1
Don't you have a religion?" Dorolow asked Horza."Yes, " he replied, not taking his eyes away from the screen on the wall above the end of the main mess-room table. "My survival."" So... your religion dies with you. How sad, " Dorolow said, looking back from Horza to the screen. The Changer let the remark pass.Iain Banks
2
That is the way with all of your kind… It is how you are made; you must all strive to claw your way over the backs of your fellow humans during the short time you are permitted in the universe, breeding when you can, so that the strongest strain survive and the weakest die. I would no more blame you for that than I would try to convert some non-sentient carnivore to vegetarianism. You are all on your own side.Iain M. Banks
3
Imagine a vast and glittering ocean seen from a great height. It stretches to the clear curved limit of every angle of horizon, the sun burning on a billion tiny wavelets. Now imagine a smooth blanket of cloud above the ocean, a shell of black velvet suspended high above the water and also extending to the horizon, but keep the sparkle of the sea despite the lack of sun. Add to the cloud many sharp and tiny lights, scattered on the base of the inky overcast like glinting eyes: singly, in pairs or in larger groups, each positioned far, far away from any other set. .Iain M. Banks
4
Look on the happy side, think of the good things. Hadn't it been clever? Yes, it had.Iain Banks