Cosmic Metabolism and Observational Scale Calibration: A Unified Alternative Framework for the Hubble Tension, Early Galaxy Paradox, and Cosmological Redshift via Scale Factor χ = 11.2

This paper proposes a minimalist cosmological paradigm based on the "Variable Constant Axiom." By auditing the "Hubble Tension" (an 8.3% observational discrepancy), we derive a universal cosmic metabolism rate, χ ≈ 11.2. Our model demonstrates that cosmological redshift is not a result of metric expansion, but rather the natural energy decay of photons over trans-order time scales. Consequently, we formally de-materialize Dark Energy (70% of the universe) and Dark Matter (25% of the universe) as geometric projection errors arising from mismatched observational scales. Furthermore, the Big Bang singularity is identified as a mathematical miscalculation resulting from the failure to account for scale-dependent ruler shrinkage. By re-calibrating high-redshift data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) using χ = 11.2, the "Early Galaxy Paradox" is resolved. We suggest an immediate audit of long-term atomic clock residuals for a predicted systematic drift of ~6 × 10^-12 per year (~0.0018 m/s annually in c). The universe is not a post-explosion remnant, but a logically transparent, steady-state metabolic structure.