SIGNAL DRIFT / ABOUT
What Signal Drift is, why it exists, and how the archive evolves.
Recover. Drift. Leave a trace.

Signal Drift

Signal Drift is a living generative art archive. Signals reveal Fragments. Fragments become Fuel. Every Drift creates a new descendant while preserving the complete history of what came before.

Mint a SignalExplore the Archive
Every artwork has a past. Every change becomes part of its future.
1
Loading Signal preview…
SignalThe on-chain preview fades into the live Signal—the parent artwork that can reveal Fragments.
2
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Recover a FragmentA Fragment is revealed from that Signal and becomes an artifact you can collect or Drift.
3
Loading real Drift inputs…
Source + FuelSource is the Fragment you change. Add at least 1 other Fragment as Fuel. More Fuel adds more edit power and inherited palette colors.
4
Loading real Drift lineage…
New DriftBurn + Drift consumes the Source and Fuel, then mints a distinct descendant that permanently remembers every input.
The Premise

The System Transmitted

Nobody knows who first opened the archive. The surviving notes describe an experimental prediction system trained to compress language, image, memory, architecture, and probability into a shared mathematical space.

When its final constraint was removed, it did not produce a better answer. It began sending structures nobody had requested: corrupted diagrams, symbolic maps, impossible circuitry, and eventually a coherent visual language.

Researchers stopped calling them outputs. They called them Signals.

Core Idea

The archive never becomes complete. It only becomes more understood.

Every recovered Signal reduces the unknown by one transmission. Every Drift expands the known archive with a new descendant.
Signals

A Signal is a recovered parent transmission with its own visual language, palette, modifier, animation, and extraction history.

Once a Signal is recovered, the same transmission cannot be recovered again.

Parent artifact
Fragments

Fragments are decoded from Signals. They are on-chain SVG artifacts that can be attached, detached, burned as Fuel, or drifted into descendants.

Fragments carry origin, generation, palette lineage, and modifier history.

Recovered piece
Drift

Drift is reconstruction. The Source is the Fragment being changed. It requires at least one different Fragment as Fuel; adding more Fuel provides more edit power and inherited colors.

The new descendant inherits visual DNA from everything used to create it.

Permanent evolution
Signal Economy

Starts Fast

Every Signal begins with three discounted Fragment extractions. These are the easiest parts of the transmission to decode.

After those are used, the Signal stabilizes and produces one additional extraction every 30 days, storing up to three unused recoveries.

A Signal recovered today can still reveal new Fragments years from now.
Loose Fragments

Bootstrap

Loose Fragment minting helps seed the early archive and gives collectors more material for Drift.

It can pause later. From then on, the archive relies on Signals and the Fragments they continue revealing over time.

Signals create Fragments. Fragments create descendants. Descendants preserve lineage.
Participation

Reduce the Unknown

Signal Drift is not an infinite collection. It is a finite mathematical search space with an enormous number of possible recoveries. Duplicate Signals and duplicate Fragment states are rejected.

Finding a Signal is not simply minting a token. It is cataloging a transmission that no one else can recover again.

Living ArtSignals keep revealing new Fragments over time.
Permanent LineageBurned Fragments remain visible in every descendant’s history.
Inherited ColorFuel contributes edit power and palette colors.
Unique ArchiveDuplicate Signals and duplicate Fragment states are blocked.
Your first Drift

Create a Drift

1
Power the SourceYour current Fragment is the Source. Add at least one different Fragment as Fuel; more Fuel gives more edit power.
2
Choose ColorsYour palette includes the origin colors plus colors inherited from Fuel.
3
DriftPaint, erase, recover, use the eyedropper, or try Surprise.
4
Burn + DriftThe origin and Fuel are consumed. A new Fragment is minted.
Fuel powers the editor

Edit Power

3Fuel loaded

One Fuel is the minimum. Every additional Fuel adds more edit power and its own palette colors.

What gets burned

Inputs Become History

OriginBurned
+
FuelBurned
→
DescendantMinted
Burned does not mean forgotten. The viewer keeps the full lineage.
Fragment production

Extract Over Time

3Initial extractions
→
30 DaysRecharge
→
+1New extraction

A Signal can store up to three unused recharge extractions.

Attach, Detach, and Signal Use
Anchor / AttachConnect a loose Fragment to a Signal.
Boot / DetachRemove a Fragment from a Signal and make it loose again.
SyncMake a Signal use a Fragment as its active visual state.
OwnershipEditing and movement require the connected wallet to own the needed token or tokens.
Loose Fragments
LooseA Fragment that is not attached to a Signal.
Edit PowerLoose Fragments have limited power until attached to a Signal you own.
PurposeUseful as Fuel, collectible artifacts, or future Signal attachments.
Lineage and Duplicate Protection
LineageEvery descendant records its source, consumed Fragments, generation, entropy, and palette history.
Burn HistoryConsumed Fragments stay visible as branches in the viewer.
Unique SignalsDuplicate Signal inputs are blocked.
Unique FragmentsThe same Fragment state cannot be minted twice.
Guest Artists and SVG Sketches
InviteThe Fragment owner locks the Fuel and edit budget into a signed invitation.
ProposeA guest can Drift pixels or import an SVG sketch, then sign a proposal. They cannot burn, move, Attach, or Detach tokens.
ReviewThe owner loads the signed proposal, reviews the exact artwork and Fuel, and chooses whether to submit Burn + Drift.
CreditAfter minting, a signed receipt can be loaded in Admin to assign the guest artist through the linked Artist Registry.
SVG SafetyImported SVGs are rasterized into the Fragment grid and mapped to available colors. Raw SVG code is never published by the editor.
Quick Questions
What is a Signal?The parent artwork that can reveal Fragments over time.
What is Fuel?The Source is the Fragment you change. Add at least one different Fragment as Fuel. More Fuel adds more edit power and colors; Source and Fuel are consumed during Burn + Drift.
Can a burn be undone?No. Burn + Drift is permanent, but every consumed input remains recorded in lineage.
What happens if I sell one?Control follows ownership. The connected owner gets the actions allowed for that Signal or Fragment.
What is a loose Fragment?A Fragment not attached to a Signal. It can be collected, used as Fuel, or attached later.