i'm not attacking you when i say this but you seem to be rather sensitive, perhaps overly-sensitive, to the theme of mind control and not being able to trust one's senses, so i'm thinking you've maybe had some bad experiences in the past where you've felt a little out of control in your thinking… am i right?
even if that's not the case, the fact that this story with it's themes of malignant and incredibly powerful forces controlling the lives of powerless people has effected you so much as to make a thread about it, shouldn't cause you too much concern because that's quite a rational fear
and that's because no one likes their agency taken away, especially by evil actors who have all the power and are motivated by sheer malice; and its for this reason that countries have gone to war, or seen revolutionary fights against wicked men who are unrestrained in their self-seeking ambition
but going back to yourself, if you have ever been in an abusive and controlling relationship with an authority figure, it's possible that such a story might have opened some old wounds for you, and resonated with part of your experience you may have been trying to ignore: so and it might be time to address that kind of pain with a counsellor or similar therapist
if you don't feel that's been part of your life though, then i would suggest you try to think a little more critically, applying logic to your circumstances and recognising simple facts like what is observable in your immediate environment such as a table or the chair you're sitting on, working from such fundamental symbols of objective reality to greater truths such as what is 'good' and 'bad', 'right' and 'wrong' and of course 'real' and 'imaginary'