" The famous French biologist Jacques Monod once wrote that “Man at last knows he is alone in the unfeeling immensity of the Universe, out of which he has emerged only by chance”. It’s a melancholy thought. I can think of only one thing sadder: if the only species possessing consciousness, the only species that can light up the universe with acts of love and humor and compassion, were to extinguish itself through acts of stupidity or ignorance. The various “Solutions” discussed in chapter 4 don’t, I believe, solve the Fermi paradox; but they do describe a range of possible futures for our descendants. We can choose which future we want. If we survive, we have a Galaxy to explore and make our own. If we destroy ourselves, if we ruin Earth before we’re ready to leave our home planet . . . well, it could be a long, long time before a creature from another species looks up at its planet’s night sky and asks: “Where is everybody? "

― , If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... Where Is Everybody?: Fifty Solutions to the Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life