Robert Allan JamesandClaude Sonnet 5
065ab50240
Computed the loader's true runtime relocation delta to correctly correlate fault addresses (the running image is starkernel_loader.efi, a relocated PE, not the separately-linked starkernel_kernel.elf assumed at first). Fault RIP decodes to log_message()'s entry -- coincidental, not causal, since it's called on nearly every HADES dispatch during word registration. Used QEMU's monitor for -d exec,int tracing. Late-start tracing (stop right before the danger zone to keep trace size down) failed twice -- the window between a detectable checkpoint and the crash is shorter than host-side reaction latency. Fell back to full-boot tracing from -S (~2.7GB per attempt, not committed). That trace shows an unremarkable, normal-looking repeating three-block loop immediately before the fault, then "Servicing hardware INT=0x20" (APIC_TIMER_VECTOR) with IDT already showing limit=0 at that instant. Ruled out a second illegitimate lidt call (only one call site exists anywhere, one-time M4 boot setup; searched the trace for any later execution of that address range and found none). Not yet established: the actual corrupting write. Documented two remaining explanations (earlier silent corruption vs. a genuine TCG artifact) and that pinpointing the exact instruction needs GDB-level single-stepping, a bigger tooling step than attempted this session. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
capsules/
FORTH personality files loaded by the VM at boot. A capsule is an immutable, content-addressed payload; its XXHash64 hash is its identity. Any mutation changes the hash and the birth protocol rejects the image.
Key files
| File | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
init.4th |
(m) MAMA_INIT |
Default Mama VM personality — loaded at LBN 2048 |
ACL.4th |
user | Word-level ACL system; self-activating at boot |
zuse.4th |
user | Bootstrap superuser; loaded by ACL.4th |
doe.4th |
user | DoE workload words (EXEC-DOE) — opt-in |
init-0.4th … init-9.4th |
(p) |
Numbered personality variants |
init-l8-*.4th |
(p) |
L8 Jacquard mode variants (stable/volatile/diverse/temporal/transition/omni) |
hermes/init.4th |
(p) |
Hermes baby VM personality |
artemis/init.4th |
(p) |
Artemis baby VM personality |
Block namespace
Block ranges are shared across all loaded capsules — collisions cause silent word-definition overwrites.
| Range | Owner |
|---|---|
| 2048–2099 | init.4th |
| 2100–2199 | doe.4th |
| 3000–3999 | workload capsules |
| 4000+ | user-defined (ACL.4th, zuse.4th, …) |
Each block is limited to 1024 bytes. Verify with wc -c before committing.
See also
experiments/bare_metal/README.md— DoE protocols and block namespace rulesdocs/03-architecture/word-acl/DESIGN.md— ACL system designtools/mkcapsule.c— assembles capsules intocapsule_generated.c- Project root