Excerpt from Look To Windward by Iain M. Banks, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

The Mind that was Masaq' Orbital Hub had its own reasons for wanting to commemorate the Twin Novae Battle and had asked the indulgence of its inhabitants, announcing that for the interval between the first nova and the second it would be observing its own private term of mourning, although without affecting the execution of its duties. It had intimated there would be some sort of more upbeat event to mark the end of this period, though exactly what form this would take it hadn't yet revealed.

Kabe suspected he knew, now. He found himself glancing involuntarily in the direction Ziller had taken, just as the Chelgrian's gaze had strayed toward the stage earlier, when he'd been asked who had commissioned whatever he was working on.

All in due course, Kabe thought. As Ziller had said.

For tonight, all Hub had wanted was that people look up and see the sudden, silent light, and think; perhaps contemplate a little. Kabe had half expected the locals to take no notice whatsoever and just carry on with their busy little one-long-party lives as usual; however it appeared that, here at least, the Hub Mind's wish had been granted.

"All very regrettable," the drone E. H. Tersono said at Kabe's side, and made a sighing sound. Kabe thought it probably meant to sound sincere.

"Salutary, for all of us," Kabe agreed. His own ancestors had been the Idirans' mentors, and fought alongside the Idirans in the early stages of the ancient war. The Homomda felt the weight of their own responsibilities as keenly as the Culture did its.

"We try to learn," Tersono said quietly. "But still we make mistakes."

It was talking now about Chel, the Chelgrians and the Caste War, Kabe knew. He turned and looked at the machine as the people moved away in the steady, ghostly light.

"You could always do nothing, Tersono," he told it. "Though such a course usually brings its own regrets."

I am too glib, sometimes, Kabe thought, I tell them too exactly what they want to hear.

The drone tipped back to make clear that it was looking up at the Homomdan, but said nothing.

Copyright © 2000 by Iain M. Banks