Contact was the section of the Culture responsible for foreign interaction and military matters.
Activities
Contact engaged in the Culture's "good works" by exploring and interacting with other civilizations.[1] It handled almost all interactions between the Culture and elements not-Culture.[2]
During the Idiran-Culture War, Contact acted as the Culture's armed forces. Purpose built Culture warcraft were rare in the early years, and were substituted by General Contact Vehicles[3] and General Contact Units. These ships were heavily engaged and outnumbered.[4]
Contact's fleet represented a second line of defence for preserving the Culture. The first line consisted of large habitats (Orbitals, Rocks, etc..), with the last being the Oubliettionaries.[5]
Organization
Contact always contained specialist sub-divisions. The Numina, Quietus, and Restoria divisions were formally created during a reorganization during the mid-3nd millennium CE.[2]
Numina
Numina dealt with the Sublimed.[5]
Quietudinal Service
The Quietudinal Service, or Quietus, dealt with virtually extant, if physically dead, entities, such as those residing in Afterlives.[2]
Restoria
The Restoria section dealt with hegemonising swarm outbreaks. Its mission included the management, amelioration, and destruction, of hegswarms. The section was nicknamed "Pest Control".[2]
Special Circumstances
- Main article: Special Circumstances
Special Circumstances was originally a part of Contact. After the early years of the Idiran-Culture War[4], while still relatively young, SC was formally divested from Contact and became an independent organization. The split occurred because SC's activities could not be morally justified within Contact.[2] Contact was frequently seen as being second best to SC.[5]
References
- ↑ "A Few Notes on the Culture"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Surface Detail, chapter 9
- ↑ Look to Windward, chapter 13
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Consider Phlebas, chapter 2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Surface Detail, chapter 10