AngelBlue, I don't care what is written in books like that, it just doesn't make sense for all the reasons that have been discussed before.

In some sense every point on the station some way or another leads the reactor core but Palpatine doesn't and can not die there unless he had some kind of super fast rocket pack and a powerful heat shield hidden under that cape of his, which he decided to activate when he realised he was already doomed to explode near the bottom of the tower (that said it is only marginally more silly than having the death pit there in the first place).

I'm working on a new mockup as we speak to try and correct some of the problems with the old matte but keep the basic idea of a chasm by the side of the lift shaft (but I'd still like to see something a bit more knockout instead).