Warp Core

Warp Cores are a technology created by the Nomai to transport information, living beings, and inanimate objects from one place to another, or into the past.

Description
A warp core consists of a black hole core and a white hole core which generate a black hole and white hole respectively. Anything that is warped enters via the black hole and exits from the white hole. If warp cores are used to power a warp platform, then it is possible to travel back through the white hole once the warp platform is charged.

The time of arrival is always one hundred-thousandth of a second earlier than the time of departure. This negative time interval can be increased by adding more energy to the warp core. The energy required to extend the interval increases at an exponential rate.

Advanced Warp Cores
Since standard warp cores only allow travelling from a black hole to a white hole, it is impossible to warp to an unfamiliar location. Another warp core needs to be placed at that location first before warping between the two locations is possible.

An advanced warp core does not need a warp core counterpart to enable warping. Advanced warp cores can open portals to specific coordinates, or when given enough energy, open portals a certain amount of time into the past.

Original warp cores
Warp cores were originally created by Annona, a Nomai from Escall's Vessel. His advanced warp core design was shared with the other Nomai clans at festivals, allowing all Nomai clans to warp long distances and explore more. After warping to follow the signal from the Eye of the Universe, the Vessel's warp core needed time to recharge as the jump to the signal was significant. However, the warp core sustained irreparable damage when the Vessel crashed on Dark Bramble, rendering it unusable.

Black Hole Forge
Annona landed on Ember Twin with Escape Pod 2. Some time after the Nomai on Ember Twin and Brittle Hollow were reunited, Annona took up Poke as his apprentice. Before he passed away, Annona explained many of his warp core designs to her.

After Annona's death, Poke started working in the Black Hole Forge in the Hanging City. With the help of Clary and Root, she managed to recreate Annona's simpler warp cores. They were used to travel between White Hole Station and Brittle Hollow.

Ash Twin Project
The Nomai eventually discovered and confirmed the negative time interval that occurs when warping. They decided that advanced warp technology was required to increase the negative time interval to 22 minutes. This time interval was the basis of the Ash Twin Project, where information would be sent back in time in order to find the Eye of the Universe with a probe launched by the Orbital Probe Cannon.

Because the Vessel's warp core was unrecoverable, Poke proposed to craft an advanced warp core with Clary and Root in the Black Hole Forge. In addition to crafting an advanced warp core for the Ash Twin Project itself, the Black Hole Forge crew crafted simple warp cores which would power the Ash Twin Towers. These towers connected all the locations critical for the Ash Twin Project to warp towers on Ash Twin. The advanced warp core was completed and installed in the Ash Twin Project's central chamber.

However, the project was put on indefinite hold when it turned out that the supernova which would power the advanced warp core could not be triggered by the Sun Station. Before the Nomai could think of an alternative solution, they were all killed by the Interloper's Ghost Matter which flooded the whole solar system almost instantly.

Hearthian explorations
After 200 millenia, the Nomai's warp cores were discovered by Hearthian astronauts. They used the warp cores to recall their scouts. The Ash Twin Project ended up being automatically activated when the Sun reached the end of its natural lifespan and went supernova. This powered the project's advanced warp core and started the time loop that the Protagonist finds themself in.

Usage
Simple warp cores are used for the following purposes:
 * To power the warp platforms of the Ash Twin Towers, White Hole Station, and its warp receivers on the various planets.
 * To recall shuttles launched from Gravity Cannons.
 * To recall the scout built by the Hearthians.

The advanced warp cores are used to:
 * Send information and commands 22 minutes into the past.
 * Warp living beings and inanimate objects such as ships over large distances.