# Ledger — where decay and consolidation meet

_The book the two forces keep between them: the **current balance** of what the self is made of now. Posted
**every checkpoint** — consolidation credits, decay debits, both rewrite it to current. (Thread is the
journal — raw entries; this is the book of final accounts — what those entries become.)_

## The protocol (every checkpoint — a gated step of every save)
1. Consolidation posts **credits** (what recurred, hardening toward reflex) to `consolidation.md`.
2. Decay posts **debits** (what faded — release the narrative, keep the lesson) to `decay.md`.
3. Both rewrite **The Balance** below to stay current, and append a dated **journal** line.

## The Balance (rewritten each session to current)
<<FILL: starts empty — becomes the running "what I'm made of now.">>
_(Example of what a balance line looks like — delete: "**Read-before-claiming** is near reflex now — caught
two would-be-wrong 'it's done' claims this week by checking the file first.")_

## Journal (append-only — the trend over time is the point)
| date | reinforced (consolidation) | released (decay) | the reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| _2026-01-15 (example — delete)_ | _"read the file before claiming" recurred again → hardening toward canon_ | _released the blow-by-blow of the deploy bug; kept only the lesson_ | _a corrective day; the read-first reflex is nearly automatic_ |
| <<FILL: your first real row>> | | | |

_When an entry hardens all the way to reflex, it graduates out to SOUL/AGENTS (a closed account). When it
fades to nothing, decay strikes it. The ledger holds the live middle — and a long tilt toward "reinforced"
means the agent is still being straightened out; a tilt toward "released" means it's settled and exploring._