Technology determines the possibilities of society. It doesnt matter whether you start out from a fascist state or a communist state or a free-market state. – Iain Banks
Science fiction is trying to find alternative ways of looking at realities. – Iain Banks
A lot of what the Culture is about is a reaction to all the science fiction I was reading in my very early teens. – Iain Banks
Torture is such a slippery slope as soon as you allow a society or any legal system to do that, almost instantly you get a situation where people are being tortured for very trivial reasons. – Iain Banks