How does the end of 'Mostly Harmless' by Douglas Adams make sense? (Warning contains a major spoiler)?

Question

The penultimate chapter says that the Vogon captain has already destroyed the earth but because the Earth's in a plural sector "Anything you demolished kept on popping back up again",
OK, I understand that bit, but why, then, does it say "That would soon be taken care of", am I missing something or does he just demolish another one of the infinite possible earths?

I think the bird disappears because it's on the earth as well, so gets destroyed. The Vogon had it some time 'after' Random, and it had travelled back in time, I think.
Jayteaches, it's in chapter 24 of 25 (your website hadn't put chapter 25 in the bold type)

Answer 1

it's the bird that makes it possible; it has some means of presenting all points on the probability axis simultaneously (or maybe combining them into one), so that the grebulons shoot all possible earths to bits in one go. The vogons organised the bird idea so that they could do just that. Why exactly the bird then vanishes out of existence I don't know.

Answer 2

It was a long time ago when I read this book, but I remember thinking it was great - very funny and very clever!
I have jjust been reading a synopsis of this book to remind myself - perhaps this would help. It is a lot more complicated than I remember it, and I cannot find the bit your are referring to, you say the penultimate chapter, but perhpas you mean the last chapter?
Why not check out this site for a synopsis, which might help:>)
http://flag.blackened.net/dinsdale/dna/book5.html

Answer 3

i think it references back to the first book in Hitchhiker's Guide.

the earth is about to be destroyed to make way for an intergalactic superhighway.

And, even if the earth isn't destroyed that way, the humans seem to be well on their way to destroying it themselves.

Answer 4

Misses and hits another planet? ie 'Harmless' error?