Quote Originally Posted by EaraGrace View Post
I don’t believe they were created for that purpose. I don’t think they were “created” at all. Life existed before the Ancients began controlling the star, and I see no reason to believe that life didn’t spring up naturally afterward.
We have no idea what the ancient history of the star before the Ancients was like, if there even was one. But yes, the Ancients did restart the cycle of life which the Final Days had destroyed - And if they themselves didn't create any new lifeforms at this time to repopulate the world, why would the planet suddenly poof a bunch of sapient species out of nowhere, when before everyone was an Ancient?

Existentialism has no bearing on moral realism. It’s not a perfectly reasonable conclusion.
Why? If the conclusion is that life only has meaning insofar as the one you prescribe, is it not the case that someone like Zenos, who tortures and destroys entire civilizations for his own amusement, is just as justified in his actions as anyone else? That's his given purpose in life.

A willing sacrifice was never the issue at play here, and this one seems quite willing.
When they revealed the plan to the rest of the Ironworks in the short story, most of them just abandoned the effort. Many individual people or small groups helped out with their cause over time, but 99% of the world had no interest in joining them, nevermind any races and species existing outside Etheirys itself. So no, it was not consensual, it was a tiny conclave of technicians undertaking a venture which they full well believed would erase their entire timeline.