The Constant Ledger: Physical Constants as Crystallisation Readouts in the Finite-QEC Substrate

If space is the crystallised, self-correcting register network of the finite-QEC substrate pro- gramme [6, 7], then its “fundamental constants” should not be independent dials: most of them ought to be readouts of one frozen scale and a discrete code laid down at the boot crystalli- sation. This note tests that expectation and turns it into a ledger. We find the constants partition cleanly four ways. (A) A single dimensionful anchor — the chiral scale Λ, fixed by the proton mass through Λp = mp/2√2 — from which every other dimensionful constant fol- lows as Λ ×(dimensionless readout): the lattice spacing, the Planck mass, Newton’s constant, the dark-energy density, and a 17.7 keV sterile-neutrino mass are all reproduced, from this one anchor, to between 0.02% and a fraction of a sigma. (B) The dimensionless readouts are them- selves fixed integers and fractions of the code (α−1 0 = 137, 55/8, 12π/55, 27/28, 1/28, T = 9). (C) A short list — the Hubble rate H0, the dark-energy density ρΛ, and the equation of state w(a) — are genuinely live horizon-service rates, time-dependent readouts of the ongoing error- correction schedule. (D) The remainder (the dressed fine-structure constant, the electron mass, the Standard-Model parameters) are ordinary infrared quantities. The whole edifice reduces to roughly two continuous inputs plus a fixed code. The classification has a sharp, falsifiable corollary: the frozen constants (including G and α) must not drift in time — consistent with lunar-laser-ranging and atomic-clock null results [9–11] — while the live ones must evolve, the framework predicting w(a) =−1 + a/28, i.e. w0 =−27/28, a concrete target for current and future dark-energy surveys [1, 2, 8]. Every number here is reproduced by a short self-checking program. The classification is the firm result; many absolute values remain conditional, and the deeper consequences are reserved for a fuller treatment. 2026-06-20 canon refresh: Updated to current R14 alpha0 record-pair theorem, downstream billing/dressed-alpha split, alpha-escape bounded residual (near service occupation but physical Ward/Kubo slot not identified), service-span Planck hierarchy, a=1 completion selector, and current residual map; build/render checked locally; not Zenodo-synced. 2026-06-21 canon refresh: This version incorporates the 2026-06-21 ANCHOR/DRIFT/PTMS canon refresh and rebuilt local PDF. 2026-06-25 canon refresh: Zenodo-synced on 2026-06-20: new-version published as 10.5281/zenodo.20776759 (concept 10.5281/zenodo.20693090); local build/render previously checked. 2026-06-21 canon refresh applied where needed; PDF rebuilt and checked. Zenodo-synced on 2026-06-21: new-version published as 10.5281/zenodo.20786093 (concept 10.5281/zenodo.20693090). 2026-07-01 canon refresh: Zenodo-synced on 2026-06-20: new-version published as 10.5281/zenodo.20776759 (concept 10.5281/zenodo.20693090); local build/render previously checked. 2026-06-21 canon refresh applied where needed; PDF rebuilt and checked. Zenodo-synced on 2026-06-21: new-version published as 10.5281/zenodo.20786093 (concept 10.5281/zenodo.20693090). Zenodo-synced on 2026-06-25: new-version published as 10.5281/zenodo.20876018 (concept 10.5281/zenodo.20693090). 2026-07-02 canon refresh: 2026-07-02 update: refreshes the constant ledger for response-layer QED boundary, killed dark-energy registration, zero-mode/CMB branch, and current second-anchor/phenomenology caveats.