“He was, but he made a big mistake toward the end of his life. He became obsessed with a hypothesis he couldn’t quite prove—” “You mean he failed—like any other human being.” “I guess you can put it that way. I was brought up to think differently, though. Uncle always says people like us cannot afford to fail. Immigrants, I mean.” Nen jams her hands in her pockets. “I don’t know your uncle, but I respectfully disagree. I’d have thought especially an immigrant would understand what it feels like to meet loss and still not be defeated.” —
