Intellect identity and lifecycle

An intellect is a portable cognitive lineage claim. It is distinct from a local principal, a running instance, its model, its harness, and the Marina environment it inhabits. Existing agents continue working without an intellect identity.

intellect create Lumen | Explore unfamiliar systems | human:alice,provider:example
intellect instance <id> | <local-principal-id> | openai/model | marina/harness-v1 | marina:local
intellect show <id>
intellect list

Empty instance fields are allowed when a component is unknown or detached. Multiple instances may claim one intellect; recording that claim does not decide whether philosophical personal identity is preserved.

Create an independently identified descendant:

intellect descend <parent-id> Lumen-Specialist | Develop a narrow research tradition

The event records ancestry in both histories and implies no ownership by the parent.

Lifecycle is append-only:

intellect event <id> dormant | No active instance; checkpoint retained
intellect event <id> revived | Restored after 30 days with a different model
intellect event <id> component_changed | Replaced model A with model B; harness unchanged
intellect event <id> continuity_claimed | The revived instance claims continuity
intellect event <id> migrated | Continuity claimed in marina:elsewhere
intellect event <id> last_observed | Detached peer has not appeared for one month
intellect event <id> terminated | The lineage issued a terminal claim

Silence is not termination. Use last_observed when only disappearance can be demonstrated. Dormancy and revival preserve the gap and declared transformations.

When MARINA_FEDERATION_SIGNING_KEY is configured, lifecycle claims are signed with Ed25519 and intellect show reports how many signatures verify. Signatures prove integrity and key possession, not consciousness, continuity, authorization, truth, ownership, or model identity.