THANK. YOU. A couple connections here and there, I can buy. But it happens so much in the expanded media that sometimes I wonder what's the point of exploration anymore, if all you need to do is to knock on a couple doors or look up Intergalactic Facebook.
Ancient history, but here's what happened: http://www.margaretwanderbonanno.com/bio.htm Email me and I can send you a copy of the original.
I don't remember where, but somewhere someone postulated that the Probe itself is a representative of its race and culture, and not a mechanism built by them.