I'm reminded of the TNG episode where the son to Worf's adoptive parents saves the primitive villagers by covertly beaming them to the holodeck and having them go on a fake "journey" to their new home where they will be covertly beamed to their new planet. Worf has them go into their tents "because they will protect you from the storm" Which doesn't make any sense at all and the villagers pick up on that, but it's not meant to make sense because shit is happening that the villagers aren't meant to comprehend.

We're all the primitive villagers being manipulated in ways we don't understand, and I don't think the people doing the manipulating are benevolent the way they were in the TNG episode. But I also think that any speculation beyond what our Betters have said (eg. Great Reset) is probably about as likely to be as correct as what those villagers would have speculated was the real reason they had to go into the tents.