Have alook at "Spin" series by Robert Charles Wilson
The first part does have aliens - the hypotheticals ... ;-)
Read more in Wikipedia summary
(warning - contains spoilers)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(novel)
The book won multiple awards
Again, I am not sure I have read part three. I might have to add it to my ever-growing TBR list.
EDIT: I have read part three. Had a peek at a few pages and remembered reading it.