"We do not know what was lost.  We can guess it must have been a lot.  Our finest and most trusted accepted that and then stepped down forever, so they must have thought it was worth it, and every now and then we send in somebody else to check and they have yet to break the seal.  Somewhere in our history there are people who spent all their lives working so that we, their descendants, could have a brighter future, and they died before cryonics was invented and the worms ate their souls, and we do not know their names or their deeds.  Their names are preserved only in a station beneath the ice of the north pole of our planet, and maybe their deeds will be known again someday, and toasted when the stars grow cold.  We didn't do that because we were aliens who didn't care."

"We do not know what was lost.  We can guess it must have been a lot.  Our finest and most trusted accepted that and then stepped down forever, so they must have thought it was worth it, and every now and then we send in somebody else to check and they have yet to break the seal.  Somewhere in our history there are people who spent all their lives working so that we, their descendants, could have a brighter future, and they died before cryonics was invented and the worms ate their souls, and we do not know their names or their deeds.  They made artworks for us that we will not see.  Their names are preserved only in a station beneath the ice of the north pole of our planet, and maybe their deeds will be known again someday, and toasted when the stars grow cold.  We didn't do that because we were aliens who didn't care."

"We do not know what was lost.  We can guess it must have been a lot.  Our finest and most trusted accepted that and then stepped down forever, so they must have thought it was worth it, and every now and then we send in somebody else to check and they have yet to break the seal.  Somewhere in our history there are people who spent all their lives working so that we, their descendants, could have a brighter future, and they died before cryonics was invented and the worms ate their souls, and we do not know their names or their deeds.  They made artworks for us that we will not see.  Their names are preserved only in a station beneath the ice of the north pole of our planet, and maybe their deeds will be known again someday, and remembered when the stars grow cold.  We didn't do that because we were aliens who didn't care."

"We do not know what was lost.  We can guess it must have been a lot.  Our finest and most trusted accepted that and then stepped down forever, so they must have thought it was worth it, and every now and then we send in somebody else to check and they have yet to break the seal.  Somewhere in our history there are people who spent all their lives working so that we, their descendants, could have a brighter future, and they died before cryonics was invented and the worms ate their souls, and we do not know their names or their deeds.  They made artworks for us that we will not see.  Their names are preserved only in a station beneath the ice of the north pole of our planet, and maybe their deeds will be known again someday, and remembered when the stars grow cold.  We didn't do that because we were aliens who didn't care."

"We do not know what was lost.  We can guess it must have been a lot.  Our finest and most trusted accepted that and then stepped down forever, so they must have thought it was worth it, and every now and then we send in somebody else to check and they have yet to break the seal.  Somewhere in our history there are people who spent all their lives working so that we, their descendants, could have a brighter future, and they died before cryonics was invented and the worms ate their souls, and we do not know their names or their deeds.  They made artworks for us that we will not see.  Their names are preserved in a station beneath the ice of the north pole of our planet, and maybe their deeds will be known again someday, and remembered when the stars grow cold.  We didn't do that because we were aliens who didn't care."