You should listen to the "Kingcast" podcast where he goes into detail about the pilot and long term plan He spent 3 years on mapping everything out and he did an excellent job laying out his vision and the decisions he made. Including exactly why he chose to start at that point. Really worth a listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dark-tower-with-glen-mazzara/id1512844649?i=1000475938916