A Gift from the Culture
"A Gift from the Culture", published in 1987, is a short work of space opera, by the Scottish science fiction author Iain M. Banks. The story is an early venture into the "complex and unusual and very distant" setting of the Culture, which Banks would further develop through various of full length novels, stories, and his essay "A Few Notes on the Culture".
First contact (science fiction)
By contrast, in the works of Iain M. Banks, the "Contact" division of the galactic civilization calling itself the Culture (which features in the majority of Banks' science fiction) frequently manipulates less advanced civilizations, steering them towards peaceful progress, especially those that may become aggressive or dangerous, under the pretext of maintaining the balance of galactic power; a notable exception being the short story "The State of the Art", in which the Culture decides not to contact Earth so they can use it as a control against which they can measure their manipulations of other societies. Novels such as "The Player of Games" and "Look to Windward" delve into the psychology of first inter-species contact in considerable depth. In the novel "Excession", Banks coins the phrase "Outside Context Problem" in relation to first contact.