Because depression is so thematically powerful and so dark, when it's very severe, it can make people feel not only as if they've lost a loving connection, but as if the whole world is devoid of love. So if we wonder how somebody could take 149 people with him when he commits suicide, one answer can be that depression, when it's most severe, can make people feel that life is completely without value, not just for them but for anyone.

What was it about not knowing a person that allowed you to wonder whether she might be the answer to all your problems?

There's no original evil left in the world. Everyone's just recycling pain. (257)

The good guys had to operate on a higher level than the killers--just for society to keep track of who was who.

We are, all of us, crippled and twisted. Most of us strive desperately to keep our grotesqueries out of sight and mind. Our suffering is transformed by an alchemy of the soul into addiction, ulcers, strokes, hatred, even war.

The truth will set you free. Unless you're guilty.

When people can do something simple to avoid conflict--say, hit a button or unlock a latch--they'll generally do it.