History Literature / Excession

* MindRape: The ''Grey Area''. There is a reason the other Minds call it ''Meatfucker''. Effectors are pretty much this when used as weaponry, which is doing is such a taboo for culture Minds (at least when the victim is a living creature). The [[spoiler:''Attitude Adjuster'']] kills itself this way, after it realizes it has crossed the MoralEventHorizon and can't live with the fact.

* ObfuscatingInsanity: The ''Sleeper Service''[[spoiler:; it's an SC ship pretending to be Eccentric]].

-->''Two hundred and thirty-two thousand times the speed of light. [[LudicrousSpeed Dear holy fucking shit]].''

* BloodKnight: The Affront are an [[PlanetOfHats entire race of them]], which naturally causes them some friction with the (theoretically) peace-loving Culture.

* ContinuousDecompression: [[spoiler:On Pittance.]]
* CoolShip: Most of the characters are ships, but the stand-outs are the ''Sleeper Service'' and the ''[[AxeCrazy Killing Time]]''.
* DeathSeeker: The ''Killing Time'', sort of, after its attempt at HeroicSacrifice failed.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:''Attitude Adjuster'', ''Not Invented Here'' and the Affronter commander]].

* FateWorseThanDeath
** Creatures genetically altered by the Affront. Not least is that they genetically altered their own females to make sex ''painful''.
** What ''Grey Area'' does to organic creatures it doesn't like. Also crosses over with AndIMustScream.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: The ''Attitude Adjuster''.

* KnightTemplar: ''Grey Area''. May cross over with SociopathicHero depending on your point of view.

* OhCrap:
** The ''Yawning Angel'''s reaction when it realizes the ''Sleeper Service'' converted ''[[OverDrive all its internal volume into engine.]]''

** And then pretty much everybody when they see what the ''Sleeper Service'' has spent the rest of its time doing. See MoreDakka above.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: See PlanetOfHats and MercyKill.

* SealedEvilInACan: The Excession. Maybe. If you get in the road of the damn thing.

* SpaceIsCold: [[spoiler:Gestra's death.]]

* TechnoBabble: A lot. They're Minds. It's expected.
* TestosteronePoisoning: Affront culture. ''Every single aspect thereof''.
* TortureTechnician: ''Grey Area''. It actually carries a huge museum of torture devices, complete with demonstration videos. Its most efficiently painful device? A [[MindRape neural-lace]]. You know, that one thing that practically everyone in The Culture has.
** Never mind the library of atrocities committed by various pre-spaceflight races and the ''Grey Area's'' penchant for [[LaserGuidedKarma do unto others retributions]]

* TheVirus: The Excession.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: A crucial question.

* ZeroApprovalGambit: What the ''Attitude Adjuster'' thought it would be doing.
* ZeroGSpot: There was that one unusual docking incident...

* NotSoDifferent: The Mind known as ''Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival'' calls out the other Minds for being NotSoAboveItAll: the second a unique thing like the excession appears they all instantly fall over themselves to possess, hide it, keep it from other races and hatch plans involving pre-emptive war with a space based ''casus belli''. '''Exactly like the humans they look down their collective noses at'''. "We've become just like the kings of old, fighting over gold and rubies".

-->''Two hundred and thirty-two thousand times the speed of light. Dear holy fucking shit.''

->''The Attitude Adjuster thought it could see into the souls of the Affronters. They were not the happy-go-lucky life-and-soul-of-the-party grand fellows with a few bad habits they were commonly thought to be; they were not thoughtlessly cruel in the course of seeking to indulge other more benign and even admirable pleasures; they were not merely terrible rascals.''
->''They gloried, first and foremost, in their cruelty. Their cruelty was the point. They were not thoughtless. They knew they hurt their own kind and others and they revelled in it; it was their purpose. The rest – the robust joviality, the blokish vivacity -was part happy accident, part cunningly exaggerated ploy, the equivalent of an angelic-looking child discovering that a glowing smile will melt the severest adult heart and excuse almost any act, however dreadful.''

-->''The Attitude Adjuster thought it could see into the souls of the Affronters. They were not the happy-go-lucky life-and-soul-of-the-party grand fellows with a few bad habits they were commonly thought to be; they were not thoughtlessly cruel in the course of seeking to indulge other more benign and even admirable pleasures; they were not merely terrible rascals.''
-->''They gloried, first and foremost, in their cruelty. Their cruelty was the point. They were not thoughtless. They knew they hurt their own kind and others and they revelled in it; it was their purpose. The rest – the robust joviality, the blokish vivacity -was part happy accident, part cunningly exaggerated ploy, the equivalent of an angelic-looking child discovering that a glowing smile will melt the severest adult heart and excuse almost any act, however dreadful.''

** The ''Grey Area'' is (notoriously) the only Mind that manipulates organic brains directly, specifically in memories stored in the ''grey matter'' of the brain. Interfacing with human brains is seen as a great taboo among the Minds of the Culture, for which the ship has earned the nickname "''Meatfucker''", with some of its fellow Minds arguing over whether it should still be considered part of the Culture at all, thus falling into the "Eccentric" classification -- ships neither fully inside the Culture nor fully out of it, a grey area. [[spoiler:But the ship only does what it does to dispense justice to war criminals who have otherwise escaped justice, therefore it operates in a moral ''[[GreyingMorality grey area]]''.]]

* AnotherMansTerror: The GCU ''Grey Area'' uses this as karmic punishment for a retired soldier who was involved in a genocidal campaign, by making him relive the agonising deaths of his victims.

* AffablyEvil: Species of sadistic [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying]] {{Blood Knight}}s though they might be, it's pointed out in-universe that the Affront are disturbingly likable and ''[[BoisterousBruiser fun]]'' in spite of all that, and they're ostensibly seeking peaceful diplomatic relations with the Culture without ulterior motive. [[spoiler:It turns out that even the Affront plot against the Culture was actually initiated as a FalseFlagOperation by [[TheConspiracy rogue Minds within the Culture]] to give them an excuse to curb the Affront's horrible internal activities, since the Affront did not in fact seem to be planning a betrayal on their own.]]

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Affront are sufficiently fond on inflicting fear and pain that when other species started calling them the Affront, they [[InsultBackfire took it as a compliment]] and [[AppropriatedAppellation adopted it]] as [[CardCarryingVillain the official name of their civilization on the galactic stage]].

* AffablyEvil: Sadistic [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying]] ProudWarriorRace though they might be, it's pointed out in-universe that the Affront are disturbingly likable and ''[[BoisterousBruiser fun]]'' in spite of all that, and they're ostensibly seeking peaceful diplomatic relations with the Culture without ulterior motive. [[spoiler:It turns out that even the Affront plot against the Culture was actually initiated as a FalseFlagOperation by [[TheConspiracy rogue Minds within the Culture]] to give them an excuse to curb the Affront's horrible internal activities, since the Affront did not in fact seem to be planning a betrayal on their own.]]

* AffablyEvil: Sadistic [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying]] ProudWarriorRace though they might be, it's pointed out in-universe that the Affront are disturbingly likable and ''[[BoisterousBruiser fun]]'' in spite of all that, and they're ostensibly seeking peaceful diplomatic relations with the Culture without ulterior motive. [[spoiler:It turns out that even the Affront plot against the Culture was actually initiated as a FalseFlagOperation [[TheConspiracy by the Culture]] to give them an excuse to curb the Affront's horrible internal activities, since the Affront did not in fact seem to be planning a betrayal on their own.]]

* OhCrap

** The ''Grey Area'' is (notoriously) the only Mind that manipulates organic brains directly, specifically in memories stored in the ''grey matter'' of the brain. Interfacing with human brains is seen as a great taboo among the Minds of the Culture, for which the ship has earned the nickname "''Meatfucker''", with some of its fellow Minds arguing over whether it should still be considered part of the Culture at all, thus falling into the "Eccentric" classification -- ships neither fully inside the Culture nor fully out of it, a grey area. [[spoiler:But the ship only does it to dispense justice, therefore it operates in a moral [[GreyingMorality grey area]].]]

* AnachronicOrder: The book has two plot lines: One running normally and detailing the reactions to the Excession, and a second that consists of flashbacks about Byr and Dajeil's life.

* AppropriatedAppellation: The Affront were called as such as criticism of their behavior, but they [[InsultBackfire took it as a compliment]] and started calling themselves that. At the end of the book, the Excession also announces it is adopting that name.

* BackupTwin

%%* TheCharmer: Byr -- or TheCasanova.
* TheChessmaster: The conspiracy's planners, very much so -- [[spoiler:they manipulate a splinter group within the Affront into attacking the Culture, thus justifying the Culture's intervention against the Affront, allowing them to step in to directly curb the litany of horrors that is Affront culture while not looking like the bad guys. Said conspiracists are themselves Minds within the Culture, making the whole thing a rather convoluted FalseFlagOperation.]]
* ContinuityNod
** There are plenty of references to [[Literature/ConsiderPhlebas the Idiran war]].

* ReallyGetsAround: Byr is infamous for this even by the standards of the sexually liberal Culture, along with a reputation for not getting along with his exes. Dajeil's desire for monogamy, on the other hand, is specifically called out as very unusual by Culture standards. [[spoiler:Byr's inability to keep it in his pants after promising not to sleep around while he was with Dajeil, despite her being absolutely clear what she was asking and what it would cost him, is what ends causes the rift between them and leads to her seclusion aboard the ''Sleeper Service'' in the first place.]]

** The ''Sleeper Service'' is mainly populated by [[HumanPopsicle people in voluntary suspended animation]], therefore it serves sleepers. A sleeper service in train terms is a train which pulls sleeper cars, providing room and board to passengers on long, multi-day trips -- the latter being {{ironic|Name}}, since the ''Sleeper Service'''s only waking, human passenger is Dajeil (who herself has been keeping her unborn child in a state of suspension for decades), while the Mind poses its other passengers into elaborate tableaus of everyday life while still keeping them in suspension. [[spoiler:At the same time, the ship is pretending to be an Eccentric while staying ready to react to SC orders, so it's serving as a ''sleeper'' agent -- having built up most of its interior with faster-than-light engine (like a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_(car) sleeper car) and a whole fleet of warships kept dormant, or ''asleep'', until called into action by the events of the book.]]

** The ''Sleeper Service'' is mainly populated by [[HumanPopsicle people in voluntary suspended animation]], therefore it serves sleepers. A sleeper service in train terms is a train which pulls sleeper cars, providing room and board to passengers on long, multi-day trips -- the latter being {{ironic|Name}}, since the ''Sleeper Service'''s only waking, human passenger is Dajeil, while the Mind poses its other passengers into elaborate tableaus of everyday life while still keeping them in suspension. [[spoiler:At the same time, the ship is pretending to be an Eccentric while staying ready to react to SC orders, so it's serving as a ''sleeper'' agent -- having built up most of its interior with faster-than-light engine (like a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_(car) sleeper car) and a whole fleet of warships kept dormant, or ''asleep'', until called into action by the events of the book.]]

** The ''Sleeper Service'' is mainly populated by [[HumanPopsicle people in voluntary suspended animation]], therefore it serves sleepers. A sleeper service in train terms is a train which pulls sleeper cars, providing room and board to passengers on long, multi-day trips -- the latter being {{ironic|Name}}, since the ''Sleeper Service'''s only waking, human passenger is Dajeil, while the Mind poses its other passengers into elaborate tableaus of everyday life while still keeping them in suspension. [[spoiler:At the same time, the ship is pretending to be an Eccentric while staying ready to react to SC orders, so it's serving as a ''sleeper'' agent -- having built up most of its interior with faster-than-light engine and a whole fleet of warships kept dormant, or ''asleep'', until called into action by the events of the book.]]

** The ''Sleeper Service'' is mainly populated by [[HumanPopsicle people in voluntary suspended animation]], therefore it serves sleepers. A sleeper service in train terms is a train which pulls sleeper cars, providing room and board to passengers on long, multi-day trips -- the latter being {{ironic|Name}}, since the ''Sleeper Service'''s only waking, human passenger is Dajeil, while the Mind poses its other passengers into elaborate tableaus of everyday life while still keeping them in suspension. [[spoiler:At the same time, the ship is pretending to be an Eccentric while staying ready to react to SC orders, so it's serving as a ''sleeper'' agent.]]

** The ''Sleeper Service'' is mainly populated by people in suspended animation, therefore it serves sleepers. [[spoiler:At the same time, the ship is pretending to be an Eccentric while staying ready to react to SC orders, so it's serving as a ''sleeper'' agent.]]
** The ''Grey Area'' is (notoriously) the only Mind that manipulates organic brains directly, specifically in memories stored in the ''grey matter'' of the brain. Interfacing with human brains is seen as a great taboo among the Minds of the Culture, for which the ship has earned the nickname "''Meatfucker''". [[spoiler:But the ship only does it to dispense justice, therefore it operates in a moral [[GreyingMorality grey area]].]]

* PunnyName: While all the Culture Minds have [[MeaningfulName Meaningful Names]], they also had double meanings to their names in this novel. ''Sleeper Service''[[labelnote: Spoiler Explanation]] The ship is mainly populated by people in suspended animation, therefore it serves sleepers. At the same time, the ship is pretending to be an Eccentric while staying ready to react to SC orders, so it's serving as a sleeper agent[[/labelnote]], ''Killing Time'', ''Grey Area''[[labelnote: Explanation]]The only mind that manipulates brains directly, specifically in memories storedin the grey area of the brain. This is a great taboo in The Culture, but the ship only does it to dispense justice, therefore it operates in a moral grey area[[/labelnote]], ''Attitude Adjuster''[[labelnote: Spoiler Explanation]]An expression that usually refers to disciplining someone in an unpleasant way, appropriate for a warship. Also a crucial part of the plan to manipulate The Affront, "adjusting" their attitude towards open aggresion, which is necessary for the conspiracy.[[/labelnote]] the list goes on.
* ReallyGetsAround: Byr

* PunnyName: While all the Culture Minds have [[MeaningfulName Meaningful Names]], they also had double meanings to their names in this novel. ''Sleeper Service'', ''Killing Time'', ''Grey Area'', the list goes on.

* BoisterousBruiser: The Affront again, and actually a bigger problem for the Culture -- while the Affronters have a cultural penchant for sadism and depravity that the Culture finds detestable, unlike the Idirians, they're not at war with the Culture, and are in fact seeking cordial diplomatic relations. This puts the Culture in the somewhat awkward position of being seen as an open aggressor if they were to intervene, even if it was on a humanitarian basis.

* BoisterousBruiser: The Affront again, and actually a bigger problem for the Culture -- while the Affronters have a cultural penchant for sadism and depravity that the Culture finds detestable, unlike the Idirians, they're not at war with the Culture, and are in fact seeking cordial diplomatic relations. This puts the Culture in the somewhat awkward position of being more the aggressor than they generally like to be seen as if they were to intervene, even if it was on a humanitarian basis.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: The Interesting Times Gang (ITG), a kind of informal think tank of senior Minds who put their figurative heads together to try and coordinate the Culture's response to the titular Excession. They're all eccentric, but they're not all [[InsistentTerminology Eccentric]].[[note]]The latter being ostracized by other Minds and thus the Culture at large.[[/note]] ItMakesSenseInContext.

* BoisterousBruiser: The Affront again, and actually a bigger problem for the Culture -- while the Affronters have a penchant for sadism and depravity that the Culture finds detestable and commits atrocities on their own, unlike the Idirians, they're not at war with the Culture, and are in fact seeking cordial diplomatic relations. This puts the Culture in the somewhat awkward position of being more the aggressor than they generally like to be seen as if they were to intervene, even if it was on a humanitarian basis.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: The Interesting Times Gang (ITG), a kind of informal think tank of senior Minds who put their figurative heads together to try and coordinate the Culture's response to the titular Excession. They're all eccentric, but they're not all Eccentric. ItMakesSenseInContext.

* BoisterousBruiser: The Affront are an [[PlanetOfHats entire race of them]], which naturally causes them some trouble with the Culture.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: The Interesting Times Gang. They're all eccentric, but they're not all Eccentric. ItMakesSenseInContext.

%%* TheChessmaster: The conspiracy's planners, very much.