Human Civilization's visit might have seemed superfluous, but it was a way to strengthen humanity's will to survive. Of course, it could also be called a symbolic gesture.
The universe was vast, and humanity was merely one among countless civilizations. Visiting Earth, humanity's home planet, before The Great Voyage and mourning their departed compatriots also stirred empathy among humans of the new era.
It was a meaningful act of remembrance.
After mourning the Solar System ruins from several hundred Astronomical Units away, humanity resumed its journey.
Before leaving, however, the Interstellar Government organized a memorial event: the construction of a Starry Sky Tombstone for their lost home planet.
The tombstone was made from humanity's most advanced alloy. It was a rectangular prism, its length, width, and height crafted in strict accordance with the Golden Ratio of human aesthetics. Its sheer size rivaled that of a Planet-Class Warship.
Once it was completed, humanity engraved upon it the names of every fallen compatriot they could remember. Based on the Earth human records stored on Callisto and people's memories of the old era, they inscribed them all upon the Starry Sky Tombstone.
This time, Human Civilization did not put on any pretense. They engraved only one language: Chinese characters.
When they saw those familiar square characters densely carved across the alloy tombstone, tears welled up in people's eyes. Those names had once belonged to familiar friends, elders, juniors, parents, wives, and children.
Naturally, many had no names, because no one could possibly remember that many. There were also duplicate names, but what did that matter? It was enough that everyone knew this was an act of remembrance.
Yue Yuan also searched the tombstone and found some names he recognized. For instance, there was the girl he had met while traveling across the vast