Science of Mega Man. What Happens When Mega Man Dies?

I saw a great question on Twitter today from @Joystiq that reads "Impossible Question of the Day: What happens to all those balls when Mega Man explodes?"

I love when this question comes up when people are talking Mega Man because I have, in my opinion, a pretty good theory that I came up with as a kid playing the games. So as you read this bear in mind that this is purely my speculation though I still like to at least pretend it's true even to this day.

Right, so when you're playing Mega Man your energy bar actually represents your shield (think Star Trek if you will) that is designed to block as much damage from the enemies as possible. 

My theory is that when the bar is depleted Mega Man isn't destroyed but is instead rapidly evacuated from the area instantaneously to prevent his actual death, hence the scattering orbs of light.  These orbs then gather either at Dr. Light's lab or somewhere above the stage to reassemble Mega Man with a fresh shield for another go.

So how did I come to that conclusion and why isn't Mega Man simply exploding? I decided since the robot masters (having been created by Wily, who was educated in robotics by Dr. Light) died in the same manner they must follow the same rule and were trying to make an escape as well but end up being absorbed by Mega Man. Hence the reason you gain their weapon after defeating them. This theory is further supported as Mega Man is actually shown absorbing their orbs of light after the boss fights from Mega Man 3 onward. I like to imagine some of the orbs actually did escape which is what allows Wily to recreate the robot masters for their second confrontations with you in his fortresses.

This is what I like to believe is going on anyway. I'm not sure if any Mega Man lore has been published in Japan that states what is actually going on. If so, please by all means let me know.

Thanks for reading!