You make good points, and even bring up a point I hadn’t really considered fully. But did they not put their knowledge base and other things into the probe? I vaguely remember the people in the Memory World saying they did, and the flute was a personal touch added near the end.

If they had the means to, they could have sent out dozensof probes (not likely, resources didn’t seem to be abundant) in all directions, some broadcasting low signals with their story, some just deep storage info crypts. That way they maximized their potential for discovery.

It’s also possible the only reason Picard had physical issues with the exchange due to incompatible biology, but without that being stated in the show directly… Its a reach.

Still my favorite though.