> Had the future humans not intervened (by placing the black hole near inhabitable planets), humanity on earth would have died.
Not only a black hole, a supermassive Kerr black hole with relativistic rotation at its equator.
They could have done a better job at the planets themselves though - Most of them were pretty useless for terraforming.
While I'm sure the US government would trade immediate comfort for long-term survival of the species, I don't think other governments would have the same priorities. I'd assume China would be one of the first to build multiple O'Neil cylinders with carefully controlled environments and as little Earth-originated biomass as possible (to contain the blight).
Not only a black hole, a supermassive Kerr black hole with relativistic rotation at its equator.
They could have done a better job at the planets themselves though - Most of them were pretty useless for terraforming.
While I'm sure the US government would trade immediate comfort for long-term survival of the species, I don't think other governments would have the same priorities. I'd assume China would be one of the first to build multiple O'Neil cylinders with carefully controlled environments and as little Earth-originated biomass as possible (to contain the blight).