Requiem

A survey starship escorts a contingent of reporters, entertainers, and officials to observe the final demise of Earth, long dormant after its sun's collapse into a white dwarf but now destabilized and spiraling inward. Captain Kellon and his scientists grieve the mission's transformation into a media circus led by pompous commentators eager for spectacle while researchers seek scientific truth. As the ship approaches the warming, thawing planet, tensions grow between those who want solemn remembrance and those intent on sensational broadcasts. The narrative examines the clash between authentic mourning and commodified spectacle, and the moral discomfort of witnessing a civilization's end under public display.