Why would you hazard a guess at the age of the earth being "less than a billion" if you believe this question is beyond your epistemological limit?
Stones are notoriously difficult to accurately date, but I find the idea of a "civilization" more than 10,000 years old intriguing.
same thing can be said in reverse
Because of stars.
And the movement of stars.
And the speed of light.
You are ignoring higher dimensions. You are ignoring the possibilities and potential theorized by scientists regarding what these other dimensions may be able to do in regards to folding and bending space, the three main dimensions, and time, the fourth dimension, on top of other possible dimensions. Outside of that, are you certain how big and far away stars may be or are you only guessing.
We only know what we can observe and measure empirically.
Speculation is fun, but we must be careful not to conflate the hypothetical with the actual.
Evolution is speculation.
It's a hypothesis with demonstrable efficacy.
Really?