Life, the Universe and Everything

>The third book in The Hitchhiker's Guide series.

Five years after being stranded on pre-historic Earth, Arthur and Ford jump onto a sofa which is actually a space-time eddy. There they run into Slartibartfast, who enlists their aid in preventing galactic war. Long ago, the people of Krikkit attempted to wipe out all life in the Universe, but they were stopped and imprisoned on their home planet in a Slo-Time envelope; now they are poised to escape.

Arthur gets separated from the others and ends up at a Cathedral of Hate created by Agrajag who reveals that Arthur has killed him countless times before, each time reincarnating into a new form that is soon killed by Arthur. Arthur manages to escape by learning how to fly after falling and missing the ground, distracted by luggage he had lost at a Greek airport years before. He rejoins his friends and with the help of Marvin, Zaphod and Trillian, prevent the destruction of life in the Universe at the hands of the Krikkits.

In the end Arthur goes to live on the planet Krikkit, where he becomes a more skillful flier and learns bird language.