HN pinoia aside, it was a pretty good one. However I doubt that a civilization that has survived long enough to invent some (local) sort successful space trave

HN pinoia aside, it was a pretty good one. However I doubt that a civilization that has survived long enough to invent some (local) sort successful space travel would budge. There are two extremes that would bring balance: mutually assured destruction (but the power comparison must allow for a delicate balance of terror to be believable on both sides); or a mutually beneficial alliance (which can work with a well-meaning advanced civ encountering a less progressed one - the “there there’re, little one” case). That being said, I’m not convinced that searching for universal others isn’t a dead end. But even if it is, it sure can stretch our understanding a bit. E.g. look at the Kardashev scale, with which we can sort of stretch imagination and think of Dysom spheres instead of solar panels. I mean, even if we don’t find aliens, with a roadmap like Kardashev’s it won’t be (too) long before we become the aliens many of us hope for/aspire to.