Prime Layer

Type Declaration

The Prime Layer is a constraint set — a finite list of conditions that must hold for the system to remain valid.
It is not a surface, domain, or artifact.

Dependency Chain

Prime Layer → Core Layer → Surfaces → Domains → Artifacts → Operator Interaction.

Core Layer is defined as the structural substrate of components and boundary positions.

Prime Invariants

Structure precedes behaviour.
Arrangement is non‑overlapping.
Artifacts do not imply capability.
Record is append‑only and non‑causal.

Prime Preconditions

Each artifact performs exactly one structural role.
No two artifacts share a role or boundary position.
All structural terms are defined in the Codex.
No term may be used in a surface that is not present in the Codex definition set.
Surfaces retain fixed boundaries.
The ontology remains non‑overlapping.

Prime Constraints

No surface contains evaluative language.
No surface contains temporal sequencing.
No surface contains causal attribution.
No artifact redefines another artifact’s role.

Detection Delegation

Detection of violation is the responsibility of the implementing layer.

Failure Modes

A surface performs a function assigned to another surface.
Terminology diverges from the Codex definition set.
An artifact implies behaviour or capability.
Structural boundaries become ambiguous.
Records are modified or made causal.

Closure

The Prime Layer is a fixed structural constraint set.
All downstream layers must operate within these conditions.