The Significance Of An Ending

Backtrack to "Details."

"As for this planet called Earth, maybe the new man could salvage it. If not, well, it was only one planet." (p. 140)

What is the significance of such an ending? Most obviously, it puts us in our Galactic place: just one planet. 

The Galactic psychotechnician in charge of covertly furthering social development on Earth has not only failed to prevent but has even caused the greatest catastrophes of the twentieth century. His superior, one High Commissioner with an office beneath a clear dome on the roof of a mile-high skyscraper on another planet, tells him that:

"'At best, progress has been retarded two centuries, and millions of people are needlessly dead.'" (p. 139)

We know of the millions dead. We have no way to guesstimate progress retardation. 

The text ends by telling us that the new man might salvage Earth but what does this mean for us? That we might soon know whether or not we have been salvaged? Yes, partly. We have not gone under so far. However, stepping outside of the fiction, we know that it is very unlikely that anyone is coming from the Galaxy to save us. What happens to Earth is down to us.