In "Mostly Harmless", Arthur Dent notes that the universe is only missing two things, the world he was born on, and the woman he loves.
Where in the universe is Fenchurch?
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This scene could be the inspiration for the Jodi Foster film Flightplan.– user35971Commented Dec 6, 2014 at 15:20
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Except that HHGTTG is actually more plausible.– ValorumCommented Dec 6, 2014 at 17:54
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2 Answers
In The Novels: By traveling in hyperspace, Arthur and Fenchurch accidentally entered a universe where she no longer existed (one in which she was still on the Earth when it was destroyed, presumably) and when they returned to the Prime universe, she was gone, irrevocably.
My understanding is that Fenchurch's existence (and indeed the existence of anyone and anything from within the "plural zones") was discontinuous along the various probability axes. Simply put, she exists in some universes and not in others.
But when they had asked him what Galactic Sector he and Fenchurch had been from and he had said ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha they had relaxed completely in a way that Arthur wasn't at all sure he liked. They even laughed a little, though sympathetically, of course. They pointed to the clause in the ticket contract which said that the entities whose lifespans had originated in any of the Plural zones were advised not to travel in hyperspace and did so at their own risk. Everybody, they said, knew that. They tittered slightly and shook their heads.
As Arthur had left their offices he found he was trembling slightly. Not only had he lost Fenchurch in the most complete and utter way possible, but he felt that the more time he spent away out in the Galaxy the more it seemed that the number of things he didn't know anything about actually increased.
In the 2005 version of the BBC Radio series (known as "fit the 26th", also written by Adams): It's revealed that Fenchurch took a job as a waitress at Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of The Universe. You can listen to it in full here:
"Arthur : Waitress, can you bring over a talking cauliflower?"
Fenchurch (for it is she) : Yes sir, I will. Oh, is there a Mr Beeblebrox on this table?
Arthur : Good grief!
Random : Dad, what is it?
Arthur : Fenchurch!
Fenchurch : Arthur!? Hi! I wondered when you'd turn up.
Arthur + Fenchurch (in unison) : Where did you go? I searched for months!
Fenchurch (continued) : I thought I'd wait for you.
Arthur : How did you know I'd come back?
Fenchurch : Well, this seemed as good a place as any
Arthur : But here? It's amazing!
Fenchurch : Yeah, I know.
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Only the first two radio series were written by Douglas Adams (with John Lloyd in Fits the Fifth and Sixth); the rest were adapted by Dirk Maggs from the books, and from other published and unpublished material by Adams, but with some original ideas and material too. In particular, while Adams had wanted to end the series in a more upbeat way, the details seem to be original.– giddsCommented Jul 19, 2023 at 18:27
It's possible that she's not in the universe, but in an alternate universe.