The Fermi Paradox Is Our Business Model - Charlie Jane Anders .MOBI

In 1950 Enrico Fermi was having lunch with Esward Teller and 2 other physicists when the conversation turned turned to whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Even weighing low probability estimates they concluded intelligent life must be common (see Wkipedia article). Fermi then asked "Where are they?" The group speculated that when an intelligent race discovers nuclear power it quickly destroys itself. This story is about a race of "pickers" who travel the galaxy in search of wrecked civilizations. They salvage anything useful from the destruction.

This was a tor.com original publication, I highly recommend it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox