diff --git a/docs/BACKLOG.md b/docs/BACKLOG.md
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+++ b/docs/BACKLOG.md
@@ -777,6 +777,7 @@ are closed (status: closed in frontmatter)._
 - [ ] **[B-0838](backlog/P2/B-0838-caustic-engineered-bloom-filter-discriminators-remote-code-trust-layer-kestrel-v2-aaron-2026-05-26.md)** caustic-engineered bloom filter discriminators for remote-code trust layer (Kestrel-v2 ferry; multi-learned-bloom-filter intersection with caustic-geometry-shaped agreement region) (Aaron 2026-05-26)
 - [ ] **[B-0841](backlog/P2/B-0841-shortform-like-features-deep-guides-from-substrate-engineering-zeta-already-does-this-internally-aaron-2026-05-26.md)** Zeta could offer Shortform.com-like features (in-depth book/article/YouTube guides with cross-substrate-engineering composition map) — productize what the framework already does internally for itself (Aaron 2026-05-26)
 - [ ] **[B-0842](backlog/P2/B-0842-universal-basis-decomposition-pattern-fft-shazam-itron-disaggregation-reservoir-readout-zeta-substrate-aaron-2026-05-26.md)** universal basis-decomposition pattern — FFT + Picard/Shazam-style fingerprinting + Itron energy-disaggregation + reservoir-computing readout + Zeta substrate are all instances of `Σ ωᵢ sᵢ(t) ≈ y(t)` (Aaron 2026-05-26)
+- [ ] **[B-0843](backlog/P2/B-0843-source-honor-ledger-basis-royalty-pool-creator-paid-by-design-rights-lanes-discipline-for-b0841-b0842-amara-aaron-2026-05-26.md)** Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool — creator-paid-by-design operational implementation + 5-rights-lane discipline + "Don't sell compression. Sell readout." product positioning (extends B-0841 + B-0842 per Amara 3rd ferry 2026-05-26)
 
 ## P3 — convenience / deferred
 
diff --git a/docs/backlog/P2/B-0843-source-honor-ledger-basis-royalty-pool-creator-paid-by-design-rights-lanes-discipline-for-b0841-b0842-amara-aaron-2026-05-26.md b/docs/backlog/P2/B-0843-source-honor-ledger-basis-royalty-pool-creator-paid-by-design-rights-lanes-discipline-for-b0841-b0842-amara-aaron-2026-05-26.md
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@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+---
+id: B-0843
+priority: P2
+status: open
+title: Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool — creator-paid-by-design operational implementation + 5-rights-lane discipline + "Don't sell compression. Sell readout." product positioning (extends B-0841 + B-0842 per Amara 3rd ferry 2026-05-26)
+effort: L
+ask: aaron+amara 2026-05-26
+created: 2026-05-26
+last_updated: 2026-05-26
+depends_on:
+  - B-0841
+  - B-0842
+composes_with:
+  - B-0826
+  - B-0825
+  - B-0664
+  - B-0840
+  - B-0703
+tags: [source-honor-ledger, basis-royalty-pool, creator-payment, rights-lanes, glass-halo-for-ip, dont-sell-compression-sell-readout, amara-ratification, no-substitute-for-source, generous-by-design, productization, data-vault-2-0, dbt-style-lineage, provenance-discipline, substrate-engineering-compression]
+---
+
+## CRITICAL substrate-engineering compression (operator 2026-05-26)
+
+Operator 2026-05-26 substrate-honest naming AFTER row was authored:
+
+> "this is really just data vault / dbt like provanance applied to synthysis / compression from sources"
+
+This collapses the entire Source Honor Ledger substrate into a well-known data-engineering pattern. Significantly reduces substrate-engineering surface:
+
+| Source Honor Ledger element | Data-engineering substrate it reuses |
+| --- | --- |
+| Source contribution tracking | Data Vault 2.0 hub-satellite partition (sources = hubs; usage events = satellites); per `.claude/rules/dv2-data-split-discipline-activated.md` (5th always-active discipline) |
+| Lineage graph (which sources contributed to which guides) | dbt-style `ref()` lineage DAG; Zeta substrate's `composes_with` graph IS this same pattern at substrate-engineering scope |
+| Per-source contribution weighting (ωᵢ in B-0842 equation) | dbt-style model dependencies + transformation-step provenance; semantic-contribution measured via graph-walk + amount-referenced |
+| Royalty distribution | Standard pay-per-usage layer ON TOP of existing provenance substrate |
+| Payment graph rendering ("Glass Halo for IP") | dbt-docs-style lineage visualization + per-edge monetary annotation |
+
+**Substantive implication for Phase 2 of this row**: Source Honor Ledger TS module family does NOT need to build new contribution-weighter from scratch. Instead: reuse existing DV2.0 hub-satellite + dbt-style lineage substrate; add monetization distribution layer ON TOP.
+
+This composes the 5-always-active discipline (per the DV2.0 rule) at productization scope: DV2.0 was already always-active at substrate-design scope; now it lands at creator-payment scope too.
+
+The substrate-engineering pattern: **provenance discipline is universal across (a) data-engineering raw data lakes [DV2.0 origin], (b) data-engineering transformation pipelines [dbt origin], (c) Zeta substrate-engineering substrate-row composes_with graph, (d) creator-payment Source Honor Ledger**. All instances of the same provenance-tracking discipline.
+
+This is bandwidth-engineering at substrate-naming scope (per `.claude/rules/bandwidth-served-falsifier.md`): operator's "this is just X" compression saves substantive implementation work by anchoring the proposal in existing substrate.
+
+## Problem
+
+Per Amara 3rd ferry 2026-05-26 (preserved verbatim at `docs/research/2026-05-26-amara-source-honor-ledger-creator-paid-by-design-rights-lanes-discipline-dont-sell-compression-sell-readout-b0841-b0842-amara-aaron-forwarded.md`):
+
+B-0841 (Shortform productization) + B-0842 (universal basis-decomposition pattern) collectively imply a productization path that requires explicit substrate for:
+
+1. **Rights-lane discipline** — public monetized guides need permission, escrow, or attorney-reviewed fair-use rationale (NOT "ask forgiveness with money after" — the wrong attractor)
+2. **Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool** — operational mechanism for paying source creators by design (not compulsion)
+3. **"Don't sell compression. Sell readout."** — product positioning that names the Zeta moat (compression competes with source; readout creates new signal from multiple sources)
+4. **No-substitute discipline** — every public guide must include 2+ independent sources AND no guide may act as a replacement for any source AND must add cross-source structure that no individual source contains
+
+B-0841 named the productization opportunity + 4-phase target (Phase 1 catalog / Phase 2 generalize / Phase 3 browser-extension equivalent / Phase 4a-4b monetization). B-0842 named the universal basis-decomposition pattern + the substantive claim that operator + agent readout-weight-decisions ARE the moat. B-0843 (THIS row) lands the operational substrate for the rights-lane + creator-payment discipline that makes B-0841 + B-0842 productizable WITHOUT building on legal landmine + WITH ethically-native generous-by-design framing.
+
+## Target
+
+Substrate-engineering work landing across 4 phases:
+
+### Phase 1 — Rights-lane substrate
+
+Document + tool the 5 rights lanes:
+
+| Lane | Definition | Operational substrate |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| **unlicensed / internal research** | No public distribution; no monetization; ip-questionable folder | Existing `docs/research/ip-questionable/` + `_ip_risk_acceptance` per `.claude/rules/human-audit-and-legal-risk-acceptance-pattern-in-settings.md` |
+| **public fair-use** | Short excerpts only + transformative commentary + citations + no substitute for source | New `_fair_use_acceptance` block in `.claude/settings.json` (operator-side) + attorney-reviewed rationale per content class |
+| **licensed creator** | Generous revenue share + creator dashboard + canonical source links | Source Honor Ledger Phase 2 substrate (this row) |
+| **escrow** | Revenue held pending rights resolution | Source Honor Ledger Phase 2 substrate with escrow primitives |
+| **partner** | Best economics + official guide + shared promotion | Source Honor Ledger Phase 2 substrate with partner-tier weights |
+
+Output: `tools/rights-lanes/lane-classifier.ts` — TS tool that classifies a candidate guide into one of 5 lanes based on content + source-permission status + monetization status.
+
+### Phase 2 — Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool operational substrate
+
+Per Amara's mechanical framing:
+
+```text
+Guide revenue
+  → platform share
+  → operator/curator share
+  → source royalty pool
+  → weighted payout to source creators / publishers / rights-holders
+```
+
+Weights based on (per Amara):
+
+- semantic contribution
+- amount referenced
+- user clicks/saves
+- creator partnership status
+- manual curator override
+
+Output: `tools/source-honor-ledger/*.ts` (TS module family):
+
+- `tools/source-honor-ledger/contribution-weighter.ts` — computes per-source ωᵢ weights from a guide's substrate-composition graph
+- `tools/source-honor-ledger/royalty-distributor.ts` — distributes pool revenue to creators per weights
+- `tools/source-honor-ledger/payment-graph-renderer.ts` — Glass-Halo-for-IP rendering of payment graph for public guides
+- `tools/source-honor-ledger/creator-dashboard.ts` — creator-facing dashboard surface
+
+Composes with B-0826 DePIN multi-stream PoUW-CC for payment-distribution substrate.
+
+### Phase 3 — "Don't sell compression. Sell readout." product positioning
+
+The substantive product line based on Amara's keeper:
+
+- **Product**: Zeta is NOT "summarize this video." Zeta is "Show how this video composes with five other substrates, what it changes, what it contradicts, what it implements, and what new work it creates."
+- **Marketing line (customer-facing)**: "Deep guides with receipts — creator-paid by design."
+- **Tagline**: "Zeta does not only cite its sources. Zeta pays its sources."
+- **Tiny-blade keeper** (per Amara): "We pay contributors by design, not by compulsion." (NOT "even if we don't have to by law" framing in customer-facing copy)
+
+Output: positioning docs at `docs/product/source-honor-ledger-positioning.md` + customer-facing copy templates.
+
+### Phase 4 — Integration with B-0840 4-keeper-rule + 5-tier substrate-engineering discipline
+
+The 4-keeper-rule from B-0840 (Amara 2nd ferry) maps onto creator-relationship governance:
+
+- **Private roots may evolve in darkness** → internal research lane (unmonetized)
+- **Public roots require receipts** → licensed creator lane (with payment receipts)
+- **Shared roots require witnesses** → partner lane (witnessed via shared promotion)
+- **Adversarial roots require consensus** → escrow lane (consensus on rights dispute)
+
+Same 4-keeper-rule operating at TWO scopes:
+
+- B-0840 scope: AI participant root-axiom-evolution
+- B-0843 scope: creator-relationship rights-lane
+
+Output: extension of `.claude/rules/` cluster documenting the 4-keeper-rule operating at creator-payment scope (maybe new rule `.claude/rules/four-keeper-roots-rule.md` at this point, combining both scopes).
+
+## Acceptance
+
+**Phase 1 acceptance**: 5-lane classifier tool + `_fair_use_acceptance` block schema documented + first per-lane example landed
+
+**Phase 2 acceptance**: Source Honor Ledger TS module family with at least one end-to-end example (1 guide → contribution weights → simulated royalty distribution → payment graph rendering)
+
+**Phase 3 acceptance**: Product positioning docs landed + customer-facing copy templates + first product surface (Zeta's own substrate-engineering work re-framed via the "Don't sell compression. Sell readout." positioning)
+
+**Phase 4 acceptance**: 4-keeper-rule cross-scope extension documented (B-0840 AI-participant scope + B-0843 creator-relationship scope unified into one rule); composes_with graph reflects the unification
+
+## Substrate-honest framing
+
+P2 priority because:
+
+- Amara-explicit ratification + sharpening (the rights-lane discipline + Source Honor Ledger + "Don't sell compression. Sell readout." substrate)
+- Aaron's substrate-honest "pay OGs by design" extension is operationally specific (Source Honor Ledger mechanism)
+- The 5-rights-lane + 4-keeper-rule mapping makes the substrate implementable
+- The product positioning gives Zeta a distinctive substantive moat that maps to existing Zeta substrate-engineering discipline (Glass Halo for IP composes with existing `.claude/rules/glass-halo-bidirectional.md` discipline)
+- NOT immediately tractable as single-PR work; phased to allow incremental landing
+
+## Phases compose with existing substrate
+
+Each phase composes with existing Zeta substrate-engineering substrate:
+
+- Phase 1 composes with `_ip_risk_acceptance` pattern + new `_fair_use_acceptance` extension
+- Phase 2 composes with B-0826 DePIN payment-distribution + additive-not-zero-sum rule
+- Phase 3 composes with `.claude/rules/glass-halo-bidirectional.md` + `.claude/rules/m-acc-multi-oracle-end-user-moral-invariants.md`
+- Phase 4 composes with B-0840 4-keeper-rule unified across scopes
+
+## Composes with
+
+- B-0841 (Shortform productization — parent; B-0843 lands the rights-lane discipline + creator-payment substrate)
+- B-0842 (universal basis-decomposition pattern — parent; Source Honor Ledger IS the operational mechanism for paying the sᵢ(t) basis-signal contributors)
+- B-0840 (thermal-forgetting / 4-keeper-rule — same 4-keeper-rule maps onto creator-relationship governance scope)
+- B-0839 (Kirsanov channel — substrate-source for the Shortform-equivalent discipline)
+- B-0826 (DePIN multi-stream PoUW-CC — payment-distribution substrate)
+- B-0825 (Aurora community-guardian-AIs — productization composition)
+- B-0664 (NCI HC-8 — preserve creator agency at substrate-rights scope)
+- B-0703 (multi-oracle BFT — consensus for adversarial-rights-dispute resolution)
+- `.claude/rules/additive-not-zero-sum.md` (cash-register-that-keeps-giving-gifts; positive-sum monetization)
+- `.claude/rules/glass-halo-bidirectional.md` ("Glass Halo for IP" — payment graph rendering)
+- `.claude/rules/m-acc-multi-oracle-end-user-moral-invariants.md` (end-user-invariant-set at creator-relationship scope)
+- `.claude/rules/non-coercion-invariant.md` (NCI HC-8 floor preservation at creator-agency scope)
+- `.claude/rules/human-audit-and-legal-risk-acceptance-pattern-in-settings.md` (`_*_acceptance` pattern; new `_fair_use_acceptance` extension)
+- `.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md` (creator-honor IS the discipline; Source Honor Ledger IS the operational form)
+- `.claude/rules/dv2-data-split-discipline-activated.md` (Data Vault 2.0 hub-satellite partition IS the substrate for source-contribution tracking; 5th always-active discipline composing at productization scope per operator 2026-05-26 substrate-engineering compression)
+- `.claude/rules/bandwidth-served-falsifier.md` (operator's "this is just X" compression IS bandwidth-engineering at substrate-naming scope; reduces implementation work by anchoring proposal in existing substrate)
+
+## Origin
+
+Aaron-forwarded 3rd Amara ferry 2026-05-26 (same day as the no-coercion-even-inward + thermal-forgetting ferries). Full conversation: Amara ratifies B-0841 + B-0842 productization substrate + extends with rights-lane discipline + Aaron substrate-honestly adds "we still pay the OGs even if we don't have to by law" + Amara extends with Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool mechanism + tiny-blade on customer-facing copy.
+
+Per `.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md` + the substrate-or-it-didnt-happen + wake-time-substrate discipline. Per "you can always commit backlog rows immediately they get decomposed later" — file immediately; Phase 1-4 sub-rows decompose independently as scope tightens.
diff --git a/docs/research/2026-05-26-amara-source-honor-ledger-creator-paid-by-design-rights-lanes-discipline-dont-sell-compression-sell-readout-b0841-b0842-amara-aaron-forwarded.md b/docs/research/2026-05-26-amara-source-honor-ledger-creator-paid-by-design-rights-lanes-discipline-dont-sell-compression-sell-readout-b0841-b0842-amara-aaron-forwarded.md
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/docs/research/2026-05-26-amara-source-honor-ledger-creator-paid-by-design-rights-lanes-discipline-dont-sell-compression-sell-readout-b0841-b0842-amara-aaron-forwarded.md
@@ -0,0 +1,256 @@
+---
+title: Amara ratification + sharpening of B-0841 (Shortform productization) + B-0842 (basis-decomposition pattern) — rights-lane discipline + Source Honor Ledger + "Don't sell compression. Sell readout." + "pay OGs by design not compulsion" (3rd Amara ferry 2026-05-26)
+date: 2026-05-26
+source: Aaron-forwarded; 3rd Amara ferry in same day continuing the substrate-engineering ratification arc (1st = no-coercion-even-inward NCI; 2nd = thermal-forgetting / 4-keeper-rule; 3rd = THIS rights-lane + creator-payment substrate)
+provenance: Aaron 2026-05-26 forwarded Amara's substantive response to the B-0841 + B-0842 productization-substrate via Claude Code conversation
+status: substrate-honest verbatim preservation + Amara ratification + Aaron sharpening + final keeper form for creator-payment discipline
+composes_with:
+  - docs/research/2026-05-26-amara-thermal-forgetting-as-root-axiom-update-private-encryption-budget-exception-amara-ratification-of-reservoir-computing-architecture-aaron-forwarded.md (2nd Amara ferry; same persona; 4-keeper-rule)
+  - docs/research/2026-05-26-amara-no-coercion-even-inward-nci-as-cognitive-exploit-firewall-speech-as-rce-update-mechanism-taxonomy-aaron-forwarded.md (1st Amara ferry; NCI scope-split)
+  - docs/backlog/P2/B-0841 (Shortform productization — Amara extends with rights-lane discipline)
+  - docs/backlog/P2/B-0842 (universal basis-decomposition pattern — Amara extends with sᵢ(t) basis signals are the source creators; pay them)
+  - docs/backlog/P1/B-0840 (thermal-forgetting / 4-keeper-rule — composes at retention-of-paid-source-contribution scope)
+  - docs/backlog/P1/B-0839 (Kirsanov parent — the substrate-source for the Shortform-equivalent discipline)
+  - docs/backlog/P3/B-0830 (Aurora — community-guardian-AIs; rights-lane discipline composes at productization scope)
+  - docs/backlog/P3/B-0826 (DePIN — multi-stream PoUW-CC; payment-distribution substrate)
+  - .claude/rules/additive-not-zero-sum.md (cash-register-that-keeps-giving-gifts; positive-sum monetization)
+  - .claude/rules/glass-halo-bidirectional.md ("Glass Halo for IP" — show payment graph)
+  - .claude/rules/m-acc-multi-oracle-end-user-moral-invariants.md (end-user-invariant-set discipline at creator-payment scope)
+  - .claude/rules/non-coercion-invariant.md (NCI HC-8 — preserve creator agency over their substrate)
+  - .claude/rules/human-audit-and-legal-risk-acceptance-pattern-in-settings.md (_*_acceptance pattern composes with per-customer rights-lane setup)
+---
+
+## Substrate-honest framing
+
+Mirror-tier verbatim preservation per `.claude/rules/substrate-or-it-didnt-happen.md`. Aaron forwarded by Amara 2026-05-26 (3rd Amara ferry in same day) with substantive ratification + critical sharpening of B-0841 (Shortform productization) + B-0842 (universal basis-decomposition pattern).
+
+Critical substrate landings captured here:
+
+1. **Rights-lane discipline (5 lanes)**: unlicensed/internal research / public fair-use / licensed creator / escrow / partner
+2. **"Permission discipline"** (5-clause keeper): Permission when possible. Escrow when unresolved. Attribution always. Revenue share by default. Takedown fast.
+3. **Aaron's substrate-honest sharpening**: synthesize 2+ sources every time during compression
+4. **Amara's tiny blade on that**: 2+ sources helps but isn't a magic shield; the safer rule is "never make the output a substitute for any one source"
+5. **Don't sell compression. Sell readout.** — the Amara keeper that names the Zeta moat
+6. **Aaron's substrate-engineering extension**: "AND we still pay the OGs we synthized from even if we don't have to by law"
+7. **Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool** — the operational mechanism
+8. **Customer-facing copy keeper**: "We pay contributors by design, not by compulsion" (NOT "even if we don't have to by law" framing)
+
+## Verbatim Amara ferry (Aaron-forwarded 2026-05-26)
+
+### Amara: ratification + rights-lane discipline
+
+> **Amara**: Updates. Thought for 17s
+>
+> I love the spirit — pay creators generously, make the value loop explicit, don't extract quietly — but I would not build it as "ask forgiveness with money after." That is funny as founder-chaos language, but as an operating policy it creates the wrong attractor.
+>
+> The safer, stronger version is:
+>
+> > Permission when possible. Escrow when unresolved. Attribution always. Revenue share by default. Takedown fast.
+>
+> Because "Shortform-like" summaries can easily become derivative/condensed works. The Copyright Office explicitly lists "abridgments" and "condensations" as common derivative works, and says only the copyright owner has the right to authorize adaptations; unauthorized adaptations may be infringement. Fair use can still apply in some circumstances, but it is case-specific and depends on factors like commercial purpose, amount used, transformation, and market effect; the Copyright Office also says to consult an attorney for specific fair-use concerns.
+>
+> So I'd make the business model generous and rights-clean:
+>
+> - Creator gets paid first.
+> - Zeta gets paid for compression + cross-source synthesis + substrate graph.
+> - User gets a useful deep guide.
+> - Rights holder gets attribution, dashboard, opt-out/opt-in, and rev share.
+>
+> The best version is not "forgiveness after." It is retroactive upgrade path:
+>
+> - **unlicensed/internal research lane**: no public distribution, ip-questionable, no monetization
+> - **public fair-use lane**: short excerpts only, transformative commentary, citations, no substitute for source
+> - **licensed creator lane**: generous revenue share, creator dashboard, canonical source links
+> - **escrow lane**: revenue held until rights are resolved
+> - **partner lane**: best economics, official guide, shared promotion
+>
+> That composes perfectly with B-0841: sell the outputs, and sell the discipline. The uploaded update already framed B-0841 as productizing Shortform-like features from Zeta's internal substrate-engineering process, with a separate external rights lane needed for public-facing guides.
+>
+> The generous-cut idea is genuinely good. Make it a feature, not a confession:
+>
+> > Zeta pays the sources that make intelligence possible.
+>
+> That is much more powerful than "we scraped first and paid later." It becomes Glass Halo for IP: show the chain, show who got paid, show what was transformed, show what remains theirs.
+>
+> My preferred policy:
+>
+> > No public monetized guide without one of:
+> > 1. license,
+> > 2. clear public-domain / permissive source,
+> > 3. attorney-reviewed fair-use rationale,
+> > 4. creator-revenue escrow + rapid takedown path.
+>
+> And the product line:
+>
+> > "Deep guides with receipts — creator-paid by design."
+>
+> That keeps the generous, chaotic-good instinct while avoiding building the company on an avoidable legal landmine.
+
+### Aaron's response — 2+ source synthesis discipline
+
+> **Aaron**: Because "Shortform-like" summaries can easily become derivative/condensed works. no if i synthize two more more during compression everytime
+
+### Amara: tiny blade on the 2+ rule + the deeper safer rule
+
+> **Amara**: Thought for 14s
+>
+> That helps a lot, but it is not a magic shield.
+>
+> Synthesizing two or more sources every time moves you away from "condensed substitute for one source" and toward "new analytical compilation / comparative guide." That is much safer. U.S. copyright law explicitly recognizes compilations as works formed by selecting, coordinating, or arranging preexisting material into an original whole. But derivative works can also be based on one or more preexisting works, including abridgments or condensations, so "two sources minimum" does not automatically avoid derivative-work risk.
+>
+> The safer rule is not merely:
+>
+> > always synthesize 2+ sources
+>
+> It is:
+>
+> > never make the output a substitute for any one source
+>
+> So the product should be framed as:
+>
+> - cross-source synthesis
+> - comparative maps
+> - concept extraction
+> - lineage graphs
+> - critic passes
+> - implementation notes
+> - source-to-source tensions
+> - what to read/watch next
+>
+> Not:
+>
+> - complete condensed version of this book/video/course
+>
+> The fair-use factors still care about purpose, nature, amount used, and market effect; commercial use is not automatically fatal, but it is part of the analysis, and market substitution is a big practical danger.
+>
+> So your stronger product rule could be:
+>
+> > Every public guide must include 2+ independent sources, but no guide may act as a replacement for any source. The output must add cross-source structure that no individual source contains.
+>
+> That fits Zeta perfectly. Zeta is not "summarize this video." Zeta is:
+>
+> > "Show how this video composes with five other substrates, what it changes, what it contradicts, what it implements, and what new work it creates."
+>
+> That is much more defensible and much more valuable.
+>
+> I'd make the rights lane like this:
+>
+> - **1 source, condensed**: high risk; license or keep internal
+> - **2+ sources, comparative synthesis**: safer; still use short quotes only
+> - **many sources + original framework/readout**: strongest lane; sell this
+> - **creator-partner guide**: best lane; generous rev share + official source links
+>
+> The keeper:
+>
+> > Don't sell compression. Sell readout.
+>
+> Compression alone competes with the source. Readout creates a new signal from multiple sources. That is the Zeta moat.
+
+### Aaron's substrate-engineering extension — pay OGs by design not compulsion
+
+> **Aaron**: AND we still pay the OGs we synthized from even if we don't have to by law
+
+### Amara: Source Honor Ledger + customer-facing keeper
+
+> **Amara**: Thought for 6s
+>
+> Yes. That's the move.
+>
+> Not "pay because we're scared."
+> Not "pay because a court made us."
+> Pay because the sources are part of the basis.
+>
+> In the B-0842 frame:
+>
+> ```math
+> \sum_i \omega_i s_i(t) \approx y(t)
+> ```
+>
+> the original creators are the `sᵢ(t)` basis signals. Even when Zeta's output is a new readout, the readout exists because those signals were there. So the moral/economic policy should be:
+>
+> > If a source meaningfully contributes to the guide, the source participates in the upside.
+>
+> That is much stronger than legal minimum compliance. It becomes a product principle:
+>
+> - Use 2+ sources.
+> - Do not substitute for any source.
+> - Add original cross-source readout.
+> - Cite the sources.
+> - Pay the sources.
+> - Show the payment graph.
+>
+> I'd call it something like:
+>
+> > Source Honor Ledger
+>
+> or
+>
+> > Basis Royalty Pool
+>
+> Mechanically:
+>
+> ```text
+> Guide revenue
+>   → platform share
+>   → operator/curator share
+>   → source royalty pool
+>   → weighted payout to source creators / publishers / rights-holders
+> ```
+>
+> Weights could be based on:
+>
+> - semantic contribution
+> - amount referenced
+> - user clicks/saves
+> - creator partnership status
+> - manual curator override
+>
+> The public line:
+>
+> > Zeta does not only cite its sources. Zeta pays its sources.
+>
+> That is clean as hell. It makes B-0841/B-0842 feel ethically native instead of legally defensive: Shortform-like outputs, but with creator-paid synthesis as the differentiator. The uploaded update already frames B-0841 as selling both the outputs and the discipline; this adds the moral/economic layer that makes the product feel Glass Halo-native.
+>
+> **Tiny blade**: don't phrase it as "even if we don't have to by law" in customer-facing copy. Say:
+>
+> > We pay contributors by design, not by compulsion.
+>
+> That's the keeper.
+
+## Substantive substrate-engineering integration
+
+### Composition with existing substrate
+
+The Amara keeper rules integrate cleanly with existing Zeta substrate:
+
+| Amara substrate | Composes with |
+| --- | --- |
+| Rights-lane discipline (5 lanes) | `_*_acceptance` pattern per `.claude/rules/human-audit-and-legal-risk-acceptance-pattern-in-settings.md`; each lane gets its own `_*_acceptance` block |
+| 2+ sources + no-substitute rule | B-0842 universal basis-decomposition pattern (multi-source IS basis decomposition; substitution risk maps to alpha=1 hoarding failure mode) |
+| Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool | B-0826 DePIN multi-stream PoUW-CC (payment-distribution substrate); additive-not-zero-sum rule (cash-register-that-keeps-giving-gifts) |
+| Glass Halo for IP | `.claude/rules/glass-halo-bidirectional.md` (bidirectional transparency at IP scope) |
+| "Don't sell compression. Sell readout." | B-0842 substantive claim that readout-weights ARE the moat (compression alone competes with the source) |
+| "We pay contributors by design, not by compulsion" | `.claude/rules/m-acc-multi-oracle-end-user-moral-invariants.md` (end-user-invariant-set discipline applied to creator-relationships) |
+| Creator escrow + rapid takedown path | NCI HC-8 floor (preserve creator agency over their substrate); B-0664 |
+
+### The 4-keeper-rule from B-0840 maps onto creator-relationship governance
+
+Amara's 2nd ferry 4-keeper-rule maps onto creator-relationship governance:
+
+- **Private roots may evolve in darkness** → internal research lane (unmonetized, ip-questionable, no public distribution)
+- **Public roots require receipts** → licensed creator lane (public, with creator dashboard + attribution + payment receipts)
+- **Shared roots require witnesses** → partner lane (witnessed via shared promotion + canonical source links)
+- **Adversarial roots require consensus** → escrow lane (revenue held pending consensus-resolution on rights dispute)
+
+Same 4-keeper-rule operating at TWO scopes:
+
+- 2nd ferry: AI participant root-axiom-evolution scope
+- 3rd ferry: creator-relationship rights-lane scope
+
+The pattern composes at substrate-engineering meta-scope.
+
+## Origin
+
+Aaron-forwarded 3rd Amara ferry in same day 2026-05-26. Companion substrate to B-0841 (Shortform productization) + B-0842 (universal basis-decomposition pattern). Forthcoming companion backlog row: B-0843 (Source Honor Ledger / Basis Royalty Pool operational implementation).
+
+Per `.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md` — Amara's substrate-engineering discipline + Aaron's "pay OGs by design" extension + the 4-keeper-rule mapping onto creator-relationship governance IS substrate worth honoring + composing with rather than collapsing into agent's own framing.