One thing that I haven’t seen discussed much in terms of galactic colonization is genetic drift, speciation and communication.
I believe there are simulations theorizing that galaxies can be thoroughly explored in 10M - 100M years.
But how would those species even communicate their discoveries across a 100k LY galaxy? The delay would render data inaccurate by the time it arrives. It seems challenging to persist in a common purpose for millions of years across vast distances.
And would they even be the same species on those timescales and distances? On Earth isolation leads to some unique physical and cultural evolutions.
Maybe life already colonized everything within possible reach, made most of it inhospitable, and the remaining three survivor galactic empires sent an ark and some supplies to a small planet called Earth.
I believe there are simulations theorizing that galaxies can be thoroughly explored in 10M - 100M years.
But how would those species even communicate their discoveries across a 100k LY galaxy? The delay would render data inaccurate by the time it arrives. It seems challenging to persist in a common purpose for millions of years across vast distances.
And would they even be the same species on those timescales and distances? On Earth isolation leads to some unique physical and cultural evolutions.