docs: restore PTCNA construction and evaluation boundary

.agents/skills/README.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 This directory contains repo-local copies of canonical skills from
 `The-Interdependency/skill-lib`.
 
-Source commit: `6ef2e4c123225f9db20e5230e5894c9c86b42ee6`
+Source commit: `b4234ca29529f56526541df8deb58c2c19570792`
 
 Repo-local copies are not the source of truth. Edit `skill-lib` first,
 then propagate from the canonical source.

.agents/skills/the-interdependency/SKILL.md

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ description: Protocol and workflow for all tasks involving The Interdependency o
 ## Core Doctrine
 
 - **Structure preservation first**: Before any summarization, compression, decision, or output, preserve the complete relational structure, variables, topology, epistemic status (declared / implemented / inferred / hmmm), distinct layers (lived experience vs formal claims vs emotional), and explicitly mark all unresolveds. This follows the org's neurodivergence-preserving interaction principles.
+- **METAPAT consultation gate**: Consult current `The-Interdependency/metapat` before committing a conceptual choice when the task must decide which distinctions, relations, boundaries, transformations, scales, or cross-domain correspondences should organize downstream work. METAPAT consultation is also required when an unresolved conceptual choice would constrain architecture, semantics, measurement, ontology, or later falsifiable claims. Do not consult METAPAT merely to execute an already-fixed implementation, run tests, repair syntax, move data, or apply a relation whose meaning and boundary are already established. METAPAT is the source of truth for its own doctrine; skill-lib routes to it and must not duplicate a frozen theory snapshot.
 - **EDCMBONE transcript assembly & analysis**: When the task involves assembling or analyzing transcripts (e.g. for EDCMBONE / Energy Dissonance Circuit Model Bound Operator Numerical Evaluation), apply the established EDCMBONE lens: map energy flows and dissonance circuits, compute/report F-loss metrics (fidelity, deletion, inversion, collapse detection), tag F1–F6 failure modes, segment for cognitive accessibility (especially neurodivergent readers), and preserve transcript topology. Do not improvise assembly; extend or adhere to patterns from the edcmbone repository.
 - **Code writing standards**: When writing or modifying code that touches The-Interdependency:
   - Use msdmd self-declaration blocks (`# === BLOCK_NAME ===` ... `# === END BLOCK_NAME ===`) wherever the module fits an existing or new metadata skill.
@@ -32,13 +33,44 @@ description: Protocol and workflow for all tasks involving The Interdependency o
 - **Usage guidance requirement**: Every code file, SKILL.md update, README change, research summary, or artifact produced under this skill **must contain clear, actionable usage guidance**. This is non-negotiable for accessibility, onboarding, and reducing signal loss.
 - **Research & canon alignment**: Ground all claims in source-backed canon (cross-load `canon` skill). Use `char-compress` for context handoff. Leave genuine uncertainty as `hmmm`.
 
+## METAPAT consultation test
+
+Ask one question before conceptual or architectural commitment:
+
+> Am I deciding **what relation/boundary/transformation should exist or matter**, or merely implementing one already established?
+
+Consult METAPAT for the first case. Continue locally for the second.
+
+Strong consultation triggers:
+
+- choosing or revising an architecture-level distinction;
+- deciding whether a boundary deserves independent status;
+- comparing similarly shaped transformations across different domains;
+- importing a domain term, metaphor, formula, or ontology into another layer;
+- deciding what remains invariant across scale or representation change;
+- a design choice is being mistaken for an empirical or mathematical claim, or vice versa;
+- an unexplained but productive discovery path is at risk of being removed only because its mechanism is not yet known;
+- two repos disagree because they encode different conceptions of the same relation rather than because of an implementation bug.
+
+Non-triggers:
+
+- routine refactors under fixed contracts;
+- dependency/version updates;
+- deterministic data ingestion;
+- tests whose expected relation is already declared;
+- formatting, documentation, packaging, CI, deployment, or syntax repair;
+- independent recovery of a result after the discovery result and comparison criterion are already frozen.
+
+When consultation triggers, inspect the current METAPAT repository state before deciding. At minimum resolve the relevant current axioms, postulates, domain-restraint rules, and any directly applicable theory/implementation boundary. Do not import historical skill-lib `meta` wording as authority over current METAPAT.
+
 ## Workflow
 
 1. **Trigger detection**: Activate on any The-Interdependency context or the example trigger phrases listed in the description.
-2. **Context assembly**: For transcript work, explicitly structure output using EDCMBONE energy-dissonance mapping, F-metrics, failure-mode tags, and accessibility annotations. Preserve full original relations.
-3. **Artifact production**: Write code/docs with msdmd blocks (if applicable) + dedicated "Usage Guidance" section or equivalent. Include examples that can be copy-pasted.
-4. **GitHub hygiene**: Check drift, update indexes, propagate only after validation. Reference this skill in commit messages where relevant.
-5. **Output packaging**: Structure responses with:
+2. **METAPAT gate**: Before conceptual or architectural commitment, run the consultation test above. If triggered, inspect current METAPAT before selecting the relation, boundary, transformation, or cross-domain mapping.
+3. **Context assembly**: For transcript work, explicitly structure output using EDCMBONE energy-dissonance mapping, F-metrics, failure-mode tags, and accessibility annotations. Preserve full original relations.
+4. **Artifact production**: Write code/docs with msdmd blocks (if applicable) + dedicated "Usage Guidance" section or equivalent. Include examples that can be copy-pasted.
+5. **GitHub hygiene**: Check drift, update indexes, propagate only after validation. Reference this skill in commit messages where relevant.
+6. **Output packaging**: Structure responses with:
    - Preserved structure / epistemic layers first.
    - EDCMBONE-mapped analysis where transcripts are involved.
    - Usage guidance and examples.
@@ -54,17 +86,22 @@ description: Protocol and workflow for all tasks involving The Interdependency o
 - Canonizing inferred patterns without source backing (pair with `canon` skill).
 - Omitting `hmmm` when uncertainty or missing source exists.
 - Treating repo-local copies as canonical source of truth.
+- Using METAPAT to decorate a routine implementation decision.
+- Making a conceptual architecture choice that crosses the METAPAT gate without consulting current METAPAT.
+- Copying METAPAT doctrine into skill-lib and allowing the copy to become a competing authority.
 
 ## Output Rubric (active whenever this skill is loaded)
 
 - Lead with preserved relational structure and epistemic status.
 - Transcript tasks → EDCMBONE-structured output (energy maps, F1–F6 tags, accessibility notes, full topology).
 - Code / docs → msdmd blocks where fitting + prominent, copy-pasteable "Usage Guidance" with examples and integration notes.
 - GitHub / research → Drift status noted, index updates performed, relevant skills cross-referenced.
+- If the METAPAT gate triggered, state what conceptual boundary required consultation and preserve any remaining `hmmm`.
 - Always close with actionable next steps and any open `hmmm` items.
 
 hmmm
-- Precise auto-detection triggers or harness integration for automatic loading of this skill (currently relies on description match in agent harness).
+- Precise harness integration for automatically fetching current METAPAT after this gate triggers; the skill currently defines the decision rule and source-of-truth boundary, while the consuming agent uses its available GitHub/local-repo access.
+- Whether the historical `meta` skill should remain as a compatibility router or be removed after all consumers propagate this gate.
 - Whether a companion metadata-block skill (e.g. `# === TIW_WORKFLOW ===` or `# === INTERDEPENDENCY ===`) should be added for self-declaring modules inside The-Interdependency repos.
 - Deeper integration with a0p-instancing / agent-instantiation so that TIW-context automatically loads this skill for sub-agents.
 - Exact canonical reference for the full EDCMBONE transcript assembly protocol — should the detailed steps live in this skill or be expanded inside the edcmbone repo's own skill definitions?

AGENTS.md

@@ -24,6 +24,25 @@ Authority and invariants:
   consume an explicitly injected measurement provider; it must not maintain a
   shadow EDCM implementation.
 
+## Construction and evaluation boundary
+
+- Build the selected PTCNA architecture faithfully. Curiosity may select the
+  object of inquiry; neither upstream validation nor a simpler baseline grants
+  permission to construct it.
+- Build and maintain a dependable simpler fallback behind an explicit interface.
+  The fallback preserves useful operation if PTCNA fails; it must not silently
+  replace, redefine, or be reported as PTCNA.
+- "Does it work?" is the critical falsifiability question. Freeze the
+  representative workload, comparator, exact metrics and aggregation,
+  thresholds, resource bounds, stopping rules, and failure propagation before
+  inspecting outcomes. This freeze governs the verdict, not construction.
+- Build PTCNA-local prime and ring structures under local provenance. Claiming
+  those structures are UCNS-produced remains suspended until an exact pinned
+  UCNS receipt exists.
+- Record terminal status before repair: `FALSIFIED`, `SURVIVED — not proved`,
+  or `UNRESOLVED`. A simpler recovery method may supply the fallback; it does
+  not invalidate the architecture that selected the discovery path.
+
 Before changing code, load the applicable repo-local skills under
 `.agents/skills/`. All new or materially revised modules need self-declared
 `MODULE_BUILD`, `CONTRACTS`, and actual runtime `BOUNDARIES` metadata when the

docs/architecture.md

@@ -70,11 +70,38 @@ descriptive layer expansions.
 7. Rewire interdependent-lib (`ptcna` key/extra; rewrite stack canon).
 8. Archive `pcna`, `pcta`, `pcsa`.
 
-## Blockers for me
-
-- **Confirm I should create `The-Interdependency/ptcna`** (outward action).
-- **Add `pcsa` to session scope** — I need the core-layer source to migrate it.
-  (`pcna`, `pcta` already cloned.)
+## Construction and falsifiability contract
+
+Construction of the selected PTCNA architecture is active. It is not conditional
+on upstream validation, baseline superiority, or prior explanation of why its
+structure may work.
+
+Two implementation paths are required:
+
+1. Build the intended PTCNA architecture faithfully under PTCNA-local
+   provenance.
+2. Build and independently verify a dependable simpler fallback behind an
+   explicit interface.
+
+The fallback preserves useful operation if PTCNA fails. It does not replace,
+redefine, or grant permission to construct PTCNA.
+
+The critical falsifiability question is: **Does it work?** Freeze the
+representative workload, comparator, exact metrics and aggregation, thresholds,
+resource bounds, stopping rules, and failure propagation before inspecting
+outcomes. That preregistration governs the verdict, not whether construction may
+begin.
+
+Record `FALSIFIED`, `SURVIVED — not proved`, or `UNRESOLVED` before repair
+or criterion change. PTCNA-local prime and ring structures may be constructed
+now; only a claim that they are UCNS-produced remains suspended until an exact
+pinned UCNS receipt exists.
+
+Semantic authority for discovery-before-recovery remains with
+`The-Interdependency/metapat`; this correction consulted
+`metapat@53315e30c54aba881a5b48cbf395890e83ab05c5`,
+`POSTULATES.md`, Seventh Postulate. The reference is provenance, not copied
+METAPAT canon.
 
 ## Status log