An entry about the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation (Marketing Division) from the Encyclopaedia Galactica as featured on the BBC TV series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The Encyclopedia Galactica is a fictional or hypothetical encyclopedia of a future galaxy-spanning civilization, containing all the knowledge accumulated by a society with trillions of people and thousands of years of history. The Encyclopaedia Galactica defines the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as a bunch of mindless jerks who were first against the wall when the revolution came. ... The Encyclopaedia Galactica defines the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as a bunch of mindless jerks who were first against the wall when the revolution came. ... Encyclopedia Galactica: the inept Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Marketing Division. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Look up marketing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,[1] was a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adamss The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January and February 1981 on BBC Two. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 1902 An encyclopedia, encyclopaedia or (traditionally) encyclopædia[1] is a comprehensive written compendium that contains information on all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge. ... NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 17,000 parsecs in diameter and approximately 20 million parsecs distant. ... Cities are a major hallmark of human civilization. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... One million million (1,000,000,000,000) is the natural number following 999,999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,000,001. ... The title page to The Historians History of the World. ...

It was first used by Isaac Asimov in his novel Foundation, where it is central to the first part of the plot. Various people have since used the same idea, both in science and in science fiction. It was a common fixture in previous incarnations of the Legion of Superheroes comic books, and Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series frequently contrasts the Galactica with the presumably more popular Guide. For example, the introduction to the first book notes: Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), IPA: , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов) was a Russian-born American Jewish author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Psychohistorian: Hari Seldon Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimovs Foundation Trilogy (later expanded into The Foundation Series). ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The Legion of Super-Heroes is a team of comic book superheroes in the future. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ...

"In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitch Hiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.

First, it is slightly cheaper; and second, it has the words Don't Panic inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover."

In Asimov's stories the encyclopedia is given as the original purpose of the foundation. It is later revealed that the encyclopedia project was not the actual goal, but only an excuse for setting up the foundation. Regardless the project was continued, although at a slower pace. Dont Panic may be: A catchphrase from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

Part XII of Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage television series is titled Encyclopaedia Galactica. In it, Sagan suggests that such an encyclopedia might be broadcast into space and could possibly be received through radioastronomy (see SETI). He explores the idea of how different civilizations, including our own, might be described in such a work. In his version of the encyclopedia, each civilization has a "probability of survival" rating — for a hypothetical highly technologically advanced civilization utilizing Dyson Spheres, he suggests a probability of survival of 99% per 10⁶ years. For Earth, he speculates that the probability of survival might be viewed by other civilizations as only 40% per 100 years, reflecting the Cold War conditions of the time the documentary was made. Insert non-formatted text here Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer and astrobiologist and a highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics, and other natural sciences. ... Cosmos: A Personal Voyage was the name of a thirteen part television series produced by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan which was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980. ... This article is about the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. ... A cut-away diagram of an idealized Dyson shell—a variant on Dysons original concept—1 AU in radius. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Other instances of such encyclopedias in fiction include:

• The Repository of the Ancients, from Stargate SG-1
• Adventures of Superman #617 (2003)
• Star Wars: HoloNet News #45
• The Library from David Brin's Uplift Saga.

Works that contain no other use of the encyclopedia may contain "articles" from it at the beginning of a book, or at the beginning of chapters, as a technique to get needed exposition over with quickly. In the Stargate science fiction universe, a Repository of the Ancients is a device that contains a library of the knowledge of the Ancients, the builders of the Stargate network. ... Stargate SG-1 (often abbreviated as SG-1) is a science fiction television series, part of the Stargate franchise. ... Glen David Brin, Ph. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Exposition (plot device) and Plot dump . ...

Excerpts

Trantor-... the impossibility of proper administration... under the uninspired leadership of the later Emperors was a considerable factor in the Fall." To support the needs and whims of the population, food from twenty agricultural worlds brought by ships in the tens of thousands, fleets greater than any navy ever constructed by the Empire. "Its dependence upon the outer worlds for food and, indeed, for all necessities of life, made Trantor increasingly vulnerable to conquest by siege. In the last millennium of the Empire, the monotonously numerous revolts made Emperor after Emperor conscious of this, and Imperial policy became little more than the protection of Trantor's delicate jugular vein..." (Encyclopedia Galactica) Trantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimovs Foundation series and Empire series of science fiction novels. ...

Terminus-...Its location was an odd one for the role it was called upon to play in galactic history, and yet as many writers have never tired of pointing out, an inevitable one. Located on the very fringe of the galactic spiral, an only planet of an isolated sun, poor in resources and negligible in economic value, it was never settled in the five centuries after its discovery, until the landing of the encyclopedists.... It was inevitable that as a new generation grew, Terminus would become something more than an appendage of the psychohistorians of Trantor. With the Anacreonian revolt and the rise to power of Salvor Hardin the first of the great line of...." (Encyclopedia Galactica) Terminus can refer to: Terminal station, a bus or rail station acting as an end destination Terminus (mythology), a Roman god Jupiter (god) (also known by this name) Atlanta, Georgia, which was originally called Terminus Terminus (planet), the home planet of the Foundation in Isaac Asimovs Foundation series Terminus... A bust of Anacreon in the Louvre Sketch of a bust of Anacreon Anacreon (Greek ) (born c. ... The fictional Salvor Hardin is a mayor of Terminus, location of the Foundation created by Hari Seldon in Isaac Asimovs fictional Foundation series. ...

The Four Kingdoms-....The Name given to those portions of the Anacreonian province which broke away from the Galactic Empire in the early years of the Foundational Era to form independent short-lived kingdoms. The largest and most powerful of theses was Anacreon itself which in area... ...Undoubtedly the most interesting aspect of the four kingdoms involves the strange society forced temporarily upon it during the administration of Salvor Hardin...."(Ecyclopedia Galactica) Galactic empires are a fairly common theme in science fiction. ...

Traders-....and constantly in advance of the political hegemony of the Foundation were the Traders, reaching out tenious fingerholds through the tremendous distances of the Periphery. Months or years might pass between landings on Terminus; their ships were often nothing more than patchquilts of home repairs and improvisations; their honesty was none more than the highest; their daring... Through it all, they forged an empire more enduring than the pseudo-religious depotism of the Four Kingdoms.... Tales without end are told of these massive, lonely figures who bore half-seriously, half-mockingly a motto adopted from one of Salvor Hardins epigrams, "never let your sense of morals stop you from doing what is right!" It is difficult now to tell which tales are real and which are apocryphal. There are none probably that have not suffered some exaggeration....With psychohistoric inevitability, economic control of the Foundation grew. The traders grew rich; and with riches came power....It is sometimes forgotten that Hober Mallow began his life as an ordinary trader. It is never forgotten that he ended it as the first merchant prince.... (Encyclopedia Galactica) Traders was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Global Television Network from 1995 to 2000. ... Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. ... Look up Foundation on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Foundation may refer to: A type of makeup. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

Bel Riose-....In his relatively short career, Riose earned the title of "The Last of the Imperials" and earned it well. A study of his campaigns reveals him to be the equal of Peurifoy in strategic ability and he is superior, perhaps, in how he handled men. That he was born in the days of the decline of the empire made it all the more impossible for him to equal Peurifoy's record as a conqueror. Yet when he had his chance to do so, he faced the Foundation squarely.... (Encyclopedia Galactica) In Isaac Asimovs Foundation series, the fictional character Bel Riose was the last strong General of the Galactic Empire, Commander of the legendary Twentieth Fleet, who eventually came to be known as the Last of the Imperials, and earned this title well. ...

The Mule-....Less is known of the Mule than any character of comparable significance to Galactic History. Even the period of his greatest renown is known to us chiefly through the eyes of his antagonists and, principally, through these of a young bride....It was after the fall of the first foundation that the Mule's constructive regime took shape. After the definite breakup of the first galactic empire, it was he who first presented history with a unified volume of space truly imperial in scope. The earliar commercial empire of the fallen foundation had been diverse and loosly knit, despite the impalpable backing of the predictions of psychohistory. It was not to be compared with the tightly controlled `Union of Worlds` under the Mule (Encyclopedia Galactica) The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimovs Foundation Series. ... Galactic empires are a fairly common theme in science fiction. ... Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. ...

References

Hitchhiker's Portal

1. H2G2 - BBC - h2g2 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2. Galaxy Quest - Wikipedia is a real-life Hitchhiker's Guide: huge, nerdy, and imprecise. By Paul Boutin Posted Tuesday, May 3, 2005, at 2:37 p.m. PT on Slate Magazine. Paul Boutin compares Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Galactica of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
3. Encyclopaedia Galactica of Orion's Arm, a science fiction universe
4. Encyclopedia Galactica - A Guide to Asimov's Foundation Universe