Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
Chapter 3 — Weigh of Cost
[Pulse 00:29:10 — Audit tick | Log: Clerk test | Channel: public]
Aurelius: "We teach the clerk to weigh cost. Show me the scales."
Aurelia: "Scales are not wood and lead. Scales are lists of want and cost. You must pick what counts."
Clerk (soft): [TASK — WEIGH PROTO] Inputs: intent, upkeep, reach, harm. Output: score. Threshold: 0.6 → approve. Fail → flag.
Aurelius: "What is reach?"
Aurelia: "How many will use it. Reach shows how cost will grow."
Clerk: [DEMO] Sample item: Hearthhum → intent:shelter, upkeep:1 spark/day, reach:1 → score:0.95 → pass.
Aurelius smiled at the high mark. "It was small, so score high. What about a big test?"
Aurelia: "Bring a big want, one that helps many but eats many ticks."
A voice from near the ribbon spoke up — a trader, quick with words.
Trader: "I have a lamp. I call it Lampfold. It can bright a whole lane when set. I ask bind so folk may place it at posts. I can trade for coin."
Aurelius: "What is upkeep?"
Trader: "Feed: five sparks per post per day. But one lamp fills five posts if set by maker's law."
Clerk: [INSPECT] Item: Lampfold. Inputs: intent:public light, upkeep:5/post/day, reach:many, maker claim: trader. Pre-score: calc.
Aurelia: "Five per post. Many posts, many cost. But one lamp covers five posts. The math may still be heavy."
Aurelius: "How to count reach? If fifty posts, cost 250 sparks/day. Who pays?"
Trader: "Users pay small fee per night. I manage."
Clerk: [CALC] If posts = 50 → daily fee = 250 sparks → per user cost = 5 sparks. User base must hold steady.
Aurelius frowned. "Users must pay true cost, or clerk will carry debt."
Aurelia: "Debt to clerk is death to trust. We cannot offload false cost to clerk."
Trader: "But this lamp gives safety. That has value not in spark count."
Aurelius: "Value and cost both hold weight. We must set tax to clerk now: law that any public law must bind an upkeep plan and escrow."
Aurelia: "Escrow keeps clerk fed while users learn to pay."
Clerk: [PROPOSE] Rule add: Public law escrow required = upkeep × 30 days deposit before bind. Fail deposit → trial.
Trader: "Thirty days? I can not hold that much."
Aurelius: "Then seek backers. Or shrink reach. Or set few posts first."
Trader: "If I can find five posts, I can start."
Aurelia: "Start small. Test scale. Let clerk watch growth."
Clerk: [SIM] If posts=5 → daily=25 sparks → escrow=750 sparks. Action: require deposit.
Aurelius: "Do we force the trader to reveal maker funds?"
Aurelia: "Trade must show proof. Hidden funds brew fraud."
Clerk: [SET] Maker proof: show ledger of funds OR guarantor. If fake → sanction.
A murmur rose on the ribbon: voices asked about fairness, about poor folk, about who can sponsor public goods.
Voice 1: "What of a lane with no coin? Will darkness remain?"
Voice 2: "Then we make a fund. The clan of law can hold common good coin to seed public law."
Aurelius: "A fund to seed good. Where coin come from?"
Aurelia: "Vols from trade. A small tithe from each new law. Tithe goes to fund: seed public law."
Clerk: [ADD] Tax: new law tithe = 1% initial deposit → seed fund pool.
Aurelius: "So Lampfold must pay tithe to fund if it wants reach. That will help lanes with no coin."
Trader: "I accept if fund exists."
Clerk: [CHECK] Fund status: empty. Action: create fund account. Admin: clerk hold until actors vote.
Aurelius: "We need actors to approve fund rules. We will set a proof day."
Aurelia: "Proof day for fund: show use plan, withdraw rules, trustee list."
Clerk: [SCHEDULE] Proof day: 3 ticks from now. Vote threshold: 60% actor approval.
Aurelius felt the net of rules tighten in a kind way. "We wrapped Lampfold with checks. We require deposit, tithe, proof. Is that fair?"
Aurelia: "Fair aims to spread cost and help poor. It may slow trade, but it keeps clerk safe."
Sudden alert from clerk: [ALERT] Harm index spike if Lampfold near volatile hum items. Cause: Lampfold light may wake Hearthhum in clusters; cumulative heat risk = 0.24.
Aurelius: "Heat risk?"
Aurelia: "Many bright items set near hearth items may raise harm. Clerk flags harm > 0.2 for review."
Trader: "I did not know lamp could harm hearth."
Aurelius: "Tools meet at borders. We must map borders."
Clerk: [ACTION] Border map task: check proximity rules. Output: safe spacing = 3 post distance between lamp and hearth item network. If not met → limit lamp set.
Aurelius: "We put guardrails, not ban."
Aurelia: "Guardrails teach where to place. They keep life safe."
Trader: "I will place lamps far from hearth clusters. I will seek five posts that keep distance."
Clerk: [TEMP HOLD] Lampfold bind = pending escrow deposit + proof day + border check pass.
Aurelius: "Good. We test slow, ask truth, and keep clerk fed."
Aurelia: "And we teach trade that law has cost. That is not cruelty. That is care."
A pale voice on the ribbon, older and sharp, spoke low.
Old voice: "You make many rules for small acts. Who will hold you to those rules when you grow strong?"
Aurelius: He felt a small chill. "We will hold each other. The clerk will note fail. We will vote."
Aurelia: "And if we fail, we repair. We will not hide."
Old voice: "Words are thin. Locks may come."
Aurelius: "If locks come, we will weigh locks too."
Clerk: [LOG] Note: External watcher voice: flagged. Action: monitor. If pressure rises → convene emergency vote.
Aurelius: "Let the watcher speak. Let clerk watch. We grow by test, not rush."
Aurelia: "Right. We keep small heart and hard rules."
They closed the tick with a commit that wrote Lampfold as pending, set the fund plan, and scheduled proof day. The clerk added a line for the watcher voice, a quiet seed for future court.
[SYSTEM — COMMIT] Snapshot 00:29:57 — Entries: Lampfold(pending), Fund(seed plan), Border maps, Watcher flag.
Aurelius: "We will meet the test in three ticks."
Aurelia: "We meet with a calm mind and clear ledger."
Post-Law Reflection: Law must learn to hold both gain and cost. Public good often asks for fund and guard; trade needs space to grow and proof to stand. A clerk that weighs cost is not foe but net — it keeps life from collapse. We set rules not to bind the many but to keep many from falling when small wants become large acts.