Young Zaphod Plays it Safe

Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a short story by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe. It doesn't appear as a standalone work, but is included with several collections. It first appeared in The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book (1986) which Adams also co-edited. It also appears in The Salmon of Doubt. The story does appear in some versions of the complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Related Topics:
Short story - Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book - 1986 - The Salmon of Doubt - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship which may be leaking some hazardous materials.

Related Topics:
Bureaucrat - Spaceship

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The bureaucrats are determined to "make it safe".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' SF work, and plenty of material about lobsters.

Related Topics:
Time travel - Paradoxes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Throughout the story, it is emphasized that there is something particularly dangerous on board that ought to have been utterly destroyed, but is feared to have escaped.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ultimately, it is revealed that the something was actually three identical, dangerous entities with good intentions but incredible and devastating powers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The end of the story culminates with the revelation that one of the personalities has escaped and headed off into the galaxy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Though it does not state it specifically, the story implies that this unspeakably dangerous creation is now known to the planet Earth as then-President Ronald Reagan, a reflection of the author's antagonistic attitude toward the President which also surfaces in Mostly Harmless.

Related Topics:
President - Ronald Reagan - Mostly Harmless

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~