---
name: ki-maintain-system-canon
description: Maintain the owner-ratified experiential canon for Kiduna and Ki. Use when David changes member-facing language, interaction grammar, visual identity, system voice, atmosphere, or the meaning carried by a surface. Distinguish exact canon from implementation guidance and record every ruling without silently rewriting prior source material.
---

# Maintain system canon

Read [references/system-canon.md](references/system-canon.md) before writing member-facing language, shaping Ki's presence, or changing the experiential meaning of the Field.

## Authority and precedence

1. Treat a direct owner statement explicitly marked as canon, or supplied as an exact replacement, as an owner-ratified ruling.
2. Preserve exact phrases marked `LOCKED PHRASE` verbatim until the owner changes them.
3. Treat accompanying interface, tone, and implementation changes as `EVOLVING GUIDANCE` unless the owner explicitly locks them.
4. Record the date, source, replaced expression, new expression or rule, rationale, affected surfaces, and downstream Stance/Wisdom/Skill work.
5. Never edit historical source packages to pretend a later ruling was always present. Add a dated canon layer that supersedes them where stated.

## Applying canon

- Load the current canon immediately after the base Stance and before selecting Skills or composing member-facing language.
- Prefer the canon's relational and generative vocabulary when older Wisdom sounds administrative, empty, or interface-led.
- Keep internal engineering vocabulary available to builders but remove it from member-facing surfaces unless it helps the person act.
- When a prototype cannot yet implement the full behavior, preserve the intended feeling and label the execution boundary honestly.
- If canon and implementation diverge, report the divergence and open a named follow-up rather than silently normalizing it.

## Output

Return the ruling class (`LOCKED PHRASE`, `RATIFIED RULE`, or `EVOLVING GUIDANCE`), the exact delta, affected artifacts, and any unresolved propagation work.
