Kill-o-Zap Gun “This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with.” - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
In the second novel, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, it is said that the designer of the gun "had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush." It was said that he'd been told to "make it evil," to make it clear that the gun had "a right end and a wrong end," and to make it obvious to anyone at the "wrong" end that "things are going badly for them." It was said that if it was necessary to attach spikes, prongs, and "blackened bits" all over the gun, then: "so be it."
The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
Re: The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
That is rather the idea of the Ane military mecha. They mix herbivore and carnivore traits. They hiss, moan,and make other unsettling noises. They have lights in odd places. A mix of dull and reflective surfaces. And all of that can be switched out or off if guarding the Embassy is the deal.
-- The Innkeeper