I will start with question 8 - Was it satisfying? yes and no - I enjoyed this story overall but it had a dark ending. (Believe it or not I think Dolan's Cadillac was more interesting for me but this is just a personal opinion).
I found it interesting that everyone became more passive and did not want to start wars anymore, etc. but the ultimate price they had to pay was very slowly and gradually losing their faculties i.e. Alzheimer's.
To me that is the scary part of the story and it is due to watching my father slowly 'disappear' as his Alzheimer's worsened. I think for many people this is a disease that is very frightening as really it could happen to anyone. (God - I just hope it is not genetic!)
I think a lot of it is influenced by your level of education, what type of food you eat over the long run, keeping your brain cells engaged with puzzles, etc. I am taking omega 3 oil now and I will eat salmon (not just because I enjoy it) but because of the fish oil.
But I hope this is not getting off topic.