Ash Twin Project

The Ash Twin Project is a facility built by the Nomai that is located within the core of the Ash Twin. The facility itself is fully operational and is powered by an Advanced Warp Core.

The facility is revealed to be the reason for the time loop that the player finds themselves in. When the sun goes supernova, the Ash Twin Project activates and sends the player character's memories 22 minutes into the past, resulting in them subjectively experiencing the same 22 minutes over and over.

Ash Twin Project
Type	Nomai Project
Gravity	1.1g (0g if the gravity is disabled)
Inhabitants	None
Location	Within Ash Twin

Description

The Ash Twin Project is a large ring-shaped structure circling the Advanced Warp Core that powers it. The ring platform is located within a large spherical shell which encases it completely to protect the project. The surface of the platform is made entirely of gravity pads, ensuring that the player does not fall off. Along the ring are various Nomai research notes and pieces of art work as well as multiple Projection Stones. Upon arrival, directly ahead of the player is the actual project itself. A small open room with a console in the middle and eight Nomai Masks surrounding the center, three of which are active. At the end of the ring there will be two sphere consoles. One of these consoles turns off the artificial gravity and the other opens the casing protecting the Advanced Warp Core, allowing it to be removed.

Design

The Ash Twin Project has two major components, the Nomai Masks and the Nomai Statue. The statue is designed to "link" with the closest living creature to it when it activates. The linked creatures memories over the course of the next 22 minutes are then transmitted to the mask. The mask then stores the data and sends it to the Orbital Probe Cannon to determine what co-ordinates have already been entered into the cannon. This data is then sent back to the linked creature 22 minutes in the past using warp technology through the statue creating a paradox in which the linked creature replays the same 22 minutes in a loop until the project is deactivated.

Advanced Warp Core

The Advanced Warp Core is the power source that keeps the Ash Twin Project running, even without power from the Supernova. Its design is based off of the Advanced Warp Core used to power The Vessel and can be removed from the project. If the player decides to remove the core, the Ash Twin Project will shut down, ending the time loop until it is inserted again. Should the player die by any cause without reinserting while the Ash Twin project is offline, the player will receive a game over screen and be returned to the main menu.

The Advanced Warp Core is required for the intended ending.

Purpose

The Ash Twin Project was designed to harness the energy of the Supernova triggered by the Sun Station to send data from the Orbital Probe Cannon 22 minutes into the past. This was to make finding the Eye of the Universe a much faster and easier task than it would have been without the project. A secondary purpose for the project was to send data the Nomai had gathered back to their past selves in an attempt to create an infinite loop of knowledge. However the Sun Station failed to induce a supernova so the Ash Twin Project did not work, forcing the Nomai to find an alternate way to power the project. The Nomai never managed to find an alternative, as they were all wiped out upon the Interloper's sudden arrival in the Solar System.

While the Nomai never got the see the Ash Twin Project functional, hundreds of thousands of years later the project is eventually triggered when the local Sun reaches the end of its lifespan and goes Supernova naturally. At the end of every loop as the Sun is going Supernova, the Ash Twin Project activates, generating a black hole in the center of the ring and transferring all stored information from the Nomai Masks into it.

Accessibility

There is no direct route to the Ash Twin Project, and accessing it is not as straightforward as most other locations. To access the Ash Twin Project, the player must utilize the teleportation towers on Ash Twin and use the Ash Twin teleporter while Ember Twin is directly above.

It takes approximately three full orbits of the Ember Twin for the Ash Twin tower to be fully uncovered by sand. The tower in question will be the broken one of the two towers that are close together with a bridge connecting them. Outside the correct tower's entrance will be the corpse of a Nomai. The player will need to stand in the center platform inside of the tower for the teleporter to work, however it will only work when the Ember Twin is directly above. Due to the sand flowing from Ash Twin to Ember Twin, player can easily be sucked through the roof. To avoid being pulled out, it is recommended for the player to seek shelter under the bridge outside or under the small intact sections of the tower's ceiling until the pillar of sand is directly in the center of the tower. When the pillar of sand is in the center, the player must quickly run into the teleporter, if done correctly they will immediately warp to the Ash Twin Project.

Notes

• Due to the significant amount of time it takes to enter the Ash Twin Project, once the Advanced Warp is removed, the player does not have much time remaining in the loop.
• Meditating after removing the Advanced Warp Core soft-locks the Game on Xbox One.