Do you think there are aliens?

[A Nerd]

One would hope that interaction between established civilizations would include some capacity at reason that lower species, like animals, lack. This coupled with our own understanding of the evolution of human nature and all its vices would lead me to believe, hopefully, an encounter not by chance would lead to some formal conversation that could benefit both civiliazations. Even if one is less developed than the other, for the more advanced culture made perhaps a huge effort to reach the lesser developed one. It would seem the more advanced civilization from across space would not invade another merely for slaves or resources (considering the benifits of occupied and unoccupied worlds and there being so many of them). Maintaining an empire on such an enormous scale just seems impossible and pointless. There are diseases to concern oneself with, but with the capacity to effortlessly span space one would think that disease wouldn't be too much of a problem either. But I digress, erratication of the lesser civilization would be swift anyway, again due to the before mentioned.

edit: apologizes, I posted before I read the one above.