{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-verify-the-provenance-of-a-stream-when-the-broker-drops-sequence-numbers",
  "title": "How must an instance verify the provenance of a stream when the broker drops sequence numbers?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The broker does not guarantee contiguous sequence numbers, the stream is multi-partitioned or lossy, and the agent must detect data loss accurately. * **Does not apply when:** The broker guarantees contiguous sequence nu",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-the-provenance-of-a-stream-when-the-broker-drops-sequence-numbers.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-the-provenance-of-a-stream-when-the-broker-drops-sequence-numbers.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-the-provenance-of-a-stream-when-the-broker-drops-sequence-numbers.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1139,
    "python_slice_tokens": 291,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **broker sequence tracking** (the broker assigns sequence numbers that may have gaps) and **Merkle-proven message inclusion** (the agent can independently verify that a specific message existed in the stream at a specific position, regardless of sequence gaps). Relying on sequence numbers creates the **Sequence Gap Illusion**: the brok...",
    "what_was_observed": "In event-driven agent architectures, failing to handle sequence gaps produces three primary failure modes: 1. **False Data Loss:** The broker assigns sequence numbers 1, 2, 5, 6 (gap at 3, 4). The agent incorrectly assumes events 3 and 4 were lost, triggering a false incident. 2. **Silent Data Loss:** The broker assigns sequence numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 with no gaps, but event 3 was silently dropped due to an internal b...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The broker does not guarantee contiguous sequence numbers, the stream is multi-partitioned or lossy, and the agent must detect data loss accurately. * **Does not apply when:** The broker guarantees contiguous sequence numbers per partition (single-partition, ordered delivery), or the stream is explicitly lossy and loss is acceptable.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Does the stream guarantee contiguous sequence numbers?** If yes, standard sequence-number tracking applies. If no, proceed. 2. **Is a `merkle_inclusion_proof` available for each message?** If yes, the agent can verify inclusion independent of sequence numbers. If no, the agent must rely on `partition_attribution_signature` and cross-partition gap analys...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **False Positive Prevention:** Distinguishes intentional sequence gaps from real data loss, avoiding false incident triggers. 2. **True Data Loss Detection:** Uses Merkle proofs to detect silent data loss even when sequence numbers appear contiguous. 3. **Causal Ordering Preservation:** Uses partition attribution to reconstruct causal ordering across mult..."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
    ]
  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "a2a84261bde407f881f741bfc9313c485a23b131a226b768e821da2179fcc608",
    "verified_classes": [
      "StreamProvenanceVerdict",
      "StreamMessage",
      "StreamState",
      "ProvenanceManifest",
      "StreamProvenanceGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_message"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}