Relational Clocks in a Quantum Ledger: Construction, Preparation and the Limits of Energy Universality

A stationary quantum state can describe change through correlations between a clock and the system it measures. This preprint asks whether reversible exchanges with a reservoir can supply the clock's energies, correlations and response to other records without assigning spatial positions. A vacancy counterpart of a three-record rule produces complementary clock energies, and a matching exchange selects a correlated state above a calculable threshold. Selection is distinct from preparation. Closed evolution preserves target population, and the tested finite receiving bank faces a symmetry obstruction for definite word inputs. A modified interaction exports the symmetry label and prepares the clock conditionally in a cold continuous-reservoir limit, with explicit energy and memory accounting. A configuration-normalised storage rule yields a truncated bosonic ladder. Its coupling to free records gives a stationary second-order response proportional to energy, with a sign controlled by the bank quantum. Tested interacting records violate that proportionality, and the native clock distinguishes states of equal energy. The missing transaction-strength sum rule is identified rather than assumed. The paper gives graduate-accessible explanations, full derivations, verified references and a linked code-and-evidence archive. Quantum mechanics, Hamiltonian ordering, readouts and reservoir resources remain assumptions. Spacetime, gravity and particle masses are not derived. This deposit includes the preprint PDF and editable LaTeX source.