# Inheritance and Precedence

Inheritance is deterministic field composition, not averaging.

## Precedence tiers

From highest to lowest:

1. **System constitutional and legal/safety constraints** — non-overridable at lower tiers.
2. **Explicit Source Consent and privacy/data-purpose limits** — processing stops where Consent/Authority is absent; Realm rules cannot create a human psychological dossier.
3. **Realm governance and published Realm policy/profile** — applies inside the Realm according to valid Authority.
4. **Role profile and Permission grants** — scoped delegation; may narrow, never exceed higher tiers.
5. **Activity/Action profile** — purpose-specific constraints and targets.
6. **Entity base profile** — durable Ally/Actor/Avatar desired behavior.
7. **Session override** — most specific target adjustment with explicit source, scope, expiry, and Authority.

This is not a single “higher always wins” merge. Different field classes compose differently.

## Merge rules

- **Constraints/boundaries:** intersection; the most restrictive applicable predicate wins. A lower tier cannot widen.
- **Permissions/visibility/retention:** intersection/minimum scope/shortest retention unless a higher policy explicitly requires a longer Record duty.
- **Principles/values:** ordered union with provenance; conflict becomes explicit policy evaluation.
- **Targets/tolerance/zones:** the most specific valid authorized configuration overrides field by field. Omitted fields inherit.
- **Evidence rules:** use the stricter minimum evidence and higher confidence gate for the contemplated consequence.
- **Response permissions:** intersection of profile, policy, Sentinel capability, and current grant.

## Target conflicts

If more-specific settings are allowed, they override with provenance. If two applicable equal-priority settings define incompatible target/tolerance intervals and no tie-break rule exists, the resolver emits `resolution-required`. It uses the last known valid effective target for continuity or observation-only if none exists; it MUST NOT average the targets or automatically intervene.

Every effective profile includes a resolution trace listing source object/version for every field. Temporary overrides expire automatically and reveal the inherited value that resumes.