Part 3
Preserving records
An exact artifact stays exact by remaining where its medium can preserve it. A Markdown document may use a code span or block, an interface may display a field, a printed work may use a table or note, and a conversation may show, spell, cite, or otherwise establish the artifact before discussing it in Phi.
Source record outside Phi: nitrate: 18 mg/L
mia ha sirami theo.
1SG PROX record read.
mia ha masue tukiro.
1SG PROX measure review.
The record preserves characters and provenance. Phi names the actions, relationships, evidence, uncertainty, authority, and consequences around it. Neither layer silently replaces the other.
What holds for a measurement holds for a person's words. Testimony that must stay exact stays in its own words and its own language, beside the Phi that says who spoke, what is at stake, and what should happen next.