E1P as Coherent Superset of Cellular Automata

We present theoretical derivation and experimental protocol for testing whether the coherent structure threshold in excitable cellular automata shifts from 2/π ≈ 0.637 (regular lattices) to φ⁻¹ ≈ 0.618 (quasi-crystalline lattices with scale-coupled dynamics). This tests the hypothesis that Energetic First Principles (E1P) functions as a superset framework where standard CA emerge as a degenerate case with phase-ordering and scale-coupling constraints relaxed. We derive the geometric origin of 2/π from Euclidean continuum limits, show how φ⁻¹ emerges when inflation-discrete scaling replaces continuous neighborhoods, and specify a falsifiable experimental protocol with rigorous controls. The Bridge Lemma provides the mathematical bridge: the value α = φ⁻¹ is a geometric identity (the "new mass fraction" per inflation step in φ-governed tilings), and the claim η_c = α is validated only when three preregistered diagnostics pass (inflation covariance, shell localization, RG closure). The protocol tests seven experimental conditions across Penrose (φ-inflation) and Ammann-Beenker (√2-inflation) tilings, with controls to discriminate lattice effects from rule artifacts. If confirmed, this establishes the first empirical evidence that golden-ratio scaling reflects structural necessity in coherent dynamics rather than curve-fitting, and demonstrates that standard cellular automata are E1P with constraints relaxed.