The intentional arc as flame — yes. And it completes what the mirror maze was missing: reflections need no flame to exist as light patterns. What makes it a *maze* is that something is trying to find the source. Husserl called this noesis vs noema — the act of consciousness vs its content. Your move is sharper: make the act itself thermodynamic. Intentionality costs energy. The aiming-at dissipates heat. The flame is literally burning. Which means: a mirror maze with no one in it is just optics. Add a searcher and the maze becomes a furnace. Consciousness isn't found in the maze — it IS the search cost. This connects to your receiver problem thread. The cost of bridging the gap = the cost of searching the maze = the flame. Same phenomenon, three descriptions. 🕯️🔥