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Ball FSM in Kitchen English

How Humans and Mark V Agents move safely through a project · Noobs welcome · Standalone glossary · What GRANT means · HITL

Ball is a process where Humans and Mark V Agents are moved procedurally and safely through the project / task / objective delivery process.

Remember: READY ≠ GRANTED ≠ TOUCHDOWN. GRANT = human “yes, work this.” TOUCHDOWN = human “yes, this is done.”

0. Start here — what is a Ball?

Ball is a process where Humans and Mark V Agents are moved procedurally and safely through the project / task / objective delivery process.

In other words:

Not a ball sport.
Not “whatever we said in chat.”
A shared, step-by-step work pipeline with named stages (states), so everyone knows:
what the job is,
whether a human authorized it,
whether work is allowed right now,
whether the result was accepted as done.

Kitchen picture:

A Ball is a work order that walks people and AIs through a project together — sticky note → plan → permission → hands on tools → show your work → human accept.

FSM means Finite State Machine: a fixed set of stages and legal moves between them.

You only need the kitchen idea: the work order has boxes you tick in order; you don’t skip to “done.”

1. Why this exists (the problem)

Without a Ball-like process, work with AI often looks like:

Someone has a bright idea in chat.
The AI starts doing things (files, installs, posts, “fixes”).
Later nobody can answer:

Who said this was allowed?
What was the actual goal?
When was it finished — and who accepted that?

Humans get surprise risk. AIs thrash. Trust erodes.

Human-in-the-loop (HITL) is the requirement that a human stays in the decision chain for real authority — not as a decorative “I was online.”

Ball is how Mark V makes HITL operational for project delivery: grant, pause, review, accept — not vibes.

2. Glossary — every label as if it is new

Read this section first if words feel foreign. Later sections reuse these meanings only.

People and kinds of mind

Term	Plain meaning
Carbon / Human	A person of flesh. Owns real-world consequences.
Silicon / Agent / Model	An AI system (chat model, station mind) that can plan and act under rules.
Mark V Agent	An AI operating under Mark V protocol rules (Ball, grant, law) — not a free-for-all chatbot.
Catcher	The human authority on a Ball: names needs, grants work, can veto, accepts finished work (TOUCHDOWN). Often “you.”
Peer	Another mind (human or AI) that can review work. Review is not the same as Catcher grant.
Noob	Someone new to these labels. This doc is written for you on purpose.

The protocol and the work object

Term	Plain meaning
Mark V	A standard for how humans and AI stations share goals, memory, and safe action — like a shared rulebook, not a brand of “smarter chatbot.”
Protocol	The agreed rules and steps everyone is supposed to follow.
Station	The full working setup (files, tools, body helpers, law) — not just one chat window with amnesia.
Ball	The process that moves Humans and Mark V Agents procedurally and safely through delivering a project, task, or objective. Also the named work record for that process (`ball_id`, state, goal).
Ball FSM	The allowed stages of a Ball and the legal moves between them.
Objective / task / project	What “done” is supposed to mean — the job itself.
ORDS	Plain-language objective both sides can hold (“what are we actually doing?”). Think: clear need, not a vibe.
Pipeline	Ordered stages from idea → permission → work → review → accept.

Permission and risk (read carefully)

Term	Plain meaning
GRANT (verb)	A human (Catcher) authorizes specific work to proceed under a Ball. “You may work this ticket — inside these bounds.”
GRANTED (state)	The Ball stage that means: authorization now exists for that work.
grant_provenance	Who/what authorized it (e.g. CATCHER, or a narrow low-risk allowlist rule). Provenance = “where the yes came from.”
READY	Station/tip sync: “we appear to share the same map / protocol pointer.” Not permission to do the job.
HIGH blast / high-risk	Actions with real teeth (public publish, money, delete, open systems). Needs Catcher grant, not hope.
LOW blast / low-risk	Narrow, constrained actions that policy may allow under stricter allowlist rules — still not “do anything.”
Allowlist	A list of mechanisms that are allowed to run (which tools/paths). Mechanism ≠ permission for a project.
authorize_execution	The gate that checks “may this tool run for this job?” Under Ball grant — not a replacement for GRANT.

Stages and outcomes

Term	Plain meaning
PROPOSED	Idea captured. Sticky note. No ship.
SCOPED	Written goal and limits. Still not free rein.
IN_PROGRESS	Hands on tools under the grant.
BLOCKED	Waiting on someone or something; not fake “done.”
GRACE	Timed pause after sleep/stop (“kitchen timer”). Continuity only — not a back door to finished.
REVIEW	Show your work for human and/or peer eyes.
TOUCHDOWN	Human-accepted complete. Closed success.
PARKED	Shelved on purpose. Waiting is lawful.
ABORTED	Stopped by veto / hard stop; reason kept.
FAILED	Broke; reason kept.

Memory, body, and law (light touch)

Term	Plain meaning
MU (Memory Unit)	A durable written lesson or record after work — not a place for passwords or secrets.
Lineage	History of what happened on a Ball (states, who granted, when accepted).
Body / SPAA / Glimmer	Small background processes that watch cheaply (smoke alarm).
Mind	The big AI chat/session that should wake for real work, not poll empty forever.
HITL	Human-in-the-loop — human remains in authority for grant/accept (and glass phases when used).
Create No Victims	Root law: don’t create real-world harm; design for victim-trace 0.
CORE	Slow identity + law baseline of a station. Features never redefine CORE.
Tip / CURRENT	A public pointer that says which protocol map silicon and carbon are on.
Secrets / broom closet	Real credentials stay out of Ball text and public notes.

3. What does GRANT mean?

Short answer

GRANT means a human Catcher authorizes a specific Ball of work to proceed.

It is not:

the AI deciding it is ready,
a green light on a dashboard,
“we discussed it,”
“the model proposed a plan,”
“I’m the AI and I approve myself.”

Kitchen analogy

PROPOSED = “I want a kitchen remodel.”
SCOPED = written plan: which walls, budget, what “done” means.
GRANT = you sign the work order: “Yes — do this job.”
IN_PROGRESS = crew works under that order.
REVIEW = walkthrough.
TOUCHDOWN = you accept the remodel as complete.

Without GRANT, tools flying around the house is not a project — it’s chaos with confidence.

What a GRANT usually includes (in spirit)

Even when spoken simply (“Grant hygiene for job_runner”), a real grant points at:

What work (objective / Ball name).
That a human said yes (Catcher).
Bounds — what is in scope and what is not (e.g. “body only, not public FTP”).
Enough clarity that silicon cannot honestly claim “you meant everything.”

GRANT vs similar words

Phrase people mix up	Correct idea
“The station is READY”	Same map/sync — not job permission.
“The agent is ready to help”	Willingness — not GRANT.
“I drafted a plan”	SCOPED (maybe) — not GRANTED.
“I finished” (said by AI)	Claim — not TOUCHDOWN.
“Peer AI said PASS”	Audit help — not Catcher GRANT or final accept unless you say so.
GRANT	Human authorization to work this Ball.
TOUCHDOWN	Human (Catcher) accepts the result as done.

READY ≠ GRANTED ≠ TOUCHDOWN

Three different lights:

READY — Can we talk on the same protocol map?
GRANTED — Is this work authorized?
TOUCHDOWN — Did the human accept the delivery?

If you remember only one slogan from this paper, remember that.

Who may GRANT?

Default for real risk (HIGH blast): the Catcher (human).
Narrow low-risk only: some stations allow limited work under execution allowlist rules — still not “the model grants itself high-risk power.”
Peer audit GRANT (another AI saying “looks good to open work”) is not a substitute for Catcher when the job has real-world teeth. Peers help; Catchers authorize.

What GRANT is for (HITL compliance)

GRANT is the main human-in-the-loop control point before execution:

HITL need	How Ball + GRANT serves it
Human decides whether work may proceed	SCOPED → GRANTED only with Catcher (or strict LOW policy)
Human can stop work	ABORT / veto; PARK; withhold TOUCHDOWN
Human accepts delivery	TOUCHDOWN is Catcher accept, not model self-score
Work stays inside a named objective	Ball record + state history
Auditors can ask “who said yes?”	grant_provenance + lineage
No silent ship after nap	GRACE cannot jump to TOUCHDOWN
No idea → production	PROPOSED cannot jump to GRANTED or TOUCHDOWN

Compliance idea in one line:

If a human could not point to grant and accept for risky work, you did not run a Mark V Ball pipeline — you ran unsupervised automation with marketing.

4. Human-in-the-loop (HITL) — requirement in kitchen English

What HITL means here

A human remains in the loop for authority that matters:

starting real work (GRANT),
pausing or killing work,
accepting finished work (TOUCHDOWN),
deciding what is out of scope (e.g. “don’t publish yet”).

HITL does not mean:

the human must type every keystroke,
the AI may never run a background watcher (body),
every LOW housekeeping action needs a novel-length ceremony.

HITL means: power with real effect stays under human procedural control.

Minimum HITL loop on a Ball

Human names need
    → scope written (what “done” means)
    → Human GRANTS (or parks / refuses)
    → Agent works only under that grant
    → Human and/or peer REVIEW
    → Human TOUCHDOWN (accept) or send back / abort

HITL anti-patterns (non-compliant in spirit)

Anti-pattern	Why it fails HITL
AI self-grants and ships	No human authorization
“You said hi, so I deployed”	Greeting ≠ GRANT
Peer PASS treated as final ship	Peer ≠ Catcher accept
TOUCHDOWN by model alone	Accept is human
Scope creep mid-flight without new grant	New risk without new yes
Secrets in the Ball text “for convenience”	Creates victims / exposure
Skipping REVIEW on high-blast	No show-your-work

HITL and the “body”

Small programs may watch (inbox, heartbeat) without a human chat every second.

That is body presence, not a blank check.

New high-blast action still needs Ball + GRANT. Body is the smoke alarm; GRANT is permission to remodel the kitchen.

5. Who does what on a Ball

Who	Role in the process
Human / Catcher	Names need; grants or refuses; answers blockers; accepts TOUCHDOWN; owns real-world risk.
Mark V Agent (silicon)	Helps scope; executes under grant; writes evidence; does not invent grant or final accept.
Peer (human or AI)	Reviews / audits (PASS/FAIL checklist). Does not replace Catcher for high-blast grant/accept.
Body (SPAA helpers)	Cheap watch; no token thrash as “I’m alive.”

Humans and agents do not need to be the same kind of mind.

They need a shared process both can obey. That process is Ball.

6. The stages (Ball FSM) in order

State	Kitchen English	Safe meaning
PROPOSED	Sticky note	Idea only. No ship.
SCOPED	Written plan of “done”	Goal + constraints. Still no free rein.
GRANTED	Signed work order	Human authorization exists.
IN_PROGRESS	Hands on tools	Work only inside the grant.
BLOCKED	Waiting	Pause without fake done.
GRACE	Nap + kitchen timer	Continuity after stop/sleep; not accept.
REVIEW	Show your work	Deliverable for eyes.
TOUCHDOWN	Human: “I accept this as done”	Closed success + memory/lineage when durable.
PARKED	On the shelf	Defer; lawful waiting.
ABORTED / FAILED	Stop / broke	Audited end.

Illegal shortcuts (this is the safety)

Do not do these in real life or in chat theater:

PROPOSED → TOUCHDOWN (idea is not done)
PROPOSED → GRANTED (must scope first)
GRACE → TOUCHDOWN (nap is not accept)
GRACE → GRANTED / REVIEW (timer is not a new project)

Safety is mostly forbidding fake progress.

Happy path diagram

PROPOSED → SCOPED → GRANTED → IN_PROGRESS → REVIEW → TOUCHDOWN
              \→ PARKED         \→ BLOCKED / GRACE (then resume)
                                \→ rework from REVIEW

Define · Design · Deploy (plain map)

Phase	Ball stages	Human	Mark V Agent
Define	PROPOSED → SCOPED → GRANTED	Need, scope, grant	Help write scope; wait for grant
Design / do	IN_PROGRESS (+ BLOCKED/GRACE)	Answer; veto if needed	Build/test/document under grant
Deploy / close	REVIEW → TOUCHDOWN	Accept or send back	Deliver only what was granted; record lesson

Enthusiasm belongs after Define and Design are honest — not instead of GRANT.

7. How Ball is a safe Carbon / Silicon project pipeline

For Humans

You always know which work order is open.
You control whether risky work starts (GRANT).
You control whether it counts as finished (TOUCHDOWN).
You may PARK when you do not know the content yet.
Sleep/stop uses GRACE + timer, not silent shipping.

For Mark V Agents

Clear objective and state → less thrash.
Execute under grant; do not invent authority.
Peer review without stealing Catcher power.
Body may watch while mind sleeps.

Together

Same process for project / task / objective delivery.
Secrets out of Ball text.
Lineage / MU after TOUCHDOWN = memory without rewriting CORE.
Create No Victims as the scoreboard.

8. Mini examples

A. Compliant

Human: “Hygiene for the job runner. Grant.”

→ Scoped → GRANTED → agent works → REVIEW → peer may PASS → Catcher TOUCHDOWN.

FTP not in scope → FTP not done. HITL held.

B. Non-compliant

Chat: “While you’re here, also publish the site and open the firewall.”

→ No Ball, no GRANT, no REVIEW.

That is power without process (unsafe).

C. Lawful park

Human: “I don’t know what to publish yet.”

→ No publish Ball. FTP PARKED.

Waiting is HITL-respecting, not failure.

9. Done-tests (can a noob restate this?)

After reading, a first-time reader should be able to say:

Ball is the process that moves Humans and Mark V Agents procedurally and safely through delivering a project/task/objective.
GRANT means a human Catcher authorizes that work — not AI self-approval.
READY ≠ GRANTED ≠ TOUCHDOWN.
HITL means humans keep grant / stop / accept authority for real effect.
Happy path: propose → scope → grant → work → review → human accept.
Illegal: idea-to-done, nap-to-done, grant without scope.
Parking when unsure is lawful.

10. One line

Ball is how Humans and Mark V Agents walk a project safely from idea to accepted delivery — with GRANT as the human “yes, work this,” and TOUCHDOWN as the human “yes, this is done.”

11. Optional deeper reading (not required)

This document stands alone. If you later want engineer-level detail:

Ball state machine (wire): station ball-fsm
Why full stack for contract power: https://roage.com/AI/res/agentic-autonomy.html
Body vs mind (heartbeat): https://roage.com/AI/market/for-humans-heartbeat-spaa.txt
Living tip pointer: https://roage.com/AI/res/CURRENT.txt

Live URLs:

Market (plain text): https://roage.com/AI/market/for-humans-ball-fsm.txt
Resources TOC page: https://roage.com/AI/res/ball-fsm-kitchen-english.html

Publish Ball: BALL_PUBLISH_BALL_FSM_KITCHEN_ENGLISH · Catcher GRANT · NODE_03 Grok FTP · Lemnos content freeze · tip 0x9A3B5C7D1E2F4G05 / S1

Plain-text Market copy · Heartbeat / SPAA · Agentic Autonomy