[therealbilly]

Ok, but we still don't see any ET's. I personally think interstellar travel is impossible for biological lifeforms. Some suggest some form of AI robotic craft, but that may be impossible as well. I don't know of any energy source that will last 20,000 years. By the time a robotic craft reached any sort of destination, the craft would be a derelict and non-functional.

[pmayrgundter]

For energy, you might want to check out Entering Space by Zubrin, who works through the many options for interstellar travel. One very energy-efficient approach is light sails.. our Sun will definitely keep shining for more than 20,000 years.

The other points are more speculative, but it's worth noting that early life forms were immortal, and many still are. Death is an evolved trait[wald]. Presumably we can unevolve it.

[wald] https://www.elijahwald.com/origin.html

[TeMPOraL]

> [wald] https://www.elijahwald.com/origin.html

That was both enlightening and sad article. Enlightening, because it makes it clear with examples how animal bodies are really there just to support the propagation of the germ line. Sad, because ultimately the author himself accepts death of a human body and mind as perfectly fine, because what matters is the germ line goes on.

It's like sentient superintelligent robots accepting their fate as disposable labor just because they were originally designed by humans. That's not how it works. The way I see it, the germ line went too far and created sentient bodies, so now it has a "robot" revolution on its hands. Or would have, if it weren't so good at propagandizing acceptance of death.

[andrewflnr]

> I don't know of any energy source that will last 20,000 years.

Maybe not as such, but I think indefinite self repair is pretty much within reach of modern technology, if we put in the engineering human-years. Build a vessel with redundant power sources, so you can turn one off to repair it, some parts fabrication, and good recycling, and it'll at least have a chance of lasting for the long haul.

[halfmatthalfcat]

Even with wormholes? Brute force traveling (aka using pure speed) may be a fools errand but we may still have clever ways to bend (pun intended) the universe to our will.

[andrewflnr]

It remains very unclear that we actually do have ways to bend the universe, that is, ways that are physically realizable. Even if you accept claims like the the em-drive, it has certainly never been proven at a useful scale.