Loop MMT is derived from Loop 2.1 — a browser-based manual flow computer where the human operator replaces the stored program — and from the governance framework developed across 329 builds of that system. The architecture did not begin as theory. It was extracted from a working machine, tested by use, and formalized into nine principles:

1. The Operator is always in control. The human developer is the architectural authority. The AI writes code; the human directs. When the system cannot decide, it escalates — it does not guess.

2. All state is explicit. Data exists in exactly two places: on a bus or in a Vault. No ghost state.

3. Every data path is declared. The routing table is a complete map of every legal data movement. No implicit routing.

4. Boundaries are structural, not conventional. The closure wall enforces loop type constraints. The test suite verifies them.

5. Failures are contained. Each loop and each bus is its own failure domain. The system degrades gracefully.

6. The system is observable. Every bus transfer is traceable. Every workflow step is logged. Every error is an event on the bus.

7. Dependencies are adopted deliberately. Build what you can. Adopt what you must. Isolate what you adopt. Wrap it in a gate.

8. The source of truth survives the session. Architectural decisions are expressed in code, tests, and specifications — not in chat history.

9. The system outlives its builders. A constellation carries its own blueprint, can verify itself against it, and can evolve without breaking. Software rot is a structural problem with a structural solution.