Just. Once again I am imagining the absolute storm of rage and guilt and all the other Bad Emotions Lovelace must have been going through when she found out that aliens were real. Because of Lambert.
He was so sure that they would find them, that his diligence and hard work would ensure they made first contact, and she mocked him for it.
Personally, I would have gone insane. This person that I grew to care for and even understand a little had a dream, a belief, and even though I never quite agreed, it was important to him.
And then he got sick.
And the idea that Command's ruthless cruelty is what killed him, what killed her, and yet she gets to come back. She is living, breathing proof of the aliens, and he never got to see it.
Command sent them up their actually looking for alien life, and yet they let everyone believe his job was a joke. That he was a joke.
And yet, even though he dedicated his life to their stupid rulebook that they probably created just to cause confusion and sow resentment, he managed to outsmart them. Almost.
He couldn't save himself, but he helped save her. And she'll never get to tell him he was right.
