> The only really satisfactory conclusion is that we’re the first or only civilization to approach a BvN launch. Not the only one. There may well be an armada

> The only really satisfactory conclusion is that we’re the first or only civilization to approach a BvN launch. Not the only one. There may well be an armada of these probes on their way, but so far away in one of the billions of galaxies that the metric expansion of space means they will never reach us even at near-lightspeed - or may reach us long after we've become extinct. Or may miss our pale blue dot entirely. It's a freaking big universe.