You've helped me stretch my benefit of doubt to more than I expected. You hit on a crucial point that there was never a third option meaningfully explored. Think it's the problem of increasing the stakes so much, in that every people's opinions and ideas are taken to their extreme.
Regarding your moral struggle dichotomy, I'm more inclined to think that Paul being misguided since there is an acknowledgement that all of this is utterly chaotic and Rationality isn't as prevalent as one expects. Other than a few key decisions, evening falls into making the lesser of two evils based on naturally biased reasoning. No one is perfect and this is what happens when errors in belief aggregate to galactic levels. But as you say, it has quite a few moral implications and problematic in its own way.
Right. I think I've taken too much of your time and should cap this discussion before you end up writing a novel. Haven't had this much fun in a long time and I appreciate your engagement. You have a certain clarity of thought which is enviable.
Thank you Drivebyhaiku! Here's my attempt at a summary haiku: