Case Study: A Dystopian Novel about Absolute Empathy

Written by Arsenii Moskvichoff

Narrated by Jonathan Davis

Length

10h 52m

Rating

4.8 (13 ratings)

What if empathy were absolute? Would it make our world better? William is a mental health specialist in a world of absolute empathy. It's a dangerous job: one slip-up and an escalating empathy feedback loop with a patient could kill them both. Every day, William faces the worst consequences of the hyperempathy virus release and loathes the restraints it puts on humanity. His life is upended when a new patient claims to have freed herself from the virus. If others can follow in her footsteps, there's no telling what it will do to the hyperempathic society. And yet, it's too tempting not to try. As William follows this thread, it leads him ever further into the darker side of the world and of himself. The novel is best for lovers of classic dystopias like 1984, Brave New World, or Fahrenheit 451 who also welcome a touch of hard psychological science fiction and mind-bending mystery reminiscent of Philip K. Dick. If you are one of them, you should give it a listen.