Magrathea
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Magrathea is a fictional planet which appears in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, particularity in the first novel in the "Trilogy of five". Magrathea is a planet whose economy was based on the manufacturing of other planets for the wealthiest people in the universe. It was the people of Magrathea (known as "Magratheans") who created the Earth.
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[edit] History
Magrathea is considered the home of the industry of, "Custom-made luxury planet building." It was a market aimed at the richest people in the universe, during the days of the former Galactic Empire. The Magratheans would design and create entire planets for wealthy clients. They were so successful that Magrathea became the richest planet of all time. However, this resulted in the rest of the galaxy being plunged into abject poverty and the economy collapsing. The planet then faded from memory with most people, believing it to be just a myth.[1][2]
Amongst the clients who asked for planets to be created were a race of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings who asked the Magratheans to create the Earth, which was not a planet, but a super-computer designed to calculate the ultimate question to the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything. Amongst the people who worked on it was Slartibartfast, a coastal designer who won an award for his work on Norway.[3][4]
[edit] Geography
Magrathea orbits two stars, Soulianis and Rahm.[5] The surface of the planet appears to be dead, with the Magratheans kept in cryogenic state, not to be awakened until the economy was good enough to pay of Magrathea's expensive services. The surface is described as "Blighted". The book says that, "Bits of it were dullish grey, bits if it dullish brown, the rest of it rather less interesting to look at. It was like a dried-out marsh, now barren of all vegetation and covered with a layer of dust about an inch thick. It was very cold."[6]
When the television version of the series was made, a clay pit in St Austell, Cornwall was used to film the exterior shots of Magrathea. Creator of the series Douglas Adams however, claimed that he wanted to film in Iceland or Morocco, but these locations were too expensive.[7]
[edit] References
- Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Film Tie-In Edition. Basingstoke: Pan Macmillan, 2005. ISBN 0-330-43798-4.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Adams, Douglas (2005-04-01). The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Fil Tie-In Edition. Basingstoke: Pan Macmillan, 118-119. ISBN 0-330-43798-4.
- ^ "Fit the Third". The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 1978-03-22.
- ^ Adams, 166-167
- ^ "Fit the Fourth". The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 1978-03-29.
- ^ Adams, 122
- ^ Adams, 142
- ^ Webb, Nick (2003-10-06). Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams. Chatham, Kent: Headline, 211. ISBN 0-7553-1155-8.
[edit] External links
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