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Traducció al castellà de l'article original en anglès: «In the Shadow of the Culture: The Ethics of Intervention. Extrapolation 62-2 (2021): 181-197. https://doi.org/10.3828/extr.2021.10 The Algebraist (2004, El algebrista) de Iain M. Banks, nominada al Premio Hugo a la Mejor Novela en 2005, ha atraído mucha menos atención crítica que sus novelas sobre la Cultura a pesar de ser una obra notable. Nacida del deseo del autor de desarrollar su ciencia ficción más allá del universo de la Cultura, El algebrista es una novela compleja que exhibe en sus densas páginas la maravillosa imaginación de Banks. Aquí considero de qué manera las principales civilizaciones que representa en ella, los Mercatoria y los Moradores (Dwellers), conectan con cuestiones clave planteadas en las novelas sobre la Cultura: la ética de la intervención en otras civilizaciones, el uso de la IA y la naturaleza de la utopía. La Cultura, como sostengo, proyecta una larga sombra, pero la decisión de Banks de explorar otro universo narrativo le permite examinar estas cuestiones fundamentales desde un ángulo diferente y al mismo tiempo complementario. Iain M. Banks's The Algebraist (2004), a Hugo Award nominee for Best Novel in 2005, has attracted far less critical attention than his Culture novels despite being a remarkable work. Born of the author's wish to develop his science fiction beyond the Culture's universe, The Algebraist is a complex novel displaying in its dense pages Banks's wondrous imagination. Here I consider the ways in which the main civilizations he depicts in it, the Mercatoria and the Dwellers, connect with key issues raised in the Culture novels: the ethics of intervention in other civilizations, the use of AIs, and the nature of utopia. The Culture, as I argue, casts a long shadow but Banks's decision to explore another narrative universe allows him to examine these fundamental issues from a different angle. The Algebraist complements, nonetheless, his main tenets in the Culture series.

This is an extended version of the paper I presented at the 16th International Culture & Power Conference: Spaces, Universidad de Murcia, 2-4 October 2013, organized by IBACS and the Departamento de Filología Inglesa, Facultad de Letras, of the Universidad de Murcia. The late 1980s saw a renovation of space opera that some critics labelled 'postmodern'. I'll focus here on the last novel by a most prominent author of this newer space opera: The Hydrogen Sonata (2012) by the late Scottish writer Iain M. Banks. Banks, whose SF career started with Consider Phlebas (1987), wrote high quality space opera. The Hydrogen Sonata, one of Banks' novels on the hedonistic alliance of humanoid civilisations known as the Culture, narrates in his characteristic tongue-in-cheek tone the last days of the Gzilt civilisation before all of it moves onto the space of the Sublime to abandon the Real. Many other species have already sublimed but what concerns a faction of the Culture is whether the Gzilt are embracing this option freely since the Book of Truth guiding them seems to be a hoax, an experiment perpetrated by another civilisation. My concerns are twofold. First, how Banks manages to raise the sense of wonder that characterises SF in his description of space, including the Sublime, while, as Hardesty claims, subtly mocking the sub-genre. Second, whether the Gzilt's accession onto the Sublime comments not only on the limits of utopia (the Culture shows no interest) but also indirectly, as it seems, on Scottish independence, considering a consensus was reached about the then oncoming September 2014 referendum as Banks wrote-in Scotland-the last adventure of the Gzilt. Space acquires, thus, not only physical and metaphysical dimensions but also and political overtones in Banks' thrilling space opera.

Djan Seriy Anaplian és, possiblement, el personatge femení més complet creat per Iain M. Banks per a la seva sèrie sobre la Cultura (1987-2013). En Matter (2008) [Materia, 2010] Anaplian comparteix protagonisme amb els seus germanastres Ferbin i Oramen però ella és el veritable heroi. Com a dona, Djan Seriy és una pària en el seu patriarcal país natal, convertida en trànsfuga en la utopia de Banks, la Cultura. Nascuda princesa en l'antiquat regne del seu pare, el Rei Hausk, Djan és criada per a ser usada en un enllaç matrimonial segons decideixi el rei. La Cultura rescata a Anaplian per a transformar-la en ciutadana lliure posthumana i, més tard, en agent secret de Circumstàncies Especials (convertint-se així en pària interna). No obstant això, la singular trajectòria de Anaplian, el seu apoderament personal i la seva ambigua actitud vers la Cultura no han estat abordats pels estudiosos de Banks malgrat demostrar el seu posicionament ant-patriarcal. Aquest és el tema que s'examina aquí. Djan Seriy Anaplian is, possibly, the most accomplished female character created by Iain M. Banks for the Culture series (1987-2013). In Matter (2008) she shares protagonism with her step-brothers Ferbin and Oramen but she is the real hero. As a woman, Djan Seriy is a pariah in her patriarchal homeland, and eventually becomes a defector to Banks’s utopia, the Culture. Born a princess in the backward kingdom of her father King Hausk, Djan is raised to be used in matrimonial alliance at her father’s convenience. The Culture rescues Anaplian to transform her into a free posthuman citizen and, later, into a Special Circumstances secret agent (thus, a sort of inner pariah). Anaplian’s singular trajectory, her personal empowerment, and conflicted attitude towards the Culture have, however, been overlooked by scholarship on Banks’ work, despite being the most positive example of the author’s own anti-patriarchal stance. The article seeks to fill this gap by examining the latter. Djan Seriy Anaplian es, posiblemente, el personaje femenino más completo creado por Iain M. Banks para su serie sobre la Cultura (1987-2013). En Matter (2008) [Materia, 2010] Anaplian comparte protagonismo con sus hermanastros Ferbin y Oramen pero ella es la verdadera heroína. Como mujer, Djan Seriy es una paria en su patriarcal país natal, y eventualmente se convierte en tránsfuga en la utopía de Banks, la Cultura. Nacida princesa en el anticuado reino de su padre, el Rey Hausk, Djan es criada para ser usada en una alianza matrimonial según decida el rey. La Cultura rescata a Anaplian para transformarla en ciudadana libre posthumana y, más tarde, en agente secreto de Circunstancias Especiales (convirtiéndose así en paria interna). No obstante, la singular trayectoria de Anaplian, su empoderamiento personal y su ambigua actitud hacia la Cultura no han sido abordados por los estudiosos de Banks pese a demostrar su posicionamiento antipatriarcal. Este es el tema que se examina en este artículo.

Cet article examine la science-fiction de Dan Simmons et de Iain M. Banks en tant que version contemporaine des fictions d’empires galactiques. Ils en partagent certaines caractéristiques : l’ambition, l’exhaustivité multiple, l’hédonisme désinhibé, ; les relations compliqués avec la textualité et l’intertextualité, une représentation compliquée de l’espace comme objet incohérent, exempt de constante régulatrice ; des sujets instables, mais aussi un retour vers une profondeur psychologique. On suggérera que cette fiction exprime l’injection de l’imaginaire postmoderne dans les éléments de la science-fiction d’empires galactiques traditionnelle ; cet imaginaire opère essentiellement par l’excès, la surcharge et l’exacerbation. Cette postmodernisation du roman d’empires galactiques finit par exprimer les anxiétés de la condition postmoderne.

It is the aim of this paper to contrast the first literary novel by Iain Banks, The Wasp Factory (1984), and the first sci-fi novel by Iain M. Banks, Consider Phlebas (1987). Both Banks are, of course, the same writer, using different names to sign different novels belonging not only to different literary genres but also, arguably, to different cultural domains —the literary and the popular, respectively. Banks is unique among Scottish writers and, perhaps, among all the writers in the world in that he alternates the publication of literary fiction with sciencefiction on a yearly basis. Since it is impractical to look at all his production (now close to 20 volumes) in a single article, it is my intention here to look at its beginning in each cycle. The contrast between his two first novels should answer queries about the difference between literary fiction and the so-called popular fiction genres (especially considering how the reader is placed before them) and also about how Scottishness relates to each aspect of Banks’ production.