The old man assures Arthur that he and his friends will not be harmed, explaining that the missiles were launched via an ancient automated system. He also explains that the inhabitants of Magrathea are not dead, as is commonly assumed, but rather that they have been sleeping, waiting for the economic environment of the Galaxy to rebound. The old man demands that Arthur come with him, “’deep into the bowels of the planet’” (103). They decide to leave Marvin behind. Finally, the old man reveals that his name is Slartibartfast, to which Arthur responds incredulously.

The narrator breaks in again to explain that, while “man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins,” the opposite turns out to be true (105). In fact, the dolphins had tried to warn the humans of the upcoming destruction of the Earth, but the humans had mistaken their antics for adorable play. Thus, the dolphins “left the Earth by their own means,” escaping the annihilation of the planet (105). The narrator then says that there is actually another species even more intelligent than the dolphins.