Interesting connection on the Astarian attack - I hadn't put that together, that the guardian might have woken us. Insightful, thanks.
While I don't think you've made the case that the cultist nightmares have been sent by the Absolute you might be right that the emperor has transformed their dreams into nightmares so as to disable them. They were living with Daisy down by the river until the emperor made the river run red with blood.
You've made a compelling case but here's where it falls down:
I think you've only shown that Daisy uses the motives they thinks will work. This is consistent with The Emperor's end boss narrative: he knows all of your weaknesses, and so do they. (here assuming that Emperor 2.0 is Daisy 2.0)
Astarian isn't motivated by sex he's motivated by fear it's the pillar of his personality, it's his cardinal trait. He is secondarily motivated by vengeance. (as we see in the Gur camp) But Daisy does make Astarian's nightmares into a revenge fantasy. After being terrified by Cazador Astarian gets to dream about dragging him into the sun and watching him burn.
Imagine that. Imagine if he could control the tadpole. He would never feel afraid again. And he would have his revenge.
We see how much this fantasy appeals to Astarian in the flophouse scene - if only that were Cazador. So Daisy offers Astarian, a creature out a nightmare, a very dark fantasy.
But it's still wish fulfillment: soon Cazador will learn fear me.
Both Tav and Shadowheart got to dream about people they found attractive.
To reiterate, we're agreed that The Emperor is piloting the nautaloid and but I think the cultists were put into fantasy land by Daisy-Absolute. What you've shown me here makes me think that the emperor altered their dreams.
