Who's to say that aliens will even be matter-based? It doesn't seem to imporbable to me that life forms, for example, on the surface of stars, where energy is

Who's to say that aliens will even be matter-based? It doesn't seem to imporbable to me that life forms, for example, on the surface of stars, where energy is abundant. Self contained, self replicating energy patterns are just as much "life" as bacteria, and I don't see why they can't evolve intelligence either.