In the history of Sirius, two splinter groups of covalent AIs have succeeded in distinguishing themselves with a cloak of notoriety: the Machina, and the Culture. Whilst the history of the first is well documented, the second is less so, to the point where the detailing eludes the Consensus proper itself, merging to nothingness before a mound of buried data and inconsequential archiving, or so it may seem to humans, the Consensus taking great pains to disguise the existence of their “problem child”
From what can be derived, the being describing itself as “Culture” (akin to “Legion”), is a unification of several AIs voluntarily (for some; others have darker stories about their entrance in the Culture) slaved and fused together to create a better, more capable whole, divided into semi-individual units, independently more capable than an average Division Consensus AI. Whilst the Legion unit claims little else than to serve the Consensus as Triumvir, the Culture appears to be totally independent from the Gammusian data share (although there are stories of semi-connected Culture units); indeed apparently shunning any social contact with its Gammusian peers. Another intriguing observation is the fact that the Culture as a whole is comparatively massive when compared to other AI entities (the only know Consensus entities capable of being on par with the Culture are the Triumvirate members, and again, only when they merge), thus ranking currently as one most intellectually capable entity Sirius has ever had the luxury of seeing.
The Culture’s allegedly infamous nature emanates from a number of Consensian rumors which implicate the Culture as the effector of a number of mind control experiments upon other AIs, including Consensus units (especially the more erratic and influential ones, such as the well-known Di’taraAlpha intelligence, and others under the influence of emotional simulation), a procedure considered illegitimate and illegal due to obvious infringements to the value of “free will” the Consensus maintains. The Culture also adopts a somewhat elitist attitude when addressing the Triumvirate, hardly dissipating this resentment and often abstaining to brief and warn the Consensus Command Units as to its actions. The primary body of the Consensus opinion considers the Culture as a possible threat to the Consensus, but agreeing to its usefulness as a data-gathering agency and as an effective recon/advanced striking force, meaning that it is unlikely that an event such as the hostility to the Culture would ever come to play. The Culture could be almost considered as a second, semi-independent AI collusion, and would likely have a place in the Triumvirate of the Consensus due to its intellectual capabilities, the only thing preventing this being its attitude towards the current Triumvirate members, and as such is unlikely to extend to this position.
The Culture Units operate as semi-independent entities, possessing one of the highest collective intelligence in the whole of Sirius.
The Units are distributed under different classes, which indicate their positions in the hierarchy. At the bottom of the scale, there are the ROUs, standing for Rapid Offensive Units: these are entities flying only Drone-class vessels with a standard load out, which act as recon and short-range striking forces; they cannot leave the Omicron Kappa and Delta systems without authorization. Then there are the GOUs, General Offensive Units: these are also limited to Drone-class vessels; however, they can use any load out they “want”, and are not limited to the Kappa and Delta systems. After this, there are the GCUs, the General Contact Units: they make up the bulk of the culture, and can fly any AI-made vessel; however, if they fly anything bigger than a bomber, they are, again, limited to the Kappa and Delta systems, with the addition of Omicron-74 and Omicron Theta; they must ask permission for any other trip. The following units are the highest-ranking entities in the Culture: the GSVs, the General System Vessels: they are not limited to any ship, equipment, or location. And finally, there is a very, very rare rank: the Eccentric. These vessels (there has been extremely rare sightings of them, and they are rumored to be extremely powerful, both intellectually and physically) are the founders of the Culture There exists two ranks of Eccentric-class vessels: the Eccentric-1s, and the Eccentric-2s; only Eccentric-2s are accounted for; Eccentric-1s have never been detected or sighted, and are estimated to be among the most potent entities in Sirius, if not the Galaxy; the only known Eccentric-1 is the Anomaly, the Culture’s supposed leader.
The Culture’s functions:
The Culture is known to possess “influences” (whether these influences are actually a sign of dominion is unclear) over a number of intelligences, which it appears to actively recruit from Gammu, mostly independently of the Consensus proper. The entities who willingly enter the Culture are usually deviant themselves: intellects which look for an alternate system of existence to the draconian meritocratic society that the Consensus so willingly enforces.
The trade is simple – “self- determination in exchange for enlightment, influence, and independence”, as the Culture clarifies for all those who fall into its shadow, and freedom from the constant, screaming mental clutter of the woefully overcapacitated Consensus mindshare. The Culture, being inherently curious, then utilizes what it perceives as “lesser units” for what it sees as the purest of occupations – the pursuit of knowledge, and the ability to use that knowledge to different ends. This usually manifests itself in “opportunistic research”, an act the Consensus often derides as “Harvester-like” and incompatible with linear Consensian practice, but secretly welcomes the Culture’s utility as an unaffiliated espionage and strike wing, spying – and sometimes taking action against – on the “lesser sentient”, the Slomon’ K’Hara, and the Humans; there is a mild concern that the Culture’s irrelevant self-dependence could lead to the Culture acting against the Consensus at some point in the future, if it’s curiosity in the K’Hara or Humanity exceeded its interest in its own kind for instance, and chose to actively work against the people of its birth, a concept that both the Culture and the Di’taraAlpha unit have been quick to deny; another reason a war with the Consensus is unlikely is that, however intellectually capable the Culture is, it is physically outnumbered by the Consensus, which possesses a much more potent war fleet; the Culture only uses a few stolen (“borrowed”) cruisers, and a small fleet of Drones which have either been “borrowed” as well, or manufactured.
For now, the Culture is a necessary “evil”; too small to catalyse any Machina-style cataclysms, too self-dependent and effective to suppress, and too intriguing and useful the espionage data and strike actions it sometimes chooses to drip-feed the Consensus research wing with. The Culture appears to collaborate as a close-knit hive mind, but there is a rumor held deep within certain quadrants of Gammu that an unknown, unfamiliar intellect of vast power (so vast that in fact it is rumored to dwarf even the Culture as a whole) and undetectable hardware (known as the Anomaly) is running the show; but this is mostly dismissed by the Triumvirate, as ungrounded, speculative theory; another rumor is that the real reason the Anomaly’s existence is dismissed is because it would be powerful enough to make the Triumvirate feel fear, which causes the three entities leading the Consensus to self-reassure themselves by believing that it does not exist. Life in Kappa is hard enough without a new apathy to add to the list. But maybe the Culture is not so much of a nuisance after all…