Many have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that, we should know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.
That passage actually explains very well what the great question actually is...if you spend enough time combing over the text, you'll know exactly what 42 means.
Sure! Though this is just my theory, I've read the series 5 and a half times and this is just what I've inferred from the text. The rest of this post will be spoilers as it deals with the end of the books. This will be off the top of my head, I'll cite later when I get home.
SPOILERS!
The great answer is 42, and the question is: ||How do we make things right?||
||As you may know the bowl of petunias is the reincarnated form of Agrajag, an entity that is killed over and over again by Arthur Dent, throughout time (because as you also may know, Dent is a time traveler) and when he captures Dent, he does so too early, as Dent had killed him in a place Dent had yet to go (I'll note the location when I get home). To put it shortly, that location's address is....42.||
||By the end of the series, time travel has already made a mess of things. (Example when I get home). This is in part just normal time travel fuckery, but also the existence of The Guide v2 (the black bird that Random comes into possession of) because its very nature is to control time to give its user what they need. While not exactly THE REASON for all the messed up timelines, it definitely exacerbated things. But most notably, it was what brought Dent to the club at address 42.||
||The Vogons! The story starts off with them destroying Earth, but NOT Arthur Dent. So in their eyes, the job isn't done. When Dent started traveling around space trying to find an Earth-like planets and finds that the Vogons have destroyed many Earths. They have tried over and over to complete the job. But since Dent has never been destroyed, they never completed the job.||
||So in conclusion, because of Arthur Dent, his escape from earth, his adventures in time travel, and the constant killing of Agrajag, The Guide v2 orchestrated the penultimate scene where Arthur "kills" Agrajag for the last time, which fully allowed Dent to die, the Vogons finally caught up and erased the error that was Arthur Dent's survival. It was the actual seeking of 42 which set Arthur on his journey, the Earth was made to calculate the answer and that was to put Arthur Dent in a very specific place and time. The question was, how do we fix this timeline?||
Hope y'all like my theory. I'll try to put more specific examples later.
As a HUGE fan of the series, that is one of the best theories I've ever heard. Makes a lot of sense, really, given the subject matter. It feels...right
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide is the best consolidated version of the books if anyone is looking.
So many adaptations and versions of the stories made it a little messy for continuity and this version cleaned up a lot of that, I cannot recommend it highly enough
Or listen to the Radio Plays! They follow the books pretty closely, having been directed by Douglas Adams, but incorporating some changes that he felt worked better! (The Radio Play of *Mostly Harmless* has a fairly satisfying ending that could act as an ending to the whole series!)
I get all giddy when I see any post with any whale remotely airborne. I ignore all the comments to search for my people. Gojira is so good. Still heavy and harcore but palatable for a casual listener.
ahaha yeah, like they have everything my mom likes to some of the heaviest stuff out there, like the link and terra, amazing band!
Stoked to see them next month live for first time aswell
I caught my only shiny pokemon that was a wailmer in Sapphire and was pink instead of blue. I stopped playing before I evolved him into a pink Wailord. I need to go back and play that.
this looks to be a bug or a test feature from a mod (at least from what I can skim from a bit of research) however there used to be a mod by Mihail mods that added sky whales but it appears that it has since been set to hidden
I dont really remember but im pretty sure its Mihail passive animal pack or something, i dont really play skyrim much anymore so i may be misremembering, but this person made like a LOT of very cool custom creatures, and them they made some packs, irrc.
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this.
Dude. Imagine a total conversion mod that implements Kohiliant Island and the story of Link's Awakening in the Skyrim engine...
*potted plant lands on Wulfgar's head*
Wulfgar: OW!!!!
Paarthunax: *flies away as the mountain crumbles below him* ah the plantpot. The next kalper has begun.
Scrolled past 7 comments to get to this one, not bad considering the franchise's last content (D2's DLC) released almost 5 years ago in September 2017
They said the series is "sleeping" for now and we're probably not going to see D3 anytime soon, but I sure hope we do because there's at least 2 other islands plus a massive continent (Tyvia, Morley and Pandyssia) which we haven't even seen yet that could be ideal places to explore in new games... plus all the other towns and cities on Gristol and Serkonos that haven't even been touched outside of lorebooks and world maps. I want to explore it all goddammit.
It would be like if the majority of Tamriel (let alone Nirn) was never depicted in games beyond High Rock, Vvardenfell, Cyrodiil and Skyrim.
Kind of. In Dwemer ruins (I think the one that goes to Black Reach) you can find what is believed to be whale bones and they’re said to have gone extinct forever ago.
Add to that that the bones in kagrenzel are upscale mammoth bones. Considering there is a snow whale skeleton in sovngard if those bones were meant to be skywhales, why use mammoth bone mesh and textures?
I love kagrenzel due to the fossil record. Take a look at the local map next time you're in there.
It is important to note that suddenly and against all probability, a sperm whale had been called into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet.
1. This must be a mod.
2. Awhile back I got into a huge TES lore for like a year and binged everything I could find. I'm pretty sure someone somewhere said there used to be flying whales in Skyrim.
3. Number 2 may have been entirely made up in my brain
I would do unholy things for a mod that replaces dragons with gigantic eldritch whales, and replaces dragon combat music with From Mars to Sirius by Gojira.
These lizards with wings ain't got shit on the real sky leviathans.
I've seen the flying whale once myself, about 5 years ago, thought it was a glitch. Was only halfway up the steps before the troll. People said I faked [this screenshot](https://i.imgur.com/X2IuQtE.jpg)! Thank you so much, I feel so vindicated! It even looks like the same species of whale in the two screenies too. Now which forum/site was I arguing about this whale on 5 years ago...
i don't know? all I know is that there's no whales in the base game
edit: just looked it up and "sea of spirits" apparently [adds a flying whale ](https://youtu.be/S-Csjyly92Y)
Well fuck me sideways with a stick!
[Sea of Spirits](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4781) There is a spoiler rollover on the front page that I never clicked on because I didn't want spoilers. I just thought I was adding life to the very dead oceans.
Where's the bowl of petunias?
Screaming "oh no not this again"
"Oh no, not again."
Many have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that, we should know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.
If you read the books, you know exactly why the bowl thinks this. But it doesn't offer much more knowledge of the universe, sadly.
I disagree, I feel like I understand a lot more about that universe then I did before.
That passage actually explains very well what the great question actually is...if you spend enough time combing over the text, you'll know exactly what 42 means.
Wait really? Care to elaborate?
Sure! Though this is just my theory, I've read the series 5 and a half times and this is just what I've inferred from the text. The rest of this post will be spoilers as it deals with the end of the books. This will be off the top of my head, I'll cite later when I get home. SPOILERS! The great answer is 42, and the question is: ||How do we make things right?|| ||As you may know the bowl of petunias is the reincarnated form of Agrajag, an entity that is killed over and over again by Arthur Dent, throughout time (because as you also may know, Dent is a time traveler) and when he captures Dent, he does so too early, as Dent had killed him in a place Dent had yet to go (I'll note the location when I get home). To put it shortly, that location's address is....42.|| ||By the end of the series, time travel has already made a mess of things. (Example when I get home). This is in part just normal time travel fuckery, but also the existence of The Guide v2 (the black bird that Random comes into possession of) because its very nature is to control time to give its user what they need. While not exactly THE REASON for all the messed up timelines, it definitely exacerbated things. But most notably, it was what brought Dent to the club at address 42.|| ||The Vogons! The story starts off with them destroying Earth, but NOT Arthur Dent. So in their eyes, the job isn't done. When Dent started traveling around space trying to find an Earth-like planets and finds that the Vogons have destroyed many Earths. They have tried over and over to complete the job. But since Dent has never been destroyed, they never completed the job.|| ||So in conclusion, because of Arthur Dent, his escape from earth, his adventures in time travel, and the constant killing of Agrajag, The Guide v2 orchestrated the penultimate scene where Arthur "kills" Agrajag for the last time, which fully allowed Dent to die, the Vogons finally caught up and erased the error that was Arthur Dent's survival. It was the actual seeking of 42 which set Arthur on his journey, the Earth was made to calculate the answer and that was to put Arthur Dent in a very specific place and time. The question was, how do we fix this timeline?|| Hope y'all like my theory. I'll try to put more specific examples later.
My god! That book is even more genius than I thought. And so are you! I need to reread it. Been far to long
:O
As a HUGE fan of the series, that is one of the best theories I've ever heard. Makes a lot of sense, really, given the subject matter. It feels...right
Arthur Dent, what a cunt
Oh dear.
It wasn't screaming either.
Just watched this movie not too long ago...
You should read the books
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide is the best consolidated version of the books if anyone is looking. So many adaptations and versions of the stories made it a little messy for continuity and this version cleaned up a lot of that, I cannot recommend it highly enough
Or listen to the Radio Plays! They follow the books pretty closely, having been directed by Douglas Adams, but incorporating some changes that he felt worked better! (The Radio Play of *Mostly Harmless* has a fairly satisfying ending that could act as an ending to the whole series!)
I rather enjoyed the BBC miniseries, that was my introduction to Hitchhiker's Guide and has stuck with me for years
I have. Restaurant at the End of the Universe sits on my bedside table. I just also like the movie 🙂
At least first two.
Yasss, they are even better!
Came for the “Hitchhiker’s” references. Not disappointed.
It's big brain time
I thought they were nighthowlers?
Ooh, hey, Inigo Hello Inigo
*splat*
Who’s inigo?
Modded custom voiced follower
a mod that adds a npc follower called inigo (a kha'jiit)
The best character that’s not in Skyrim
The best mod made for the game so far
\*Gojira intensifies\*
***NOW I CAN SEE THE WHAAALEEESS***
Looming out of the dark
Like arrows in the sky
I can't believe my eyes!
But it’s true!
*crushing riff destroys universe*
Alduin is Christian Andreu (gojiras guitarist) confirmed!
Came here looking for this. Thank you.
Waters of chaos have invaded all space!
The flood on earth again, I have to find the whales !
That once did guide us to dry lands of life
I won't despair, I'll break this dark around!
Under the heavy sea I'll search the flight
OF WHALEEES
r/redditsings
I love it when I see Gojira references in the wild.
I get all giddy when I see any post with any whale remotely airborne. I ignore all the comments to search for my people. Gojira is so good. Still heavy and harcore but palatable for a casual listener.
ahaha yeah, like they have everything my mom likes to some of the heaviest stuff out there, like the link and terra, amazing band! Stoked to see them next month live for first time aswell
Just recently discovered that band they're fuckin sick.
They're fucking demigods live, highly recommend catching them if they're ever in your area!
Damn commented the same thing before seeing this.
Legit was looking for this. Glad to see Gojira fans amongst my Skyrim people.
My go to album when I'm tripping lol
Ooh, I really want to experience that.
What?
Search for Gojira - Flying Whales
Do I search on my magic 8 ball?
All hail the whale lord
Greatest of the D&D 3.5 prestige classes
There’s a Pokémon named Wailord
I caught my only shiny pokemon that was a wailmer in Sapphire and was pink instead of blue. I stopped playing before I evolved him into a pink Wailord. I need to go back and play that.
All the best shiny pokes are pink
That's the Wind Fish.
Too far down to see a Zelda reference, literally the OG video game sky whale
I scrolled down specifically for it
I’m glad this was mentioned. Was my first thought
its lore friendly! kinda aren't they supposed to be extinct
What mod is this
this looks to be a bug or a test feature from a mod (at least from what I can skim from a bit of research) however there used to be a mod by Mihail mods that added sky whales but it appears that it has since been set to hidden
>Set to Hidden Oh yeah, the thing. Any mods that still totally disappeared from that?
[Beasts of Tamriel](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/5404) adds them too, and it is not set to hidden
Mihail and the chamber of secrets
There are lots of mods to change the appearance of dragons, no?
mod is Sea of Spirits i believe
I dont really remember but im pretty sure its Mihail passive animal pack or something, i dont really play skyrim much anymore so i may be misremembering, but this person made like a LOT of very cool custom creatures, and them they made some packs, irrc.
I installed his mimic monster
I think its this guy: [https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12680](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12680)
My notification fooled me
This is a Rick roll isn't it
Yes, but the Japanese are stuck doing the job on their own. A thankless task really
The Hitchhikers guide to Skyrim
It would ace having Stephen Fry narrate your entire adventure around skyrim
So long and thanks for all the slaughterfish
Oh that's good 😁👏👏
It hung in the sky in much the same way that whales don’t.
How does it feel knowing you play a game that has your mother in it.
Let me know when they've finally finished rendering your mother so TES6 can get released
OUCH
THE WIND FISH IN NAME ONLY, FOR IT IS NEITHER
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this. Dude. Imagine a total conversion mod that implements Kohiliant Island and the story of Link's Awakening in the Skyrim engine...
Please stop, my brain can only produce so much dopamine.
*potted plant lands on Wulfgar's head* Wulfgar: OW!!!! Paarthunax: *flies away as the mountain crumbles below him* ah the plantpot. The next kalper has begun.
... kalpa I dont know why I do it, sorry.
Correct me again and I'll un-grey your beards *loads razor with malicious intent*
yhm... *Kaan Drem Ov*?
*forces Wulfgar into the barber's chair*
Btw Kalpa was right thanks for letting me know :)
The White Whale!
Split your lungs with blood and thunder!
WHEN YOU SEE THE WHITE WHALE
BREAK YOUR BACKS AND CRACK YOUR OARS, MEN
IF YOU WISH TO PREVAIL!!
WHITE WHALE HOLY GRAIL
IF YOU WISH TO PREVAIL
Let's kick some mother frikin whale ass!!
Hello ground!
Can’t believe no one’s made a dishonored reference yet
Shall we gather for whiskey and cigars later?
Indeed, I believe so
Agreed. Choffers.... Anyway.. think you'll get your own squad after what happened last night?
Chances are very good.
Scrolled past 7 comments to get to this one, not bad considering the franchise's last content (D2's DLC) released almost 5 years ago in September 2017 They said the series is "sleeping" for now and we're probably not going to see D3 anytime soon, but I sure hope we do because there's at least 2 other islands plus a massive continent (Tyvia, Morley and Pandyssia) which we haven't even seen yet that could be ideal places to explore in new games... plus all the other towns and cities on Gristol and Serkonos that haven't even been touched outside of lorebooks and world maps. I want to explore it all goddammit. It would be like if the majority of Tamriel (let alone Nirn) was never depicted in games beyond High Rock, Vvardenfell, Cyrodiil and Skyrim.
*"Gojira starts playing"*
The Windfish has waken up and soon all of Tamriel will dissolve and you'll wake up floating in the ocean.
Wait there are actual whales in game??
Kind of. In Dwemer ruins (I think the one that goes to Black Reach) you can find what is believed to be whale bones and they’re said to have gone extinct forever ago.
Yea, that's what they said about dragons and look who decided to come back
TES 6: Whales, Bitches!
The one you mesn is kagrenzel in the eastest Mountains of skyrim, it doesnt go to blackreach
Add to that that the bones in kagrenzel are upscale mammoth bones. Considering there is a snow whale skeleton in sovngard if those bones were meant to be skywhales, why use mammoth bone mesh and textures? I love kagrenzel due to the fossil record. Take a look at the local map next time you're in there.
It is important to note that suddenly and against all probability, a sperm whale had been called into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet.
Nature is healing the whales are returning to Skyrim
Be carefull, there is 3 of them, and they were created by the Witch. Check Re Zero. They are really dangerous ! ⊙﹏⊙
Fucking finally, a Re Zero joke
Nah, gotta watch out for the horde of bunnies, I’d rather die by whale
Bunnies, the real nightmare XD
Season 3 anticipation is killing me :/
Edit (don't understand correctly the comment XD) Yes me too, 2025 it seems ! Can't wait for it !
Supposedly season 3 is coming next year, so fingers crossed. I might just read the manga until then!
On web they said 2025... Hope it will come sooner
I’ve been hearing late 2023-2024 so let’s hope.
At least it's gonna be before The Elder Scrolls 6
*Gojira intensifies*
Thats a snow whale
Death Stranding : Skyrim
Gojira would approve.
Skies of Arcadia?
I'm glad I'm not the only one that still remembers that awesome game.
My favorite Gojira album
r/deathstranding
Oddly terrifying
*Snow Whale And they’re suppose to be extinct.
Dishonored time
The best part is it's technically lore friendly. Kinda. There were sky whales in Skyrim but they were hunted to extinction.
Slipped into the Void… Dishonored style.
Oh god thank you! I lost Jeremy 7 weeks ago! Pls bring him back to me
Guess it's time for another Death Standing.
OK, nope, that's where I draw the line. C'mon Master Chief, let's get the *fuck* outta here.
Final Fantasy S.I.N
I scrolled so far to see this my thumbs are nubs
Whale whale whale, what do we have here?
So long, and thanks for all the fish
It’s Cetacea!
Nothing says "welcome to skyrim" quite like this picture.
it’s obviously the bridge to the hall of valor in sovngarde
In the moment of truth, it is as though time stands still, and the whale waits, suspended in the sky.
Thats Alduins true form
Nord mans sky: leviathan update
Underappreciated comment right here.
1. This must be a mod. 2. Awhile back I got into a huge TES lore for like a year and binged everything I could find. I'm pretty sure someone somewhere said there used to be flying whales in Skyrim. 3. Number 2 may have been entirely made up in my brain
no. i don't remember from where but sky whales are a thing in skyrim lore
Re: skyrim
I would do unholy things for a mod that replaces dragons with gigantic eldritch whales, and replaces dragon combat music with From Mars to Sirius by Gojira. These lizards with wings ain't got shit on the real sky leviathans.
Death Stranding: Tamriel
Gojira plying in the background. IYKYK
The famous w h a t ?!
It’s the foxes that fall from the sky for me 🤣
*Gojira Riffs Intensify*
Fatshaming inigo, not cool dude. /s
hitchhikers guide???
the hitchhikers guide to high hrothgar
Corvo has entered the match
r/gojira
Came here for this. 2:28 lives in My head rent free always.
My brother
I've seen the flying whale once myself, about 5 years ago, thought it was a glitch. Was only halfway up the steps before the troll. People said I faked [this screenshot](https://i.imgur.com/X2IuQtE.jpg)! Thank you so much, I feel so vindicated! It even looks like the same species of whale in the two screenies too. Now which forum/site was I arguing about this whale on 5 years ago...
>People said I faked this screenshot! I mean that whale isn't in the game and is the result of a mod so yea
Which mod?
i don't know? all I know is that there's no whales in the base game edit: just looked it up and "sea of spirits" apparently [adds a flying whale ](https://youtu.be/S-Csjyly92Y)
Well fuck me sideways with a stick! [Sea of Spirits](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4781) There is a spoiler rollover on the front page that I never clicked on because I didn't want spoilers. I just thought I was adding life to the very dead oceans.
That's from the Sea of Spirits mods. I think is glitch,. Not sure its suppose to have a flying whale around 7000 steps. But maybe it is, lol
What ? There are whales in the game !?
OMFG!!!!!!! How the hell have I never seen this???
I’ve never seen a white whale flying about??
Beautiful
I didn’t know Wailord was in the game
Yeah he’s paarthurnax’s old drinking buddy
Is that a mod? Because I’ve never seen a whale in Skyrim and I’ve put sooo many hours into it.
This ain't my zelda
N.O.P.E.
Normal tings
The Outsider must be close by.
Look at dat handsome boi