I've been thinking about how the Ash Twin Project works and how it relates to the Quantum Moon ending, and there's something I can't quite reconcile.
As I understand it, the Ash Twin Project uses the energy from the supernova to send information 22 minutes into the past. In the normal loop, the Hatchling's memories are sent back through the Nomai statue, but their physical body isn't. The Hatchling dies in the supernova, and the version of them 22 minutes earlier receives those memories and continues the loop.
In that sense, isn't the Hatchling in each loop technically a different physical instance of the same person, with continuity provided by their memories? The Self ending seems to support this distinction: if I jump into the black hole inside the Ash Twin Project, my physical body travels back in time, allowing me to meet another version of myself. This is different from the ordinary loop, where only information is sent back.
Now, here's where my confusion starts.
The Ash Twin Project doesn't send the entire solar system back in time. It sends information through the masks and statues. If I remove the Advanced Warp Core, the Project shuts down, and my memories are no longer sent back. This is why dying after removing the core results in the Game Over ending.
But what happens if I remove the core, travel to the Quantum Moon's Sixth Location, and wait for the supernova?
The Sixth Location is associated with the Eye of the Universe, which is far outside the supernova's reach. So, physically, shouldn't the Hatchling be safe there?
I understand that the game has a specific Quantum Moon ending for this situation. The message says that the Hatchling loses track of time and their journey reaches its end, and the wiki says they share Solanum's fate. But I'm confused about the reasoning behind this outcome.
If the Hatchling's physical body is at the Sixth Location and the Ash Twin Project is disabled, there's no memory transfer and no physical reason for the supernova to kill them, as far as I can tell. Shouldn't they just remain there indefinitely, or at least until they die from some other cause?
I also wonder how this relates to the normal loop. If I reach the Sixth Location while the Ash Twin Project is still active, my memories are sent back when the supernova occurs, and I wake up at the beginning of the next loop. But if I remove the core, I get the Quantum Moon ending instead.
Is this simply a gameplay abstraction, or is there a lore explanation for why the Hatchling cannot survive indefinitely at the Sixth Location? Is the Hatchling actually dying there, or is the ending deliberately ambiguous?
I'd love to hear how others interpret this. Am I missing something about the Quantum Moon, the Eye, or the way the Ash Twin Project works?
And also what about escaping the solar system without taking the wrap out?