When the cities die, it is not the cities that die, only their image. The lights go out. The people panic and the terror spreads... but the cities are still as alive as they ever were.
Madness string 48
Your great sacrifice was not in vain. It bought time. If nothing else, even if it all falls now, it bought this world thousands of years of time. That's not in vain. That's not insufficient. Do not dread your end, for you gave us our chance to be, and now it's our turn to fight.