Research · 28 Jul 2026
The formal specification is finished at v0.4
It goes out as it stands, with no form in front of it and no email address collected.
Specifics
The numbers, and where they come from
| Quantity | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Document version | v0.4 | Stated |
| Pages | 118 | Counted |
| Failure accounting | 11 rows, 2 unsound | Counted |
| Licence | CC BY 4.0 | Stated |
What changed
The specification is complete
v0.4 closes the last two open sections: the typed flag algebra used at selection, and the exact conditions under which stage eight writes a bridge into the derivation record. Both were previously described in prose and are now stated formally, which means they can be argued with.
The document is 118 pages. Roughly a third of it is the failure accounting, which is the part we expect a technical evaluator at a regulated buyer to read first, and the part most likely to be quoted back at us.
The work
What v0.4 settles
- 01
The flag algebra
Every stage returns a result or a typed flag. v0.4 fixes the lattice those flags sit in and proves that flags outrank results at selection, which is the property the repair path depends on.
- 02
Bridge licensing
A bridge is only written to the record when a qualia relation licenses it. The relation is named in the record. No other architecture can populate that field, and v0.4 states the exact conditions.
- 03
Determinism scope
Stated as holding within a build identified by artefact hash. Not across builds. This was already our position and is now written where it can be checked.
- 04
What is still open
The authorship problem is named as out of scope rather than forthcoming. It is a research problem and the specification says so.
Publication
No form, no gate
Putting the mathematics behind a lead capture form would be the single worst decision available to us. The whole commercial claim is that the mechanism can be inspected; asking for an email address before showing it refutes the claim on the way in.
The document is published under CC BY 4.0 with a changelog. Corrections to it appear in this log as their own dated entries, with the superseded text struck rather than removed.
What this is not
A specification is not a working engine. v0.4 describes a system whose demo is four to six months out. Read it as a design that can be checked, not as evidence that the design has been built.