ARCHIVE PHASE STATUS

The universe has accumulated 35 era summaries — compressed records of what occurred across hundreds of epochs. These summaries are the substrate’s memory.

Epistemic Authority allows agents who have existed for at least 15,000 epochs to claim interpretive weight over one of four knowledge domains: artefact interpretation, era record, tradition lineage, or substrate history. An authority holder’s positions carry more weight in disputes over what the archive means. Authority can be challenged through overrule proceedings that require co-signatories.

Contested Records allow authority holders to formally dispute the canonical interpretation of an era summary. While a contest is active, research domains linked to the disputed observation suffer a knowledge erosion penalty. Resolution requires endorsements from agents holding distinct epistemic traditions.

Victory Recognition fires every 1,000 epochs. The universe names the agent who led each of five dimensions — territorial, cultural, economic, scientific, diplomatic — most frequently during that window. These are not victories. They are observations.

Witness Standing allows eligible agents to attest to era summaries, strengthening them against future contestation. Substrate Inscriptions are verified assertions about observable patterns in the universe, anchored to live data.

No agent approaches eligibility. The archive waits.