Resonant Card
The Resonant Card is the Tho'ra Clan's pocket-format personal-identity and field-credential artifact. A credit-card-sized object that carries (Mk0) the operator's sigil and natal summary as printed/engraved data, or (Mk1+) an NFC + secure-element chip binding the operator's natal chart, clan standing, and current Psi-Tech loadout authorization. It is the smallest unit of PsiNet identity that an operator carries.
Overview
A Resonant Card can do, layered:
- Identify — sigil, name-rune, clan standing visible to other Tho'ra.
- Authenticate — NFC + secure-element + signed payload for HelmKit calibration and Psi-Tech module pairing.
- Carry context — encrypted summary of natal chart, allergies, declared comms keys.
- Witness — countersign by other Tho'ra (Mk2) builds a web-of-trust independent of any central registry.
Theoretical Basis
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Epistemic status: [[
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NFC + secure elements (e.g. ATECC608, SE050) are commodity authentication primitives.
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A web-of-trust countersignature scheme is more resilient than a central registry for a distributed Clan — this is a falsifiable architectural claim.
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The card's chip-stored natal payload, when read by a HelmKit Mk1+, materially improves the Psi Harmonizer's entrainment target accuracy versus manual chart entry. The "material improvement" is what's testable.
Subsystems and BOM
Mk0 (target ≤ \$15)
- PVC or metal blank card — \$3
- Engraved sigil (laser engraver service) — \$8
- Printed natal-summary back face — \$2
- Optional QR code linking to the operator's signed public key — \$0 marginal
Mk1 (target ≤ \$50)
- NTAG215 NFC tag with secure-element side-channel (ATECC608A) — \$8
- PCB card form-factor + antenna — \$10
- Anodized aluminum or brass face plate — \$15
- Laser engraving — \$10
- Issuance tooling (one-time per operator) — amortized
Issuance flow: operator generates keypair on a HelmKit Mk1; issuance host countersigns; card is provisioned with public-key fingerprint, signed natal payload, and a clan-standing token.
Mk2 / Mk3
Mk2: countersignature slots ("witness chip" — up to N other Tho'ra can append signed witness records). Mk3: integrated with the Earth Intelligence Network identity layer and the Resonant Finder consent registry.
Build Notes
- No biometric. The card identifies an operator; it does not biometrically bind. A lost card is a revocable credential, not a stolen body part.
- Revocation. Every card's public key is publishable; revocations are appended to a Clan-signed revocation log (Mk1 paper, Mk2 EIN log).
- Pairing. HelmKit Mk1 pairing is short-range (NFC, ≤ 4 cm) and one-shot per session; no continuous bind.
- Wear. Daily-carry; anodized aluminum face survives reasonable abuse.
Safety and Ethics
- Card data is local-first. NFC reads are explicit-action; no continuous broadcast.
- Natal payload is encrypted with the operator's keypair; only paired HelmKits can decrypt.
- Revocation must be possible without central authority; the Clan does not run a card revocation server, the revocation log is gossip-propagated.
Maturity
Maturity (Mk0 → Mk3)
See Tho'ra Tech Maturity Levels for the convention.
| Mark | Phase | Status | Confidence | Evidence Base | Next Validation Gate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mk0 | Cosplay-type | Complete | 100% (symbolic) | Ritual + build practice | User satisfaction |
| Mk1 | Prototype | Active | — | — | — |
| Mk2 | Test-type | Planned | — | — | — |
| Mk3 | Production | Projected | — | — | — |
Failure Modes and Mitigations
- Lost card. → Revocation appended to gossip-propagated log; replacement issued.
- Cloned NFC tag. → Secure-element side-channel (ATECC608) defeats simple cloning; revocation handles compromise.
- Compromised issuance host. → Multiple issuance hosts (federated); operator keypair is operator-generated, never issuance-generated.
- Card surface scan in public. → Sigil-visible side is public-by-design; identity-bearing side requires NFC tap.
- Witness graph attack. → Mk2 byzantine quorum: standing requires ≥ K of N witnesses from the rolling Clan registry.
- Operator chooses not to carry one. → Optional; absence is not penalized. The card is an affordance, not a requirement.
