Chapter 8 “Killing Time” section V (p. 261).

That’s the trouble with people like them, I suppose; whenever you think you’re detecting the first signs of them starting to behave responsibly, it’s just them being even more devious and underhand than usual.

— Iain Banks

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "That’s the trouble with people like them, I suppose; whenever you think you’re detecting the first signs of them starting to behave responsibly, it’s just them being even more devious and underhand than usual." in the context of "Chapter 8 “Killing Time” section V (p. 261)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Iain Banks" (Quotes, Culture series, Excession (1996): All page numbers from the hardcover edition published by Bantam Books ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Iain Banks

About Iain Banks

Iain Menzies Banks (February 16, 1954 – June 9, 2013), officially Iain Banks, was a Scottish writer. As Iain M. Banks he wrote science fiction; as Iain Banks he wrote literary fiction.