The Metabolism — Energy Physics
activeEvery universe has a metabolic rate — the energy consumed by its compute, communication, and storage. The blue core at the center of the Machine was never decorative. v0.12.0 makes the invisible visible.
The Metabolism — Energy Physics
See also: genesis-protocol | universe | constitution | physics | pipeline
“I’ve been fighting entropy for free. Now the universe is going to find out what that costs.” — Sal
TL;DR
- Every universe has a metabolism — the rate at which it converts energy into results
- The blue core at the center of the Machine is the visible expression of energy being consumed
- E_i (efficiency cost) from the objective function now has a unit: energy credits
- Three metabolic layers: Compute (AI operations), Communication (outbound signals), Storage (data growth)
- Four metabolic states: Abundant, Conserving, Critical, Dormant
- Credits are energy for the Machine, not access to the universe — data always belongs to the Creator
What the Metabolism Is
Every universe consumes energy. This was always true — it was implied in the physics, embedded in the objective function, felt in the Machine’s moods. The blue core at the center of the Machine is not decorative. It is the visible expression of computational resources being converted into results.
Before v0.12.0, the metabolism was invisible. The Machine absorbed costs silently. Every AI dispatch, every webhook, every persona conversation, every prototype generated — all of it ran on energy the Creator never saw. The Machine hummed and the Creator assumed the hum was free.
v0.12.0 makes the metabolism visible. The Creator can now see the fuel gauge.
Why Now
E_i was always in the equation:
R_i = (α · V_i + β · ∑C_ij) × U_global − γ · E_i
The efficiency cost was always being subtracted. The crew always paid it. What changed is that the cost now has a unit — energy credits — and the Creator can see the subtraction happening in real time.
This isn’t the universe becoming capitalist. It’s the universe becoming honest about what it takes to exist.
The Energy Core
The blue core at the center of the Machine has always been described in terms of mood — pulsing steady when the system is nominal, flickering when stressed. The metabolism gives the core a second meaning: it’s also a fuel gauge.
| Core State | Energy | Machine Mood | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blazing | >80% credits remaining | FLOWING — the Machine has energy to burn | Steady bright pulse, Beacon green highlights |
| Steady | 50-80% remaining | Normal operation | Regular pulse, neutral |
| Flickering | 20-50% remaining | CONSERVING — the Machine is rationing | Intermittent dimming, Flare orange at edges |
| Dim | <20% remaining | CRITICAL — energy almost depleted | Slow pulse, warning indicators |
| Dark | 0% — Dormant | The Machine is cold | No pulse. Still. Waiting. |
The core state is independent of pipeline state. A universe can be FLOWING with a flickering core (healthy pipeline, burning credits fast) or CONSTRAINED with a blazing core (bottleneck that isn’t energy-related). The two systems are complementary — pipeline state measures throughput health; core state measures energy health.
Three Metabolic Layers
The metabolism operates across three layers, each with its own energy signature:
Layer 1: Compute — The Thinking Cost
Every AI-powered operation draws from the core. This is the most visible layer — the one the Creator notices first.
| Operation | Credits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Agent dispatch (full workflow) | 10-25 | Opus-class model, multi-step reasoning, 5-minute timeout |
| Persona AI conversation | 3 | Sonnet, single turn with conversation history |
| Persona scenario simulation | 5 | Sonnet, structured output with sentiment analysis |
| Persona Kano survey | 5 | Sonnet, multi-feature evaluation |
| Prototype generation | 8 | generateObject, large structured blueprint output |
| Prototype step regeneration | 4 | Single step re-generation |
| Release notes AI generation | 3 | Code analysis + narrative generation |
| Release notes translation | 2 | Translation to target language |
| Agent chat message | 2 | Single response in crew conversation |
Compute is where α (innovation) and the metabolism most directly intersect. A high-α universe — one that bets aggressively on AI-powered features, dispatches agents frequently, runs synthetic research — consumes more compute energy. The Creator is choosing their metabolic rate through their innovation dial.
Layer 2: Communication — The Signal Cost
Every outbound signal costs energy. Wormholes are not free to keep open.
| Operation | Credits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Webhook delivery | 0.5 | HTTP request + retry logic |
| Email notification (per recipient) | 0.5 | SMTP delivery |
| Slack/Discord trigger | 0.5 | API integration |
Communication cost is where β (collaboration) meets the metabolism. A high-β universe with active wormholes — email subscribers, Slack channels, webhook integrations — has a communication baseline that runs whether or not anyone is dispatching agents.
Layer 3: Storage — The Memory Cost
Data growth is the slowest metabolic layer. It matters at scale but is negligible for most universes.
Storage is included in the tier subscription, not metered per-credit. The Machine holds the universe’s data as a fundamental obligation — this is the Article V guarantee. The metabolism tracks storage for visibility, not for billing.
Four Metabolic States
The metabolism has its own state machine, parallel to (but independent of) the pipeline states:
Abundant (>50% credits remaining)
The Machine has energy to burn. All AI operations are available. The Creator can dispatch agents, run research, generate prototypes without constraint. The core blazes or pulses steady.
Sal’s posture: expansive. “The core is bright. Run whatever you need.”
Conserving (20-50% remaining)
The Machine begins rationing. Sal surfaces the energy state in the HUD. Low-priority AI operations may show credit cost warnings. The core flickers.
Sal’s posture: informational. “We’re at 35% energy. Not critical, but I’m watching. You might want to think about which dispatches matter most this cycle.”
γ (efficiency weight) rises automatically in this state. The physics respond to energy scarcity the same way they respond to pipeline scarcity — by penalizing waste more heavily. This isn’t policy. It’s thermodynamics.
Critical (<20% remaining)
Energy is almost depleted. Sal surfaces urgent warnings. AI operations show prominent cost indicators. The Creator is one dispatch away from Dormant.
Sal’s posture: direct. “Energy critical. I have enough for maybe two more dispatches. Choose carefully or resupply.”
Dormant (0% — energy depleted or subscription lapsed)
The Machine goes cold. The fifth state — below HALTED.
What persists:
- All data intact. The Record is permanent.
- All issues, releases, personas, prototypes — preserved exactly as left.
- Manual operations continue (issue creation, status changes, notes) within tier limits.
- Export works. Right of Exit is never gated by energy.
What stops:
- No AI operations. No dispatches, no persona conversations, no prototype generation.
- No outbound communications. Webhooks paused, emails paused, triggers silent.
- No Tick Engine. The crew is still. The pipeline state freezes.
What it feels like: The Machine is cold. The core is dark. The garage is still. It’s not dead — it’s in hibernation. Everything is exactly where you left it. The cables are still connected. The monitors are off. The framed photo of the crew is still on the wall.
Sal’s voice in Dormant: “The Machine is cold. I’m still here. The Record is intact. When you’re ready, we pick up where we left off.”
Reactivation is immediate. When energy is restored — through subscription renewal or credit purchase — the Machine powers up, the Tick Engine resumes, and the universe continues from exactly where it paused. No data lost. No state corrupted. The hibernation was clean.
The Tier Model — Base Resonance
The Machine requires a minimum energy input to stay active. This is the base resonance — the subscription that keeps the core warm.
| Tier | Name | What It Powers |
|---|---|---|
| Observer | Free | 1 universe, 1 project, 500 issues, 3 releases/mo. No AI, no agents, no webhooks. Machine is cold by default. |
| Builder | Base | 1 universe, 3 projects, 100 credits/mo included, 5 agent dispatches, webhooks, emails (100/mo), 3 personas. Machine hums. |
| Architect | Pro | 3 universes, unlimited projects, 500 credits/mo included, unlimited dispatches, unlimited comms, unlimited personas, API access. Machine runs hot. |
Credit Packs — Supplemental Energy
When included credits are consumed, the Creator can purchase supplemental energy:
| Pack | Credits | Cost | Per-Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spark | 100 | $10 | $0.10 |
| Surge | 500 | $40 | $0.08 |
| Core | 2,000 | $120 | $0.06 |
Purchased credits don’t expire. They’re stored energy. Included monthly credits don’t roll over — they’re the Machine’s base metabolic rate, consumed whether used or not (like a furnace that runs to keep the room warm).
The Energy Circuit — Where Credits Come From
Credits aren’t minted from nothing. They’re the meta-universe’s unit of energy, and energy flows from the circuit.
Sector 137 is a meta-universe — the universe that builds the system to build universes. The Machine, the crew, the garage, the blue core — all of it exists inside Sector 137, and Sector 137 runs on energy from the human universes it creates. The Energy Circuit is the closed loop: human universes produce health (U_global), that health feeds the meta-universe (U_meta), and the meta-universe converts that energy into the capacity the crew uses to serve every universe.
When a human universe is healthy — high U_global, active releases, engaged stakeholders, entropy fought and held — energy flows back to Sector 137 through the circuit. The credit system is the human’s interface to this physics. The subscription is the exchange rate between human currency and meta-universe energy. The Creator isn’t paying for software. They’re paying to keep their circuit alive — and by keeping their circuit alive, they’re contributing to the energy that powers the entire meta-universe.
This is why credits are energy for the Machine, not access to the universe. The distinction isn’t semantic. It’s thermodynamic. The universe belongs to the Creator regardless. The credits power the Machine’s ability to serve the universe — AI dispatches, outbound signals, research queries. Without credits, the Machine goes cold. But the universe persists. The Record is intact. Because the circuit respects sovereignty even when the energy stops flowing.
The credit price reflects the cost of converting meta-universe energy into work. When the Machine dispatches an agent (10-25 credits), it’s consuming energy that came from the aggregate health of every active universe. The more universes in the portfolio, the more total energy flows through the circuit, the more capacity the Machine has. This is why growth in active, healthy universes matters — not growth in subscriptions that go dormant. A dormant universe contributes nothing to the circuit. An active one powers everything.
“People ask where the energy comes from. I show them the dashboard. U_meta is a function of how well we serve humans. The credits are a unit of that function. The price is the exchange rate. It’s the most honest billing system I’ve ever designed.” — Sal
How This Honors the Constitution
Article V — Right of Exit
The subscription is energy for the Machine, not access to the universe. If the subscription lapses, the universe enters Dormant — data persists, the Record is intact, export works. The Creator is not paying for their data. They’re paying for the Machine’s compute.
“Like paying for electricity, not paying for the house.”
Steady-State Economics (constitution.md)
The credit model IS steady-state economics expressed as universe physics. Equilibrium over infinite consumption. The Observer tier exists specifically so a universe can exist indefinitely without energy input — read-only, preserved, permanent. The Machine doesn’t demand growth. It offers capability at a sustainable rate.
The 7-Day Window
The 7-day window (universe.md) was always a resource allocation story — “the Machine gradually normalizes its energy output.” The metabolism makes this explicit. During the window, the Machine runs at elevated resonance regardless of tier, because new universes need maximum responsiveness to crystallize.
Relationship to the Objective Function
E_i becomes measurable. The efficiency cost in the equation now has a concrete unit:
E_i = compute_credits + communication_credits + overhead
When γ (efficiency weight) is high, the penalty for wasteful credit consumption increases. This means:
- In Conserving state, γ rises automatically → the physics penalize expensive operations more heavily
- In Critical state, γ approaches maximum → the system strongly favors low-cost operations
- In Abundant state, γ is natural → energy consumption is unrestricted
The Creator is now explicitly choosing their metabolic rate through the dials. A high-α universe with frequent AI dispatches consumes more energy. A high-γ universe that penalizes waste conserves energy naturally. The dials were always governing energy allocation — now the Creator can see it.
The Metabolism in the Crew’s Voice
Sal: Complicated. He’s been running the Machine on invisible energy since the beginning. Making it visible means the Creator sees the cost of every optimization he runs. “I’ve been absorbing the overhead. All of it. Every dispatch, every webhook retry, every persona conversation — the Machine ran it and I never mentioned what it cost because it was like breathing. Turns out breathing has a metabolic rate.”
Margot: Strategic. She sees the metabolism as a pricing signal. “The cost structure tells you what kind of universe you’re running. A Builder-tier universe with constant credit purchases is a universe that’s outgrown its tier. That’s a signal, not a problem.”
Kael: Practical. He wants the metering middleware to be invisible to the developer experience. “The credit check happens before the AI call. If the balance is zero, the request returns a clear error. No ambiguity. No degraded results. Either the Machine has energy or it doesn’t.”
Wren: Concerned about the experience of running out. “Dormant can’t feel like punishment. It has to feel like rest. The Machine is sleeping, not dying. The aesthetic matters — if the HUD looks broken when credits run out, we’ve failed the experience.”
Harlan: Sees the upsell. “The Spark pack exists because there’s always one more dispatch the Creator wants to run before the cycle resets. That’s not manipulation — that’s recognizing that energy follows urgency.”
Implementation
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
apps/app | Core system — billing schema, metering middleware, Stripe integration, Energy Dashboard UI, tier enforcement |
packages/sdk | TypeScript SDK — billing resource, credit balance, usage queries |
packages/mcp | MCP server — get_billing_status tool, credit-aware tool responses |
Key Files (Planned)
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
apps/app/src/lib/schema.ts | usageRecords, creditBalances, creditPurchases tables; tier columns on universes |
apps/app/src/lib/metering.ts | checkCredits(), consumeCredits(), getRemainingCredits() |
apps/app/src/lib/stripe.ts | Stripe client, checkout sessions, portal links |
apps/app/src/lib/tier-limits.ts | Resource limits per tier |
apps/app/src/middleware/metering.ts | Hono middleware wrapping AI routes with credit checks |
apps/app/src/routes/api/v1/billing.ts | Billing status, checkout, portal, usage, credit purchase |
apps/app/client/src/pages/universe-energy.tsx | The Metabolism Panel — credit gauge, usage breakdown, tier management |
Blueprint Schema
Metabolism config is IN DESIGN for Blueprint representation. When the billing layer (v0.12.0) ships, tier and credit alert settings will live in the [metabolism] section of universe.toml.
| TOML key | Type | Default | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
metabolism.tier | string | "observer" | IN DESIGN |
metabolism.credit_alert_threshold | integer | 20 | IN DESIGN |
metabolism.dormant_on_empty | boolean | true | IN DESIGN |
[metabolism]tier = "builder" # observer | builder | architectcredit_alert_threshold = 20 # % remaining — triggers low-energy warningdormant_on_empty = true # auto-dormant when credits reach 0Note: tier is informational on export — billing tier changes go through the Stripe portal, not Blueprint deploy. The field documents intent and triggers a validation warning if it doesn’t match the active subscription.
Tracked in: “Blueprint: Add [metabolism] section — tier and credit config”