This is my first time to post in the forums...
I have had a pet theory about this I would like to see what everyone thinks about it.
OK… Someone sets off a pocket nuke which takes out all your assets, on planet, except a few personal. All you have left is a ship in orbit, so if you reconfigure the ship by removing excess decks, then land said ship in the crater made by the pocket nuke, and fill in the crater covering the largest part of the ship. After the war is over you could block off the lower part of the ship and use the part visible above ground for the temple. Also place the AI on maintenance mode, so it will keep everything running and would keep the AI from going catatonic for running to long. You could set an alarm for the AI to come back online in 1000 years. When the AI comes back online I can only see 3 options you could have placed for the AI.
(1)Everything and running as plan re-set alarm, back to maintenance mode.
(2) There have been a few glitches use hologram of archangels to threaten/preach people back in line if needed level a city or two to show the anger of god and frighten everyone. AI goes into surveillance mode until everything is running as planned.
(3) Technology has spread across the planet and there is no going back. The only option at this point is to go with the plan that was their real mission. The AI, the manufacturing facilities and the ship would then be used to start re-educating the peoples and getting them ready for the Gbaba.