked at the blond child in front of him: "This is quite a violent way to travel."
The golden child, Exupéry nodded: "Yes, because I suddenly became very curious about what the starry sky looks like."
Did you do this simply because you wanted to know, without giving it any further thought?
Douglas Adams was experiencing a rare headache, as he discovered that the child was the rather difficult type.
It's not the kind of difficulty that comes from talking to oneself, but a deeper kind.
He acted without much thought; typical of a child...
Douglas scratched his head in bewilderment, while Exupé looked around and asked, "Is this your tavern?"
"Hmm? Yeah," Douglas replied casually. "Despite its odd location, we actually have quite a few regular customers."
Exupé tilted his head: "Aliens?"
“No, that’s not it. I’ve never seen an alien before.” Douglas stopped dwelling on those useless things and started chatting seriously with Exupé: “They’re just people with special abilities or special beings on Earth. Sometimes they come back to my place for a drink, although there’s nothing special about my place.”
Exupé nodded but did not speak further.
Douglas sensed something strange. But he couldn't grasp the fleeting thought and could only ignore it for the time being.
After a moment of silence, Douglas asked, "Aren't you curious about other things?"
Exupé thought for a moment: "The rest... what are you doing here?"
"To unlock the ultimate answer." Douglas had clearly answered this question more than once, and he immediately became excited. "The ultimate answer to everything in the universe is 42! I know the result, but I don't know the process, so I want to find a way to prove the result!"
These few words contain an excessive sense of fanaticism, making one perceive a hint of madness.
But Exupé didn't seem to notice, and simply tilted his head and asked again, "Why?"
Douglas thought for a moment, feeling that he couldn't explain it in a short time, so he told a lame joke: "Because 42 is the ultimate answer."
Exupé didn't react, but continued to nod: "Oh, I see."
Douglas paused for a moment, then hesitated slightly before speaking, "Um...aren't you going to continue asking me questions?"
"What do you want to ask?"
Douglas asked in a strange tone, “There are many questions, such as who comes here, why I have to open a tavern here, and why 42 is the ultimate answer—basically everyone who comes here asks me a few questions.”
By this time, Douglas had figured out where the strange feeling he had felt earlier came from.
Exupé seemed a bit too uncurious.
Even when he gave a joking answer, Exupéry took it so seriously.
It seems that Exupé didn't actually want to know the answer; he was simply asking a question.
Exupéry's expression remained unchanged: "Is it strange?"
"Yeah, it's strange, but I think I understand a little better..."
Douglas, who has met too many strange people, found some familiarity in Exupéry's actions.
Douglas crossed his arms and pondered for a moment, then sighed helplessly, "Hmm... I see, Exupéry, you don't have any 'desire'?"
Exupé tilted his head slightly.
“Let me give you the simplest example. The reason you asked me this question is merely because you believe that this is how things should be right now, not because you genuinely want to ask a question.” Douglas looked into Exupé’s eyes as if he were staring into a black hole from which even light could not escape. “You asked a question, but whether you get an answer or not is meaningless to you. Because you don’t have the ‘desire for knowledge’ that compels you to get an answer.”
Exupé listened quietly. When his body, frozen in time, was still, it was like a lifeless rock, and no one could find even a trace of vitality in him.
"Your 'Little Prince' stripped you of your 'will to live' the moment you awakened. The disappearance of bodily needs means you no longer have desires for things like food and sleep; your body's cessation means your perception of the world is like being separated by a screen, making it difficult for you to empathize with anything outside that screen."
“Your immortality simultaneously means endless loneliness and emptiness, and the only consolation, yet also the most tragic, is that you, Exupéry, are unaware of this.” Douglas crouched down, Particle’s hand reaching out to touch Exupéry, only to feel an insurmountable barrier. “Because you have never felt any emotion other than ‘loneliness.’ Therefore, you cannot even comprehend the sheer sorrow of your situation.”
Exupé blinked to show he was listening: "So, what I'm feeling right now is emptiness?"
"Yes, according to most people's definition, that is emptiness."
“But everyone talks about emptiness, loneliness, and pain,” Antoine thought carefully. “But I don’t feel that way.”
"That's because you've never experienced satisfaction—how can someone who has never experienced satisfaction possibly feel the pain of emptiness?"
Douglas lowered his head, unsure of what to say.
“Exupéry, I’m simply offering you this advice from an outsider’s perspective. If you don’t want to spend endless time in torment, then just live forever within your own barrier and never truly touch this world.”
"Just as an innocent child cannot comprehend the rigid and ignorant rules of the adult world, the one who gets burned when interacting with the world will only be you."
Exupé's expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded as always: "I understand."
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