List of ships of the Culture setting

This is a list of spaceships found in the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks. Most ships in this list are members of The Culture, the hybrid society featured in many of these novels. In this setting, each Culture ship, and some others, is also an artificial intelligence with a distinctive personality. Many of these ships are significant characters in the novels.^[1][2]

Naming

The machine intelligences called Minds (and, as a consequence, the Culture starships that they inhabit) usually bear names that do a little more than just identify them. The Minds choose their own names, and thus they usually express something about a particular Mind's attitude, character or aims in their personal life. Warship names are similar in retaining the whimsical nature, though the humour tends to be more cynical and threatening.

Banks composed many of the Culture ships' names very carefully to express the attitude of the ship's Mind, and a few names contain puns where both meanings are appropriate to the ship's attitude. A few of the ship names, like variations on "gravitas" are also installments in running gags.

Some ships' names hint at their purpose, but in a way that is not clear until near the end of the book. For example, Sleeper Service is a sleeper agent whose cover is a "sleeper service" in a suspended animation pun on the transportation service offering.

Common ship types

Main article: Ship types of the Culture

Class	Acronym	Description
General Systems Vehicles	GSV	Mobile habitats and / or factory ships, largest Culture ship type. May be home to billions of people.
Medium Systems Vehicles	MSV	Smaller versions of the above. Sometimes former GSVs downgraded as larger GSV classes were developed.
Limited Systems Vehicles	LSV	Smaller versions of the above. Sometimes former GSVs or MSVs downgraded as larger GSV classes were developed.
General Contact Vehicles	GCV	Contact-configured GSVs; Mission-identical to GCUs (see below)
General Contact Units	GCU	Ambassadors, scouts and light transports; also main warship in peacetime
Limited Contact Units	LCU	Smaller versions of the above.
General Offensive Units	GOU	Dedicated main warships
Rapid Offensive Units	ROU	Dedicated fast warships
Limited Offensive Units	LOU	Dedicated warships, smaller than GOUs
Demilitarized ROUs	(d)ROU	Civilianised ROUs used as courier ships, all or most weaponry removed
Very Fast Pickets	VFP	A euphemism for (d)ROU, used in the same role.
Heavy Lifter	HL	Dedicated materials mover, smaller than GCUs.

Novels

Consider Phlebas

Civilisation	Name	Ship type	Comments
Culture	Nervous Energy	GCU (Mountain-class)
Culture	Prosthetic Conscience	GCU
Culture	Bora Horza Gobuchul	GSV (Ocean-class, later Range-class)	The name chosen by the Mind at the center of events after rescue, upon emplacement within a GSV.
Culture	Determinist	GSV (System-class)	Largest GSV class mentioned in the books so far.
Culture	Eschatologist (temporary name)	GSV (Ocean-class)	Sent by the Culture to destroy Vavatch orbital.
Culture	Irregular Apocalypse	GSV
Culture	No More Mr Nice Guy	GSV
Culture	Profit Margin	LSV
Culture	Revisionist	ROU (Killer-class)
Culture	Trade Surplus	ROU (Killer-class)
Culture Ulterior	The Ends Of Invention	GSV
Non-aligned (Ex-Hronish)	Clear Air Turbulence	Armoured assault	Pirate ship, one of the main settings of the book.
Idiran	The Hand of God 137	Light Cruiser	Advance force invading the planet Sorpen to rescue Horza.

The Player of Games

Ship Type	Name	Class	Comments
n/a	Screw Loose	Clipper
GCU	Flexible Demeanour	n/a
GSV	Just Read The Instructions	n/a
GSV	Of Course I Still Love You	n/a
GOU	Limiting Factor	Murderer	Jernau Morat Gurgeh's ship to the planet Azad. An allegedly demilitarized GOU.
GSV	Cargo Cult	n/a	Play on the cargo cult concept.
GSV	Little Rascal	Plate	'Throughput'-ship (ship assembly and crewing).
GSV	So Much For Subtlety	n/a
GSV	Unfortunate Conflict Of Evidence	n/a
GSV	Youthful Indiscretion	n/a
LOU	Gunboat Diplomat	n/a	(Special Circumstances), play on the gunboat diplomacy concept.
dROU	Zealot	n/a
n/a	Kiss My Ass	Superlifter
n/a	Prime Mover	Superlifter
(Azadian)	Invincible	Battlecruiser	Flagship of the Azad Empire.

Use of Weapons

Ship Type	Name	Class	Comments
GCU	Just Testing	n/a
dROU	Xenophobe	Torturer
GCU	Very Little Gravitas Indeed	n/a	Part of the "... Gravitas ..." running gag.[3]
GSV	What Are The Civilian Applications?	Continent	Limited edition Prompt subclass. Can outrun a Very Fast Picket.
GSV	Congenital Optimist	n/a	Rescued Zakalwe from Fohls.
GSV	Size Isn't Everything	n/a	The GCU Sweet and Full of Grace was constructed aboard this ship.
GCU	Sweet and Full of Grace	n/a

Excession

Civilisation	Ship Type	Name	Class	Comments
Culture	GCU	Different Tan	Mountain
Culture	GCU	Fate Amenable To Change	Escarpment
Culture	GCU	Grey Area (AKA Meatfucker)	n/a	(Eccentric) Ostracised for nonconsensual mindreading.
Culture	GCU	It's Character Forming	n/a
Culture	GCU	Jaundiced Outlook	Ridge	Child ship of the Sleeper Service.
Culture	GCU	Problem Child	Troubadour	Early (vs Excession-contemporary) GCU, historical mention. Nominally captained by Zreyn Tramow.
Culture	GCU	Reasonable Excuse	n/a
Culture	GCU	Recent Convert	n/a
Culture	GCU	Tactical Grace	Escarpment
Culture	GCU	Unacceptable Behaviour	n/a
Culture	GCV	Steely Glint	Plains
Culture	n/a	Highpoint	n/a	(Ulterior)
Culture	ROU	Shoot Them Later	Gangster	(Eccentric, Ulterior)
Culture	LOU	Attitude Adjuster	Killer
Culture	ROU	Killing Time	Torturer	A pun on a saying that 99% of war is just killing time, while the rest is the killing time.
Culture	ROU	Heavy Messing	Gangster
Culture	dROU	Frank Exchange Of Views	Psychopath
Culture	GSV	Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The	Plate
Culture	GSV	Death and Gravity	n/a
Culture	GSV	Ethics Gradient	Range
Culture	GSV	Honest Mistake	n/a
Culture	GSV	Limivorous	Ocean
Culture	GSV	No Fixed Abode	Ex-Equator	(Sabbaticaler)
Culture	GSV	Quietly Confident, later Sleeper Service	Plate	(Eccentric, Ulterior) Known as storage ship for biological persons in stasis. The name Sleeper Service is a pun on sleeping car (transport) and sleeper agent (espionage). It also secretly converts itself to be "mostly engine" so it can move unexpectedly quickly - a parallel to sleeper cars (racing).
Culture	GSV	Uninvited Guest	n/a
Culture	GSV	Use Psychology	n/a
Culture	GSV	What Is The Answer and Why?	n/a
Culture	GSV	Wisdom Like Silence	Continent
Culture	GSV	Yawning Angel	Range
Culture	GSV	Zero Gravitas	n/a	Part of the "... Gravitas ..." running gag.[3]
Culture	LSV	Misophist	n/a
Culture	LSV	Serious Callers Only	Tundra
Culture	MSV	Not Invented Here	Desert
Culture	Superlifter	Charitable View	Cliff
Culture	n/a	I Blame My Mother	n/a
Culture	n/a	I Blame Your Mother	n/a
Zetetic Elench	Stargazer	Appeal To Reason	n/a
Zetetic Elench	Stargazer	Break Even	n/a
Zetetic Elench	Stargazer	Long View	n/a
Zetetic Elench	Stargazer	Peace Makes Plenty	n/a
Zetetic Elench	Stargazer	Sober Counsel	n/a
Zetetic Elench	Stargazer	Within Reason	n/a
Affront	n/a	Kiss the Blade
Affront	n/a	Frightspear	n/a
Affront	Light Cruiser	Furious Purpose	Meteorite Class
Affront	n/a	Riptalon	n/a
Affront	n/a	Wingclipper	n/a
Affront	n/a	SacSlicer II	n/a
Affront	n/a	Xenoclast	Battleship
Homomdan	Main Battle Unit	Full Refund (Ex-'MBU 604')	Empire Class	(Convertcraft)
Culture	n/a	Just Passing Through	Cruise Ship, n/a

The State of the Art

Most of the Culture ship names in this collection come from the titles of the chapters in the titular novella; the narrator explains that he has chosen ship names for these titles.

Ship Type	Name	Class	Comments
GSV	Bad for Business	n/a
GCU	Arbitrary	Escarpment (middle series)	Produced by a manufactory of the Yinang Orbitals of the Dahass-Khree, known for ships that are "a bit crazy."[4]
GCU	Cantankerous	n/a
GCU	Only Slightly Bent	n/a
GCU	I Thought He Was With You	n/a
GCU	Space Monster	n/a
GCU	A Series Of Unlikely Explanations	n/a
GCU	Big Sexy Beast	n/a
GCU	Never Talk To Strangers	n/a
GCU	Funny, It Worked Last Time...	n/a
GCU	Boo!	n/a
GCU	Ultimate Ship The Second	n/a
GCU	It'll Be Over By Christmas	n/a
GCU	A Ship With A View*	n/a
GCU	Ablation*	n/a
GCU	Arrested Development*	n/a
GCU	Credibility Problem*	n/a
GCU	Dramatic Exit, Or, Thank you And Goodnight*	n/a
GCU	Excuses And Accusations*	n/a
GCU	God Told Me To Do It*	n/a
GCU	Halation Effect*	n/a
GCU	Happy Idiot Talk*	n/a
GCU	Helpless In The Face Of Your Beauty*	n/a
GCU	Heresiarch*	n/a
GCU	Just Another Victim Of The Ambient Morality*	n/a
GCU	Minority Report*	n/a
GCU	Not Wanted On Voyage*	n/a
GCU	Perfidy*	n/a
GCU	Sacrificial Victim*	n/a
GCU	Stranger Here Myself*	n/a
GCU	Synchronize Your Dogmas*	n/a
GCU	The Precise Nature Of The Catastrophe*	n/a
GCU	Unwitting Accomplice*	n/a
GCU	Undesirable Alien*	n/a
GCU	Well I Was In The Neighbourhood*	n/a
GCU	You Would If You Really Loved Me*	n/a
GCU	You'll Thank Me Later*	n/a

^*Names mentioned in the chapter names of the title novella only. All of them belong to ships produced by the Infracaninophile manufactury in Yinang orbital.

Look to Windward

Most of the Culture ship names in this novel are only mentioned in a humorous conversation about ship names in Chapter 11, Absence of Gravitas, and do not represent characters in the novel. The Chelgrian ships are not artificial intelligences like those of the Culture.

Ship Type	Name	Class	Comments
(Chelgrian)	Winter Storm	n/a
(Chelgrian)	Piety	n/a (Temple ship)
(Chelgrian)	Soulhaven	n/a (Temple ship)
ROU	Nuisance Value	Torturer
n/a	Vulgarian	Superlifter
GSV	Sanctioned Parts List	n/a
VFP	Resistance Is Character-Forming	Gangster
OU	All Through With This Niceness And Negotiation Stuff *	n/a
n/a	Someone Else's Problem *	n/a
n/a	Lacking That Small Match Temperament *	n/a
GCU	Poke It With A Stick *	n/a
OU	I Said, I've Got A Big Stick*	n/a	The small print (spoken softly) is a pun on "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
n/a	Hand Me The Gun And Ask Me Again *	n/a
n/a	But Who's Counting? *	n/a	See below for the ship "Me, I'm Counting"
n/a	Germane Riposte *	n/a
n/a	We Haven't Met But You're A Great Fan Of Mine *	n/a
n/a	All The Same, I Saw It First *	n/a
n/a	Ravished By The Sheer Implausibility Of That Last Statement	n/a
n/a	Zero Credibility *	n/a
n/a	Charming But Irrational *	n/a
n/a	Demented But Determined *	n/a
n/a	You May Not Be The Coolest Person Here *	n/a
n/a	Lucid Nonsense *	n/a
n/a	Awkward Customer *	n/a
n/a	Thorough But ... Unreliable *	n/a
n/a	Advanced Case Of Chronic Patheticism *	n/a
n/a	Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory *	n/a
n/a	Conventional Wisdom *	n/a
n/a	In One Ear *	n/a
n/a	Fine Till You Came Along *	n/a
n/a	I Blame The Parents *	n/a
n/a	Inappropriate Response *	n/a
n/a	A Momentary Lapse Of Sanity *	n/a
n/a	Lapsed Pacifist *	n/a
n/a	Reformed Nice Guy *	n/a
n/a	Pride Comes Before A Fall *	n/a
n/a	Injury Time *	n/a
n/a	Now Look What You've Made Me Do *	n/a
n/a	Kiss This Then *	n/a
GSV	Lasting Damage	n/a	The Lasting Damage was one of the GSVs that formed the Culture's offensive forces during the early part of the Idiran-Culture War. Later mind-state copied into other ships, it became the Mind of Masaq orbital.
GSV	Lasting Damage I	n/a	The original Lasting Damage, assumed destroyed but eventually returned.
GSV	Lasting Damage II	n/a	The recreated backup copy twin of the Lasting Damage.
GSV	Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall	Equator-class	Part of the "... Gravitas ..." running gag.[3] Also mentioned in Matter.

^*Names mentioned in a humorous conversation about various Culture ships in Chapter 11 of the novel.

Matter

Civilisation	Name	Ship type	Comments
Culture	Don't Try This At Home	MSV (Steppe-class)
Culture	Eight Rounds Rapid	(ex) GOU (Delinquent-class)	Potentially an inside joke alluding to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's command of "five rounds rapid" against a hostile "chap with wings" in The Dæmons (Doctor Who).
Culture	Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall	GCU	Part of the "... Gravitas ..." running gag.[3] Also mentioned in Look to Windward.
Culture	It's My Party And I'll Sing If I Want To	GCU (Escarpment-class)	Pun on the song It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to, which continues "... You would cry too if it happened to you."
Culture	Lightly Seared On The Reality Grill	GCU
Culture	Now We Try It My Way	(ex) General Transport Craft (Interstellar-class)
Culture	Liveware Problem	Superlifter (Stream-class, modified Delta-class)	Likely a Special Circumstances operative. The phrase is a joke among computer engineers, suggesting that the problem lies with the user.[5] Destroyed whilst battling a Morthanveld ship which had been taken over by a member of the Iln in the core of Sursamen.
Culture	Pure Big Mad Boat Man	GCU	An inside joke based upon the language of Ned (Scottish) culture. It would be read/heard as "a pure big, mad boat, man" roughly meaning "a very large and deadly serious boat my good man".
Culture	Qualifier	GCU (Trench-class)
Culture	Seed Drill	GSV (Ocean-class)
Culture	Subtle Shift In Emphasis	GCV (Plains-class)
Culture	Transient Atmospheric Phenomenon	GCU
Culture	Xenoglossicist	LSV (Air-class)
Culture	You Naughty Monsters	GCU
Culture	You'll Clean That Up Before You Leave	(d)ROU (Gangster-class)
Nariscene	Hence the Fortress	Comet (Star-cruiser)
Nariscene	Hundredth Idiot, The	White Dwarf	Chose its name from a Nariscene proverb.
Morthanveld	Fasilyce, Upon Waking	Cat.5 SwellHull
Morthanveld	Inspiral, Coalescence, Ringdown	Great Ship	Comparable to a GSV; the name refers to three stages in the merger of two black holes.
Morthanveld	On First Seeing Jhiriit	Cat.4 CleaveHull
Morthanveld	Now, Turning to Reason, & Its Just Sweetness	Cat.3 SlimHull

Surface Detail

Civilisation	Name	Ship type	Comments
Culture	Sense Amid Madness, Wit Amidst Folly	GSV (Plate-class)
Culture	Me, I'm Counting	(ex) LOU (Hooligan-class)
Culture	Bodhisattva, OAQS	GCU	Part of Contact's Quietudinal Service (Quietus). Quietus ships added letters OAQS - On Active Quietudinal Service - to their names while they were so employed.
Culture	Total Internal Reflection	GSV	One of the "Forgotten" Culture ships.
Culture	Armchair Traveller	GCU (Mountain-class)
Culture	The Usual But Etymologically Unsatisfactory	FP/(d)ROU (Psychopath-class)
Culture	Hidden Income	n/a (Interstellar-class)	Type not mentioned in novel, but possibly General Transport Craft (see Matter)
Culture	Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints	GOU (Abominator-class)	self categorized as PS class, "Picket Ship"
Culture	Hylozoist	(ex) LOU (Killer-class)
Culture	No One Knows What The Dead Think	FP/(ex) GOU	Previously named Obliterating Angel
Culture	Pelagian	GSV (Equator-class)
Culture	Fixed Grin	n/a
Culture	Scar Glamour	n/a
Culture	Labtebricolephile	n/a	Labtebricolephile means a person or thing that likes living in holes
Culture	Dressed Up To Party	GSV
Jhlupian	Ucalegon	Heavy cruiser	Ucalegon means "a neighbor whose house is on fire"
GFCF	Messenger Of Truth	Contact Craft (Succour-class)
GFCF	Fractious Person	Minor Destructor Vessel
GFCF	Rubric Of Ruin	Minor Destructor Vessel
GFCF	Abundance Of Onslaught	Deepest Regrets-class
GFCF	Vision Of Hope Surpassed	Deepest Regrets-class
Nauptre Reliquaria	Partial Photic Boundary	Bismuth category

Guardian interview

The following ships have not appeared in any books, however they were named by Iain M Banks in an interview with The Guardian.^[3] These ships obtained their names as a result of another (unnamed) Involved civilisation criticizing Culture ship naming policy, claiming that such powerful ships ought to have names with a little more gravitas.

• Stood Far Back When The Gravitas Was Handed Out
• Gravitas, What Gravitas?
• Gravitas... Gravitas... No, Don't Help Me, I'll Get It In A Moment...
• Gravitas Free Zone
• Low Gravitas Warning Signal
• Absolutely No You-Know-What

See also

Novels portal

• Ship types of the Culture
• List of fictional spaceships

References

1. ^ Excession review (from a bookseller reviews page of the Waterstone’s bookstore chain, Orpington store. Accessed 2008-03-29.)
2. ^ "Iain Banks writes books about sex and drugs. Iain M Banks is a sci-fi nerd. Are they by any chance related?" - The Guardian, Tuesday 20 May 1997
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Iain M Banks Q&A". Guardian. 11 September 2000. http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/sciencefiction/story/0,6000,367256,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-09. 
4. ^ The State of the Art - Banks, Iain M., 1991
5. ^ Liveware (from the 'webopedia.com' website. Accessed 2008-06-18.)