The Culture: (D)GOU Limiting Factor

This is a ship from The Player of Games, a novel by Iain M. Banks. Its full name is Murderer-class General Offensive Unit (D)GOU Limiting Factor. This is the second ship for the Player of Games illustration series after the previous superlifter. Next one will be a big chunk: Plate-class General System Vehicle Little Rascal (50 kilometers long).

(D)GOU means demilitarized general offensive unit, a former warship. The Limiting Factor is on a Special Circumstances mission, in the Azhad Empire. One of the Culture is that spaceships are also characters, hosts of minds. Minds are artificial sentient beings.