She was still coming to grips with her own joy. The unexpected nature of the multiple revelations of good news only increased their euphoric impact. Uncle Brennan, alive. Aidan, alive. And the seemingly insoluble problem of Y-Drive failure now apparently reparable after all. All of her hopes for this expedition–and more–seemed within reach. The loss of Thorson and Burge still hurt. Aidan’s confirmation of their deaths did not lessen the pain. It remained a constant ache underlying every thought. But the removal of all doubt eliminated fluctuating hope; the downward slope from hope to pessimism always refreshed the pain. That roller coaster was now gone. In its place rolled in the tide of good news, laying down a level of happiness over the pain, like sediment. The good news was almost too much. This sort of overabundance, she thought, I’d like to have more of. Most of the others seemed to be handling it well.
