We know from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42.

In the first episode of The Starlost, when Devon (Keir Dullea) first leaves the Amish-type dome he’s been living in and finds out his dome is just one of many on “Earthship Ark,” he is of course very confused and has many questions – where he is, what is this “Earthship Ark” thing, what’s going on… basically, he’d like the answers to life, the universe, and everything. And what data cylinder does the computer (William Osler) tell him to insert for the answers?

Four-Two.

An interesting coincidence, I thought! (I’m assuming it’s a coincidence, anyway… unless maybe Douglas Adams was watching The Starlost, which seems a bit unlikely!)

And in completely unrelated news, there are two new voting bonuses up today: A sprite strip in which the new shuttle is gone, and a bad translation of today’s strip.

Well, nobody identified the show Mr. Substitute must have been watching when he designed the computer’s new interface in last week’s second bonus… Or if anybody did, they didn’t want to admit it! That was Mu Lambda 165 (“Automatically programmed for general information. Can I help you?”) from The Starlost as the new interface.

There are two new sprite bonus strips (here and here) up today in which Prentis and Linton continue to discuss security and the station’s new shuttle. (And Thank You to everyone who’s been voting!)

While I’m not planning on updating it on any sort of regular schedule any time soon, strip #401 will probably go up at Z7 some time within the next week or so. For a little preview of what this strip might (or might not!) be like, see today’s first new voting bonus!

And in today’s second voting bonus, Mr. Substitute has given V3’s computer a new interface. (Can anyone figure out what TV show he must have been watching to get the idea?)

So, it’s a new month… As good a reason as any to update the voting bonuses!

Today’s new bonuses are a sprite strip in which Linton and Prentis discuss security and the new shuttle, and a bad translation (English to German and back again on Babelfish) of today’s strip.

Check out this year’s Fright Night – I did a Halloween remix of a comic from Rudi Gunther’s Deathworld, and Rudi did a great Halloween remix (seen here) of this strip!