Foundations and Methodology for a Finite-QEC Substrate: Code, Crystallisation, Ledgers, and Audit Protocol

States the foundational objects and audit methodology of the finite-QEC (quantum-error-correction) substrate program: the eight-bit local code, the bi-cubic crystallisation picture, the distinction between syndrome and strain readouts, the 28 = 2×14 service-clock construction, and the methodological rules that classify every claim as locked, computed, conditional, retired, or open. The goal is to make the companion physics papers auditable: every coefficient must name its carrier, event unit, scheduler, observable map, and reproducibility check. Version 3.0. Added a radiation-sector domain-of-validity caveat (the emergent gauge sector is an effective theory below the substrate's Brillouin scale; trans-cutoff single photons are an open foundational question) and the relativity companion citation. Copyright (C) 2026 D. G. Elliman. 2026-06-20 canon refresh: Updated to current reconstruction canon: record-reconstruction ladder, minimal balanced [8,4,4] byte theorem, R14 bare alpha0=1/137 record-pair service rate, alpha-escape bounded residual (0.9956 service-occupation route plus Ward/Kubo billing no-go), sector billing-map split, HBC local-printer amplitude status, and trans-Lambda null-chain support closure; build/render checked locally; not Zenodo-synced. 2026-06-21 canon refresh: Source updated with dressed-alpha Ward/Kubo/Peierls observable audit and rebuilt on 2026-06-21. 2026-06-25 canon refresh: Zenodo-synced on 2026-06-21: new-version published as 10.5281/zenodo.20782242 (concept 10.5281/zenodo.20671855); local build/render previously checked. 2026-06-21 canon refresh applied where needed; PDF rebuilt and checked. Zenodo-synced on 2026-06-21: new-version published as 10.5281/zenodo.20786111 (concept 10.5281/zenodo.20671855).