I'm late to the party, as usual, and I've read the first three chapters in succession this evening. Your imagination knows no bounds.
For some reason, I felt like I was reading a theology text, and when you used the word cult for the antagah, I laughed out loud.
Trying to relate to it in that manner, and drawing on another reality, I find myself thinking about the old testament book of Ezekiel and the new testament Revelation. Who knows, you may be creating a whole new religious perspective that will confuse a generation of theologians and fascinate future anthropologists.