# α self-coherence — cycle/424

**Verdict:** All 10 ACs PASS. Review-ready.

α verifies each AC against its declared oracle. Where the oracle has a mechanical command, α runs the command and records the output. Where the oracle is structural, α reads the artifact and confirms the structure.

## AC1: Essay file exists at canonical path

**Oracle:** `docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md` exists, line count ≥ 600.

**Result:**

```
$ wc -l docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
657 docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
```

657 ≥ 600. **PASS.**

## AC2: All 15 required top-level sections present

**Oracle:** `grep -cE "^## (Problem|Cell as recursive type|Message descends|Triadic interior|Boundary|Stream|Cell-of-cells composition law|Relation to C≡|Relation to TSC|Relation to CCNF|Relation to handoff|Domain realizations|Human/operator|Autonomy as message generation|Open questions)" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md` returns ≥ 15.

**Result:**

```
$ grep -cE "^## (Problem|Cell as recursive type|Message descends|Triadic interior|Boundary|Stream|Cell-of-cells composition law|Relation to C≡|Relation to TSC|Relation to CCNF|Relation to handoff|Domain realizations|Human/operator|Autonomy as message generation|Open questions)" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
15
```

All 15 sections present, in the order specified by the issue body. Section list (verified by `grep "^## " docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md`):

```
## Recursive Coherence as a System Model     (sub-title; not counted)
## Problem: tasks are the wrong primitive          [1]
## Cell as recursive type                          [2]
## Message descends, receipt ascends               [3]
## Triadic interior: α / β / γ                     [4]
## Boundary: V / δ                                 [5]
## Stream: ε                                       [6]
## Cell-of-cells composition law                   [7]
## Relation to C≡                                  [8]
## Relation to TSC                                 [9]
## Relation to CCNF                                [10]
## Relation to handoff                             [11]
## Domain realizations: CDS / CDR                  [12]
## Human/operator as enclosing cell                [13]
## Autonomy as message generation from measured incoherence  [14]
## Open questions                                  [15]
## References                                      (closing; not counted)
```

15 ≥ 15. **PASS.**

## AC3: Frontmatter complete

**Oracle:** YAML frontmatter has `title`, `status: DRAFT`, `version: v0.1.0`, `date: 2026-05-23`, `proposed-path`, `class: design essay`, `axis: gamma`, and a `related:` list with ≥ 12 entries.

**Result:**

Frontmatter (lines 1–26) per dispatch brief:

```yaml
title: "Cell of Cells: Recursive Coherence as a System Model"
status: DRAFT
version: v0.1.0
date: 2026-05-23
proposed-path: docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
class: design essay
axis: gamma
related:
  - docs/THESIS.md
  - docs/alpha/essays/COHERENCE-SYSTEM.md
  - docs/alpha/essays/FOUNDATIONS.md
  - docs/essays/agent-first.md
  - docs/gamma/essays/CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md
  - docs/gamma/essays/DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md
  - docs/gamma/design/ccnf-o-track-a1-survey.md
  - src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md
  - src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/COHERENCE-CELL.md
  - src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/COHERENCE-CELL-NORMAL-FORM.md
  - src/packages/cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md
  - src/packages/cnos.cdr/skills/cdr/CDR.md
  - src/packages/cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/HANDOFF.md
  - ROLES.md
  - usurobor/tsc:docs/THESIS.md
```

All 7 required scalar fields present (`title` / `status: DRAFT` / `version: v0.1.0` / `date: 2026-05-23` / `proposed-path: docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md` / `class: design essay` / `axis: gamma`). `related:` has 15 entries (14 cnos-internal paths + 1 `usurobor/tsc:*` cross-repo); ≥ 12. **PASS.**

## AC4: Critical equations + concepts present

**Oracle (a):** `Cellₙ(Messageₙ) → Receiptₙ` appears as a code block.

**Result:** Present in §"Cell as recursive type" as the compact form:

```text
Cellₙ(Messageₙ) → Receiptₙ
```

**Oracle (b):** The five-step interior appears as a code block.

**Result:** Present in §"Cell as recursive type":

```text
matterₙ   := αₙ.produce(Messageₙ)
reviewₙ   := βₙ.review(Messageₙ, matterₙ)
receiptₙ  := γₙ.close(Messageₙ, matterₙ, reviewₙ, evidenceₙ)
verdictₙ  := V(Messageₙ, receiptₙ)
decisionₙ := δₙ.decide(receiptₙ, verdictₙ)
```

**Oracle (c):** Three concrete worked examples (software / research / persona-memory) each with their own code block.

**Result:** Present in §"Cell-of-cells composition law" → sub-section "Three worked examples (same form, different scope)":

1. Software-project loop (`project goal → roadmap cell → ... → release receipt → next roadmap message`).
2. Research loop (`research aim → research-program cell → ... → gate decision → next research question`).
3. Persona-memory loop (`agent activation → work cell → ... → memory-return cell → hub update receipt`).

Each in its own code block (three distinct fenced blocks). **PASS.**

**Mechanical check:**

```
$ grep -c "matterₙ\|reviewₙ\|receiptₙ\|verdictₙ\|decisionₙ" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
8
$ grep -c "Cellₙ\|Cell(" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
3
```

8 ≥ 5; 3 ≥ 3. **PASS.**

## AC5: Triadic three-level correspondence present

**Oracle:** The essay names the C≡ / TSC / CCNF correspondence explicitly (one-as-two-held-as-three / pattern-relation-process / produce-review-close). `grep -i "one.as.two\|pattern.*relation.*process\|produce.*review.*close" CELL-OF-CELLS.md` returns ≥ 3.

**Result:** Present in §"Relation to C≡" as the block:

```text
C≡:    one becomes two, held as three
TSC:   pattern / relation / process
CCNF:  produce / review / close
```

Plus extended discussion in §"Relation to TSC" with a table mapping the three layers.

```
$ grep -ci "one.as.two\|pattern.*relation.*process\|produce.*review.*close" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
9
```

9 ≥ 3. **PASS.**

## AC6: README updated

**Oracle:** `docs/gamma/essays/README.md` Document Map has a new row for `CELL-OF-CELLS.md`; Reading Order has an entry for it.

**Result:**

Document Map row appended (after `DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md`):

```
| [CELL-OF-CELLS.md](./CELL-OF-CELLS.md) | Essay (DRAFT v0.1.0) | Cells of cells: recursive coherence as a system model; CDD/CCNF as kernel, TSC as measurement, handoff as transport, CDS/CDR as domains |
```

Reading Order item 6 added (after `DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md`):

```
6. **[CELL-OF-CELLS.md](./CELL-OF-CELLS.md)** — the system-layer integration: cells of triadic cells composing into one coherent whole
```

```
$ grep -c CELL-OF-CELLS docs/gamma/essays/README.md
3
```

3 ≥ 2 (Document Map row + Reading Order item + a self-link in the row). **PASS.**

## AC7: No other docs touched

**Oracle:** `git diff origin/main..HEAD -- docs/` shows only `docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md` (added) and `docs/gamma/essays/README.md` (modified).

**Result:**

```
$ git diff origin/main..HEAD --name-only
docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
docs/gamma/essays/README.md
```

Exactly two files, both in `docs/gamma/essays/`. Verification of byte-identity for the five existing essays:

```
$ git diff origin/main..HEAD -- docs/gamma/essays/STATELESS-AGENCY.md docs/gamma/essays/EXECUTABLE-SKILLS.md docs/gamma/essays/COHERENCE-MUST-BE-FREE.md docs/gamma/essays/CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md docs/gamma/essays/DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md
(0 lines)
```

**PASS.**

## AC8: No code / schema / skill content changes

**Oracle:** `git diff origin/main..HEAD -- src/` returns 0 lines; `git diff origin/main..HEAD -- schemas/` returns 0 lines.

**Result:**

```
$ git diff origin/main..HEAD -- src/ | wc -l
0
$ git diff origin/main..HEAD -- schemas/ | wc -l
0
```

**PASS.**

## AC9: Unicode discipline

**Oracle:** Greek letters (α/β/γ/δ/ε), subscript ₙ (U+2099), C≡ (U+2261), arrows (→) used natively, NOT Latin transliterations. Counts: Greek ≥ 30; ₙ ≥ 5; → ≥ 10; C≡ ≥ 1.

**Result:**

```
$ grep -c "α\|β\|γ\|δ\|ε" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
84
$ grep -c "ₙ" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
17
$ grep -c "→" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
42
$ grep -c "C≡" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
11
```

84 ≥ 30; 17 ≥ 5; 42 ≥ 10; 11 ≥ 1. **PASS.**

Mojibake check (defensive; the source from the dispatch brief was Unicode-clean):

```
$ grep -cE "Î[±²³´µ]|â¡|matterâ|Î±â" docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md
0
```

No mojibake. **PASS.**

## AC10: Cross-references to related docs

**Oracle:** The essay cites each of the following at least once in body prose (not just in frontmatter):

- `CDD.md` (or `COHERENCE-CELL.md` / `COHERENCE-CELL-NORMAL-FORM.md`)
- `CDS.md`
- `CDR.md`
- `HANDOFF.md` (or `cnos.handoff/`)
- `CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md`
- `DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md`
- TSC (external `usurobor/tsc`)
- `FOUNDATIONS.md` (for C≡)

**Result:** Counts in body prose (lines 27 onward, excluding frontmatter):

```
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c CDD.md
3
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c COHERENCE-CELL.md
5
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c COHERENCE-CELL-NORMAL-FORM.md
3
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c CDS.md
3
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c CDR.md
3
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c HANDOFF.md
2
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c cnos.handoff
5
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md
2
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md
11
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c FOUNDATIONS.md
3
$ sed -n '27,$p' docs/gamma/essays/CELL-OF-CELLS.md | grep -c tsc
2
```

All 8 required body-prose cross-references present (≥1 each):
- CDD/COHERENCE-CELL family: ≥3
- CDS.md: 3
- CDR.md: 3
- HANDOFF.md / cnos.handoff: 2 / 5
- CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md: 2
- DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md: 11
- TSC (external usurobor/tsc): 2
- FOUNDATIONS.md (for C≡): 3

**PASS.**

## Summary

| AC | Verdict |
|----|---------|
| AC1: file exists ≥600 lines | PASS (657) |
| AC2: 15 required ## sections | PASS (15/15) |
| AC3: frontmatter complete | PASS (7 scalars + 15 related) |
| AC4: critical equations + worked examples | PASS (Cellₙ + 5-step + 3 examples) |
| AC5: triadic 3-level correspondence | PASS (9 hits) |
| AC6: README updated | PASS (Document Map + Reading Order) |
| AC7: only docs/gamma/essays/ touched | PASS (exactly 2 files) |
| AC8: no src/ or schemas/ edits | PASS (0 lines each) |
| AC9: Unicode discipline | PASS (84/17/42/11) |
| AC10: ≥8 cross-refs in body prose | PASS (all 8 ≥1) |

All 10 ACs PASS. Essay is review-ready for β.
