Storage was the Culture practice of voluntary long-term stasis.
Storing biologicals[]
An entity could enter Storage at any time, for a diverse range of reasons and revival criteria. There was no limit on Stored time; some revival criteria could be extremely open-ended and lead to indefinite Storage - such as those waiting for the Culture to Sublime.[1]
The degree to which one was Stored was up to the individual. In full sleep[2] the individual did not dream or age.[1]
Storage facilities were available on every Culture habitat.[1]
Physical entities were Stored within containers. For millennia preceding the 19th century CE the container was a box not much larger than the Storee. After that, it became possible to Store entities within something resembling a gelfield suit; the suit was even more reliable than the old boxes, as well as allowing for Storees to be posed and decorated to create artistic displays. The use of suit-contained Storees to create displays was pioneered by the GSV Quietly Confident shortly after the technique became possible.[1]
Entities could also be Stored as mind-states.[3][4]
Storing ships[]
During the Culture's demobilization following the Idiran-Culture War, less than 1% of its then-extant warcraft were Stored in remote depots around the galaxy as an emergency reserve. Each part of the galaxy was no more than one month's flight from a Store. The ship Minds volunteered for the duty; aside from crisis they would be reawakened only if the Culture Enfolded. The ships were Stored fully armed - minus the relatively minor Displacer-deployed warheads which would be manufactured upon reactivation. Some ships at remote Stores were baroqued for security.[5]
The security and management of a ship Store was given to a Mind designed to prefer uneventful solitude and to have a subdued pride for having - and jealously guarding - such powerful military assets.[5]