"No need for a link -- truth is that which matches reality."
Ah. What is reality? I'm really asking...
Yes, that's what science is trying to ascertain in the first place. I like the example of the center of the sun. It must be real! We think we know what the conditions are in some detail, but we can't directly measure them. I think for this reason it makes a good analogy with our knowledge of the deep past.