“This raises a disturbing prospect—a Kardashev Type III metasociety may annihilate planetary systems as it expands to stabilize their megaswarms, leaving everything within its ‘bubble’ barren of planets. If those megaswarms then are destroyed anyway, no planets will remain on which to restart life,” the paper explains.

“Furthermore, in most early-type galaxies, there will be no star formation to ever replace them. Thus, the megaswarms portend doom, and leave behind a permanently sterilized galaxy in their wake.”

Maybe we don’t want to detect one after all.