Ether of Orbifolds

Whose world is this? The orbifold lattice has been proposed as a bridge to practical quantum simulation of Yang--Mills theory, claiming exponential speedup over all known approaches. Through analytical derivations, Monte Carlo simulation, and explicit circuit construction, we identify compounding hidden costs entirely absent in Kogut--Susskind formulations: a mass-dependent Trotter overhead that scales as m⁴, gauge-violating dynamics that grow as m² and worsen with penalty terms, and a mandatory mass extrapolation. Monte Carlo simulations of SU(3) establish a universal scaling: the continuum limit forces m² propto 1/a, binding the Trotter step to the lattice spacing through a cost unique to orbifolds. For a fiducial 10³ calculation, the orbifold is 10⁴--10¹⁰ times more expensive than every published alternative. The bridge is not built. The gap is the foundation.