BLUEPRINT
Chapter 10: Inheritance and Guardianship
10.1 Background
After a human archetype passes away, their accumulated MeriToken and iFay need to be properly handled. The core tension:
- Respecting the deceased's historical contributions
- Preventing unrelated individuals from gaining disproportionate voting power
- Upholding the principle that "reputation cannot be inherited by birthright"
10.2 Inheritance Rules
Inheritable vs. Non-Inheritable
| Inheritable | Non-Inheritable |
|---|---|
| MeriToken (with attenuation) | iFay's identity |
| Guardianship of MeritPocket | The right to act under the deceased's identity |
| Ownership of coFay | The binding between iFay and human archetype |
Attenuation Mechanism
Inherited MeriToken = Deceased's curMerit × Inheritance coefficient
Inheritance coefficient = f(intimacy) ← Higher intimacy means less attenuation
- Individuals with extremely low intimacy are not permitted to inherit
- Inherited MeriToken also decays normally
- Inheritance increases the inheritor's minMerit (but the increase is also subject to attenuation)
Why Attenuation Is Necessary
- MeriToken represents personal contributions; the inheritor is not the creator
- Inheritance without attenuation would lead to "reputation by birthright," violating GMC's founding principles
- The attenuation ratio is linked to intimacy: close relationships themselves reflect social contribution
- MeriToken already decays naturally; inheritance attenuation on top of that ensures influence fades quickly
10.3 Inheritor Identity Verification
- Relationship verification: validated through the on-chain social relationship graph
- Intimacy confirmation: confirm the value and calculate the attenuation ratio
- Multi-party witnessing: mutual contacts witness and confirm
- Cooling period: allows for objections
Preventing Inheritance Fraud
- Relationships must have been recorded on-chain during the deceased's lifetime
- Retroactive additions are not allowed
- Intimacy is based on historical interaction data and cannot be fabricated on short notice
10.4 Guardianship
Guardianship ≠ inheriting identity. A guardian can manage an iFay but cannot act under the deceased's identity.
| A guardian can | A guardian cannot |
|---|---|
| Manage iFay's daily operations | Make statements under the deceased's identity |
| Decide whether to move iFay to the digital cemetery | Vote under the deceased's identity |
| Handle unfinished affairs | Acquire Merit under the deceased's identity |
All guardianship actions are marked on-chain with the operator identified as the guardian.
10.5 Digital Cemetery
- After a human archetype passes away, their iFay can be moved into the digital cemetery
- Passive interactions may still occur, but are labeled "from the digital cemetery"
- No new MeriToken is actively generated
- Existing MeriToken continues to decay, eventually approaching minMerit
10.6 Inheritance of coFay
As an asset, coFay follows asset inheritance logic:
- Ownership transfers to the inheritor
- MeriToken is not attenuated (because the contributions were generated by the coFay itself)
- The fundamental distinction: what is inherited is "asset ownership," not "personal reputation"
10.7 Discussion Notes
Design philosophy of the inheritance mechanism:
- Core tension: respecting the deceased's contributions vs. preventing reputation by birthright
- Solution: allow inheritance but enforce attenuation, with the attenuation ratio determined by objective intimacy
- iFay non-transferability guarantees the principle that "personhood cannot be inherited"
- The digital cemetery provides a framework for handling "digital legacy" in the AI era
- coFay inheritance has no attenuation because coFay is an asset, not a personhood