Consider Phlebas

Xoxarle recounts tales of ancient Idiran conflicts to Aviger, offering a glimpse into the religious fervor that fuels their violence. Meanwhile, Horza, Yalson, and Balveda press on in their search for station seven and its train. Engineer Wubslin grapples with the train’s ignition while the Unaha-Closp infiltrates the reactor car. Unbeknownst to them, a second train accelerates rapidly under Quayanorl’s control, its approach signaled only by inaudible alarms.

Xoxarle seizes an opportunity to disarm Aviger and seize his laser gun. As chaos ensues, Balveda finds her growing attachment to Horza and Yalson challenging her usual detachment. Horza reflects on his obsessive nature and sees unexpected parallels with the Culture’s pursuit of equity.

As the train hurtles toward disaster, the rising air pressure threatens to consume them all. Wubslin’s insistence on maintaining speed proves fatal as Quayanorl’s train, a high-speed projectile, collides with the station in a cataclysmic explosion. At the same time, the Mind, hiding in the reactor car, attempts to escape. In the chaos of the impact, Xoxarle fatally wounds Yalson and escapes, just as the world around them implodes.

Horza, Balveda, and Unaha-Closp seek refuge from the devastation. Enraged by Xoxarle’s actions, Horza launches a relentless pursuit through the wreckage. Toxic fumes overpower Balveda, and Unaha-Closp rescues her, bringing her to the station’s control center.

There, Xoxarle brutally attacks Balveda, breaking her arm and leaving her dangling precariously. Horza intervenes to save Balveda, and a fierce battle ensues between him and Xoxarle. Unaha-Closp’s timely intervention shifts the tide, and with a decisive blow from a Culture memoryform weapon, Balveda kills Xoxarle. Horza is fatally injured, and in his last moments, he desperately seeks affirmation of his identity. Balveda offers him solace in his final moments.

Balveda evacuates the station, struggling with the unconscious Horza, Unaha-Closp, and the damaged Mind through the snow. Overwhelmed by fear, she anxiously wonders if the CAT’s security system will recognize her or her companions. Her worries are temporarily alleviated when the ship’s doors open for her. After placing Horza in the hold and rushing to retrieve medical supplies, she returns to find him already deceased.

The Culture, a post-scarcity utopia, fights the fanatical Idirans not for conquest but to safeguard its own existence. The Culture’s primary concern is not to colonize or exploit but to prevent feelings of uselessness among its citizens. It ties its sense of purpose to its benevolent interference in less-advanced civilizations through its Contact Section, which aims to improve lives without disrupting societal progress. The Idirans’ aggressive expansion forces the Culture into a defensive war to protect its purpose and avoid its existential collapse.

The Idirans are a militant theocracy, conquering and subjugating lesser species in the name of their god. Religious fervor drives their expansion rather than economic gain.

Idiran leadership anticipates a swift victory against the Culture, but contingency plans are in place for a protracted conflict. The Idirans consider a negotiated peace agreement, but the most fervent Idirans advocate for a war of extermination.

The Idirans initiate the conflict with confidence, underestimating the Culture’s resolve. Their religious fervor makes them unable to see their opponent’s complexities, leading to a catastrophic miscalculation.

The Idiran-Culture War erupted in 1267 AD, escalating from minor disputes to open hostilities within a decade. With the Peace Section of the Culture dissenting, full-scale war commenced in 1327, involving direct military engagement. The Homomda joined the Idirans in 1332, but the Culture’s technological superiority gradually eroded the Idiran strength.

A brutal, protracted conflict ensued, marked by heavy casualties on both sides. After initial setbacks, the Culture launched a counteroffensive, securing victory in 1375. The Idirans never formally surrendered, but their computer network became a Culture Mind. Total losses included 851.4 billion people and many ships, planets, and astronomical bodies. Elder galactic civilizations consider the war the most significant conflict of the past 50,000 years. The war resulted in catastrophic losses, reshaping the galactic order. Nonetheless, the narrator calls it “a small, short war” (507).

After the war, Balveda enters long-term storage, haunted by memories of Schar’s World and uninterested in celebration. She requests to be revived when the Culture can statistically prove the war’s moral justification. She is awakened in 1813 AD, but she dies by suicide months later.

Querl Xoralundra survives the partial destruction of the cruiser Hand of God 137 and continues serving in Intelligence but dies in battle near the war’s end. Jandraligeli, a skilled warrior, transitions from combat to academia, eventually meeting a tragic end. The drone Unaha-Closp, integrated into the Culture, finds a new purpose in building automata. Fal leads an adventurous life within the Culture before vanishing mysteriously. Schar’s World remains largely untouched, with its Command System and trains intact, until Dra’Azon eventually bans all visitors. Bodies and debris, including Kierachell’s favorite book, lie buried under ice near a pole. A rescued Mind regains consciousness without memory of its ordeal, surviving the conflict, though it adopts a strange name. The Changers are eradicated during the war.

Gimishin Foug, a poet related to the legendary Balveda, arrives late and out of breath to a GSV shuttle, her family already settled in. Foug, who is heavily pregnant, finds inspiration in the ship’s grandeur, hoping it will fuel her poetry. While preoccupied, she politely greets the ship through a drone that is assisting her with luggage. The ship, named Bora Horza Gobuchul, piques her interest with hints of a mysterious past, and she eagerly requests to hear its tales.