ASCII Successor with Compatible Encoding of Named Text
Keep every classic ASCII byte sacred. Ascend the rest without burning the stairs.
ASCENT Nexus v2.0.3 - dual-mode resilience architecture card · PNG · JPG · live
ASCENT is a wire encoding and control grammar for text, agents, multimodal references, quantum-safe control envelopes, and deep-space ECC profiles. It is a future-facing successor spirit to classic 7-bit ASCII (ANSI X3.4 / 1963):
| Pillar | Contract |
|---|---|
| Eternal identity | Every byte less than 0x80 is classic ASCII, bit-identical, forever |
| Agent-native | Fenced control tokens (ROLE, TOOL, THINK, ...) share the stream with prose |
| Multimodal | Content-addressed refs and length-declared media units (no surrogate-pair hacks) |
| Quantum-safe control | Append-only algorithm registry; no silent downgrade |
| Deep-space (ASCENT-D) | Outer ECC frames; parity fail erases the unit (no mojibake) |
| Self-describing | A valid document can carry plane maps, registries, and version history |
This is not "Unicode but better." It is a stream contract greppers can still trust.
ASCENT Nexus Wire Lab 2.0 (architecture card v2.0.3): dual text/hex live sync, agent + multimodal composers, ASCENT-D bit-error / erase-on-fail simulator, AEGIR sketch, interactive eleven-plane explorer, 2-minute tour, SPEC try-this, and codegen. Dual-mode Grok+Starlink resilience plan (CLOUD / EDGE / QUEUE). Sacred P0 meter and Hello, Universe sample included.
Follow: @suddenlyjon
| Surface | Version |
|---|---|
| Nexus site / architecture card | 2.0.3 |
| SPEC | 1.0.0-rc1 |
| Frozen Cont packing (ASCENT-V) | Cont 0xA0-0xBF (5-bit) |
| Python package (PyPI) | ascent-wire 2.0.1 |
| JS package (npm) | ascent-wire 2.0.1 |
Open the live site and click Decode Hello, Universe.
python ref/ascent_decode.py --self-test
python ref/ascent_decode.py --hello
python ref/ascent_decode.py examples/hello-universe.ascent.bin --json# from repo root
set PYTHONPATH=ref
python tests/test_ascent_codec.pyShared library: ref/ascent_codec.py (ASCENT-7, frozen ASCENT-V, UTF-8 MM bridge). Lab non-ASCII modes on the live site: ASCENT-V / UTF-8 bridge / ASCENT-7 reject.
P9 outer frame with RS(255,223), erase-on-fail. Uses public Celestrak ISS TLE and a LEO BER channel model. No RF transmit.
set PYTHONPATH=ref
python tests/test_ascent_d_satellite.pyModule: ref/ascent_d.py.
AEGIR is a first-class P7 encryption suite: dual-core hybrid KEM (ML-KEM + X25519), History-Bound Outer Pad, agent-fenced ceremony (ROLE/CAP), Ghost Continuum IMS seals, and append-only registry (no silent downgrade). Design: design/AEGIR.md. Registry seeds: SPEC.md C.3.3.
set PYTHONPATH=ref
python ref/aegir_sketch.py --self-test
python ref/aegir_sketch.py --list-algs
python tests/test_aegir.py
# optional DCH-768 (requires: pip install kyber-py)
python ref/aegir_sketch.py --self-testif byte < 0x80:
emit classic 7-bit ASCII (width 1)
never recombine into a multi-byte unit
else:
enter ASCENT extension grammar
Overlong encodings of 0x00-0x7F are illegal forever.
One valid ASCENT-E stream:
- Greppable header
ASCENT/1.0 - Human text
Hello, Universe. - Agent frame
ROLE=guide - Multimodal
REFwith SHA-256 binding
Agent frame alone:
9A C1 01 00 02 00 00 06 05 67 75 69 64 65 9B
Full hex map: SPEC.md section E.
| Profile | Role |
|---|---|
ASCENT-7 |
Pure classic ASCII identity |
ASCENT-E |
Earth / general interchange |
ASCENT-D |
Deep-space outer ECC |
ASCENT-A |
Archive / self-description heavy |
Full guide: INSTALL.md · PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/ascent-wire/
pip install ascent-wire
ascent self-test
ascent encode --header --role guide "Hello, Universe."
python -m ascent helloPackage name: ascent-wire (import ascent). Requires Python 3.10+. Optional: pip install "ascent-wire[deep-space]".
set PYTHONPATH=ref
python tests/test_ascent_codec.py
node tests/run_js_lock.js
python tests/test_js_python_lock.pySee docs/AGENT-LOOP.md for ROLE/TOOL/THINK/SAFETY recipes and docs/SPEC-FREEZE-1.0-RC.md for the 1.0-RC freeze checklist.
SPEC.md Normative draft (sections A-F)
ABSTRACT.md One-page abstract
ascent/ Installable package (ascent-wire)
pyproject.toml Packaging
docs/ Infographic, agent-loop, SPEC freeze RC
ref/ascent_decode.py Earth-profile reference decoder
ref/aegir_sketch.py AEGIR encrypt/decrypt sketch (DEMO + optional DCH-768)
examples/ Canonical .bin samples
site/public/ Live Nexus Wire Lab 2.0 (Cloudflare Pages)
tests/ Python goldens + JS lock
design/ Non-normative design provenance (incl. AEGIR)
assets/masters/ Source OG + infographic masters
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SPEC.md | Full normative draft |
| ABSTRACT.md | RFC-style one-pager |
| docs/ascent-infographic.png | Architecture infographic v2.0.3 (dual-mode plan) |
| docs/GROK-ASCENT-STARLINK-ARCHITECTURE.md | Grok over ASCENT over Starlink design package |
| docs/ascent-starlink-interface.png | Horizontal ASCENT x Starlink interface map (2400x1100) |
| examples/ascent_starlink_client/ | Dual-mode CLI skeleton (cloud / edge / queue) |
| docs/AGENT-LOOP.md | LLM agent loop guide |
| docs/SPEC-FREEZE-1.0-RC.md | 1.0-RC freeze checklist |
| ref/ascent_decode.py | Python decoder |
| ref/aegir_sketch.py | AEGIR encryption sketch |
| design/AEGIR.md | AEGIR companion design (full) |
| examples/hello-universe.ascent.bin | Sample stream |
| examples/agent-loop-demo.ascent.bin | Multi-frame agent sample |
| examples/hello-universe-aegir.ascent.bin | Encrypted Hello (AEGIR-DEMO) |
MIT - see LICENSE.
GitHub Issues only. No personal contact required.
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