I don't think the ending was intended to act as a climax to the narrative. Rather, it's the logical conclusion of several ideas shown earlier in the story; modi

I don't think the ending was intended to act as a climax to the narrative. Rather, it's the logical conclusion of several ideas shown earlier in the story; modifications to how you think that can't be reversed; alien consciousnesses that you can never actually communicate with; the logical conclusion of the original quest to prolong humanity's simulated existence, which is why they go exploring in the first place.