Sorry for not quoting the portion I was responding to, things get ungainly if you go to far, and unclear if you don't go far enough.
How the prism works is unclear but we can ascertain from the bridge scene that the Absolute�s voice isn�t constant but comes in dramatic revelatory bursts, it is speculated that how we receive orders from the Absolute on the bridge is how others perceive our own commands when using the [illithid] . How Minthara reacts to our presence then could just be her realizing that her appeals for guidance have gone unanswered since being in our presence
If that were the case, then after
an order was completed, the infected would then regain some sense of sanity as now there is nothing holding them, not unlike how the players get to mess with NPCs they used their illithid powers on. However there is nothing that supports this.
the original command is brainwashing them into blind obedience to their new god, something we never underwent I�m not sure that needs to be reapplied. Though certainly the tadpoles probably link then to the hivemind they�ve been told is communing with the Absolute. And what is the purpose of Ascention?
If mere proximity to the relic were enough to do this to the chosen, there would be no hiding that from them throughout the acts, like during our vetting by Zrell. But I really don�t know
The part about ascension is just referring to what goes on at Moonrise Towers to some of the chosen. I haven't done a run siding with Ketheric far enough to know if you learn more about it.
About trusting our Guardian,
as far as I'm concerned there is very little that links the guardian to the artifact beyond his dubious claims, dubious because they are on the face of it misleading, purposely obfuscate who he is, his situation, and by extenstion is role in our predicatment. His only tactic to persuade us is a clumsy appeal to our emotional understanding, and whenever we question him on more substantive grounds...oh no they're attacking again farewelllllll! *I will always love you* *remember me when I'm gone*
