"Makes me wonder if it's something they've got a permanent solution for." Because Noel knows that there was no such solution for his world. The end has been accepted, even if he railed against that for such a long time. Nothing seemed to fix or remedy the decline of the world, but had there been something - anything - he doubts it would've been given up on.

In this case, if they're the only means to resolve the problem, that could well mean being here indefinitely.

Not a prospect he's thrilled by.