It seems clear that Bujolds universe assumes that although complex life is pretty common in the universe–native ecologies on Barrayar and Sergyar, for example–intelligent life is quite rare. Why?
LMB) General orneriness. I wanted something to distinguish my “space opera” universe from all the others; the absence of assorted anthropomorphic aliens was an early and conscious selection of mine. No intelligent aliens will be discovered in Miles’s lifetime, or for many generations thereafter. I plan instead the explosive speciation of humans, so that umpty-generations down the time-line, the aliens will be us.
