It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see...&quot;<p>&quot;You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?&quot;<p>&quot;No,&quot; said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, &quot;nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.&quot;<p>&quot;Odd,&quot; said Arthur, &quot;I thought you said it was a democracy.&quot;<p>&quot;I did,&quot; said Ford. &quot;It is.&quot;<p>&quot;So,&quot; said Arthur, hoping he wasn&#x27;t sounding ridiculously obtuse, &quot;why don&#x27;t people get rid of the lizards?&quot;<p>&quot;It honestly doesn&#x27;t occur to them,&quot; said Ford. &quot;They&#x27;ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they&#x27;ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.&quot;<p>&quot;You mean they actually vote for the lizards?&quot;<p>&quot;Oh yes,&quot; said Ford with a shrug, &quot;of course.&quot;<p>&quot;But,&quot; said Arthur, going for the big one again, &quot;why?&quot;<p>&quot;Because if they didn&#x27;t vote for a lizard,&quot; said Ford, &quot;the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?&quot;