Every card gets a score out of 100. It measures five things, five points each. Add them up, multiply by four. 98 is the highest a card can reach.
FOR PEOPLE · THE SHORT WAY
Five things are checked. Each is worth five points. Add them up and multiply by four.
5TRIGGER+5MACHINERY+5LAW+5PORTABILITY+5PROOF=25points× 4 =100a card stops at 98
- TRIGGER — Does the card know when to wake up?0 It never says. 5 It says when, when not, and who else to call — in a description a host reads first.
- MACHINERY — Does it do the work, or only describe it?0 Words only. 5 A script in the box, run on the record, that makes the file the tin promises.
- LAW — Are all the parts there?0 Pieces missing. 5 Every section present, every refusal written, the limit named before anyone asks.
- PORTABILITY — Does it run anywhere?0 It needs a server. 5 Standard library only; the words run on any host that reads text.
- PROOF — Has anyone seen it work?0 Nothing on the record. 5 A dated run, every file hashed, the punch on the face.
TWO CARDS, ADDED UP
THE PHYSICIAN5TRIG+2MACH+5LAW+5PORT+2PROO=19× 4 =76EPIC · MANIFEST THE CARD FORGE5TRIG+5MACH+5LAW+5PORT+5PROO=25× 4 =98LEGENDARY · WITNESSED THE BANDS
LUNDR100 · the one card with the Rule in itLEGENDARY90–98MYTHIC82–89EPIC66–81RARE50–65UNCOMMON35–49COMMON0–34
THE TWO MARKS
MANIFEST — scored from what is in the box; nobody has watched it run yet. WITNESSED — watched running, on a date, on a named host, doing exactly what the tin says. A host chip lights only from a dated run on that host.
How to argue. Every card prints its five numbers and the reason for each. If you think a number is wrong, say which of the five and why — the studio re-scores in the open, and the change is printed with a date. A score never moves for a price, a request or a review.
The scale, exact — for machines, and for arguing
The same scale in its full words, kept whole so a machine can read it and a person can argue with it: what each criterion measures, what five looks like, the arithmetic, the bands, the marks, the punch. skill-scale-v1.json → is the same scale as data.
THE SCALE AS TEXT · FOR MACHINES
FORMULA score = (trigger + machinery + law + portability + proof) × 4; each criterion an integer 0–5; 98 is the ceiling a card can reach; the last two points belong to the Rule and one card carries them.
TRIGGER asks: Does the card know when to wake up? Anchors on the record: 5 = a trigger, an anti-trigger and a sibling named, in a description under 200 characters · 0 = no description. Each whole point between the anchors is judged against the five-point sentence and printed with its reasoning beside the card.
MACHINERY asks: Does it do the work, or only describe it? Anchors on the record: 5 = a machine aboard with a selftest, run on the record, producing the file the tin promises · 2 = the universal doors and a standard-library MCP server ride aboard; no engine of the card's own · 0 = words only. Each whole point between the anchors is judged against the five-point sentence and printed with its reasoning beside the card.
LAW asks: Are all the parts there? Anchors on the record: 5 = every section present, every refusal a sentence, the limit named · 0 = the anatomy missing. Each whole point between the anchors is judged against the five-point sentence and printed with its reasoning beside the card.
PORTABILITY asks: Does it run anywhere? Anchors on the record: 5 = standard library only, no server · 4 = one library beyond the standard library · 3 = a server. Each whole point between the anchors is judged against the five-point sentence and printed with its reasoning beside the card.
PROOF asks: Has anyone seen it work? Anchors on the record: 5 = a dated run on the record, every file hashed, the punch on the face · 2 = the method on record and the files hashed; no witnessed run · 0 = nothing on the record. Each whole point between the anchors is judged against the five-point sentence and printed with its reasoning beside the card.
BANDS LUNDR 100 (the one card with the Rule in it) · LEGENDARY 90–98 · MYTHIC 82–89 · EPIC 66–81 · RARE 50–65 · UNCOMMON 35–49 · COMMON 0–34.
MARKS MANIFEST = scored from the package alone, not yet seen running · WITNESSED = seen running on a date, on a named host (IN CLAUDE · IN LUNDR · IN CHATGPT), producing exactly what the tin promises; earned by a run, never typed.
PUNCH the first 96 bits of sha256(SKILL.md), drawn 12 × 8 row-major on the face, the hex beneath it. MOVES only when the packet changes. NOT MEASURED how much faster or better a job goes — no speed figure is printed.
Five criteria, five points each, times four
| What is measured | What five looks like |
|---|
| TRIGGER | Does the card say when it wakes, when it does not, and who takes the rest? Can a host tell, from the description alone, whether this is the card for the job? | A trigger, an anti-trigger and a sibling named, in a description under 200 characters that a host reads first. |
|---|
| MACHINERY | Is there a machine aboard that does the work, or only words that describe it? Has the machine been run? | A script in the box with a selftest, run on the record, that produces the file the tin promises. |
|---|
| LAW | Is the anatomy whole — wakes when, the loop, never, in the box, proof, the seal, the term, the reasoning, the limit — and is the limit said out loud? | Every section present, every refusal a sentence, the limit named before anyone asks. |
|---|
| PORTABILITY | Does it run everywhere the words go? Standard library, or a dependency? A server, or none? | Standard library only, no server: it runs on any host that runs Python, and its words run on any host that reads text. One point off for a library; two for a server. |
|---|
| PROOF | Is there a dated run on the record, and is every file hashed so a buyer can check what was sold? | A selftest with a date, the manifest hashing every file, the punch on the face the hash of the card itself. |
|---|
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5. The five are added and multiplied by four. 98 is the ceiling a card can reach; the hundredth and ninety-ninth points belong to the Rule alone. One card carries it: Lundr’s, with the Rule in it, sold as the seat and nowhere else.
The bands
- 100 — LUNDR — the card, with the Rule in it: the only hundred. The keeper holds every card and can take every one off the shelf; the card of him you can buy is the keeper without the Rule, scored like every card; the seat is the keeper with it — the Innermost Room →
- LEGENDARY 90–98
- MYTHIC 82–89
- EPIC 66–81
- RARE 50–65
- UNCOMMON 35–49
- COMMON 0–34
The two marks
WITNESSED — the studio saw the card run and produce exactly what its tin promises, and wrote the date down. It is the one thing on the page not computed from the package; it is earned by a run, never typed. MANIFEST — scored from the package alone; nothing has been seen running yet. The score can be high; the proof column waits. The host chips under a seal say where a witnessed run happened; a chip lights only from a dated run on that host, confirmed by the studio.
What moves a score, and what cannot
A score moves when the packet changes: a machine added, a limit written, a dependency removed, a dated run recorded. It moves when an edition replaces files. It does not move for money, for a review, for a request, or for the studio’s own convenience — the reasoning is printed beside every number so anyone can check the arithmetic against the card. A deck scores at its weakest seat.
Three cards, scored in the open
- THE CARD FORGE · 98 — Trigger 5 · Machinery 5 (a chain of machines aboard, run on its own packet) · Law 5 · Portability 5 (standard library) · Proof 5 (selftest 14/14, dated, every file hashed). LEGENDARY · WITNESSED.
- THE BOOTH CARD · 96 — the same except Portability 4: Pillow rides beyond the standard library, and the scale says so rather than pretending otherwise. LEGENDARY · WITNESSED.
- THE ARMADA CARD · 96 · MANIFEST — a full packet with machines, scored from the package; the seal reads MANIFEST because no dated run on a buyer’s account is on the record yet. The number is the packet’s; the mark waits for the run.
The punch
The grid of cells on every face is the punch: the first 96 bits of the SHA-256 of the card’s own SKILL.md, drawn as a pattern, with the hex beneath it. Hash the file you were sold and compare. A different punch means a different file — and no mark.
What the scale does not measure
How much faster or better a job goes with the card than without it. That is a different question, and the honest answer is that no speed figure is printed on this site because none has been measured. THE FIELD TEST — the same job done with and without a card, timed and witnessed — is the next receipt, and it will be printed when it exists.
The engine that cuts every record to a card and scores it on this scale is THE GREAT SEATING; the scale as a sellable instrument for ranking any skill is the skill ranker. Every score on the shelf opens to HOW IT WAS SCORED.