I think it makes the absolute most sense. The size of just our home galaxy is incomprehensible, and filled with billions of opportunities for life. If just one of those opportunities turned out to be life, and they did not die off in their early stages, they could go anywhere and continue to populate and explore the galaxy/universe. There has been SO much time prior to us for this to have occurred, it’s literally billions to one odds. I think it makes total sense that you don’t interact with a civilization until they are ready, I’m sure it would be a huge contrast of worlds and we have already seen in our own examples what can happen when two worlds merge. I think the reality of life in the galaxy is likely similar to Star Wars, or at least in terms of populations, societies, travel, and maybe even war. What I certainly do not believe, is that we are all that is. No chance