Chapter 20 (p. 408)
“
“There is no guarantee of happiness, wisdom, or long life if you drink of me this evening,” she says, very softly. There is no nirvana. There is no salvation. There is no afterlife. There is no rebirth. There is only immense knowledge—of the heart as well as the mind—and the potential for great discoveries, great adventures, and and a guarantee of more of the pain and terror that make up so much of our short lives.”
— Dan Simmons
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "“There is no guarantee of happiness, wisdom, or long life if you drink of me this evening,” she says, very softly. There is no nirvana. There is no salvation. There is no afterlife. There is no rebirth. There is only immense knowledge—of the heart as well as the mind—and the potential for great discoveries, great adventures, and and a guarantee of more of the pain and terror that make up so much of our short lives.”" in the context of "Chapter 20 (p. 408)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Dan Simmons" (Quotes, The Rise of Endymion (1997): All page numbers are from the mass market paperback edition published by Bantam Spectra
All ellipses and italics in the original )
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 Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer.
About Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer.
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