In a lot of “twist ending” short stories (a lot of good SF stories fall into this bucket) the key is to leave things unsaid and let the reader wrestle with the

In a lot of “twist ending” short stories (a lot of good SF stories fall into this bucket) the key is to leave things unsaid and let the reader wrestle with the ending and its implications, which is what this is doing. It’s a “less is more” strategy that works for many people, but of course every reader is unique and it might not work for you :)