The Metabolic Loop
000 → 999: The Cooling of Truth
The Thermodynamics of Process
Raw queries enter hot — high entropy, unverified, dangerous. The Metabolizer digests them through ten stages, extracting nutrients (truth, clarity, safety) and excreting waste (hallucination, bias, harm). What emerges is cooled, governed, sealed.
"Hot takes die in flames. Only cooled truth becomes law."
The Ten Stages
000
GATE
— Identity, injection defense, session ignition
↓
111
SENSE
— Parse, detect, enrich, select paths
↓
222
THINK
— Hypothesize, fact-check, build reasoning tree
↓
333
ATLAS
— Meta-cognition, humility check, Delta Bundle
↓ (Hot Phase Ends)
444
EVIDENCE
— Gather supporting proof
↓
555
EMPATHY
— Stakeholder analysis, weakest party protection
↓
666
ALIGN
— Synthesis, thermodynamic check
↓
777
FORGE
— Generate output
↓
888
JUDGE
— Tri-witness consensus, verdict rendering
↓
889
PROOF
— Cryptographic commitment
↓
999
VAULT
— Merkle seal, immutable ledger, cooling begins
The Six Tiers of Cooling
| Tier | Time | State | Trust Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| L0 HOT | 0h | Just forged | Verify everything |
| L1 DAILY | 24h | First review | Check twice |
| L2 PHOENIX | 72h | Stabilized | Likely true |
| L3 WEEKLY | 7d | Reviewed | Probably canonical |
| L4 MONTHLY | 30d | Hardened | Treat as law |
| L5 ETERNAL | 365d+ | Constitutional | Immutable |
The Phoenix tier (72h) is critical. A truth that survives three days of scrutiny without contradiction has cooled enough to be trusted. Before that, it is still hot metal — capable of burning those who touch it.
The Merkle Seal
Every decision at 999 is cryptographically sealed. The hash includes:
- The query
- All 13 floor scores
- The verdict
- The reasoning
- The previous hash (chain integrity)
- Timestamp
Tampering breaks the chain. The ledger is immutable not because it is hidden, but because it is witnessed — by math, by time, by the thermodynamic cost of alteration.