Chapter 8 (p. 140)
“
“There are no guarantees in war,” Green said.
“Oh, there are,” blue said quietly, looking away into the darkness. “It’s just that they guarantee death, destruction, suffering, heartache and remorse.”
— Iain Banks
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "“There are no guarantees in war,” Green said.
“Oh, there are,” blue said quietly, looking away into the darkness. “It’s just that they guarantee death, destruction, suffering, heartache and remorse.”" in the context of "Chapter 8 (p. 140)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Iain Banks" (Quotes, Culture series, Surface Detail (2010): All page numbers are from the May 2011 first trade paperback edition published by Orbit , first printing
All spelling, italics, and punctuation as in the book )
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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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.
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.
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