Alien Life (Intelligent Or Otherwise) In The Universe

[Dotard]

...and would take many thousands of years to reach meaning either we perfect some kind of suspended animation or, more likely create vast generation ships where the crew to arrive at it's destination are distant descendants of those who originally began the journey.

Robotics. We will build robotics to take this journey and the information sent back will reach not-so-distant decendants of those who originally sent the robots.

You could then imagine that, after several million years, a vast area of the galaxy has been populated by this first inter-stellar journey and a whole web of colonised worlds now exist spreading out in all directions from the original home planet.

Evolution would of course still take place, either by natural or artificial selection and it is not too implausible I think to imagine that after enough time has passed by the original memory of the first race and it's great quest for colonisation will be lost. Many races, now seemingly alien to each other would be spread-out through, possibly hundreds of light years of the galaxy.

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And so begins the story.