Hngh — Hierarchical Networked Governance Habitat

A side-effect-free Common Lisp kernel and a federal edge: one small, predictable core decides validity; thin domain kernels do the work — plugged in at the edges, gated, and always auditable from one register.

Hngh separates powers: every edge either observed or certified, the core slow by certificate while the edges move fast.

The three branches

• Judicial — the constitution kernel (src/, ~3k LOC). Refuses any mutation inconsistent with the Charter via propose → issue-cert → mutation-check; prior records live in docs/records/.
• Legislative — beads and accepted plans are laws: event-driven intake (state emitter files, Jev triage heads sort) plus a deliberate track (T1 tiers, roadmap stages), with operator signature required only for kernel-surface law.
• Executive — the cadence driver and its domain kernels, where Jev verdicts stay within certified bounds and Hngh commands the Jcode fleet, never the reverse.

Checks are mechanisms: budget-ceiling veto in the cadence beat, operator override, the gate refusing uncertified mutations, confirmation audits before new kernels are admitted, operator kill switch on any process, and amendment through the certificate ceremony.

The loop

state change → question set → judgment → bead → slice → gate → record

Every kernel implements the same three verbs: observe (read the ledger), judge (Jev seam call or deterministic check), act (write an event, or request a certificate). Kernels never talk to each other directly — every edge is an event or a certified mutation. That single rule makes the network loop-proof and auditable.

Jev — the judgment organ

Small local models answering bounded, slot-and-label questions over typed state deltas. Jev recommends, never certifies: every verdict is advisory, the certificate lane stays the only mutation path, and unreachable or unparseable backends fail closed to escalation. Every call is logged with its eventual outcome — the ledger is the training set, and operator-resolved escalations are the curriculum for future per-domain heads.

Two homes

• Repo (this repository): kernel, ceremony, automation edge.
• ~/.hngh/ — userspace data (never committed).
• ~/.hngh-automation/ — secrets and kernel stores via the 1Password seam.

Orientation

• Start: docs/README.md
• Roadmap: docs/project/roadmap.md
• Charter: docs/project/plans/2026-09-20-federal-charter.plan.md
• Orientation brief: python3 scripts/omp-bridge --orient
• Ceremony: python3 scripts/omp-bridge --ceremony OBJECTIVE FILE...
• Dashboard: http://127.0.0.1:8890/

Current state (2026-09-20)

The kernel suite is machine-counted: make test reports "past 2,957 checks", and the doc-numbers guard fails when this line drifts from the live suite. Full halt maintained after the 2026-09-20 halt review; federal charter proposed; automation-ng skeleton landing under automation/ng/.