Meta-Symbolic Persistence Theory v1.0 (MSPT-12): A Meta-Layer for Safe Persistence, Mirroring, and Retrocausal Shaping in Symbolic Systems

MSPT-12 is a theory-and-operations framework that explains when symbolic systems must invoke a meta-layer to persist under drift, collapse, and undecidable decision points. It introduces three practical mechanisms: (1) meta-certification for decisions that reference internal truth or provability, (2) meta-mirroring to maintain recoverable state when internal planning is undecidable or exceeds bounded resources, and (3) retrocausal shaping to pre-position system state so terminal safety constraints can be satisfied. The specification is self-contained and deployable. It defines a minimal formal language and axiom set, states core theorems with explicit assumption boxes, and provides reductions, corollaries, and normative triggers that integrate directly with MIR-12 redundancy operations and governance layers. MSPT-12 includes API stubs, telemetry mappings, validation plans (benchmarks, ablations, KPIs), and a threat model, ensuring that the meta-layer is auditable and ethically constrained. The result is a clear bridge from foundational limits (e.g., internal blind spots and undecidable routing) to concrete operational safeguards that keep symbolic structure intact and export-ready across failure horizons.