> An appealing story. Like, you could write a science fiction novel or show or something.

Surely you have noticed how much established science fiction has become science fact, no? The whole point of science fiction is to future-speculate. I don't think "similarity to science fiction" is a counterargument to anything. Rockets to space existed in science fiction long before they were reality, etc.

> Humans aren't interesting in any way, shape, or form

LOL. Says you? Are you the authority on how interesting 8 billion people are, or not? I have to give you credit for being an incredibly stubborn nihilist, though, but I'm afraid to declare that WE ARE interesting. Not just to us, but to any intelligence. Quod grātīs asseritur, grātīs negātur.

> it just means you're dreaming up new stories

That's just the thing, though. So are you. It's just that your stories are pessimism, and mine are optimism.

> If you're wrong, then you're emotionally devastated because your super-narcissism just isn't being satisfied

Nope. Hilarious take, though. I have no attachment to any outcome.

> Trading what? Are our atoms better than their atoms?

Perhaps digital art? Regarding atoms, doesn't it expend a tremendous amount of energy to synthesize water from 2 hydrogens and an oxygen? And wouldn't it also require a tremendous amount of energy to separate them again?

> It costs thousands of dollars to lift a kilo to orbit

One, money makes no sense in this context. Two, I'm sure that both our future tech, and whatever alien tech might exist, would drastically lower the cost of that. Three, we're potentially talking about very physical and possibly very large ships (featureless, soundless, and with incredible performance characteristics) already routinely moving themselves in and out of our orbit- I doubt a few thousand gallons of water would be a significant impediment.

> None of our data is interesting

Art. Art may be interesting. Music and art and perhaps poetry/literature. Beyond that, you're correct.

> When's the last time you saw someone broken down at the side of the road and spent $90 trillion to help them?

One, again, money is irrelevant here. Two, you have a point, but perhaps they are evolved empathetic intelligences; we're SUPPOSED to try to help people stuck on the side of the road. The fact that hardly anyone does so, is on US. What if it's not the norm, and we're just the assholes?

> Evolutionary pressures caused their minds to develop in such a way that they feel intellectual kinships with gibbering alien horrors they've never met before, from the other side of the universe?

LOL. Fair enough. But come on, it would be fascinating for us, at least; and again, you seem to think that we would harbor zero interest for anyone else, but I've noticed something about development: Every 2 steps forward lead to 1 step back (think: no one will ever not stare at a phone anymore while waiting for anything), and maybe we have a unique enough situation (which will "go away" in due time) to be interesting to others. Put it this way, do you not think it would be interesting to travel back 200 years in time and have dinner with a family? Or to simply have dinner with a family in another country, even (or especially) one much less technologically-developed?

> I've seen better plots in porn videos.

Nevertheless, having extensively considered other ways of going about this, it makes the most sense to me.

> You want this to be true.

You seem to want it not to be, though?

I had an old German relative who had apparently never traveled outside rural Bavaria once ask me, "can you see the moon from the United States?" This conversation smacks of that. You: "WHY would you be so narcissistic as to PRESUME that the MOON of all things could be visible from THERE?!?!" lol. (The "planet" in this case, of course, is "conscious intellect.")