Dr. Margaret Walters spoke as a guest speaker at a conference about her latest invention.

"The space probe just reached another solar system, and it has collected data on thousands of others."

"I'll take questions now."

A hand raised, and a female voice spoke, "Dr. Walters, with the folding space drive, how does the probe navigate around obstacles?"

"That's one of the major advantages of this propulsion system, Carol. It can pulverize any object in front of it. We've been discussing using it as a tool to mine asteroids or comets, or terraform habitable exoplanets, with the great hope to make our civilization post-scarcity."

Another hand raised with a male voice speaking, "But what if there's ownership or life?"

"And you are?"

"Shawn Everett, amateur astronomer, and philosopher, and published sci-fi author."

"Well, Shawn, it's highly improbable that ..."

A blinding beam of light appeared next to Margaret, materializing an alien.

"I come to you as a hologram, for that is how we travel the cosmos to do no harm."

"Is this a prank?" Margaret smiled.

"No, Dr. Walters, I am real. I've come to arrest your civilization."

"Arrest us? By whose authority and on what grounds?"

"I represent the Galactic Council. Your space probe has killed billions of lifeforms and destroyed property. You're being charged with crimes against the galaxy."

"But that's impossible. How …?"

"We've recently learned of your technological history: you always leap before you look. You're free to destroy your own solar system, but not everyone else's. You're now under permanent isolation. Any attempts to leave beyond your solar system will be met with a swift reaction by us."