Intergalactic conversation

We could be in the middle of an intergalactic conversation and we wouldn't even know.
Michio Kaku, US theoretical physicist.

Voice 1. So how long do you think we should give it?
Voice 2. I'm not sure. It's not really going the way we thought.
Voice 1. Obviously not. Do you think it ever will? If we just carry on observing will it produce any new results?
Voice 2. Well, we're only going to know that if we do it.
Voice 1. So do we carry on and see what develops or do we quit now?
Voice 2. They are fascinating to watch. You never really know what they're going to do next, and all that activity in the middle is clearly important.
Voice 1. No, I don't think so. They've done that kind of thing before and it's never really changed much in the total system.
Voice 2. But I thought maybe this time..
Voice 1. Why is is going to be any different this time? They're making a lot of noise and producing a lot of waste, but they aren't actually creating anything, are they? And I think it's making the whole system unstable.
Voice 2. What do you mean?
Voice 1. Haven't you noticed that the matrix has been vibrating? That's made the water supply slosh around quite a bit. And then there have been these puffs of debris near the top. I think the whole thing is going to collapse on itself pretty soon anyway.
Voice 2. So do you think we should quit?
Voice 3. If we want to get more funding we really need to plan some sort of next stage, and I don't think the funders will settle for another round of just watching.
Voice 1. So you're saying we should cut our losses and start again?
Voice 3. I think so. It'll be easier to get grants for a new build. They won't want to pour any more money into something that's done nothing for millennia.
Voice 1. Right then, that's settled. Let's start the final recording stage and then, when we've got all that we can out of it, we junk it and start again.
Voice 2. Shame.
Voice 1. And meanwhile, get some grant applications in for Earth version 2.1.