I’ll set things back on point Solo…
(Point 1) The decision to resolve the ending to Saga
I would rather have liked to see Iva’s story instead, but I digress. I was happy to get some kind of closure (the creation of Orta) as to what happened at the end of Saga with regards to Azel’s search. The ending to Saga might have been impactful in a shocking sort of way, but there is always some sort of resolution conflict when the hero of a story doesn’t make his return. The viewer always feels cheated and the story is left unresolved.
An example of this would be the ending to the Matrix trilogy. Neo never returned and the audience was left feeling empty/uncertain as to whether he was alive or dead. What I’m trying to say is: a story just feels more complete, more satisfying, when you know the ultimate fate of the hero. No explanation whatsoever, leaves the viewer feeling empty and lost IMO…That’s because we as viewers have invested a sliver of ourselves in that character and no explanation as to his/her fate, leaves us feeling like we’ve lost a bit of ourselves!
And with a different writer comes a different view on proceeding events. Futatsugi couldn’t continue the story, so in a way it “was” fan-fiction.
(Point 2 and 3) The Divine Visitor failed; Sestren survived
It is kind of a let down even after a complete shutdown of Sestren, there are still remnants in Orta. It makes the events of Saga feel undermined. Maybe in Orta though, Sestren is just a fragmented series of incomplete backup programs trying to network themselves together?
(Point 4) The dragon lives but for what purpose?
I guess you could view this as a separation of the Heresy program from it’s physical body which was then ejected or purged, from Sestren…It is acting on it’s own free will, rather than being controlled by the Heresy Program. Maybe it sort of reverted back to it’s Coolia-like biology, still augmented by what the Heresy Program did to its DNA. It seems like the Heresy Program allowed it to leave the Sesten Network before it was completely shut down. Of course, without the Heresy Program it would be mortal; no?
(Point 5) Violent Mutated Types made tame?
It is rather extreme to be living on a Lathum given its threat level to humans! It seems Mobo’s people are in symbiosis with it. Did their bodies go through some sort of adaptation, through natural selection? Did they domesticate the Lathum young at birth, removing some of it’s defense mechanisms; overseeing it’s growth and then eventually living on it?
(Point 6) The Empire is unrealistically obliterated and no one else takes control
Maybe the Empire was in such a reduced state it was as “if” they were without an army, and just needed to replenish and build it back up again.
The southerners had a fleet of their own? What was their level of technology at? The encyclopedia entry made it sound like they were more primitive. It stated there was tribal conflict involving new leadership/heirs, on their island state and they migrated over to the main continent, seeking a better life. Weren’t they less advanced? Wouldn’t it have been relatively easy for the Empire to manipulate them?
The Empire might have astounded them with their more refined or advanced Ancient Age tech, which ultimately could have blew away their belief systems. Technology is indistinguishable from magic, or so they say. Maybe demonstrations of the Empire’s Ancient Age technology made the southerners view the Empire as messengers of their Gods; or ones that speak for the Gods?
So the major problems in Orta are:
-How did Azel find Edge’s DNA if he was lost in the supposedly “deleted” Astral Planes, within Sestren?
Alternative answer: Maybe it’s as simple as: she had one of his belongings which had some of his DNA on it and after a fruitless search to find him alive, used that to create Orta.
-Why should there be remnants of Sestren if it was completely shut down/deleted?(An analogy would be like when we drag our unwanted files into the recycling bin and delete them.)
Alternative answer: Sestren version 2.0 is just a fragmented series of incomplete backup programs trying to network themselves together. Not the same as the original, just a barely functional alternative.
-Why did the Empire need to completely rebuild from the ground up? The southerners could have just made an Empire of their own, rising out of the Empire’s ashes as a new dominant faction.
Alternative answer: The southerners were ultimately convinced or deceived by the Empire into joining among their ranks.
-How could Lagi act on his own and survive without the intelligence and strength of the Heresy Program? Why has the dragon’s appearance changed so drastically?
Alternative answer: Without the Heresy Program, the appearance of Lagi’s body has reverted somewhat to what he originally started with. In other words: the Heresy Program is gone. There is no influence on his physiological or mental state. He is acting purely on free will and closer in biology to that of his original Coolia self. In the end, his body may still be altered from the Heresy Program, but he is now mortal.
In regards to Orta being canon: there are always explanations people can come up with to explain everything away, even though they might feel contrived or unlikely. The problem is: we don’t have all the details…