Man… I didn’t write a proposal for a sci-fi story. Building colonies is a real, near-future thing, whereas, your insertion of malevolent aliens is pure fantasy. I am categorically not dealing with “alien psychology” because it is in no way a prerequisite to debating whether building colonies is better than living on frozen little slushballs like Titan.
Second, even small colonies will be MASSIVE. Objects in orbit aren’t always in such a delicate position that the slightest breath could send them all crashing down. Note the ring systems of our four largest planets. Billions of chunks and particles all moving in unison, undoubtedly recovering from strikes to the side without catastrophic collapse. It will take an enormous amount of energy, applied all at once, to turn a colony into a semi-precision ballistic weapon.
I’m not going to speculate on “butterfly effects” initiated by “Vogons”, because they do not exist.
Bravo however, for knowing about the ITN, because these slow but efficient interplanetary pathways within our solar system will undoubtedly be occupied by ocean-liner-like MINIATURE COLONIES providing shelter and practice for passengers heading out to their permanent homes in freshly-built colonies throughout the solar system.
