re: "expectations will shrink very far, after a while"
Métaphore très adroite ;)
Kindly overlook my juvenile attitude.
Your approach is very serious, as a space historian's should be.
In documenting the past, there is no room for rampant speculation, rumor and gossip.
Otherwise, history would be fiction, and that would be a crime.
In the same moment, neither of us would be surprised if memoirs surface at some latter date, depicting a different tale.
Until then, I tend to agree with you.
[ !!! ALTERNATE ENDING !!! ]
Until then, I shall secure my footing in the pursuance of Tang!