Advanced alien civilizations have been listening to the radio waves we broadcast into the void and they aim to meet or exceed our expectations: “You want cigar-shaped? Cigar-shaped it is. The customer is always right!”) Bonus: This research is privately funded by a billionaire [buying time on publicly funded systems] who has no f’n clue how interstellar travel might work but is nevertheless confident that “a cigar or needle shape is the most likely architecture for an interstellar spacecraft, since this would minimise friction and damage from interstellar gas and dust.”