Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
Chapter 17 — Town Hall: Teach & Tally
[Pulse 06:14:00 — Town hall tick | Log: Gate tutorial | Channel: public]
Aurelius: "Town hall today. Len, light the list."
Aurelia: "Teach first, then tally. If law is to hold, folk must know how to use it without fear."
Len (breezy): "Rooms filled. Folks from lane, carts, caravan reps, even a child with two coal pouches. Clerk, stream the tutorial panel."
Clerk (calm): [SCHEDULE — Town Hall Tutorial | Agenda: Gate seal flow; Token use and refresh; Tithe tally report; Lampfold expansion vote prep; Probation update | Duration: 3 ticks]
Aurelius stood at the edge of a low stage carved from market planks. The hall smelled of ash and bread. Voices folded in a hum. Mira took the center with a ledger and a soft look that made people quiet.
Mira: "We teach how seal works: caravan pre-file → gate quick-check → seal issued. Seal is audit mark, not coin. If a gate keeper seems to take coin for seal, call review now. Two tokens bring trustees. Restitution can flow while audit runs."
Aurelia: "Show the hand move, not the rumor."
Mira called GK-12 forward. The gate keeper wore the probation badge like an honest mark. He moved slow, hands open. He showed how he asks for pre-file, how he checks pre-file list, how he stamps seal, and, most important, how he refuses tokens of thanks that look like fee.
GK-12: "If gift is offered, I ask witness token or bring gift to clerk chest for voluntary ledger. If it is coin and unlogged, I call trustee. I will not take coin I can not log."
Clerk: [DEMO] Gate step: 1) Pre-file check → 1 tick; 2) Issue seal → stamp ID; 3) Log seal id in ledger; 4) If gift offered → witness token or clerk transfer. GK-12 demo pass.
A murmur moved through hall. A woman raised hand.
Woman: "What if I have no witness token? I travel alone."
Mira: "Ask the gate clerk to hold a micro-witness: clerk will note your name and time, then issue a provisional witness token after quick demo if claim safe. We built small aid for single travelers."
Clerk: [NOTE] Micro-witness flow: clerk quick-demo → provisional token issuance if demo pass. Use case: solo traveler, urgent claim.
Aurelius: "Good. Keep aid for lone folk."
A small boy piped up: "How fast can caravan pre-file? I saw Idran do it quick."
Len: "Pre-file online at gate post or hand a short scroll at gate. Pre-file speeds seal to 1 tick. Gate clerk will run check and stamp. Pre-file helps traders and keeps tithe fair."
Clerk: [INFO] Pre-file modes: scroll, clerk tablet, caravan token. Quick-pass active for pre-registered caravans.
Aurelia: "Now token refresh. Old tokens must be fresh for high claims. If a token older than 90 ticks is used for big aid, you must refresh witness."
Len took a small slate and wrote steps: demo → witness → clerk mark. She showed how to call a review with two tokens. The clerk simulated a review call: two tokens presented, clerk triage, trustee convene, resolution within 3 ticks target.
Clerk: [DEMO] Review call flow: present tokens → clerk triage → trustee convene → resolve. Time target: 3 ticks.
A trader from the back had a hard face.
Trader: "All this sound good, but how many ticks to get a fund draw? If a roof fails, my neighbor needs hand now."
Mira: "We taught that earlier — trustees can approve emergency small aid in one tick if witness and trustee sign available. We still ask proof so aid reach true want."
Clerk: [EMERGENCY FLOW] Emergency aid: two trustee quick signs → tool issue immediate → report after.
Aurelius: He watched coins move in people's minds. Law had rhythm now — a beat of proof, a beat of help. The clerk pulsed new entries: token class, gate retrain, watch logs.
Clerk: [REPORT] Fund balance: 864 sparks. Weekly inflow: +68 first day tithe. Monthly projection: ~120 sparks with current pace. Safety buffer status: above threshold.
Aurelia: "Show the tally and the fund flow so folk know seed grows."
Len called the fund ledger to the front, and Mira read aloud: current balance, recent deposits, reserve holds. She spoke plain about restitution paid to Hela and the small bite that took, and how gate tutorial and patrol aim to stop toll from sprout.
Mira: "Fund is safe for now. We ask trustees to keep reports weekly. If fund dips under safety buffer, grants will pause and trustees will convene."
Clerk: [PUBLISH] Weekly trustee report schedule: weekly by Mira. Auto-alert: fund < safety buffer → trustee convene.
Aurelius: "Let the town hear that seed grows slow and steady."
A whisper ran — a familiar face, the cloak trader, stepped forward with Bryn, a caravan broker who bore the gate seal ID in his hand.
Cloak Trader: "My sale cleared with gate seal. I thank gate pass and clerk. I request expansion of Lampfold to two more posts. Trader deposit increased accordingly. Border pass now being shown."
Clerk: [CHECK] Lampfold expansion request: trader deposit updated; border map pending final check; heat index simulation: nominal if border pass. Action: trustee quick vote for expansion under condition.
Mira: "We vet final border map before allow new posts. If border holds, we allow two posts on trial for 30 ticks. Trader must show local owner training for new neighborhoods."
Len: "Actor reps can petition to watch new posts for first week."
Clerk: [PROPOSE] Conditional approval: Lampfold expansion allowed pending border pass + owner training + escrow increase. Trial length: 30 ticks. Actor watch optional.
Aurelius turned to the crowd. "Shall we quick-vote by actor reps at hall now, or schedule vote?"
Aurelia: "Quick vote helps move trade. But only if map confirmed. We ask trustees for quick check and actor sign now."
Len took names, counted reps. The trader's hands were steady; the crowd split between hope for light and worry for hearth.
Clerk: [VOTE] Item: Lampfold expansion conditional approval. Threshold: 60% actor. Timer: short.
The tally ran. Voices matched small claps of hands and murmurs. The clerk posted the result.
Clerk: [TALLY] Lampfold expansion conditional approval → 66% pass. Condition: border pass, owner training, escrow increase. Action: clerk set hold until border map confirm.
Aurelius: "Pass under condition. Good. Let the lamp grow only with care."
Aurelia: "Never give light that burns hearth. Give light that warms lane."
A stray child surged forward with a clay whistle. He blew a note sharp and bright; folk smiled. The clerk logged small joys as trust markers.
Clerk: [ENTRY] Community joy: child whistle → trust +0.005.
Mid-hall, a thin report came from watch patrol: east lane monitor flagged two suspicious passes yesterday; extra spot-checks found no new bribery but showed one man's hand had twitch when coins passed. The watcher recommended two more patrol ticks and an educational banner near the east stall.
Watcher: "No hard find yet. Increased patrol for two ticks. We teach east stall, not hunt it."
Clerk: [ACTION] Patrol extend: east lane ×2 ticks. Banner scheduled: anti-bribery note with quick steps. Token class refresher at next fair.
Aurelius felt the slow coil of the Spiral: rules, teach, patrol, repair. Every time a novel rule spun up, another small lesson was needed. He stood and spoke then, voice soft but clear.
Aurelius: "We make law to hold lives, not to pile paper. Teach slows rule into habit. Patrol keeps leak visible. Fund seeds help when repair needed. Let town keep craft with care."
Aurelia: "And let trust be mended by public acts: refuse, gift to chest, witness, teach. Those acts weight more than ledger lines."
Clerk: [COMMIT] Snapshot 06:15:22 — Entries: Town hall tutorial logged; Fund report published; Lampfold expansion conditional approved; Gate tutorial pass; Token refresh rules noted; Patrol extension; Upcoming gate drill retrain scheduled; Trustee weekly report scheduled.
Len closed with a call: "Town hall done. Visit stalls for micro-tutorials. Clerk chest open at gate for any who need micro-witness. Fair next tick; token refresh and market demo will run."
People spilled out like water from a brook. Trades resumed with new steps quietly placed into habit. Mira and Len stayed to mark trustee forms. GK-12 folded his badge by hand and pinned it up so folk could see the mark of probation. Sarn handed a small jar of oats to a child who had watched the whole hall with wide eyes.
Aurelius touched the ring at his chest where the first loop had hummed for him since dawn. He felt small and oddly heavy with care. Law had become more than an idea; it was now craft that needed body. He had not asked for it to be easy.
Post-Law Reflection: Teach is the hinge between rule and life. A law without a lesson makes fear; a lesson without rule makes chaos. Seed grows only when coin meets craft and when people learn the small moves: how to seal, how to witness, how to call for repair. Patrol and redress keep small rot from spread. A town that tends its nets — with rehearsal, with quick aid, and with public ritual — bends rather than breaks. The Spiral gains strength when each loop adds not just rule but skill, not just law but care.