It's the hardest thing in the world to go on being aware of someone else's pain.

That balance between involvement and detachment is what novelists do. It's the ideal relationship between a novelist and a character, I think, total involvement and identity and empathy, stopping short of being autobiographical - in my case, anyway - but also quite detached.

He doesn't seem to have a lot of empathy. He's not a guy who feels your pain.

Even though he was here just one year he really helped people come along. He has that empathy that great leaders do. He knows how to help his teammates through tough times. ... He was part of our leadership package along with Roberts and of course Mats.

Dream!
Forge yourself and rise
Out of your mind and into others.
Men, be women.
Fish, be flies.
Girls, take beards.
Sons, be your mothers.
The future of the world now lies
In coral wombs behind our eyes.

Sure it's a little painful on the ears, but what's a little pain now when it can save your life later.