| abstract | - In the Culture novels by Iain Banks, the GCU Grey Area is a General Contact Unit (a self-aware spaceship dedicated to the task of exploring the universe and interacting with other species) of the fictional Culture society that has turned eccentric. It is described in the novel Excession and has the dubious honour of being one of the few Culture ships to not to be listed in official records by its chosen name. The Grey Area has a fascination with war, genocide and pain and the methods of inflicting it. Its interior is a museum containing devices that inflict pain and documents detailing their use. The ship has been described in reviews as "psychopathically righteous", and as a good example of Banks' not letting technological terms and SF-staples stand in the way of describing interesting characters. The descriptions of the ship's actions are also cited as examples of how Banks uses both elaborate and plain language to underscore his points. The main reason Grey Area is despised by its peers is that it has chosen to ignore the Culture's taboo on non-consensual mindreading. It is for this reason that the ship is more commonly known among the other Culture Minds as Meatfucker. In the novel Look to Windward it is explained that the denial of a Culture Mind's chosen name is viewed as a grave insult and mark of disapproval by its peers.
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