[Inst] As the Last Gear Ticks

I have been waxing wistful over the ending of Soma lately... I like to imagine that the "last machine on Planet Earth" would be a sturdy, mechanical monolith of sorts that serves a primary and secondary function. Primarily, it would mirror what was sent on the Voyager Probes in our earliest efforts to make contact with extraterrestrial life, including a copy of the famous golden record itself. There would be a message of farewell put together by the last of Humanity to depart the planet, perhaps to alert any visitors that they have found the correct planet, just too late to meet its denizens. Maybe there would be instructions on where to look for us next? Its secondary function would be to serve as a simple beacon, pinging across these parts of the Universe a familiar signal on a loop for as long as the monument stands the test of Time. The intention? In the event that some future generation of Humans wishes to return home, they would be able to latch on to this familiar signal and follow it through the void. I bet it would be some classic Earth song or something. The irony here is that both functions demand a witness. So, has the purpose of the machine truly changed, or has it simply come to an end?