One simple test of a species’ intelligence is how long it takes it to leave the planet of its origin and establish itself on other planets orbiting its star. Judging by the human species, that task takes about five-thousand generations, at least in cognitive terms. But this is about the same number of generations it takes an intelligent species to destroy the planet of its origin. The question is what comes first. In the case of the human species, that is a question no longer. Chances are it will never establish itself on other planets orbiting its star, let alone those orbiting other stars. The remaining question is what other species will take the test next. As far as the human species is concerned, that is squarely in the domain of fiction.