Kernel & Gates

The kernel is the science-runtime phase machine paired with the policy engine; the gates are the sci-lock OS seal points that hold deterministic verdicts ahead of any confidence display. Together they enforce that governed research advances only through explicit, code-computed checks.

Phase FSM

The science runtime is a phase finite-state machine. Phases advance only through explicit policy checks, and blocking verdicts take precedence over confidence displays (fail-closed).

Phase	Gate transition
plan	Intent classified and routed; plan sealed before data touch
eda	Exploratory analysis bounded by the sealed plan
lock	Analysis plan locked; deviations require an explicit re-seal
analyze	Locked analysis executed; evidence carried with provenance
report	Typed scorecards routed; gate verdicts surfaced to operators

Policy Engine & Trust Levels (L1–L5)

The policy engine computes gate outcomes deterministically rather than letting an LLM author them. Trust levels L1–L5 scale the autonomy granted to a run against the strength of the evidence and the reversibility of the action, with human approval remaining explicit at major handoffs.

Concern	Contract
Phase control	Runtime phases advance only through explicit policy checks
Evidence handoff	Claims are carried with provenance and gate state
Scorecard routing	Eval results are represented as typed scorecards
Fail-closed behavior	Blocking verdicts take precedence over confidence displays

Sci-Lock OS Seal & Gates

Sci-lock OS is the gold-standard surface reference the kernel models: sealed artifacts, verifiable handoffs, and operator-facing gates. The seal chain runs plan → eda → lock → analyze → report, and each seal is computed by code, not authored by an LLM.

Source Pointers

• src/hordago/science_runtime.py
• src/hordago/contracts.py
• src/hordago/hordago_eval.py
• references/evidence-contracts.md