In reply to (2), I have no idea what you would do, but I guess I’d try training scientists and engineers, to help me understand the Dust and, more importantly, the universe that I’ve been summoned to. The Black Death may have seemed like a nearly unstoppable force to 14th century Europeans, but only because they didn’t understand it. They could have diminished the scope of its ravages without understanding it, merely by being lucky enough to notice certain patterns (i.e. citizens that make efforts to rid themselves and their surroundings of rats and fleas are less likely to catch the disease), but what would have really helped them is a good microscope and the curiosity to use it.
In reply to (2), I have no idea what you would do, but I guess I’d try training scientists and engineers, to help me understand the Dust and, more importantly, the universe that I’ve been summoned to. The Black Death may have seemed like a nearly unstoppable force to 14th century Europeans, but only because they didn’t understand it. They could have diminished the scope of its ravages without understanding it, merely by being lucky enough to notice certain patterns (i.e. citizens that make efforts to rid themselves and their surroundings of rats and fleas are less likely to catch the disease), but what would have really helped them is a good microscope and the curiosity to use it.