Chelgarian Allies of Look to Windward.
Was it ever revealed/implied who were the other Involveds behind the plot?
- No, it wasn't. The Masaq' Orbital Mind even suggested it might be a faction of the Culture, trying to prevent the Culture as a whole becoming complacent and decadent.
- Though the latter seems unlikely as insiders should have been aware of the limitations of the Culture's mind-scanning taboo.
- Which could have been the point. A faction of the Culture might not want another genocide but still want to make a threatening point about what The Culture had done.
- Seems far too costly. The message would have still been heard with a hundred times less civilian casualties.
How come The Culture spends so much time informing the reader how "capital punishment is bad, mkay?" — but are perfectly willing to send a nanotech assassin to gorily murder people who piss them off?
- Because the Minds who lead The Culture speak softly and prefer the use of a covert yet unilaterally psychotic branch of Contact to a big, war-starting stick?
