Phantom Waves, Cosmic Energies And Mortal Stars

The inner Aenean moon, Creusa, moves visibly, like ERB's Martian moons. The moving light below looks like "...phantom waves..." (The Rebel Worlds, Chapter Six, p. 428) on the dead sea bed. Ivar Frederiksen imagines that he sees ghost ships there.

Approaching Virgil, the Asieneuve receives only "...an endless seething of cosmic energies." (Chapter Seven, p. 429)

Flandry reflects that the stars are "...immortal..." (Chapter Five, p. 411) - then corrects that. Until historically recently, a character in a novel would not have corrected that. Is it good to know that the stars are mortal? It is good to know period.