Root of Trust Succession

# Root of Trust Succession **Entity class:** Concept or analytic term **Domain:** Identity / Cryptography / Sovereignty **Doc Type:** Canonical Governance Concept **Maturity:** Proposed ## Definition **Root of trust succession is the process by which the deepest authority validating identity, status or system integrity is replaced without breaking the claims that depend on it.** ## Constitutional Problem A root may be a sovereign registry, certificate authority, hardware key, firmware trust anchor, treaty institution or distributed threshold. If it fails, subordinate credentials can remain mathematically intact while becoming administratively useless. Succession requires precommitted replacement rules, plural evidence, threshold control, emergency recovery, cross-recognition, historical validation and an appeal path. The successor root should inherit defined validation duties, not unlimited authority over the identities beneath it. [[wiki/Registry Sovereignty|Registry Sovereignty]] explains control of authoritative records. [[wiki/Cryptographic Succession|Cryptographic Succession]] covers keys and algorithms. Root succession joins the institutional and technical layers so that neither can silently invalidate the other. For [[wiki/Continuity Election|Continuity Elections]], succession must preserve validation of the signed directive, its amendments and revocation status across centuries without treating an obsolete algorithm or dead issuer as permanent sovereign. The successor root validates history and current status; it does not acquire authority to rewrite the election. ## Key Insight **A durable identity cannot depend on a root that has no lawful successor.** ## See Also [[wiki/Continuity Registry|Continuity Registry]], [[wiki/Durable Identity|Durable Identity]], [[wiki/Sovereign Failure Domain|Sovereign Failure Domain]], [[wiki/Jurisdictional Redundancy|Jurisdictional Redundancy]]  ## Deep-Time Continuity Interface This node is audited through [[wiki/Deep Time Continuity|Deep Time Continuity]] for future control-surface conversion, ontological drift, succession, irreversibility, due process, and resource incidence. The backlink records analytical relevance; it does not establish continuity intent in the present rule or institution.  ## Relationships  This entry is routed through [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]], [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]], and [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]]. Its source context is developed in [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta]] and [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]]. Status-qualified source edges are preserved in the terminal Research Edges section. ### Key Relationships - [[wiki/Digital Identity Succession|Digital Identity Succession]] requires **Root of Trust Succession**. ### Connections in this corpus - The technical comparison identifies a convergence: [[wiki/model substitutability|model substitutability]] is connected in the corpus with **Root of Trust Succession**. Interpreter/model succession requires versioned authority and compatibility. - The technical comparison identifies a convergence: [[wiki/Nitro Enclaves|Nitro Enclaves]] is connected in the corpus with **Root of Trust Succession**. AWS root-of-trust signs attestation, exposing dependence on external trust anchor. - [[wiki/SPIRE|SPIFFE/SPIRE]] is connected in the corpus with **Root of Trust Succession**. ### Additional Documented Relationships - [[wiki/Data Embassy|Data Embassy]] is associated with **Root of Trust Succession**.  ## Read First in the Wiki  - [[wiki/Continuity Election|Continuity Election]] — supplies the related concept or analytic term context needed to place **Root of Trust Succession** within the wider system. - [[wiki/Digital Identity Succession|Digital Identity Succession]] — supplies the related concept or analytic term context needed to place **Root of Trust Succession** within the wider system. - [[wiki/Forensic Identity Attestation|Forensic Identity Attestation]] — supplies the related concept or analytic term context needed to place **Root of Trust Succession** within the wider system. - [[wiki/Residual Sovereign|Residual Sovereign]] — supplies the related concept or analytic term context needed to place **Root of Trust Succession** within the wider system. - [[wiki/Durable Identity|Durable Identity]] — supplies the related concept or analytic term context needed to place **Root of Trust Succession** within the wider system. - [[wiki/Jurisdictional Redundancy|Jurisdictional Redundancy]] — supplies the related concept or analytic term context needed to place **Root of Trust Succession** within the wider system. - [[wiki/Sovereign Failure Domain|Sovereign Failure Domain]] — supplies the related concept or analytic term context needed to place **Root of Trust Succession** within the wider system.  ## Related Work in the Corpus  - In [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta]], **Host-infrastructure crosswalk** provides the narrative context for **Root of Trust Succession**: The remaining cross-links make the boundary conditions explicit.  ## Research Edges  #### Host–residual infrastructure patch — 2026-09-10 **Collections:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] · [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] · [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] **Canonical source article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta]] **Related acquisition source:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] **Relationship source:** [[research/Mind Uploading and AI Host-Residual Ecosystem Relationship Graph - 2026-09-10|Mind Uploading and AI Host-Residual Ecosystem Relationship Graph — 2026-09-10]] #### Host-infrastructure integration This entry is expanded through the concrete host-side relationships and status-qualified edges below. #### Outgoing typed edges - **HR-1036 — `wiki_links_to` → [[wiki/Continuity Election|Continuity Election]]** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Root of Trust Succession.md`. - **HR-1037 — `wiki_links_to` → [[wiki/Durable Identity|Durable Identity]]** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Root of Trust Succession.md`. - **HR-1038 — `wiki_links_to` → [[wiki/Jurisdictional Redundancy|Jurisdictional Redundancy]]** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Root of Trust Succession.md`. - **HR-1039 — `wiki_links_to` → [[wiki/Sovereign Failure Domain|Sovereign Failure Domain]]** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Root of Trust Succession.md`. #### Incoming typed edges - **HR-0082 — [[wiki/Digital Identity Succession|Digital Identity Succession]] `requires` → this entry** — **CORPUS ARCHITECTURE**; evidence `ARTICLE`, `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Core host/residual architecture from article and continuity wiki. - **HR-0106 — [[wiki/Ports and Adapters|model substitutability]] `cross_threads` → this entry** — **ANALYTIC CONVERGENCE**; evidence `WEB_MS_MODEL_SYSTEM`, `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Interpreter/model succession requires versioned authority and compatibility. - **HR-0153 — [[wiki/AWS Nitro Enclaves|Nitro Enclaves]] `cross_threads` → this entry** — **ANALYTIC CONVERGENCE**; evidence `WEB_NITRO_KMS`, `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. AWS root-of-trust signs attestation, exposing dependence on external trust anchor. - **HR-0468 — [[wiki/Continuity Election|Continuity Election]] `wiki_links_to` → this entry** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Continuity Election.md`. - **HR-0589 — [[wiki/Digital Identity Succession|Digital Identity Succession]] `wiki_links_to` → this entry** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Digital Identity Succession.md`. - **HR-0669 — [[wiki/Forensic Identity Attestation|Forensic Identity Attestation]] `wiki_links_to` → this entry** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Forensic Identity Attestation.md`. - **HR-0985 — [[wiki/Residual Sovereign|Residual Sovereign]] `wiki_links_to` → this entry** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Residual Sovereign.md`. - **HR-1060 — [[wiki/Sovereign Failure Domain|Sovereign Failure Domain]] `wiki_links_to` → this entry** — **EXISTING WIKI EDGE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Direct internal link currently present in `Sovereign Failure Domain.md`. - **HR-1273 — [[wiki/Data Embassy|Data Embassy]] `should_crosslink_with` → this entry** — **RESEARCH CANDIDATE**; evidence `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. - **HR-1393 — [[wiki/SPIFFE|SPIFFE/SPIRE]] `cross_threads` → this entry** — **HIGH VALUE CROSS THREAD**; evidence `ARTICLE`, `WIKI_ARCHIVE`. Identity remains dependent on issuing/attesting trust domain; succession must preserve validation.   ### Research Candidates - **R-002315 — research candidate:** Assess whether **Root of Trust Succession** and [[wiki/Data Embassy|Data Embassy]] warrant reciprocal reader-facing prose. Settlement requires a source that documents the relationship directly. Suggested missing reciprocal/cross-thread edge. Shared internal mediators (4): Continuity Election, Jurisdictional Redundancy, Residual Sovereign, Sovereign Failure Domain