The minus-first law implies that the universe will bear the imprint of my father’s life forever. Long after our sun and even the entire Milky Way have flickered out, aliens with the godlike powers of LaPlace’s demon could in principle (that handy, all-purpose hedge) reconstruct the lives of my father and every other person who has ever lived. Source: Scientific American by John Hogan [Will the Universe Remember Us After We're Gone?][1] [1]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-the-universe-remember-us-after-were-gone/
Does "hedge" here mean "a way of protection"?