I am curious, and hope you'll forgive any ignorance on my part. Could it be that the sensitivity of the instruments used were simply insufficient to detect aether? Einstein predicted gravity waves, and we didn't find them till what, 2015? So in addition to maybe not having enough sensitivity in our measuring devices, do gravity waves hint at aether?

My understanding is space/time is one thing. How should I consider it, like a four dimensional object, a solid, and gravity waves simply propagate through the medium of that 'structure?' Light clearly travels through that same structure... Even if it's not 'aether' per say, it's not necessarily an 'emptiness' either, right? Quantum foam exists? That concept seems fairly 'aetherish.' Does space/time create virtual particles as it expands, or do the virtual particle expand space/time? Can we extract energy from the quantum foam? Isn't that how the Casmir affect works? Two plates close together get pushed together because the outside force of quantum energy pushes them together? How is that not 'aether' like? Is this a semantics problem?

Is it better to think of aether as a field, like the Higgs Boson field? Cold there be other explanations for not detecting aether, as suggested in this:

https://www.hilarispublisher.com/open-access/are-we-wrong-about-the-michelson-morley-experiment.pdf

Is that a real thing, or just some clever people good with math? I hope that you see my questions as genuine, and not just trying to be snarky. I do love science, and I don't understand everything- but I do read a lot because I would like to understand this place we exist.