"My numbers are inexact, I'm just guessing based on what I do know. One or two hundred inhabited systems with a minimum of one inhabited planet or station each. Planetary populations go from about one to twelve billion and tend high; station populations go from a few thousand to a few million and tend low; planets are commoner than stations. So one or two hundred billion should be about right for the galactic population. And growing, of course. I can look up the actual number at the comconsole if you want it."

He makes a pass over his lovely mountains and turns back toward the lake. (There are some lakes up here, too, and a few mortal villages visible from the air.)