Songs/Singing
Songs and singing are frequently encountered symbols within the novel. The character One Esk/Breq, despite being a terrible singer, is constantly singing and is obsessed with learning as many songs as she can from the various cultures that she comes into contact with. Although she is just one of many thousand ancillary clones, this fondness for music seems to be unique to her and her alone. This distinctive trait of hers therefore becomes symbolic of her individuality and a mark of her humanity.
The 25th Garseddai Gun
This weapon is a relic from Empire’s distant past. They made by the Presger race and is capable of punching through most any form of matter.Twenty-five of these super-weapons were originally made to be wielded by the leaders of Garsedd. Twenty four of the original guns were taken and Planet Garseddai destroyed. This act of planetary genocide is actually the spark that sets off the civil war in the Radch Empire and the Garseddai gun that Breq/One Esk desires to possess takes on multiple symbolic significance. Breq/One Esk wants the gun as an assassination weapon against Anaander Mianaai and as such the weapon becomes symbolic for personal vengeance and poetic justice for the people of Garsedaai. It also becomes symbolic of defiance as its’ primary use is to topple a corrupt, murderous dictatorship.
Tea
Tea is a popular beverage and there is a well-entrenched, galaxy-spanning tea culture in the Intergalactic Radch Empire. In that regard, tea becomes symbolic of the tie that binds humans together and although many people drink tea all over the many planetary colonies in the Radch Empire, there is a notable exception: the ancillaries. Ancillaries only drank water; if there was any tea carried aboard their starships, it was reserved for officers, human dignitaries, and other important guests. Tea, at least in as much as the ancillaries were concerned, was a luxury that was denied them as they were seen as dispensable objects. Tea, therefore, also becomes symbolic of status—and to a certain extent, prejudice—as it was only given to individuals seen as important.
Memorial pins
These mementoes are worn by Radchaai to celebrate the memory of family members or good friends that have died. Many of these pins will be quite ornate displaying the deceased person’s lineage, achievements, and relationship to the individual wearing the pin. These pins are symbolic of a person’s history and ties to the family and most everyone in the Radch Empire wears them, again, save the ancillaries.
Ancillaries
Ancillaries are the clone bodies of the A.I.’s that rule the Radch Empire. They serve as the many arms, legs, eyes, and ears of the Empire and are indispensable in the task of maintaining order over their charges. Despite the inherent value of the ancillaries however, they are treated as no better than equipment, reason being that they are relatively easy to “manufacture” as they are clones that can be grown in vats in large quantities. Ancillaries are symbolic of how the AI’s regard humanity: disposable and ultimately unimportant in the grand game that they play.
