This theory relates the overall theme of control with respect to the overall narrative. The theory attempts to explain: Why the dragon gives visions in 1,2, Saga, but not Orta, why the ending of Saga was trippy, and the motives of the Seekers, the Empire, and Craymen’s faction, the nature of the ruins, the purpose of control of nature and causality, the objective and nature of the Dragon. I make some assumptions but they’re fairly reasonable, I think. I’m touching many issues here but they all factor into each other at some point. I’ll try to make this as clear as I can. Not to good with this stuff.
Here goes.
Please note, when I use the term Sestren, I use it as the collective term of the gold sestren you encounter in Saga/Orta and the Dragon. Below explains why I use this.
Assumption: The dragon, although dubbed by Lundi, as a heresy program, is in actuality an integral part of sestren and carrying out functions while paradoxical to sestren’s current objective, ultimately exists to carry out Sestren’s overall objective, that I will mention later.
Why I think this: Forbidden Memories level in Orta, as well as the dual nature of the two sestren creatures we see in the first vision of the sestren fight. Gold Sestren refers to the Dragon as it’s other half. The black Sestren-like creature that is seen ‘turning’ into Lagi in the vision sequence.
Assumption: Dragon/Black Sestren can predict future events.
Why I think this: See assumption one. The Dragon can relay visions of the future to humans. Conversely, Sestren/Gold dragon relays visions of the past to the Dragon and Edge, further insinuating their duality.
Assumption: Sestren can affect causality.
Why I think this: The Dragon’s corporeal form directly influences the events of the game and the motives of the Empire, Craymen’s faction, and ultimately Edge.
Assumption: Sestren can more or less control causality.
Why I think this: With the ability to predict the future and carry out the will of Sestren through the Dragon, as well as the vast Ruins network collecting environmental data, and the Dragon being unstoppable, Sestren can manipulate events to happen, although very generally. That’s why visions aren’t very specific, but the overall course of things eventually lead to what the dragon predicts.
Assumption: Sestren/Gold Dragon controls humans and their population with respect to biomonster populations in order to maintain environmental equilibrium.
Why I think this: Craymen expresses these thoughts when he’s showing Edge around the Tower. Gash also speaks of this as their main reason why they want to destroy the tower, because, quite frankly, the world in their current state kinda blows. Craymen wishes to maintain the Tower network and sestren (like Gold sestren wants to do) to maintain humanity, while Gash wants to free themselves from it so they can live through free will (like the Sestren/Black Dragon wants to do) (again with the duality).
Character Motives, an Aside: It’s possible to draw some parallels between factions and Sestren, as I mentioned above.
Empire - Wants to control people through ruins for purely selfish reasons. Why craymen believes people will ultimately destroy themselves if left unchecked.
Craymen - Wants to control/maintain ruins for the functions that the gold Dragon/Sestren expressed: To maintain humanity and to prevent it’s self-extinction, which the empire seems to lend itself toward doing.
Seekers - Objectives mirror that of the dragon/black sestren. Free humanity, free will, blah blah blah.
Here’s where things get trippy.
Recap:
Okay, so you’ve got Sestren, trying to free humanity, but it can’t because it’s nature is paradoxical. While simultaneously knowing all, all it can do is defeat iteslf through the mechanizations of the Dragon and the Tower network and Gold Dragon/Sestren. imagine a snake biting it’s own tail for sustenance. That’s all of causality in this world. It’s nature. Sestren is caught in it’s own predestination loop.
Sounds like Sestren could use a bit of help getting it’s **** together. Now entering: the Biggest Deus Ex Machina that can surpass even an omniscient being.
The player.
Assumption: The player is outside of the causality loop created by sestren.
Why I think this: Are you being controlled by an inter dimensional omniscient being right now that exists as a big flying dragon/Big huge towers right now? Probably not. I don’t think I am, at least.
Assumption: Through the incarnation of the Divine Visitor, the Player frees the world from it’s own while-wend loop.
Why I think this: You did press “the button”, didn’t you? Even if you didn’t, the thing goes on anyways…
(don’t bug me about this, the game was made that way by the programmers, not sestren)
Assumption: Assuming the causality loop brought by Sestren is taken down, the dragon can’t produce any more visions because it can no longer predict the future.
Why I think this: With the objective of the Dragon completed in Saga, and causality is now in the hands of humans and other creatures, the dragon can’t predict what will happen. Thus, no vision in PDO. Orta missed out, I guess.
More to come, I guess. Not sure if I covered all my bases here. I know that Lundi mentioned that there were people against the towers during their construction, but that could factor into the dual nature of sestren.
Aside: I wonder if parallels can be drawn from programmers and games and Sestren and it’s respective world.
Edit: Cleaned it up a little bit.