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The term Imperial is kept though it is now an anachronism. The hereditary Emperor is nearly dead and has been for many centuries. In the last moments of his dying coma he was locked in a stasis field which keeps him in a state of perpetual unchangingness. All his heirs are now long dead, and this means that without any drastic political upheaval, power has simply and efectively moved a rung or two down the ladder, and is now seen to be vested in a body that used to act simply as advisers to the Emperor- an elected governmental assembly headed by a President elected by that assembly. In fact it vests in no such place.

The President of the Imperial Galactic Government (also known as the President of the Galaxy) is a position in the Galactic Empire that is temporary ruler of the Empire while the Emperor is in suspended animation. Zaphod Beeblebrox was one of the most successful Presidents that the Galaxy had ever had - when he had reached his tenth presidential year he had already spent two of those years in prison for fraud.

The President in particular is very much a figurehead- he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. On those criteria Zaphod Beeblebrox is one of the most successful Presidents the Galaxy has ever had. Very few people realize that the President and the Government have virtually no power at all, and of these few people only six know whence ultimate political power is wielded. Most of the others secretly believe that the ultimate decision-making process is handled by a computer. They couldn't be more wrong.

The Guide details the history of the Vogons, saying that billions of years ago, after the Vogons crawled out of the primeval seas of Vogsphere, it was "as if the forces of evolution had simply given up on them then and there, turned aside in disgust and written them off as an ugly mistake". They never evolved again, and their appearance hasn't changed in the billion, billion years since. What nature refused to give to them, they did without, until their myriad anatomical deficiencies could be rectified with surgery. This is a testament to their stubborn nature, which makes them especially well equipped for civil politics. When the Vogons finally found a way to leave their wretched planet, they immediately traveled to the Megabrantis cluster, where they became the immensely powerful backbone of the Galactic Civil Service.

They have survived due to their thick-willed stubbornness. When pondering evolution, the Vogons simply said: "who needs it?" What nature refused to do for them they simply did without until such time as they were able to rectify the grosser anatomical inconveniences with surgery. The Vogons have no appreciation for art of beauty, being known to smash the Scintillating Jewelled Scuttling Crabs that also originate from Vogsphere. They cut down their trees to use as firewood for cooking and eating these crabs, and they would catch and sit on the elegant gazelle-like creatures that also lived alongside them on their home planet.

Far back in prehistory, when the first primeval Vogons crawled out of the sea, evolution gave up on them. Through sheer obstinacy, though, the Vogons survived (partly by adapting a misplaced, badly malformed, and dyspeptic liver into a brain). As the radio show says: "What nature refused to give to them, they did without. Until their myriad anatomical deficiencies could be rectified with surgery." They then emigrated en masse to the MeagaBrantis star cluster, the political hub of the galaxy. They banished the ruling philosophers to the tax office to lick stamps and within a few short Vog years took over pretty much all of the galactic civil service, where they form most of the Galactic bureaucracy, most notably in the Vogon Constructor Fleets (which, despite their name, patrol the galaxy demolishing planets).

Vogons are described as "one of the most unpleasant races in the galaxy—not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous", and having "as much sex appeal as a road accident" as well as being the authors of "the third worst poetry in the universe". They are employed as the galactic government's bureaucrats. According to Marvin the Paranoid Android, they are also the worst marksmen in the galaxy. The Vogons spent their years unhappily on Vogsphere until they discovered the principles of interstellar travel. Within a few short Vog years every Vogon had migrated to the Megabrantis cluster, the political hub of the galaxy. Since then they have formed the powerful backbone of the Galactic Civil Service. Also, some of the young Vogons join the Vogon Guard Corps, which gives them "dashing" uniforms and allows for promotion opportunities such as Senior Shouting Officer.

The Megabrantis Cluster is the star group near the Galactic Core to which the Vogons migrated to after hyperspace was invented. There they formed the immensely powerful backbone the Galactic Civil service on the massive planet Megabrantis Delta.

They left behind all other lifeforms from their home planet of Vogsphere but though they no longer live on Vogsphere, every year twenty-seven thousand jewelled scuttling crabs are imported, and the Vogons while away a drunken night smashing them to bits with iron mallets.