Ghost Matter is Also Mysterious

[@CausticFoil]

Imagine, 1 Nomai was just diving in the water on Timber Hearth, likely exploring and investigating its aquatic life. After a long day of exploring, he surfaces and finds his entire race has been wiped out, save for 17% of a girl.

[@sugarkitty2008]

I would think the ghost matter was still all over the place for a looooong time. Even if a Nomai had been in the water for a whole day or a week doing research, as soon as they surfaced they'd have died. I could imagine that would have been a nice extra actually. Finding some text of a Nomai trying to contact his peers only to get no answer. He might think the communicator were broken, but ultimately feel nervous without contact. So his last message is he's going back to the surface. His body could be found washed on the shore of timber hearth (though that body would likely have been moved) or floating in the depths of giants deep, with the recorder on him. I feel this also may have ruined the moment you find out what happened on the comet though. Anyway, over time the ghost matter would have dissipated enough for the hearthians to surface and evolve. Any who tried before it was safe would have simply died.

[@CaptainWobbs]

@@sugarkitty2008 Something similar has always been in the back of my mind. I’m fairly certain that Ghost Matter (despite the name) can’t phase through solids. Since there are plenty of airtight places (White Hole Station, Orbital Probe Cannon, Ash Twin Project), I figured that SURELY there must’ve been at least one Nomai in one of those locations when the Interloper ruptured. I did eventually come to the same conclusion though- They’d have no reason NOT to leave, and the moment they did, they’d get got. So, not much point to that line of theorization.

[@Dinospikes]

@@CaptainWobbs there are dead Nomai in the ATP

[@lukemills237]

@@Dinospikes Incorrect. There are no Nomai corpses in the ATP.

[@taakofromtv150]

@@CaptainWobbs I think it can phase through solids since it has reached places such as the sunless city which would have no other way of entry other than phasing through solid matter they also go through this in the video since how else would the ghost matter have exploded on all sides of the interloper

[@mango1715]

Reminder: if a new icy comet joins our solar system, run for your lives

[@z3nith4l]

Noted

[@owaisshaikh5995]

Run where ? Will need a ship

[@mango1715]

@@owaisshaikh5995 calmly make a line with your fellow friends and slowly exit the solar system

[@pinktuna4840]

YUP

[@loganhooliean369]

YUP

[@crowsenpai5625]

My main two theories on how the Anglers survived is 1) either Dark Bramble was far enough from the Interloper when it detonated to be out of range of the pulse, or due to the Spacial anomalies of the Bramble, the extra dimensional space made enough distance, since the Ghose Matter had to technically travel further and further to make it far enough into the spheres. Or the theory I feel is more likely 2) the heavy fog inside the spheres. While also probably being the atmosphere the fish push off to allow them to move, The extremely heavy fog in the Bramble, same with all fog, means there’s a high concentration of moisture in the atmosphere inside, not enough to consider being underwater, but close enough to be able to shield the inner spaces of the Bramble from the Ghost Matter pulse and prevent any from settling inside.

[@maple...]

I'd agree with number 2, as iirc there's no fog on the bramble's quantum moon and there is a dead solanum (from ghost matter, proving that it reached it.) again this is assuming i'm remembering correctly

[@justawildstickman1787]

I remember the shock i had the moment i realized that the core had exploded

[@Monarch_Prime]

Reminds me of chernobyl (hbo) in that scene where that guy says "there is no core! It exploded. The core. Exploded."

[@samuelsimpson7452]

A couple of my own theories... The ghost matter containment shell didn't disintegrate into fragments... It ruptured at a point and blew half of the shell open, probably spraying the Solar System with ghost matter like a shotgun blast. Dark Bramble is the farthest planet out, so it could have coincidentally been outside of the blast cone, which would explain no ghost matter being found there. A somewhat crazier theory... the Interloper was a bomb. A more advanced alien race detected disturbances in the flow of time and realized that someone was actively experimenting with time travel. Messing with time travel can destroy the entire universe, so the aliens may have felt justified in exterminating them.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Its highly unlikely all the planets would just happen to be on the same side of the sun just as it exploded, minus dark bramble. also, the interloper arrived before any time travel shenanigan's began. and to top it off, if it were an advanced weapon, id imagine theyd likely come along to ensure it stopped whatever they wanted to stop. i thought about weapon for a while, but ultimately it makes little sense to me.

[@CalebTerryRED]

@@TheLoreExplorer all of the planets wouldn't need to be on the same side of the sun, the comet could have simply been inside of the orbit of dark bramble when it exploded. If we're assuming that the explosion was directional, dark bramble could have just been behind (and ironically closest to) the comet while every other planet was in front. I don't think it's too far fetched considering this alignment happens near the beginning of every loop. Also, there were time shenanigans going on before the comet arrived, in the high energy lab. The ~½ second time travel might seem insignificant compared to the time loop generated by the ash twin project, but the "breaking spacetime" ending proves that it's significant enough to rupture spacetime. Maybe a cautious advanced species would send a bomb the instant they detected the nomai's proof of concept. Plenty of players were curious enough to remove the black hole core while the probe was duplicated, maybe the civilization was terrified the nomai would do the same, and thought that they didn't have time to investigate. Also, that species certainly could have visited, but I doubt they would stay long in a system they just coated in ghost matter. It's not unreasonable to think any evidence of their arrival would be gone after 200,000 years Overall, the comet was clearly unnatural, so you have to assume that either the advanced civilization that created it was extremely careless, or it was sent intentionally. Either option is plausible, but I feel like a species capable of creating the ghost matter would also be deliberate enough to know where it's going to end up

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Geez. Idk where to start. The interloper is supposed to have exploded when it got near the sun for the first time. I’m not sure why we’d just assume it’s directional. And I highly doubt there is a species out there that’s capable of spying on the entire universe to be able to notice the nomai are doing something sketchy. Then be able to send and interstellar bomb with such precision that they don’t even have to accompany it. Plus to even know the dangers of time travel that the species would have to have done it before. Our universe hasn’t ended yet so I doubt anyone has knowledge about it.

[@maple...]

​@@CalebTerryRED >I feel like a species capable of creating the ghost matter would also be deliberate enough to know where it's going to end up Just looking at how humans behave, I doubt they would care at all where it ends up. throwing it into space is less resource-consuming than disposing of it.

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

I have thought a lot about the "everything is dying" situation in Outer Wilds. Ultimately, the game explicitly says the universe is reaching it's natural end. So anything else I say is just pure thought experiments. Now, as for my thoughts (note that all of these are just supposed to be fun thought experiments) : I always thought that it was kinda weird how everything was unexpectedly dying. Some of the Nomai conversations in The Vessel seem to suggest that they did not expect every star to start going supernova. And even taking into account the higher rate of time in Outer Wilds, it still kinda felt weird to me that suddenly every star started going supernova. My little false theory is that - similar to how the Eye of The Universe is kind of a window into the next universe, and generally a symbol of life, the Ghost Matter is a symbol of death. The Eye points you forward and Ghost matter makes sure you can never go back. These started when I noticed that the Interloper collides with the Sun, around the Red Giant phase. In our universe, Red Giants still live for an absurdly long time. But it seems like the Hearthian sun just pops very quickly. This combined with the knowledge that Ghost Matter can - according to the dead Nomai on the interloper, wipe out all life in a solar system instantly if the interloper core burst, suggests to me that Ghost Matter might be killing off the universe. This seemingly coordinated action makes more sense when we see that the Eye of The Universe seems to send it's signal around the time the universe ends. The Outer Wilds universe might have a built in Reset - with The Eye and Ghost Matter acting as the controlling forces. Well those were my fun thoughts. Nothing in the real universe has any meaning, and things just happen. But Humans desperately crave patterns and meaning. So all this talk about The Eye and Ghost Matter is likely just that - me finding meaning where there is none.

[@Spaggot]

I love the detail how the hearthians survived because they were still water creatures. The game did so well with how things almost always have an answer

[@WhitepawWolfGaming]

I know most people say they are satisfied with Echoes being the only DLC, but I for one would love another one (or two) exploring the origins of Ghost Matter and Dark Bramble. They strike me as the two biggest unsolved mysteries of the story, and they still gnaw at me over a year later whenever the game comes to my mind.

[@tumultuousv]

This would be interesting but some things are better left mysterious. They're probably both just natural ailments of the universe.

[@thegamingsheep2471]

You probably mean even deeper, but in the game it is already explained pretty good, I would say. Ghost matter is an exotic substance that arrived with a comet from another galaxy, where it is maybe non toxic. Dark bramble was originally an ice planet, but got destroyed after a seed landed on it probably also from another galaxy. The anglerfish either were native to our solar system already, since they can also be found on ember twin, or originate from another dark bramble and arrived here because of the space folding capabilities of dark bramble

[@feldsar]

The ghost matter on Timber Hearth is less lethal than all other active patches.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I thought it was taking a while to kill me. I thought maybe they updated it to give some more wiggle room!

[@feldsar]

@@TheLoreExplorer I figured that too, but maybe there is some cool reason. I think it might be the geyser sprinkling water on it.

[@Monarch_Prime]

Because it's old. Radioactive matter decreases in radioactivity over time, in a process known as atomic decay.

[@feldsar]

@@Monarch_Prime I do know that, I was saying this because the ghost matter blanketed the solar system in an instant. If radioactive decay were the case, all the ghost matter would be the same strength. It is weaker because of the geyser next to the patch.

[@Monarch_Prime]

@@feldsar oh right the geyser

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

I have thought a lot about the "everything is dying" situation in Outer Wilds. Ultimately, the game explicitly says the universe is reaching it's natural end. So anything else I say is just pure thought experiments. Now, as for my thoughts (note that all of these are just supposed to be fun thought experiments) : I always thought that it was kinda weird how everything was unexpectedly dying. Some of the Nomai conversations in The Vessel seem to suggest that they did not expect every star to start going supernova. And even taking into account the higher rate of time in Outer Wilds, it still kinda felt weird to me that suddenly every star started going supernova. My little false theory is that - similar to how the Eye of The Universe is kind of a window into the next universe, and generally a symbol of life, the Ghost Matter is a symbol of death. The Eye points you forward and Ghost matter makes sure you can never go back. These started when I noticed that the Interloper collides with the Sun, around the Red Giant phase. In our universe, Red Giants still live for an absurdly long time. But it seems like the Hearthian sun just pops very quickly. This combined with the knowledge that Ghost Matter can - according to the dead Nomai on the interloper, wipe out all life in a solar system instantly if the interloper core burst, suggests to me that Ghost Matter might be killing off the universe. This seemingly coordinated action makes more sense when we see that the Eye of The Universe seems to send it's signal around the time the universe ends. The Outer Wilds universe might have a built in Reset - with The Eye and Ghost Matter acting as the controlling forces. Well those were my fun thoughts. Nothing in the real universe has any meaning, and things just happen. But Humans desperately crave patterns and meaning. So all this talk about The Eye and Ghost Matter is likely just that - me finding meaning where there is none.

[@jeffumbach]

Red giants (which don't go supernova) can live for a long time but red supergiants (which do go supernova) don't live very long. You're probably thinking of red dwarfs however, those are estimate to be able to live for possibly a trillion years.

[@Me-wx1mt]

there's also the bramble seeds found on a lot of the planets in this solar system

[@MrMelonsz]

Well if it makes anyone feel any better. We’ve derived all of our understanding of our real universe from patterns derived from its laws and happenings. These patterns may be meaningless but they’re still there, and still fun as hell to unravel and utilise in an attempt to uncover more about our reality. :D

[@k0lpA]

Hum, I like the idea of it being some kind of nuclear waste from a distant alien race. At first I thought, why would they not just dump it into water where it is inert.. but it becomes deadly again when not covered in water so shooting it away in space seems like the best way to make sure it is safe. It would also make sense that the interlopper is a giant ball of ice in that case because it could have been a 2nd security in case the shell broke. I guess the ice was thicker before it began going close to the sun and could have contained the ghost matter in the case that it blew up before leaving their solar system. Or the ice could have been the water they used to protect themselves against it and was launched it space with the core. It just seems fishy, now that you mention it, that the ghost matter shell was found inside of a giant ball of its kryptonite...

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thats ones of the first thoughts I had when I found out water negates gm. Like ohhhhh. I wonder if thats why its in ice? Im glad its seeming to make sense to people. I was worried to share that idea as it seems sort of out of place in the game. Also, Thank you for becoming a member on the channel! If you join the discord be sure to let me know so I can give you your roles!

[@perfectapple]

Your "waste product sent to be someone else's problem" theory does sound pretty likely. I definitely wouldn't have thought of that.

[@travisthefanofmanythings7176]

the sound that plays while in ghost mater sounds alot like a blow torch

[@mmceorange]

I think the crystals grow as a result of the presence of ghost matter. That could explain how the matter can evaporate, while the crystals remain. Which is why there are pathways of crystals that do not harm us, because the ghost matter has evaporated where it once was in abundance, leaving relatively inert crystals behind... Including on Nomai

[@groovemoustache]

The Hearthians say the ghost matter evaporates, but I like to think it doesn't really, it simply stabilizes and in the process its gas-like molecular structure slows down, agglomerate and finally crystalizes. So really, the crystals *are* ghost matter, it's just ghost matter that isn't microscopic particles floating in the air and getting through your suits and skins and giving you instantaneous space cancer by destroying you from the inside on a molecular level. If anything, it fits the theme of the game about the Heat Death of the Universe. When compacted together in a tiny spot, the ghost matter is highly dense and excited because each particle has lots of energy continuously bouncing one another, like a pre-Big Bang Universe, but as it explodes and expands it loses that self-reflecting energy and finally agglomerate and cools down, eventually becoming inert.

[@theultramage]

4:50 "behind sealed doors". I pondered about this for a bit, and I believe that none of the vehicles, structures or work areas the Nomai built are air-tight. There's always openings and entrances. The only place to maybe consider is the central chamber of the Sunless City, but maybe the doors aren't air-tight (just sand-tight), or maybe one of the doors was open at that exact moment, or maybe they kept them open and only closed them when needed. Or maybe there are holes in the cavern that have a V-shaped slope, and thus would not let sand flow through them easily, but gas would not have that problem. Either way, even if there _was_ a sealed off area where some lucky ones could have dodged the initial blast, they'd be stuck with nowhere to go (except maybe make an underwater base). If they were at all able to realize the existence of this invisible threat, every walkable surface of every planet would be covered with ghost matter, and would stay there for thousands of years. They'd need some means of traversing through it, or sweeping it aside, or transporting it into water or lava or the black hole.

[@alexeyashikhmin7819]

Very interesting theory about the origin of the ghost matter. Never thought of it in that way. Great video!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

also, thank you for becoming a member! Be sure to let me know if you join the discord so I can give you your role!

[@alexeyashikhmin7819]

@@TheLoreExplorer It's my pleasure! It is the smallest I can do to support you in your hobby! Btw, my name in Discord is Brumman5, and I will be glad if you give me a special role! :)

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Done! I hope you enjoy the marshmallow provider role! Every explorer needs their marshmallows! And hopefully, with people like you, this can become more than a hobby, and I can do this as a career! So thanks again for the support!

[@alexeyashikhmin7819]

@@TheLoreExplorer Btw sorry for such a difficult nickname and thank you for including me in the video!

[@BosonCollider]

The real question is why it seems to spare plants.

[@mendeleyev1790]

Maybe it did maybe it didnt plant life grows exponentialy faster than animal life. So plants under water could have grow to the earth before the harthians evolved.

[@connorroth8196]

@@mendeleyev1790 It's not just that plants evolve faster that animals, it's that in order for there to be land dwelling animal life, there first has to be terrestrial plants. On our planet, aquatic animals evolved to walk on land because it was advantageous to fill new biological niches and gain access to an untapped food source of land plants.

[@YEs69th420]

It possibly doesn't affect the cell walls of plants would be my guess. If true, then it means the corpses would not have decomposed for a very long time before bacteria recovered.

[@gilotyna815]

I think it could have been naturally encased in water which it cannot penetrate which then froze, and eventually became the Interloper. Since the crystals are one with the stone casing they might be inert form of solid ghost matter or maybe a different mineral that coexists with ghost matter much like real life minerals surround natural crystals.

[@jackalbeam2532]

What if someone threw a regular-sized snowball into this universe but it was a comet-sized ball of ice in this universe because everything's so small?🤔 I have no idea what I'm getting at.

[@dimitrikusnetsov8731]

If the interloper horrifies you, wait till you hear about Gamma Ray Bursts and Magnetars. Universe randomly kills civilizations out of nowhere all the time, most manage to avoid this (mercifully, civilizations move on faster timelines than the cosmos) but some civs just plain have terrible luck. Like the Nomai and Hearthians. (With humans, it's self-inflicted assuming the bramble didn't kill us off)

[@The_KingDoge]

They don't really hit anything (statistically). Because of how narrow they are, and the scale of space.

[@YEs69th420]

Your idea that it's simply just the waste disposal method of an advanced civilisation is pretty interesting, and becomes very tragic if we think about that a little. We *do* know of one advanced space-faring civilisation: the Nomai. It's possible another clan unknowingly sent the ghost matter towards the lost clan.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Its possible but the Nomai seem to have gotten past the need for disposing of waste. They dont even seem to produce it. We could mark that down to just the clan we know. But all nomai clans meet up every ten years and share their advancements. They are all usually on the same level of civilization.

[@richi1657]

the interloper’s core is probably some sort of radioactive exotic matter

[@Riverrocks777]

Imagine how different the lore would be if the interloper fell into giants deep

[@NeroZashi]

My Theory is that the *Ghost Matter* was sent by *The Eye Of The Universe* because it need the *Nomai* to die and why I think that is because *The Interloper* Arrived Moments after *The Sun Station* failed to Blow Up the *Sun* and also if the Nomai didn't Die then the *Hearthians* would not need to leave there Planet :D Thanks for reading :D PS: Great Video :D

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I had this thought very early on too. Im not so sure about it now, but its a valid thought! Im glad you enjoyed the video bud. Thanks for the kind words!

[@higueraft571]

@@TheLoreExplorer Honestly, my belief on how the Eye is described and how it functions... I'd say it may be about as Aware/in control as Skaia (which fulfills a similar role of being critical to the creation of a new Universe) of Homestuck is. It MAY be able to nudge things along with what it CAN control, but overall is a passive entity. Future-knowledge may be one of it's assets, or it may not, but likely if it were, it's role would be to simply wait for the right moment to broadcast, to set up a chain of events that, near The End, would result in reproduction.

[@tumultuousv]

@@higueraft571 reproduction?

[@higueraft571]

@@tumultuousv Like in Homestuck, the goal of a Universe's Sburb session is to "Reproduce", make another Universe. The Eye's goal is to create a new Universe, by having an Observer enter it. POSSIBLY even several universes (though this is a huge questionmark). At least in Homestuck, there IS evidence that several sessions of Sburb played out in one universe, on one planet, and while most likely died with the meteors slamming into their homes, at LEAST one others session entered The Medium proper, with a player even finding a Godtier bed... Now if that session were capable of creating a new universe, or if the players survived? That's also a question. But tl;dr, Reproduction is pretty much the best way to describe it. It's a universe creating a new one through a particular mechanism (A "game" that ends the World, an object that broadcasts near The End, both resulting in a new universe upon success)

[@stonii420]

my game pass expired, but my love for this game has not! keep it up man!

[@Delta_2209]

F

[@Yonathans_Avatar_Service]

what if other things like bramble are also some kind of failed experiment by the same civilisation that supposedly created the interloper?

[@Monarch_Prime]

Bramble is a plant. A fuckin space tree.

[@frankestor9947]

@@Monarch_Prime an evil space tree*

[@Mizir-pq7jf]

@@frankestor9947 Only evil cause something evil made its home in it

[@maple...]

@@frankestor9947 calling the Bramble evil is like calling a lion evil for killing a deer

[@Amphibian42]

it seems it was a sort of weird exotic geode, it grew to have great pressure due to the natural build up of the mineral over billions of years, from deep interstellar ice and possibly radiation from (due to how large and old it must be) the last time the universe was recreated by the eye, like our own cosmic background radiation, and when it finally reached a solar system; ours, the heat from the sun made the already highly dense and pressurized crystals expand, and explode themselves and the casing, and the crystals themselves exploding is where the matter comes from I believe. the crystals that appear around patches of the matter are from the matter that doesn't evaporate settling and slowly growing over time, like a normal mineral would.

[@ThatEnglishGent]

Here's a thought. The comet was a fragment of the last universe. Completely inhospitable to any living organism in our universe. Maybe that's why it's called ghost matter and is completely exotic to the Nomai. Also, the gaseous effect looks rather similar to the connecting "gas" in the final post-credits cutscene.

[@tumultuousv]

It's more likely just from the same universe lol.

[@tumultuousv]

And if the gas In the final post credit cutscene is ghost matter related it's not because it'd from the previous universe of OW. It's because the hatchling knows about ghost matter and that's what the eye interprets it as for the next one.

[@alexandergreen5292]

Its possible as the comet formed in space its pressure from formation could cause a super compressed material like uranium showing that ghost matter is radioactive.

[@hugo_670]

Since the Echoes of The Eye came out, it seems like we know a little extra thing about Ghost Matter, it can't exist inside the water for some reason (probably because it's gas), when the dam breaks, ghost matter around the artifact house disappears! But it is weird that the same thing doesn't happens on giant's deep island... Maybe the source of ghost matter is the crystals so if you remove them, the place will be safe?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

If you wait until the islands get launched and submerge you can actually see the same result. You can make it through the tunnels. The gas gets pushed out by the water filling the area. The crystals do seem to be the source of the gm. But oddly the crystals seem to formed from gas IMO. The crystals shouldn’t have been able to move through other matter or cover the entire system uniformity if it were solid. So it’s a bit confusing lol.

[@Grimical]

​@@TheLoreExplorer it is perhaps of note that in the DLC, when the player recounts their knowledge of history to the prisoner, there are no crystals depicted when the nomai die off it seems very likely to me that the gas came before the crystals, but perhaps some of the crystals remained chalky and volatile enough to break back down into the gas another possibility is that ghost matter in its gaseous state simply does not physically interact with anything, but can still cause physical *reactions*. you could say it becomes a ghost of itself when submerged and temporarily loses its reactiveness, but on the flipside the water can't physically move it away and flush it out. thus, it's not actually re-appearing from another source when the water is gone, just regaining its deadly touch

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yeah. That’s kind of what I said, isn’t it. “Oddly the gas seems to be the source of the crystals.” And the crystals seem to form from that gas. Then slowly leak it off again. But remember that the first we know of it was again…in crystal form before it exploded at the interlopers core and turned to gas. So again. It’s all a bit strange.

[@Grimical]

​@@TheLoreExplorer do we actually know that it was crystalized before its shell ruptured? i imagine the stuff would have been superheated while packed in there and couldn't have maintained any kind of stable crystal shape until long after decompressing and cooling off, which is why the remains of the core in-game doesn't show signs of having been molten

[@MurderWho]

@@TheLoreExplorer I mean, gas that forms into crystals that subliminate into gases again until they happen to form the right physical structure to be stable isn't exactly unknown. It could also be that heat/light -> make crystals into gas, cold/dark -> make gas into crystals, or other similar conditionals.

[@1stchosenoneever]

I think it could be some sort of radiation due to water protecting people from ghost matter.

[@Yuti640]

It’s also possible that, if The Interloper is manufactured, it was originally a ball of water surrounded by a casing of rock, with the ghost matter being placed inside another casing of rock and the crystals just growing on the inner of that casing as the crystals do on everything that’s near ghost matter Then, as The Interloper is sent out, the coldness of space froze over that water, creating the passageways that we now see which ultimately allowed the ghost matter to escape when the core ruptured

[@reflectingPastChoices]

There is no "coldness" is space. Common movie myth. Space doesn't have a temperature, because you need matter to transfer heat. There is no matter in the void of space, and thus heat doesn't go anywhere. The water can't freeze.

[@timothygooding9544]

im pretty sure the muted energy readings is from the ghost matter somehow having negative (thermal) energy, hence why it was termed exotic matter. or at least near absolute zero. (OW plays a lot with theoretical physics even if its disproved, like black hole-white hole theory) It would literally be absorbing any energy you send in it to scan it.

[@ajp_3391]

Cool! I wonder what the explosion would have looked like to someone watching from outside the Interloper?

[@yimmit304]

I'd imagine it would be pretty boring since it is invisible unless interacting with an object until it hit the planets and caused a massive, solar system wide lightshow.

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

Ghost matter has many similarities to radiation, including being blocked by water, traveling through matter, being highly lethal to living things, and being detectable in photographs. Additionally there are unused references in the game files to Geiger counters. I think Ghost matter is just a fictionalized version of radiation similar to the fictionalized versions of other real life scientific concepts.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I will say im not all that knowledgeable about radiation. but id have a hard time believing the nomai race hadnt come across it in their travels. Theyd likely know what it is when they found it if it was radiation. another detail they mention is its an exotic matter. And i dont think radiation is matter. Also, its hard to tell if the shell that held it was natural, or a "manmade" barrier to contain whatever was inside. I dont know of any radiation that makes its own shell. But I could conceive of people somehow rounding it up and trapping it. With all of that said it does have a resemblance to radiation. just not so much so I can definitively say thats what it is.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

So, I'm kind of annoyed with myself at this one. In my email interview with outer wilds lead devs, he said "it's an exotic matter that clearly reacts negatively to biology" Edit* annoyed cause I forgot and gave a bad answer

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

@@TheLoreExplorer I agree that it can't actually be radiation, as it has multiple significant differences to real life radiation. For example real life radiation can pass through about 3m of solid matter (in the case of a particularly penetrable material). Whereas Ghost matter was able to penetrate deep into Ash Twin and Brittle Hollow (and through the Nomai space suits which must be heavily shielded against radiation as they allow survival in space). Additionally although radiation can travel pretty far, it also gets exponentially weaker because it spreads out as it travels and wouldn't be lethal across the entire solar system. Similar things can be said of other game concepts inspired by real life science, like quantum superposition, but unlike quantum superposition ghost matter is too different from real life radiation to be readily recognized as radiation - and Ghost Matter must be different to real life radiation to fulfill ghost matter's narrative function. In my initial comment I only meant to suggest that radiation may be the real life inspiration for ghost matter, not that ghost matter was just radiation.

[@-o-1695]

Really great insight man. Never knew that water makes you immune to ghost mater

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Glad you enjoyed it and learned something new! Thanks for the kind words!

[@CrazyFlyingMonk]

@@TheLoreExplorer Hey Lore Explorer ghost matter could just be radioactive substances because radioactive substances can only be formed by the destruction of a star often by it going super nova so if the nomai were early enough in that universe's life cycle then radioactive substances would be really rare and perhaps not known. Also submersion in water slows and dampens radiation and the reaction that causes it. ( of course this is just my probable flawed understanding of radioactive substance)

[@tumultuousv]

@@CrazyFlyingMonk nomai weren't that early in the universe life cycle. Honestly pretty late as well.

[@BossmanJC.]

This was a good topic to cover ghost matter is very weird and confusing awesome video

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thanks bud. And yeah. Its still confusing lol. Wish there was more info on it to work out what it is and all that.

[@knightsinspaceproduction2502]

Never knew that not all Ghost Matter kills you instantly... that opens up a few new ideas^^

[@TheLoreExplorer]

You get a split second to survive in the qm. Submerged gm is safe but rare.

[@rMjojo]

If they ever make a sequel I think it will explained the story of the interloper and ghost matter

[@HungryHunter]

My headcannon is the interloper is a jettison fuel tank that got catched by the sun. Its origin is from a ailen spaceship had the same idea as the nomai or the strangers: finding and reaching the eye but got into problems and lost/jettisoned its fueltank. Heck maybe the signal of the eye is comming not from the eye itself but from a transmitter of said ailens. I realy hope one day we get a dlc that explains/explores this.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Echoes of the eye is confirmed to be the last dlc for Outer Wilds. Sorry friend. It seems pretty obvious to me the eyes signal is coming from the eye itself. But its a neat thought!

[@HungryHunter]

@@TheLoreExplorer like i said: headcannon. Lets hope the devs do as well with there next game. Thx for the reply and Keep doing your videos!

[@Ironfoot42]

The idea of waste from an alien race sounds cool and is realistic, the same idea is explored in the book Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers.

[@10thArchon]

Could be a sent as a weapon? Sounds like an effective way to cull an entire solar system of life.

[@connorroth8196]

But what would be the point of sending out such a complicated weapon? It's been like 200,000 years since the Nomai were killed and there's no evidence of enyone capitalizing off of it. If they're gonna send out a solar system destroyer they have to have a reason.

[@tumultuousv]

@@connorroth8196 or do they

[@Jan12700]

So it's just a heavy unstable Atom that decays Alpha and Beta Radiation.

[@Shythalia]

"Exotic matter", but said the same way as "exotic butters" from FNAF:SL.

[@pinbox5814]

I think when you create a new universe the planets are connected by ghost matter-like substince.

[@billedefoudre]

I'm sold on the "nuclear waste" theory, that's a great one! Also : our universe if full of stuff "super condensed and stable, until a neutron pops in or out and an insane amount of energy is released". (from nuclear bombs to supernovaes, gamma ray from black holes, my mom when she tries to put on lenses, etc, etc...) I'm... not sure that's the bottom of Ghost Matter mysteries here, though. I mean : Outer Wilds is NOT about "because it's functional" stuff & mechanics. It almost always have a deeper meaning than that. You don't do games with that much originality, when you just want to settle down with easy gameplay & ideas. Ghost matter is everywhere and is acting really weird for what it is. 1) It's barely an inconvenience or some padding, for example. There's much more challenging obstacles and mechanics, in the game, from Giant's Deep streams, then electricity barrier, or cut anti-gravity pathways here and there, pure ice, brambles fog & spikes, ash twins labyrinth cave, quantic stuff, etc... Compared to that, almost everywhere the ghost matter is is just about "take a 10 meters detour", there's always a safe way just aside. Biggest example I got in mind is Giant's deep : Gabbro's island got ghost matter, but in a useless tunnel. Big frozen medusa too. You can access both those places by just jumping around or land your ship 10m away from obvious land point. So why bother at all ? Even on Interloper, it's just about "take this tunnel instead of this one". In Ash-twins : just jump aside or higher, in Cave City's ghost-mattered paths. So many alternative solutions possible. So many odd useless places or easy solutions around, where you find ghost matter. So what's the point of it ? 2) Most ghost matter crystals aren't active. And there's even a few places where no ghost matter is active at all, while being sprinkled around like a donut nonetheless. Why put so many places with so many crystals, just to have little zones blocked here and there ? It's not like you don't SEE those warning crystals from afar. So it's not about "warning there might be ghost matter here". We can see and identify that at the very first crystal, we don't need 10m of safe crystals before putting a little deadly gaz. And again : it doesn't seem to be in important or blocked places. What's the logic here ? 3) What is the link between the spreading gaz, and the crystals ? Like mentionned, most places have a big spread of crystals, but most of them aren't pouring out gaz.(if at all, and the Interloper's heart first of all) On top of that, the gaz is static, emitting from one space, impervious to wind, movement, evaporation with time, and such. From a "gameplay mechanic" stand point, it's understandable. But as it looks all ghost matter could be just removed from the game without really changing it, no, it's just weird. It seems to me like the gaz and the crystals are 2 very different things. Crystals are safe. Gaz is coming from elsewhere, and is deadly. Very different. (if they were supposed to be linked, I would change the crystals to stompable ones, cracking like eggs/spores and releasing gaz. Hence the "don't touch/walk on ghost matter crystals!" Mechanic-wise too, that would be something more meaningful) 4) Ghost matter phased through regular matter, to spread accross the entire solar system. But still left crystals in very odd, concentrated, and specific places, instead of just keep travelling through stuff, or fixate "everywhere, period" ? Again : it doesn't add up, for me. Either you sprinkle everything, or nothing, but it doesn't work with this "deadly ethereal wave" official story. 5) "It serves as the Nomaï death." Yes, but there could have been other ideas too, like "a black/white hole anomaly due to the lack of supernovae undercharged the masks of all remaining Nomaïs, and launch their memories to oblivion, killing them all on the spot and in one big mistake. Remaining statues and masks, activated by a true supernovae when the game starts, work as intended and you won't get the same treatment, fortunately. And that's how Nomaï disappeared" The Interloper's heart flowering could also have been a reason for Nomaï extinction, without the ghost matter involved. The density of the heart just swallowed Nomaï memories. Nomaï got extinct, heart bloomed after that, and Hearthian evolve and discover the aftermath thousands of years after. I'm sure there's a lot of other solutions too, like a virus that both gave life to Hearthians and killed Nomaïs, alas. Ghost matter just fit so badly into that. While everything else in the game fall in place so great. In the end, yeah : ghost matter is far too present in the game and super specific, and yet unecessary mechanic-wise or story-wise, that it really feels we're missing something big and awesome, here.

[@sockbomb6802]

The hearthians probably took longer to evolve because of it, if a hearthian went on to land they would die, even if they were technically amphibious. So they slowly evolved back into the ocean, until it was clear. Then they slowly became land animals, once it was safe.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

This is a good point. Not only would it have taken them on her to evolve. The species the nomai saw evolving couldn’t have been us. Because they were on land when the nomai were alive. I never thought of that.

[@higueraft571]

@@TheLoreExplorer To be fair, it's pretty safe to assume that they spent most of their time in the water, and only brief periods on Land. Most likely for food, maybe mating. (assuming it wasnt an Artistic Liberty being taken, to simply show what they looked like, and that the Primordial Hearthians actually worked more like Axolotls, which honestly seems likely considering their anatomy.)

[@durgun8247]

I don't think that the ghost matter was artificially encased in the interloper because it would be easier for another species to just create a space ship to do the same job. I think the ghost matter got in naturally, was neutralised by water and then the case sealed it, and then when the casing ruptured, it wasn't because of ghost matter, it was because heat from the sun caused the water to expand which then released the ghost matter.

[@higueraft571]

It makes more sense for it to be artificially encased. The problem with your assumption is that they INTENTIONALLY created what's effectively a REALLY REALLY Hot Potato. Most likely, as mentioned, it could be simply waste material encased in a protective shell, potentially inside a comet for added security, and shot off into deep space at random. Also heat caused the water to expand and release the matter? w h a t The logs SPECIFICALLY state that the core itself was under tons of pressure, from within the core full of extremely lethal exotic matter. If it were water vapor from inside causing said expansion, i believe they would have mentioned such. While if it were external... that'd simply crush/contain it, not aid in an explosion.

[@zambo6453]

An interesting idea. I thought it was clearly a weapon; some extremely warlike/isolationist alien culture also detects the eye and unlike the nomai their response is "this thing is older than the universe.... If we kill it, that's gotta be some kind.of record" Also the crystals clearly aren't ghost matter, there are plenty of areas where you can walk on or touch the crystals and there doesn't seem to be a sensible logic as to where the ghost matter is placed on the crystal clusters. My thought was that this is the after effect of the ghost matter ie they burn matter so intensely that they leave behind this melted glass. Especially inside the interloper, there are massive crystals so if that was the ghost matter slowly evaporating, surely there should be way more of the harmful form there than elsewhere, but there really isn't. See also that one room in the shortcut on ember twin, there is massive amounts of crystals over every surface of the room but if you check with the photo there is only one tiny patch left in a somewhat random spo, compared to how many crystals are all around

[@GrumpyMcFrog]

I just figured Ghost Matter was some sort of radiation.

[@mangle204]

You know i am curious about the sand falling from ash twin, how did the nomai react to this 200,000 years prior to our visit

[@TheLoreExplorer]

They difinately had to deal with it. That's why they have such huge doors in the hanging city. To prevent the sand from getting in. Then they certainly had to work around it for the atp. They may have had to wait years and years before they could even try to excavate ash twin.

[@mangle204]

@@TheLoreExplorer chert states that the sand will flow back into ash twin I believe. Gotta be stressful for the Nomai to plan on evacuating the caves every once and a while.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Well, it's on a schedule. I'd say they'd know about it and likely know when to retreat to the sunless city. They can even still leave and enter the sunless city through a door up top that's never under sand. So they could still go to ash twin whenever they wanted. Idk. Doesn't seem so bad once you figure it out.

[@mhagi24]

The more I learn about the game, the more I learn that its story elements revolve around real concepts. Either these developers created it by accident, or purposefully crafted an interactive cosmic and quantum realm (probably the latter). Ghost matter too seems like a parallel to strange matter, a theoretical type of matter with its unique set of particles and subatomic shit

[@Nettakrim]

i never noticed that ghost matter travelled through walls...

[@TheLoreExplorer]

The sunless city was basically all sealed up. all the doors were closed trying to keep the sand out. yet they still died. plus, some of the buildings have it inside all over the place.

[@lemonsmakr]

To me, ghost matter seems like some form of alien radiation that has far more potent effects than the radiation we're familiar with. As for how it was able to be contained inside the geode, likely just whatever element the exterior was made of has some sort of radiation-resistant property

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I just dont understand the idea of alien radiation. elements radiate. Like there is no such thing as "human radiation". We dont make radiation. We find things that radiate and use them. So in a sense we agree. This is some waste product from some advanced alien. It may be a radioactive material. And even if its not it sort of acts like it

[@peomaster6914]

I think the clue is that FOG on dark bramble could be effectively vapor nullifying the effects of the ghost matter when inside dark bramble

[@peomaster6914]

Also have in mind that the outer layers are made of ice

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yeah. That’s a decent thought. We know gm gets pushed out by water. If gm and the fog in bramble don’t mix. And the qm didn’t have enough pressure to force its way in. Then it should be negated. But it’s still very odd we don’t find it on the vines outside or something. So here’s my best(semi stupid) attempt at reconciling it all. Water negates gm. But it doesn’t seem like the qm destroyed any plants. The trees and grass and everything were fine after the explosion. And that is entirely what dark bramble is. A giant inter dimensional plant.

[@peomaster6914]

@@TheLoreExplorer my theory implies that water is capable of negating ghost matter no matter what form it is found at, the quantum moom of dark bramble is made of MAINLY ICE, SOLID WATER as well as the outside layer of dark bramble

[@peomaster6914]

since at the time the ghost matter explosion occured it was near the sun, so the outer layers of ice in dark bramble could have shielded dark bramble's vines.

[@peomaster6914]

However, thinking more of it i also realise my theory stops making sense when we take to account that the interloper itself is also made out of ice and its clear there is ghost matter stiking right into the walls of the interloper.

[@MrMilk-pe5sd]

What if the interloper was a part of the north pole of brittle hollow and fell off because the lava moon, if it fell off then it would get to the black hole and that puts it near the white hole, and that explains why the orbit of the interloper is pointing towards the white hole.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

the nomai saw it entering the system from elsewhere.

[@MrMilk-pe5sd]

@@TheLoreExplorer but it might be possible, look, if you look in the map, you'll see the orbit of the interloper points to the white hole and the ice on the interloper looks like the ice on the north pole of brittle hollow, also its possible that the nomai didnt see it and saw it after and thougt it came from interstellar space, just a little thougt i got.

[@higueraft571]

@@MrMilk-pe5sd Definitely not part of Brittle Hollow. It'd be FAR too large, and would leave such a massive indicator it used to be there. Not to mention the Nomai were ALREADY at Brittle Hollow for about 20+ or years as a generous estimate, they'd notice a comet-sized chunk fall into the core within view of their Forge and cities. Plus, willing to bet the Nomai saw it from much further out than simply the White Hole (which they had a STATION on, by the way.) They only detected it approaching the sun from interstellar space after the Sun Station had failed, and i'd be worried if a spacefaring civ like the Nomai couldnt read it's orbit/speed and determine it's not actually Interstellar. And still doesnt explain the ghost matter either...

[@ratboii7656]

I don't think the ghost matter core exploded throughout the solar system like a super nova. I think the comet left a trail of gas and crystal shards like it already does with the ice. But it killed life on all planets since every planet just happened to be in its orbital path. The nomai couldn't flee the planets because the ones sent to check on the ghost matter died before being able to send a report

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Did yu read the logs in the core of the interloper? The interloper leaves a trail cause all comets leave trails. 2 in fact.

[@higueraft571]

Yeah uh, it definitely exploded. The sheer violence inside the Ruptured Core kind of hints to that, considering over half of a sphere doesnt *vanish* from a gradual release over who knows how long, it looks like an extremely powerful explosion occurred. The Nomai didnt have nay form of warning or time to react to it, which a slow release would give them. They were ALL killed within mere seconds, maybe minutes at most.

[@sabelgrange6977]

Could The Interloper be the remnants of The Eye Signal Blocker falling out of orbit from The Eye and towards our sun? The green flames in The Stranger and the ghost matter in the River Lowlands of same make me wonder about an Owlk connection.

[@emojothejojo]

The eye signal blocker is still orbiting the eye of the universe

[@polonium9921]

I don't understand how the Stranger and all those Funky Owl people are alive still lol

[@TheLoreExplorer]

....how far into the dlc are you?

[@vigge111111]

Super late but I’m fairly certain that dark bramble was not in reality spared from ghost matter because the island on giants deep with the frozen jelly was from the planet the dark bramble took over. And that one is COVERED in ghost matter

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Bramble island got torn off the original planet and swept up by giants deeps gravity. That island was already at giants deep by the time the interloper exploded.

[@higueraft571]

Not to mention, Solanum is dead on the Dark Bramble QM Counterpart, confirming it DEFINITELY got blasted as well.

[@gabestepstone5762]

Looks like Tiberian lol prophet Kane is not getting his ascension this time

[@ferretappreciator]

I think saying it's too big of a coincidence or too strange to be natural is wrong. Think about it, the only way it could've made it to the solar system is if it was actually capable of making it to the solar system, therefore it's not unnatural for it to be encased in something that has the ability to safely contain it (until it met the sun a couple times, lol). I mean, it might be unnatural, but the possibility of it being natural is practically equal to it being unnatural since our sample size is only one

[@averageillegalmemesdealer]

I have a little bit of a far fetched theory: It kind of bothers me how Ghost matter is literally everywhere, even with obvious hindrances and obstacles in the way. Unhelping is the fact that in some areas the crystals look to be imbedded into the ground as if they landed with great force - yet no entrances in outer surfaces can be found at all. Although this could just be due to topological changes that would seal the holes left by their impact over the thousands of years after the Nomai went extinct... what if it actually is capable of passing *through* solid matter? Given that this matter is exotic, could it be assumed that at high enough velocities, Ghost matter just phases through solid ground and structures? Would this "ghosting" slow it back down, and offer a reason as to why it didn't just pass through the System entirely? I know this sounds a little insane, but to me it actually offers an explanation of the naming of the crystals as well as the forceful entry they indicate so often.

[@thejustinsteffan]

Thats been my theory that ghost matter the particle not the crystal is what went through the universe which particles can travel through solid objects and although im not that smart im assuming when they land on a planet maybe its something else but the immense energy or density or both turn it into a sort of seed that grows ghost matter crystals which is they it looks like they got hammered or launched into the uh not ground but surfaces i guess

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I think it adds up. ghost matter is everywhere because it can go through anything. But that doesnt prevent it from being in our solar system as well. Like during the supernova. By the time the plasma hits dark bramble, there is still some at ember twin. Once the ghost matter stopped being pushed and spread by the explosion, it just settled where it was. The crystals probably start forming after ghost matter has been there for a while.

[@averageillegalmemesdealer]

@@TheLoreExplorer Great teamwork I'd say haha. ,,maybe something for a video on "The weird Science behind Outer Wilds"..? I'd personally love to hear your thoughts on the use of physics in this game, like just how much of it is a strikingly accurate depiction of the laws of nature. Not to mention, all of the wild Quantum Mechanics in an indie video game - I mean goddamn. EDIT: I just thought more about how you described it and it sounds like a horrifying image. The solar system suddenly experiences a shockwave of exotic material that most likely passed through all celestial bodies too fast for the Nomai to even notice anything or leave behind even a last word. Akin to some extremely powerful radiation, perhaps like the Ghost Matter in-game: lethal, but short-lived energy readings. And out of nowhere these shards appear that impale and jam into what's in front of it, in case you weren't dead enough. Dude we should hit this we can crack the science behind this.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@averageillegalmemesdealer you may enjoy my next video then lol. Im working on "The science of outer wilds" right now lol. And the theme is "Outer wilds uses real world science to create a solar system in video game form" lol. The only problem is idk if people will like a video that long lol

[@averageillegalmemesdealer]

@@TheLoreExplorer Dude, yes they will. You've got to add some top-notch editing if you're gonna go for the length - to draw people in! I'm sure Outer Wilds fans will love it!

[@noegoy1348]

The interloper crashes in the sun during the loop. Is it the cause of the supernova ? Has the Eye sent the ghost matter through the interloper to destroy all the stars one by one ?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Nah. You can find the timer in the sun station. It doesn’t change when the interloper hits it or nothing.

[@bfranciscop]

Weird. If the ghost matter is blocked by water... then it should have been blocked by the comet's ice too?

[@tumultuousv]

It exploded when the ice was melted from beingclose to the sun

[@Mr2dl]

Hello, thanks for your work, i enjoy it so much! Have you ever thought about the ghost matter being a derivative of the owlk's fuel for their technology? Maybe it's only a crazy idea but that would explain the colour of the owlks flames and why there is ghost matter even in the stranger that's isolated and closed to the solar sistem we are playing in. And the most suspicious thing is that the Nomai became extinct by the ghost matter just when they where very close to get to the eye, while the stranger was already in the nearby of the solar sistem and surely they, the owlks, didn't want somebody to find it (the eye). I have no proof, but could it be that the intruder was nothing else but an atomic chemical bomb gifted from the owlks to the nomai?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I have , indeed. As much as I want theories like this to be true. I just dont see it. Not only that. Its kind of implausible. The way ghost matter already works would put it in the stranger. The same way , the same time , it got everywhere else. It got to the stranger. I am also positive the Owlks didnt send this out to harm the Nomai in anyway. As the Owlks died long before the Nomai even picked up the signal for the eye. You also have to keep in mind the interloper was interstellar. It came from elsewhere. When we know the Owlks to have been stationed in our system for many thousands of years. So while at its heart I understand why people want this connection. Some strange matter that has high energy. And some strange fire that has high energy. Both sort of unexplained. And they are the same color. But everything we know tells us , no. They arent connected and our brain is just forcing this connection on us.

[@Mr2dl]

@@TheLoreExplorer First of all thank you very much for the reply. What i wrote first i recognize is a theory that is missing a couple of points. I can understand you don't see it however i can't think it's implausible until proven otherwise. I believe that ghost matter moves like normal gas, we never see it in places that should have been airtight at the time of extinction. And on Embers Twin the city is not hermetically sealed, we see that in fact it is in the dark, but a lot of sand can enter and leave it. So it should not be in the Stranger as in the solar station, the Nomai ships and the interior of Ash Twin for example. There is no evidence that the Owlks died before the Nomai arrived. These are just assumptions. The only thing that is indisputable about the date of death of the Owlks in the succession of historical events is that 280,000 years after the Nomai extinction the Owlks are surely dead. And also for this reason I would not be so positive in thinking that a species, that knowing that by coming into contact with the source of the signal the universe would be finished and that for this reason it has sacrificed everything to hide the eye from the universe, would have done nothing in the case someone else wanted to find the eye. The origin of the Intruder is certainly one of the critical points of my theory, since it is the biggest missing point I wrote about above. Throughout the dlc I expected to find some clues, but nothing! Eheheh ... However, not knowing its origin at all it cannot be said that it was sent by the Owlks just as it cannot be said that it was a coincidence. If this theory of mine were correct then it would better explain the behavior and the words of the prisoner in the ending of the dlc as intended. That is, his not considering himself worthy to approach others at the bonfire for what his species did ... These words and behavior seem exaggerated and unexplained to me only if we consider that the Owlks have only sealed the eye and among other things to save the universe. We understand from the slides in the Stanger that they had become fanatics, but what did they really do to have such a great sense of guilt that they carried it with them to literally the end of time? We don't have the evidence as already admitted from the start, but it all seems set to think they've done something very serious against other creatures. Finally you write that the flame of the Owlks and ghost matter are very similar for color and high energy content, so it is not correct to write that everything we know tells us that there is no connection between the two, instead there are more connections without definitive evidence would be more correct according to your words as well as my assumptions. I hope my point of view has given you something positive and not just wasting your time, surely I am really pleased with what outer wilds has unleashed including your work. So thanks again!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Hey bud. I appreciate the time and thought put into this. But sadly. The premise is flawed. Ghost matter , indeed , does find its ways into places that are air tight. This is why they call it "Ghost matter". It moves through other matter as if it were a ghost. Much like radiation does irl. We know that some Nomai were in airtight places. Like the atp , completely concealed. You can put whatever caveat you want. But it was literally made to survive a supernova. There needs to be trees in there because youd suffocate otherwise. This is generally what we mean when we say airtight. The sunless city. Literally walled and doored off to the rest of the world because sand was an ever present danger. To keep all that pesky sand out of our living area(and also from burying us). And to do so it had to be more than airtight. That stuff was being blasted down at amazing speeds and creating tons of pressure. So much it carved a canyon out of the planet. But they all died too. Everyone died. Instantly. Which means. It went through everything. So , while again , yes. The color is the same and high energy. Everything we know distinctly separates the two , aside from that. Sorry.

[@masonbuendia8482]

Any theories on whether or not ghost matter is connected to the dlc? I think the only place ghost matter shows up in the dlc is in the low land lab. And it's covering one of the dream lantern things. Maybe the interloper was waste released from the stranger?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Personally I dont think the two are related. Ill have to study it though

[@higueraft571]

Likely not related. The Interloper entered the system god knows how long after the Strangers went to sleep and committed Mass Suicide. They were long dead and decayed before the Nomai had ever detected the signal, let alone arrived, then the 20+ years or so between their arrival and the Sun Station's failure.

[@Mr2dl]

I think something similar! I see more than one suspicious connection between ghost matter and the owlks, a lot of coincidences, like the colour of the lantern's flames, the places where you can find the ghost matter on the stranger... how could have arrived in such a convenient time a great chemical weapon of mass distruction in the solar system just when the nomai where about to get to the eye. (the owlks destroyed their own planet and left their sistem in despair to cage the eye, they knew what would have happend if somebody could get there... i think they consciously fought to avoid it)

[@Mr2dl]

@@higueraft571 I think we don't have the proof that the owlks were dead when the nomai or the intruder arrived in the solar system. We only know that in the present they are dead for sure. Correct me if i'm wrong. And for sure, as seen in Echoes of the eye, like how happened when they captured the prisoner, they could wake up from their sleep by their own will... when they were alive. But still we don't know exactly when they died.

[@higueraft571]

@@Mr2dl "how could have arrived in such a convenient time a great chemical weapon of mass distruction in the solar system just when the nomai where about to get to the eye." The Owlk were dead LONG before the Nomai arrived. We dont know how long, but we know for a fact they WERE dead long before. Could be years, could be hundreds of thousands or millions, even. We DO know that they had mummified beforehand. We DO also know that Dark Bramble had shattered/become as it was today when the Nomai arrived, and was still intact when The Stranger arrived. The blue-green of the Ghost Matter doesnt fit the Owlk's Green Lanterns in the slightest, shades are off completely, and it doesnt align with what we see at all. My theory? It's another species entirely that created the Interloper-likes as a means of disposing waste created by their society, pack it into a contained ball, and shoot it into deep space to never see it again. Except it happens to smite the Nomai before they know what hit them.

[@SirAroace]

I do think the crystals are cause by the Ghost Matter and not the other way around.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Originally, sure. But now the ghost matter only comes from places where the crystals are. And they raise from the crystals. Interestingly, not all of the crystals emit ghost matter either. So its really hard to says what the heck is going on.

[@loreexplorerjr6511]

NOTICE ME PLEASE I LOVE YOUR VIDS! Ok I'm sorry for being dramatic it's just like your my favorite youtuber and it would make my life to be noticed by someone like you! Love you lots😇

[@TheLoreExplorer]

NOTICE ME SENPAI! Ive never really gotten that before lol. Glad you enjoy my content bud.

[@loreexplorerjr6511]

Oh my God this means a lot to me and I would not the join button but I'm still in school but when I can I will. Also I would gladly join your discord just keep up the good work!

[@loreexplorerjr6511]

Also I'm getting outer wilds for my bday😃😃

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@loreexplorerjr6511 Thats awesome! Outer Wilds is a great birthday gift! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Also, thank you for the kind words.

[@loreexplorerjr6511]

Hey so my tablet is not letting me join your discord But it would be super helpful if you tell me your user name so I can add you as a friend then I should be able to join your discord from there

[@ManicPaws]

the solar system died cause they threw the ghost matter in the sun

[@ManicPaws]

or thats what i think,,,, atleast

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I adress that in my many misconception video about outer wilds. The supernova was going to happen at the same time whether or not the interloper ran into it. the only reason the interloper ran into it is because it was in the early stages of a supernova. In which it grows.

[@easten_wolf]

How is there ghost matter on the stranger?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

the same way we see it get everywhere else?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Sorry. Should have answered this more thoroughly. Ghost matter moved through objects. Thats why they call it ghost matter. And the stranger was in the system when it blew up.

[@branard5748]

I don't believe ghost matter is a unnatural rock, the casing reminds me heavily of geodes. What the inside could be is a radioactive rock like uraninite with a casing of lead. It'd make sense that the nomie (no clue how to spell it) would not know what it is. Afterall why go through the effort of using blackholes to power things when it's easier and less risky to use nuclear power? that said I don't think its uraninite exactly cause it's normally black. But everything else makes sense, because radiation can be picked up by cameras and water does help massively hamper the movement of radiation. Also the feeling of burning is common with radiation. thats just my takes on it though.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I was just calling it what the Nomai called it. An exotic matter. And at first glace it may seem like radiation. But I dont think it is. Have you noticed the stone inside the interloper is the same color and makeup as the stones we see all about? The thing is we find those stones in places that should be sealed off. So the implication is this stone was under tones of pressure. It exploded. Then the resulted particles went through many solid objects as if they were ghosts. Then that somehow reformed into solid stones we see throughout the system. So this would be like expecting radiation to return to solid form after its radiated. Then continue on giving off radiation as a byproduct.

[@branard5748]

@@TheLoreExplorer I can see what you mean, and I know you was calling it what the Nomai called it just hoping to connect it to a real life concept. That said you do make a good point about how the ghost matter was able to go through matter. Radiation tends not to reform back into it's base elements. That said, it could still be helpful to look at it as if it's radioactive as it does share many trait's . Maybe it is radioactive purely because of it's nature to, under immense pressure and heat, momentarily go through matter. That said it's safe to say I am honestly over thinking my approach to how this stuff works

[@patrlim]

why do you sound like youre 5 meters away? great vid tho

[@TheLoreExplorer]

may be the mic dehummer. Sounded fine to me.

[@hyperspacepotato]

this dude 1v1ing a speech impediment and creating videogame documentaries i love it

[@thejustinsteffan]

Takes one to know one i guess?

[@snekcube107]

potato :D

[@TheLoreExplorer]

tomato : )

[@snekcube107]

@@TheLoreExplorer lol :D

[@joeolmond4252]

It would be interesting if the owlk had something to do with the ghost matter. The color schemes are similar and they also had the motive.

[@tumultuousv]

They were dead though before the nomai even came

[@The_KingDoge]

The motive of what? It's the opposite of what they want. They were scared of dying so they fled into a simulation where they could live forever

[@fefesan6619]

first