h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A week after Cosmo's wake I found myself in a car traveling north along the coast of Maine. Most of Cosmo's children were with me. Seagulls circled overhead and dry leaves blew across the road.

"Tell me about your friend," I said to Faun, who had arranged the trip.

"Her name is Bambi, and she does experimental work with squirrels at Acorn Labs on
Oakdale Island near Bar Harbor."

"I expect that squirrel-haters would assume the worst about pain and torture there," I quipped.

"Au contraire," Faun said. "She treats them very well. Her aim is to bring out their latent intelligence."

"Hence the usefulness of her work for our efforts to help the Mardukians," Peregrine said, gazing longingly at the surf. He loved water sports, and hated having to be in a car when he could be enjoying the water, cold though it might be in November.

There was an immense oak leaf on the sign for Acorn Labs when we turned into the access road. The Labs were square and brick-faced, with numerous windows along every side.

Inside, we were met by a smiling white-clad receptionist with a squirrel icon on her
blouse. "Bambi is expecting you," she told us. Take the elevator to the fourth floor and look for lab 42."