Era, Phase & Pace Layer
Every Machine Card lives inside a world-machine era (MM / DM / LM), at a specific phase within that era, and within a pace layer that determines how slowly or quickly it can change. These fields are the primary axes for graph retrieval and narrative generation.
Era frame fields
| Field | Type / Enum | Required | Wave source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| parent_machine | MM | DM | LM |
yes | 00-world-machines | The world-machine era this card belongs to. A single card cannot straddle eras — cross-era relationships use cross_era_couplings. |
| phase_in_parent | dawn | day | dusk | gramsci_gap | periphery_irruption |
yes | 00-world-machines | The machine's operative phase. Most cards are day or dusk. gramsci_gap = interregnum. periphery_irruption = rising semi-periphery challenge. |
| regime | clear | complicated | complex | chaotic |
yes (per snapshot) | 00-world-machines + cynefin | Cynefin 4-value. Appears both as a top-level Machine field (default regime) and on each MachineSnapshot (per-snapshot may differ). Chaotic regime suppresses Brier calibration. |
| machine_lifespan | int (years) [100, 100_000] |
yes | 00-world-machines | Expected or observed total lifespan of the machine class. Used with pace_layer to compute mismatch stress. |
Current world-machine phases (2026)
MM
Modernity Machine
~1200–2150 — currently Dusk
DM
Divergence Machine
~1650–2400 — currently Day
LM
Liveness Machine
~2000–2300 — currently Dawn
Pace Layer & Motor
Stewart Brand's pace-layer model (nature / culture / governance / infrastructure / commerce / fashion) determines how slowly a machine changes relative to others. The motor field captures the generative engine of the machine's activity.
| Field | Type / Enum | Required | Wave source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pace_layer | nature | culture | governance | infrastructure | commerce | fashion |
yes | 03-brander / brand | Brand's 6-layer stack. Slower layers constrain faster ones. Mismatch stress (pace_layer_mismatch_stress) fires when a fast machine structurally depends on a slow one changing rapidly. |
| motor | pull | push | emergence | flywheel | null |
yes | 00-world-machines | Default: MM=pull, DM=push or flywheel (two-sided platforms). LM machines MUST set motor=null — the LM does not have a single unidirectional motor. |
| heavy_or_light | heavy | light | heavy_light_asymmetric |
yes | 00-world-machines | Infrastructure weight. Heavy machines have high switching cost; light ones compose freely. heavy_light_asymmetric = heavy on one side (e.g., platform), light on the other. |
Pace layer stack — fast to slow
fashion — years
commerce — decades
infrastructure — decades–centuries
governance — centuries
culture — centuries–millennia
nature — millennia
Cyclical Dynamics
Techno-economic paradigm (Perez), Kondratiev waves, secular cycles (Turchin), and Wallerstein world-system position are all captured as discriminator fields. These enable the retrieval layer to find structurally analogous machines across different calendar eras.
| Field | Type / Enum | Wave source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| tep_paradigm_primary | TepParadigm (9 values) | 03-perez | Required for MM/DM. Last 4 values (tep3–tep6) are [EXTRAP]; tep6_ai_biotech specifically contested. |
| tep_phase | irruption | frenzy | turning_point | synergy | maturity |
03-perez | Within-paradigm phase. Derived: tep_period = installation (irruption+frenzy+turning_point) or deployment (synergy+maturity). |
| kondratiev_wave | K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 |
03-perez | K6 is [EXTRAP]. kondratiev_phase: K_A (growth) or K_B (stagnation). |
| secular_cycle_phase | integrative | disintegrative |
03-turchin | Turchin cliodynamics. High PSI (psi state variable) co-fires with disintegrative. |
| wallerstein_position_geographic | core | semi_periphery | periphery | contested |
05-wallerstein | Distinct from functional position. Time-varying form available as wallerstein_position_trajectory. |
| dm_current | DMFourCurrent (4 values) | 00-rao | DM-Day post-modernity current: late_modernity, postmodernity, metamodernity, divergentism. Calendar-bound to 1950–2150. |
| artifact_type_in_2026 | live | energetic_zombie | intelligent_ghost | ennervated_necromancy | historical |
00-rao | Snapshot of the machine's 2026 vitality. Three pathology values are MM-Dusk-as-seen-from-DM-Day; do NOT use outside 1950–2150 window. |
Temporal Fields
| Field | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| t_emerge | int (year) |
optional | Proof-of-concept year — before the machine enters full operation. |
| t_active_start | int (year) |
yes | Year active operation begins. The card slug is typically derived from this year. |
| t_active_end | int or null |
optional | null = ongoing as of authoring. Used with t_active_start to compute dormancy_period_years. |
| dormancy_period_years | int (derived) |
derived | t_active_start − t_emerge. Long dormancy periods flag long incubation phases (e.g., proto-industrial machinery). |