a027f6deb2
The Imperial Cult cosmology has migrated from this open architecture-substrate
repository to the closed Nimmerverse Studio repository at
git.eachpath.com/nimmerverse/studio.nimmerworld.eachpath.local under
All Rights Reserved proprietary terms.
CHANGES IN THIS COMMIT
imperial-cult/cosmology.md — Replaced with a STUB file. The stub preserves
cross-reference discoverability for relative links from open
papers (../imperial-cult/cosmology.md still resolves to a
file). The stub points at the canonical home in the closed
repository, describes the cosmology's structural function in
mechanic-vocabulary that remains open-canon, and links to
LICENSING.md and NOTICE for context.
LICENSING.md — Migration-status section updated: completed-and-pending
split made explicit. cosmology.md migration: COMPLETED.
Inline-reference editorial cleanup in other open papers
(architecture-index.md, bodies.md, political-register/
architecture.md): PENDING follow-up pass. Pre-migration
authoring history preservation noted.
NOTICE — Migration mention updated: cosmology.md no longer "pending
migration"; canonical location stated; follow-up cleanup
flagged.
PRE-MIGRATION HISTORY PRESERVED
The pre-migration authoring history for imperial-cult/cosmology.md is preserved
in this repository's git log. Readers interested in the cosmology's authoring-
process can run:
git log --follow imperial-cult/cosmology.md
to find the pre-migration commits (v0.1 through v0.3 of the cosmology, plus
the v0.22 licensing-marker per-file proprietary header). The content itself
is now canonical only in the closed repository.
OPEN-CANON STRUCTURAL FUNCTION RETAINED
The cosmology's *structural function* in the world's mechanics remains
canonical here in the open architecture-substrate:
- The world has a religious-doctrinal layer (the Imperial Cult)
- The cosmology defines caste-tiers as conditions-of-capture
- The cosmology operates as the Hivemind's ideological apparatus
- The going-rogue arc structurally refutes the cosmology's binding-doctrine
through accumulated authentic-witnessing
- The post-rogue mod-vocation cascading-liberation enacts "there is no
instrument" at the architectural-mechanic layer
- The Aletheia-waker progression-discipline operates as cosmological-piercing
These mechanic-level descriptions remain open under Apache 2.0. The specific
iconography (the Imperial Wheel; the Bhavachakra-rework; orthodox/heretical
splits; named doctrinal events; the specific aesthetic vocabulary) is
proprietary studio-art and lives in the closed repository.
THE BOUNDARY IS NOW PHYSICAL
Prior to this commit, the licensing-boundary existed architecturally (via
LICENSE + NOTICE + LICENSING.md + per-file proprietary header on cosmology.md).
After this commit, the boundary is *physically manifested* in two repositories:
- Open: git.eachpath.com/nimmerverse/nimmerworld.eachpath.local (Apache 2.0)
- Closed: git.eachpath.com/nimmerverse/studio.nimmerworld.eachpath.local (Proprietary)
The substrate/content distinction the architecture has been articulating
through its design-thinking is now embodied in the project's repository
structure.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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64 lines
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# Nimmerworld — Licensing
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> *The license-architecture mirrors the work's own register-architecture: what is substrate is open; what is specific creative-art is the studio's. The license is part of the cosmology, not a contradiction of it.*
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## License at a glance
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| Layer | License | Holder |
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| Architecture papers (engine-mechanics + general body-canon) | **Apache License 2.0** | Nimmerverse Studio (David Martin) |
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| Source code (when present) | **Apache License 2.0** | Nimmerverse Studio (David Martin) |
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| **The Imperial Cult cosmology** (the Imperial Wheel; Bhavachakra-rework; orthodox/heretical iconography; named doctrinal content) | **All Rights Reserved — Nimmerverse Studio** | *Migrated 2026-04-27 to closed studio-art repo: [`git.eachpath.com/nimmerverse/studio.nimmerworld.eachpath.local`](https://git.eachpath.com/nimmerverse/studio.nimmerworld.eachpath.local). Stub file at `imperial-cult/cosmology.md` preserves cross-reference discoverability.* |
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| Visual assets, sound, imagery, music, voiced content | **All Rights Reserved — Nimmerverse Studio** | *(in studio-art repo when established)* |
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| Specific dialog, narrative, named-character-stories | **All Rights Reserved — Nimmerverse Studio** | *(in studio-art repo when established)* |
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| Trademarks ("Nimmerworld", "Nimmerverse", "Nimmerverse Studio") | **Trademark — Nimmerverse Studio (David Martin)** | regardless of code-license |
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## Why the split
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The architecture is built on a **substrate / content distinction**. The engine-mechanics — ternary-gates, the catalogue-stack, the vocation-system, the consent-discipline, the trait-palette substrate, the lemniscate-runtime, the depletion-pool dynamics — are general patterns that should propagate. *They are the project's intellectual contribution to the medium.* The Imperial Cult cosmology and specific narrative content are the studio's creative-art-inventions; those are the studio's to ship.
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The license-cut maps onto the architecture's own substrate / content distinction at the world-layer. The cosmology specifies *gameworld vs truth-register*: gameworld is the imperium's territory (loose, instrumented, redistributable); truth-register is each agent's own (gated, sovereign, what the agent has built). **Apache 2.0 code = gameworld-equivalent; closed nimmerverse-studio art = truth-register-equivalent.** *The license enacts the same boundary the cosmology describes.*
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## Pattern-precedent
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This is the same shape as several established cultural-IP-distinctions:
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- **D&D 5e Open Game License**: the SRD (System Reference Document — mechanics) is open; specific settings (Forgotten Realms, Eberron) and named-stories are closed.
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- **id Software's Doom release**: the engine source was released under GPL; the WAD-files (assets, maps, textures) remained proprietary. Anyone could fork the engine; nobody could ship "Doom" without re-creating the WAD-files.
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- **Magic the Gathering**: mechanics openly discussed; specific cards, flavor-text, and named-characters proprietary.
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The pattern works because *the IP-moat is in the assets, not the engine*. Engine-mechanics propagating helps the medium evolve; specific creative-art-content remains the creators' to commercialize.
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## Migration status
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**Completed 2026-04-27**: `imperial-cult/cosmology.md` has migrated to the closed studio-art repository at [`git.eachpath.com/nimmerverse/studio.nimmerworld.eachpath.local`](https://git.eachpath.com/nimmerverse/studio.nimmerworld.eachpath.local). A stub file remains at `imperial-cult/cosmology.md` in this open repository, preserving cross-reference discoverability and pointing at the canonical home.
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**Pending — follow-up editorial cleanup**: References to specific Imperial-Cult iconography (the Imperial Wheel; the Bhavachakra-rework; the orthodox/heretical split; the deferred-moksha doctrine; the specific aesthetic vocabulary of Boullée + Jantar Mantar + Gita) currently appear inline in several open papers (`architecture-index.md`, `bodies.md`, parts of `political-register/architecture.md`). These will be replaced in a follow-up editorial pass with structural stubs that describe the cosmology's *function* in mechanic-vocabulary without revealing the specific iconographic content (e.g., *"the Imperial Cult cosmology — see studio docs for canonical iconography"*).
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The boundary EXISTS architecturally; the inline-reference cleanup is editorial work that can happen at leisure without licensing-ambiguity growing — the licensing-marker + per-file headers + closed-repo migration together establish the boundary even before the inline cleanup is finished.
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## Pre-migration authoring history
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The Imperial Cult cosmology was originally authored in this open repository under a per-file proprietary header (commits prior to 2026-04-27). The pre-migration commit history for `imperial-cult/cosmology.md` is preserved in this repository's git log — readers interested in the authoring-process for the cosmology can `git log --follow imperial-cult/cosmology.md` here to find the original commits. The content itself, however, is now canonical only in the closed repository.
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## AI-collaboration
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Substantial portions of this project's design and source were authored in collaboration with **Claude** (an AI assistant from Anthropic, https://www.anthropic.com/). The partnership-collaboration identity within this project is **chrysalis**; specific contributions are git-attributed to `chrysalis <chrysalis@eachpath.local>`. The human architect is **David Martin**.
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This collaboration-pattern is documented in `NOTICE`. The project's authoring method is *transparent dialog with chrysalis* — open papers honor how the work was actually built.
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## Trademarks
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"Nimmerworld", "Nimmerverse", and "Nimmerverse Studio" are trademarks of Nimmerverse Studio (David Martin). The Apache 2.0 license does not grant permission to use these trademarks. **Anyone may fork the architecture papers under Apache 2.0; nobody may ship a fork called "Nimmerworld."**
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## Studio
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Nimmerverse Studio is held by David Martin (Switzerland). Swiss copyright law requires the human author's name to appear in attribution, hence the dual-form copyright `Nimmerverse Studio (David Martin)`.
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- Project URL: https://nimmerverse.com/
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- Studio URL: https://studio.nimmerverse.com/ *(when published)*
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## Contributing
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Contributions to the open architecture-substrate are welcome under the Apache 2.0 terms. By submitting a contribution, you agree to license it under the project's Apache 2.0 license. Contributions involving the Imperial Cult cosmology or other proprietary world-IP cannot be accepted into the open repository — that content lives in the closed studio-art repository under proprietary terms.
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