List of civilizations

## Culture Civilization Overview

The Culture series is set in the Milky Way. The galaxy is richly populated by thousands of space-faring species and even more without any well-developed space travel. Species and civilizations differ wildly in their physique and habitats, their mindset and culture, their technical development, age, size and power. As an example for the differences in scale, the Empire of Azad (see below) is a space-faring civilization that controls several thousand stars, yet from the perspective of the larger and more advanced Culture this empire is a small and semi-barbarous backwater society, insignificant and unknown to the average Culture citizen.

The novels cover a time span of approximately 1,500 years, with occasional references to or depictions of events long before or long after the main timeline. As such the status of civilizations and the universe as a whole progresses or changes in the course of the series. The novels contain several terms and systems intended to provide a broad categorization of the civilizations:

* *Involved*: Also occasionally referred to as the *Optimae*, the *In-Play* or the *Player* civilizations. The term was introduced in *Matter*. The Involved are the most advanced and powerful conventional civilizations. An Involved civilization is capable of operating throughout the galaxy, though it may have a local sphere of influence that it regards as its own territory. The Involved civilizations are aware of each other and maintain diplomatic relations. They generally take an interest in major events and developments in the galaxy. This sets them apart from the Sublimed (see below), who may be even more advanced, but who have abandoned their conventional physical existence and who have mostly stopped concerning themselves with events in the material world. The Involved are further subcategorized as *Low-level Involved* (LLI), *Mid-level Involved* (MLI) and *High-level Involved* (HLI). The novels do not specify whether these grades are based on technological advancement or the degree of involvement, but the HLI are regarded as the most powerful.
* *Aspirant*: A civilization on the verge of becoming Involved.
* *Sublimed*: This term is introduced in *Excession*. The Sublimed have abandoned their physical existence in favour of becoming beings of energy. The exact nature of their continued existence is unclear, and there may be different methods of subliming. Civilizations may sublime partially or as a whole. The Sublimed wield considerable power, and they are often said to be like gods for all intents and purposes. Becoming Sublimed is regarded as the natural final stage in the development of a civilization. Once a civilization has developed the means for subliming, it tends to sublime sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, there are numerous Involved civilizations which, like the Culture, do possess the means for subliming, but which continue their physical existence. The Sublimed are often regarded as powerful and dangerous, but also as incomprehensible and aloof, or even as shirking their responsibility for the galaxy. The Sublimed do at times maintain contact to the non-Sublimed and interact with the physical world, although this is rare and their goals remain enigmatic. For example, the Sublimed Dra'Azon take control of planets that have suffered cataclysmic events, and they preserve these worlds as "Planets of the Dead", effectively defending them against any intrusion, for unknown reasons. The Involved and the lesser civilizations do their best not to anger the Sublimed.
* *Elder*: This is a vaguely used term throughout the series, introduced early on in *Consider Phlebas*. Most of the time it is used like a synonym for the Sublimed, although *Matter* treats them as different groups. It is implied that some Elder species do not sublime; they continue to occupy familiar physical existence but isolate or obfuscate themselves technologically. They have reached the required level of technology for sublimation, but chose not to, and have retreated from the larger galactic meta-civilization.
* *Level N*: The novel *Surface Detail* introduced the concept of using a numerical level to categorize the degree of technological advancement of a civilization. The system denotes a level using the capitalized word "Level" together with the capitalized word for a number, e.g. "Level Six", "Level Seven". Level Eight is the highest level possible on this scale. The novels do not clarify the requirements for reaching any particular Level X. The novels also do not specify any relation between a given Level X and the categories LLI, MLI and HLI above. The Culture is HLI and a Level Eight civilization, and has been at Level Eight since at least the immediate aftermath of the events in the first novel *Consider Phlebas*, in other words throughout the series. The Liseiden (see below) are stated to be Level Six and LLI. Giving technology of a higher level to civilizations of a lower level is regulated or at least frowned upon, as the higher level civilizations believe that the lower level civilizations may not have sufficient maturity to handle such technology in a responsible way. There is a considerable range of advancement within the levels, as the novels show earlier Culture warships (already at Level Eight) to be vastly inferior to the models that are modern several centuries later, but which still count as Level Eight.
* *nth level*: *Consider Phlebas* mentions third and fourth-level societies as being more primitive than the Culture. These terms are not explained further, and it is not known how they relate to the level systems above.
* *stage n*: In *The State of the Art* our planet Earth in the year 1977 is said to represent a sophisticated stage three civilization. The term is not explained further, and it is not known how it relates to the level systems above.

Except for the Culture, most civilizations only ever occur in one novel. As the categorization systems themselves were introduced at different points in the series, there are many civilizations whose positions within some or all of the various categorization systems is not known.