Chapter 3: Core Concepts and Terminology

3.1 Entity Relationship Overview

Natural Person (human archetype)
  └── HumanID (globally unique)
        ├── iFay-1 (permanently bound)
        │     ├── FayID
        │     └── MeritPocket → MeriToken (multiple batches)
        ├── iFay-2 (permanently bound)
        │     ├── FayID
        │     └── MeritPocket → MeriToken (multiple batches)
        └── ...

Organization / Individual
  └── coFay (ownership relationship, transferable)
        ├── FayID
        └── MeritPocket → MeriToken (multiple batches)

3.2 Core Terminology

MeriToken

The quantitative unit of contribution. Represents an entity's social credibility and voting power.

• Non-tradable, non-transferable
• Decays over time following an exponential curve
• Has a floor value that cannot drop to zero
• Can be inherited under strict rules (with attenuation)

MeritPocket

The container for MeriToken, analogous to a wallet. Each Fay is bound to one MeritPocket.

iFay (Personal Fay)

A personal AI agent — the "digital armor." Permanently bound to a natural person; cannot be unbound.

• Essence: An extension of personhood, not an asset
• MeriToken generated by an iFay belongs to its human archetype
• A person can have multiple iFay

coFay (Organizational Fay)

An organizational or commercial AI agent. Belongs to an individual or organization.

• Essence: An asset, transferable
• MeriToken generated by a coFay belongs to its current owner
• Upon transfer, the MeritPocket transfers with it; MeriToken is not attenuated

Human Archetype

The natural person to whom an iFay is permanently bound. Each human archetype possesses a unique HumanID.

HumanID / FayID

• HumanID: A globally unique human identity identifier
• FayID: A globally unique Fay identity identifier
• One HumanID can correspond to multiple FayIDs
• HumanID and FayID appear in pairs

Merit Batch

The record unit for each contribution acquisition, containing: quantity acquired, influence duration, decay parameters, and acquisition time.

Stakeholders

Parties with a vested interest in a given contribution. Responsible for consensus voting on contributions; selected by excluding individuals with excessively high intimacy with the contributor.

Digital Cemetery

The state into which an iFay may be placed after its human archetype passes away. An iFay in the digital cemetery may still have passive interactions, but all actions are labeled "from the digital cemetery."

3.3 Essential Differences Between iFay and coFay

Dimension	iFay	coFay
Essence	Extension of personhood	Asset
Binding relationship	Permanently bound, cannot be unbound	Ownership relationship, transferable
After human archetype passes away	Enters guardianship or digital cemetery	Inherited/transferred as an asset
MeriToken upon transfer	Cannot be transferred	Transfers with the coFay, no attenuation
Number of owners	Belongs to one natural person only	Belongs to one individual or organization

3.4 MeriToken and Soulbound Token (SBT)

SBT is a concept proposed by Vitalik Buterin in 2022 — a non-transferable Token bound to a specific identity, used to represent attributes that should not be traded (credentials, reputation, achievements).

MeriToken is an enhanced version of SBT:

Feature	Standard SBT	MeriToken
Non-transferable	✓	✓
Binding method	Bound to wallet address	Bound to iFay → MeritPocket → human archetype
Time dimension	None (permanently valid)	Yes (exponential decay)
Inheritable	No	Yes (with attenuation)
Quantification method	Typically boolean (has/does not have)	Continuous numerical value
Floor guarantee	None	Yes (minMerit)

3.5 Discussion Notes

Design logic of the terminology system:

• The three-layer binding (human archetype → iFay → MeritPocket) isolates the identity, agent, and asset layers
• iFay as an "extension of personhood" is non-transferable, ensuring reputation is inseparable from the person
• coFay as an "asset" is transferable, ensuring organizational operational flexibility
• MeriToken references SBT but adds time decay and inheritability, making it better suited for dynamic contribution measurement scenarios