This is a tough one for me. Scientifically it seems incomprehensible to me that we are "alone in the Universe" ... my scientific mind just finds it unlikely that the many scalars in the "Sagan equation" could balance out to a total value of just one. But therein lies a problem -- *if* the Sagan equation's value is substantially higher than one, and given that life as we know it took slightly over 1/4 of the age of the known Universe to arise (Earth is 4+ billion years old, the Universe is 14+ billion years old), then it stands to reason that there must be at least a handful of sentient species that came to sentience long before we did. (Can you tell that I have a passion for the works of Arthur C Clarke?) Now, if that's the case... then, where the hell are they? Have they transcended the physical realm and do they travel as "starchildren" -- conscious intent moving superluminally through folded space-time? Do they find us uninteresting b/c of our primitive form? Do they find us too dangerous to risk contact?

But there is another possibility, and it is a point where my scientific mind & my religious identity come into conflict. Simply put, the other possibility is that we are alone in the Universe; we were created by God directly as part of His plan. It's a staggering concept and it presents a whole host of questions that, simply put, are not yet answerable by any scientific means we currently possess. And perhaps that's the way God intended it.

So, in summary, I think my answer to this response is ... I don't know.