Special Circumstances
Encyclopedia
Special Circumstances, abbreviated SC, is a 'secret service'-type organisation that exists within the fictional anarchist utopian science fiction civilisation known as the Culture
. It forms a background and plot device in several novels and shorter works of Iain M. Banks.
Special Circumstances is part of a larger fictional Culture organisation called Contact
, which coordinates Culture interactions with (and in) other civilisations. SC exists to fulfil this role when circumstances exceed the moral capacity of Contact, or where the situation is highly complex and requires highly specialized skills, such as in The Player of Games
. Special Circumstances also does the 'dirty work' of the Culture, a function made especially complicated by the normally very high ethical standards the Culture sets itself. SC acts in a way that has been compared with the democratising intentions of real-world liberal intent on overcoming the world's (and especially other nation's) evils by benign interference.
In the novels, Special Circumstances often provides the main plot device
linking the Culture and other civilisations being intervened in. The 'Good Works' (for which Special Circumstances does the dirty work) are the wider plot device for allowing interaction between the advanced Culture and the 'barbaric' societies it tries to improve. In the same vein, Banks has noted that the perfect society of the Culture creates well-adjusted, content people - who are (for story purposes) rather boring. Therefore, many of the Culture novels deal with outside agents or mercenaries
in the employ of Special Circumstances.
Typically, the interventions aim to improve the situation of less advanced civilizations, and to get them closer to the Culture ideal. Sometimes interventions may also be intended to nip future challenges to the Culture in the bud (The Player of Games). While the Culture believes that it can statistically prove that most interventions achieve this end, operations are not always successful. Some, as in Look to Windward, may even be disastrous for the intervened civilization.
as "...a partnership you could, allegedly, still frighten children and bad people with." The drone is supposed to provide protection and a more level-headed point of view to the SC agent.
s, involving for example a 'terror weapon' entity. While only one is described in Look to Windward
, there is reference to it being 'a' terror weapon, likely in the sense of 'one of multiple'.
These entities are apparently designed to teach a form of lesson ("instruct") to opponents of the Culture, and to eliminate specific leaders of the enemy; generally, one or two enemies at the top of the conspiracy "pay with their lives". Certainly, the Chelgrian responsible were reminded by their agent of the possible consequences ("Don't fuck with the Culture... we are about to").
During its mission, the terror weapon sadistically kills the Chelgrian chief conspirators (the video security cameras are preserved for the edification of their associates). This is particularly atypical for Culture behaviour, which usually eschews any cruelty – though the act may have been tailored to the expected reactions of the victims' civilisation.
Such instructive lessons are frequently a plot element: in Excession
, for example, the instant cloud of warships deployed by the Sleeper Service stops the Affront's stolen fleet in its tracks. While not a terror weapon as such, it has a similar effect on the Affront commander who commits suicide. The weapon need not be a Culture machine at all; Special Circumstances employs agent/drone pairs and mercenaries for parsimonious instruction.
Terror weapons can achieve an almost bloodless rout of the enemy, in contrast with no-holds-barred offensive war machines; in Surface Detail
, the Abominator-class picket ship wipes out a third of the GFCF fleet to administer the required instructive lesson. Tellingly, it does so in self-defence, and its victims had placed themselves in harm's way (but it thoroughly enjoyed the exercise).
Those in charge had been warned in the same words (by Vatueil), "'I think we all know the saying: 'Don't fuck with the Culture.'") That admonition was ignored, with the usual consequences. The GFCF dismissed the threat, observing that they had actually been responsible for some incidents giving rise to that saying. Vatueil pointedly suggested they were Culture pawns, well knowing how indirect the Culture can be in accomplishing its dirty work. Joiler Veppers paid with his life; a Culture "tattoo" first immobilized and then dissected him.
In Look to Windward, the terror weapon (which may or may not be a Culture citizen, but is apparently sentient) is a nanoform
entity formed of EDust, or Everything Dust. Capable of changing between wildly different shapes, from animal to dust cloud, almost instantly, as well as possessing laser and antimatter capabilities, the terror weapon is a formidable foe. However, its main ability lies within its ability to use powerful forcefield effectors (as weapons, manipulators or defences) and very advanced remote electronic warfare
abilities to enable it to disrupt opposing weapon systems or turn them against each other. Such abilities have other applications than terror. EDust was originally intended as a construction material. In Surface Detail, the tattoo, like the EDust assassin, was sentient (and even had a name); it was originally intended for preservation of the person wearing it.
), the Contact section of the Culture, and in particular Special Circumstances, acts as a military intelligence
and special forces
service. In general life, SC is rarely seen or heard of, and is one of the few organizations within the Culture which does not provide information about its actions, working largely in secret, apparently controlled and guided only by a number of the more secretive Minds
.
The special status of Special Circumstances is best explained by Bora Horza Gobuchul
in Consider Phlebas
:
Contact membership is seen as a high achievement for people of the Culture as even the best of the best still tend to be too many for the limited available places. SC membership, even more difficult to obtain (and attributed only by invitation) is seen as still more desirable; while SC often deals with (and sometimes furthers) what Culture citizens hate the most (barbarity, violence and actions of questionable ethics), it is also seen as romantic and dashing.
Examples range from Ulver Seich in Excession ("She sighed. 'I suppose so,' she said, rolling her eyes. 'Join Contact and go exploring…' [Y]ou will never have a better chance of getting into Contact, even Special Circumstances, and with them owing you a favour; or two. Do you understand? This is your big chance, girl.'"), to Yime Nsokyi in Surface Detail ("This is the bod who’s famous in the Culture because she turned down SC").
Surface Detail even mentions competitions to take the place of avatars on SC ships, eagerly sought after; “Poor fool won some sort of competition to replace a ship’s avatar for a hundred days or a year or something similar... if I’d really been sneaky I’d have left the dumb fuck with a batch of implanted false memories full of whatever Contact-wank fantasies he’d been imagining before he took the gig in the first place.”.
The morally ambiguous role of Special Circumstances is best explained by Diziet Sma
in Use of Weapons
:
of Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, as well as the agents of Canopus in the Shikasta
novels of Doris Lessing
.
The activities of SC are entirely at odds with the Prime Directive
in the Star Trek
universe. Starfleet
explicitly prohibits activity of the kind sanctioned by the Culture, though also for reasons of altruism
or enlightened self-interest
. See Section 31
for a similar organisation in the Star Trek context. Commentators have argued that for storyline purposes, the Star Trek directive is broken almost as much in that franchise as intentional intervention occurs in Banks' universe, but the Star Trek characters have to be described as trying to not intervene, whereas Banks can let his characters act purposefully.
The Culture
The Culture is a fictional interstellar anarchist, socialist, and utopian society created by the Scottish writer Iain M. Banks which features in a number of science fiction novels and works of short fiction by him, collectively called the Culture series....
. It forms a background and plot device in several novels and shorter works of Iain M. Banks.
Special Circumstances is part of a larger fictional Culture organisation called Contact
Contact (The Culture)
In the science fiction of Iain M. Banks, Contact is an organization that exists within the anarchist/libertarian socialist civilization known as the Culture .- Activities :...
, which coordinates Culture interactions with (and in) other civilisations. SC exists to fulfil this role when circumstances exceed the moral capacity of Contact, or where the situation is highly complex and requires highly specialized skills, such as in The Player of Games
The Player of Games
The Player of Games is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1988. It was the second published Culture novel...
. Special Circumstances also does the 'dirty work' of the Culture, a function made especially complicated by the normally very high ethical standards the Culture sets itself. SC acts in a way that has been compared with the democratising intentions of real-world liberal intent on overcoming the world's (and especially other nation's) evils by benign interference.
In the novels, Special Circumstances often provides the main plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
linking the Culture and other civilisations being intervened in. The 'Good Works' (for which Special Circumstances does the dirty work) are the wider plot device for allowing interaction between the advanced Culture and the 'barbaric' societies it tries to improve. In the same vein, Banks has noted that the perfect society of the Culture creates well-adjusted, content people - who are (for story purposes) rather boring. Therefore, many of the Culture novels deal with outside agents or mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
in the employ of Special Circumstances.
Overview
Interventions by SC usually take the form of covert operations (military or otherwise) designed to strengthen or weaken factions within less advanced civilizations.Typically, the interventions aim to improve the situation of less advanced civilizations, and to get them closer to the Culture ideal. Sometimes interventions may also be intended to nip future challenges to the Culture in the bud (The Player of Games). While the Culture believes that it can statistically prove that most interventions achieve this end, operations are not always successful. Some, as in Look to Windward, may even be disastrous for the intervened civilization.
Pairings
Special Circumstances regularly pairs its humanoid agents with a combat drone in a long-term partnership. The combat drones are exceedingly intelligent and extremely lethal artificial intelligences. This combination is described as being famous well beyond the Culture to the point approaching a clichéCliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
as "...a partnership you could, allegedly, still frighten children and bad people with." The drone is supposed to provide protection and a more level-headed point of view to the SC agent.
Terror weapons
Special Circumstances does not always 'play nice' like the rest of the Culture. Their activities have been known to include assassinationAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s, involving for example a 'terror weapon' entity. While only one is described in Look to Windward
Look to Windward
Look to Windward is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 2000. It is Banks' sixth published novel to feature The Culture.-Plot introduction:...
, there is reference to it being 'a' terror weapon, likely in the sense of 'one of multiple'.
These entities are apparently designed to teach a form of lesson ("instruct") to opponents of the Culture, and to eliminate specific leaders of the enemy; generally, one or two enemies at the top of the conspiracy "pay with their lives". Certainly, the Chelgrian responsible were reminded by their agent of the possible consequences ("Don't fuck with the Culture... we are about to").
During its mission, the terror weapon sadistically kills the Chelgrian chief conspirators (the video security cameras are preserved for the edification of their associates). This is particularly atypical for Culture behaviour, which usually eschews any cruelty – though the act may have been tailored to the expected reactions of the victims' civilisation.
Such instructive lessons are frequently a plot element: in Excession
Excession
Excession, first published in 1996, is Scottish writer Iain M. Banks's fourth science fiction novel to feature the Culture. It concerns the response of the Culture and other interstellar societies to an unprecedented alien artifact, the Excession of the title.The book is largely about the response...
, for example, the instant cloud of warships deployed by the Sleeper Service stops the Affront's stolen fleet in its tracks. While not a terror weapon as such, it has a similar effect on the Affront commander who commits suicide. The weapon need not be a Culture machine at all; Special Circumstances employs agent/drone pairs and mercenaries for parsimonious instruction.
Terror weapons can achieve an almost bloodless rout of the enemy, in contrast with no-holds-barred offensive war machines; in Surface Detail
Surface Detail
Surface Detail by Iain M Banks is a science fiction novel in his popular Culture series, first published in the UK on 7 October 2010 and the US on 28 October 2010. -Plot summary:...
, the Abominator-class picket ship wipes out a third of the GFCF fleet to administer the required instructive lesson. Tellingly, it does so in self-defence, and its victims had placed themselves in harm's way (but it thoroughly enjoyed the exercise).
Those in charge had been warned in the same words (by Vatueil), "'I think we all know the saying: 'Don't fuck with the Culture.'") That admonition was ignored, with the usual consequences. The GFCF dismissed the threat, observing that they had actually been responsible for some incidents giving rise to that saying. Vatueil pointedly suggested they were Culture pawns, well knowing how indirect the Culture can be in accomplishing its dirty work. Joiler Veppers paid with his life; a Culture "tattoo" first immobilized and then dissected him.
In Look to Windward, the terror weapon (which may or may not be a Culture citizen, but is apparently sentient) is a nanoform
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
entity formed of EDust, or Everything Dust. Capable of changing between wildly different shapes, from animal to dust cloud, almost instantly, as well as possessing laser and antimatter capabilities, the terror weapon is a formidable foe. However, its main ability lies within its ability to use powerful forcefield effectors (as weapons, manipulators or defences) and very advanced remote electronic warfare
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...
abilities to enable it to disrupt opposing weapon systems or turn them against each other. Such abilities have other applications than terror. EDust was originally intended as a construction material. In Surface Detail, the tattoo, like the EDust assassin, was sentient (and even had a name); it was originally intended for preservation of the person wearing it.
Place in society
In times of war (as seen in Consider PhlebasConsider Phlebas
Consider Phlebas, first published in 1987, is a space opera novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks. Written after a 1984 draft, it is the first to feature the Culture.-Overview:...
), the Contact section of the Culture, and in particular Special Circumstances, acts as a military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
and special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
service. In general life, SC is rarely seen or heard of, and is one of the few organizations within the Culture which does not provide information about its actions, working largely in secret, apparently controlled and guided only by a number of the more secretive Minds
Mind (The Culture)
In Iain M. Banks' Culture novels most larger starships, some inhabited planets and all orbitals have their own Minds: sentient, hyperintelligent machines originally built by biological species which have evolved, redesigned themselves, and become many times more intelligent than their original...
.
The special status of Special Circumstances is best explained by Bora Horza Gobuchul
Bora Horza Gobuchul
Bora Horza Gobuchul is the protagonist of the 1987 science fiction novel Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks.The novel is the first to appear featuring the Culture, an advanced humanoid civilization. Inhabitants of the Culture enjoy long life, enhanced capabilities, and access to unlimited technology...
in Consider Phlebas
Consider Phlebas
Consider Phlebas, first published in 1987, is a space opera novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks. Written after a 1984 draft, it is the first to feature the Culture.-Overview:...
:
- "Even before the
[ Idiran-CultureIdiran-Culture WarThe Idiran-Culture War is a major fictional conflict between the Idiran Empire and the Culture in the midst of which Iain M. Banks' science fiction novel Consider Phlebas is set. His later book, Look to Windward, contains many references to the war: particularly the induced supernovae of two stars,...] war, its standing and its image within the Culture had been ambiguous..."
- "It had about it too an atmosphere of secrecy (in a society that virtually worshipped openness), which hinted at unpleasant, shaming deeds..."
Contact membership is seen as a high achievement for people of the Culture as even the best of the best still tend to be too many for the limited available places. SC membership, even more difficult to obtain (and attributed only by invitation) is seen as still more desirable; while SC often deals with (and sometimes furthers) what Culture citizens hate the most (barbarity, violence and actions of questionable ethics), it is also seen as romantic and dashing.
Examples range from Ulver Seich in Excession ("She sighed. 'I suppose so,' she said, rolling her eyes. 'Join Contact and go exploring…' [Y]ou will never have a better chance of getting into Contact, even Special Circumstances, and with them owing you a favour; or two. Do you understand? This is your big chance, girl.'"), to Yime Nsokyi in Surface Detail ("This is the bod who’s famous in the Culture because she turned down SC").
Surface Detail even mentions competitions to take the place of avatars on SC ships, eagerly sought after; “Poor fool won some sort of competition to replace a ship’s avatar for a hundred days or a year or something similar... if I’d really been sneaky I’d have left the dumb fuck with a batch of implanted false memories full of whatever Contact-wank fantasies he’d been imagining before he took the gig in the first place.”.
The morally ambiguous role of Special Circumstances is best explained by Diziet Sma
Diziet Sma
Rasd-Codurersa Diziet Embless Sma da' Marenhide, or Diziet Sma, is a fictional character. She is a citizen of The Culture in the novel Use of Weapons, the novella The State of the Art, and is hinted at in the novel Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks...
in Use of Weapons
Use of Weapons
Use of Weapons is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1990 as the third novel in the Culture series.-Plot introduction:...
:
- "... in Special Circumstances we deal in the moral equivalent of black holes, where the normal laws - the rules of right and wrong that people imagine apply everywhere else in the universe - break down; beyond those metaphysical event-horizons, there exist ... special circumstances. [...] That's us. That's our territory; our domain."
Related concepts
The SC idea that an advanced civilisation should covertly help those less advanced is similar to the ideas and actions of Progressors in the Noon UniverseNoon Universe
The Noon Universe is a fictional future setting for a number of hard science fiction novels written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The universe is named after Noon: 22nd Century, the chronologically first novel from the series...
of Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, as well as the agents of Canopus in the Shikasta
Shikasta
Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta is a 1979 science fiction novel by British Nobel Prize in Literature-winner Doris Lessing, and is the first book in her five-book Canopus in Argos series. It was first published in the United States in October 1979 by Alfred A. Knopf, and in the United Kingdom in...
novels of Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
.
The activities of SC are entirely at odds with the Prime Directive
Prime Directive
In the universe of Star Trek, the Prime Directive, Starfleet's General Order #1, is the most prominent guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets...
in the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe. Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
explicitly prohibits activity of the kind sanctioned by the Culture, though also for reasons of altruism
Altruism
Altruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...
or enlightened self-interest
Enlightened self-interest
Enlightened self-interest is a philosophy in ethics which states that persons who act to further the interests of others , ultimately serve their own self-interest....
. See Section 31
Section 31
In the Star Trek fictional universe, Section 31 is an autonomous intelligence and defense organization. It is presented as a special security operation, manned by Federation citizens, that is not subject to the normal constraints of Starfleet ethical protocols...
for a similar organisation in the Star Trek context. Commentators have argued that for storyline purposes, the Star Trek directive is broken almost as much in that franchise as intentional intervention occurs in Banks' universe, but the Star Trek characters have to be described as trying to not intervene, whereas Banks can let his characters act purposefully.
See also
- Contact (The Culture)Contact (The Culture)In the science fiction of Iain M. Banks, Contact is an organization that exists within the anarchist/libertarian socialist civilization known as the Culture .- Activities :...
- Military IntelligenceMilitary intelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
- The CultureThe CultureThe Culture is a fictional interstellar anarchist, socialist, and utopian society created by the Scottish writer Iain M. Banks which features in a number of science fiction novels and works of short fiction by him, collectively called the Culture series....
- Secret serviceSecret serviceA secret service describes a government agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For instance, a country may establish a secret service which has some...
- Bureau of SabotageBureau of SabotageThe Bureau of Sabotage is a fictional government entity set in two of Frank Herbert's science fiction novels, Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment, and first introduced in his 1964 short story "The Tactful Saboteur". It is colloquially known as BuSab. Jorj X...