What happens if you disable the Ash Twin Project?
Shutting down the Ash Twin Project by removing its advanced warp core stops the 22 minute time loop that allows you to explore the mysteries of the Outer Wilds solar system. With the project disabled, time progresses linearly leading to an isolation ending alone in space.
Consequences of Shutting Off the Time Loop
Disabling the time loop has significant effects on gameplay:
- The cyclical 22 minute timeline tied to the sun‘s supernova ends
- Death no longer allows you to retry and learn more about the world
- The sun will not go supernova until its natural death in 5-10 billion years [1]
- You experience an emptiness floating alone forever as all life in the universe moves on without you
Perhaps most importantly, disabling the Ash Twin Project cuts off access to the intended conclusion and secrets surrounding the Eye of the Universe.
Quantifying the Isolation Ending
If we conservatively estimate based on the sun‘s stable lifespan that you could drift unattended for 5 billion years:
| Years Alone in Space | 5,000,000,000 |
| Days Alone in Space | 1,825,000,000,000 |
| Hours Alone in Space | 43,800,000,000,000 |
That is an unfathomably long time to be adrift and alone. It certainly puts a 22 minute time loop in perspective!
Active Loop Needed to Conclude Game
As established Outer Wilds lore explains, the intended conclusion of the game involves >!removing the advanced warp core from Ash Twin and transporting it to the Vessel to travel to the Heartian stellar anomaly known as the Eye of the Universe.!< [2]
This is only achievable with an active time loop allowing fast transportation through the black hole. Once disabled, the loop cannot be restarted without replacing the missing core – trapping your protagonist alone forever.
My personal theory is that other secrets may also be tied to the cyclical nature of the time loop or require retrial and error across multiple cycles to uncover. With everything permanently set in linear motion, the player loses their opportunity to truly wrap up all mysteries and loose ends across the Outer Wilds‘ alien histories and environments. But that contemplative isolation may have been the developers‘ intent all along.
Restarting the Time Loop
While shutting down the project leads to stark finality regarding secrets left undiscovered, you can still reinstate the cyclical timeline by returning the advanced warp core to Ash Twin.
Reinserting the core instantly reestablishes the 22 minute supernova cycle centered around the Ash Twin Project. It does not appear from available player experience and documentation that any negative persistent consequences exist from disabling the loop for a period of time. Everything resets cleanly as if the break in cycles never occurred.
So while the isolation ending sets a definite end to your journey of fate and exploration, the option remains to continue unraveling the Outer Wilds‘ mysteries across space and time. The power ultimately rests with you!
[1] https://outerwilds.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sun
