Words&Dirt

“Lededje stamped across the floor of the dimly lit Smallbay.  ‘There must be other SC ships,’ she said furiously.

‘None that will talk to you,’ Jolicci said, hurrying after her.

‘And the only one that would seemed solely to want to shock and demean me.’

Jolicci shrugged.  ‘The Abominator class of General Offensive Unit, to which our friend belongs, is not known for its mildness or sociability.  Probably specced when the Culture was going through one of its periods of feeling that nobody was taking it seriously because it was somehow too nice.  Even amongst those, though, that particular ship is known as something of an outlier.  Most SC ships conceal their claws and keep the psychopathy switched to Full Off except when it’s judged to be absolutely necessary.’”

––Surface Detail, by Iain M. Banks, loc. 3581