Transition Period Roadmap

The Earthlings people is in its formative stage. Full decentralization is the goal, not the starting point. We are building it openly, and everyone can observe the process.

This document describes the transition period: from the moment of foundation to achieving full governance autonomy. It should not be confused with the Charter's 90-day transitional period (Article 39), which is counted from the founding event and concerns the launch of bodies: what is described here is a multi-year path of decentralization. It establishes the principles that guide us, the phases we plan to complete, and the control mechanisms that ensure accountability at every step.

The transition period is built on five principles that ensure the legitimacy of the process and protect participants' interests:

Transition Period Functions

During the transition phase, functions are performed that will subsequently be transferred to the DAO:

• Making operational decisions on infrastructure development
• Managing financial resources with public reporting
• Coordinating technical development
• Representing the Earthlings people in external communications

These powers are temporary and functional.

Authority Limitations

Even during the transition period, founders cannot:

• Modify the Declaration or its fundamental principles
• Deprive Earthlings of their status or rights
• Make decisions that contradict the people's values
• Use community resources for personal purposes
• Block the decentralization process

Control Mechanisms

To ensure accountability during the transition period, the following are in effect:

• Quarterly reports - financial information and development progress, openly available
• Openness of decisions - decisions made and the reasons behind them are recorded and available for independent review
• Feedback channels - any Earthling can ask a question and receive an answer

Funding Sources

The funding of the Earthlings people is structured as follows:

• Personal funds of the founder - the current source of the founding stage; external funds have not yet been raised
• Membership fees - one-time fee upon joining
• Voluntary donations and grants - voluntary support for development
• Partnerships - collaboration with projects that share Earthlings values

Expenditure Categories

Funds are directed to:

• Development and maintenance of technical infrastructure
• Legal support and protection of interests
• Operational expenses (servers, services, security)
• Community development and communications
• Reserve fund for unforeseen circumstances

Reporting

Financial information is published quarterly starting from the founding event and includes:

• Total volume of receipts by source
• Distribution of expenses by category
• Remaining funds and reserves
• Planned expenses for the next period

Development Principles

Technical infrastructure is created with future decentralization in mind:

• Reproducibility - the registry of passports lives on the blockchain, not on our servers: if the infrastructure is shut down or captured, the community can build a new platform against the same registry (what is open and why)
• Modularity - components can be replaced without rebuilding the entire system
• No single point of failure - critical systems are duplicated

Current Component Status

Transition from one phase to the next occurs upon meeting objective criteria, not by founders' decision:

Transition to Phase 3 (DAO Launch)

• Critical mass of verified participants is achieved
• Governance smart contracts have passed independent audit
• Successful testing of voting mechanisms is completed
• Community has demonstrated capacity for self-organization

Transition to Phase 4 (Full Decentralization)

• DAO has successfully operated for at least 12 months
• At least 100 decisions have been made through the voting mechanism
• No critical security incidents have occurred
• Technical infrastructure does not depend on specific individuals
• Administrative burning of SBT passports (owner-burn) transferred under multisig or DAO control; grounds for burning restricted by a public policy
• Treasury keys have passed to a multisig of elected Core Nodes or to DAO control: no one can dispose of the funds single-handedly
• Community has confirmed readiness for full autonomy through voting

The transition is a vulnerable moment: the old order is broken, the new one is not yet locked in, and power is easy to hold on to "temporarily, for the sake of order." That is why our transition is protected by design, not by promises - by three pillars, none of which reduces to trusting the founders.

The founders' power only narrows, never expands

Each stage consolidates the decentralization achieved and revokes part of the temporary powers. We deliberately refuse the temptation to "temporarily concentrate power for the sake of efficiency" - the very justification used by every transitional dictatorship.

The core is already out of reach

By the system's design, the immutable foundations of the Declaration are not subject to change - neither by the founders nor by a majority - not in the transition and not after. The procedure and the infrastructure can be tuned; that for the sake of which everything exists is protected from any hand from the very beginning.

The guarantor is not a guardian but the right to leave

The ultimate protection of the transition is the same as that of a mature people: voluntary membership and open, reproducible code. If the transition is captured or stalled without objective reasons, participants do not depend on the founders' mercy - they leave and reproduce the people on an uncaptured basis. This turns transparency from a plea for trust into a lever: a delay in decentralization becomes both visible and reversible by the community's own efforts.

What makes a continuation legitimate

The right to reproduce the people on open code does not mean that anyone who has copied the code becomes Earthlings. A copy of the code carries over neither the people, nor their choice, nor the accumulated legitimacy - it carries over only the tool. A legitimate continuation is recognized not by possession of the code but by verifiable marks:

• The core preserved - a continuation leaves the immutable foundations of the Declaration untouched; whoever changes the core by definition creates something else rather than continuing Earthlings.
• The will of verified people - the people go where the majority of verified participants freely move, one person - one vote; legitimacy is carried by people, not by servers or a repository.
• Continuity of values and procedure - the transition is open, verifiable, and accountable under the same rules that applied before it.

Thus neither a capture can pass itself off as the people, nor a split for the sake of splitting can appropriate its name: a legitimate continuation has marks that cannot be forged by copying. The right to leave protects the people from both sides - from whoever would seize the center, and from whoever would call their copy that which the people did not follow.

We openly acknowledge the risks of the transition period and describe mechanisms to minimize them:

Risk of Power Concentration

Problem: Founders may not want to transfer governance.

Protection: Covered in detail in the section "How the Transition Itself Is Protected": the founders' power only narrows, the immutable core is beyond their reach, and the right of exit and reproduction on open code makes a capture reversible by the community's own efforts. The protection is structural, not only reputational: abuse is not merely visible - it is reversible without the founders' consent, and a self-proclaimed copy cannot appropriate the name of the people.

Risk of Technical Errors

Problem: Vulnerabilities in smart contracts or infrastructure.

Protection: Phased deployment and backup mechanisms; an independent audit and a vulnerability disclosure program are planned before operations expand.

Risk of External Pressure

Problem: States or organizations may oppose the project.

Protection: Decentralized architecture eliminates a single point of attack. The legal structure may be distributed across jurisdictions: the legal interfaces are replaceable. Transparency of activities reduces grounds for persecution.

Risk of Community Apathy

Problem: Participants may not participate in governance.

Protection: Vote delegation mechanisms, reputation system, gradual involvement through working groups, educational programs.

This document is not a promise. It is a plan we intend to execute, and commitments against which we can be held accountable.

A transition period is inevitable for any new formation. The question is how it is organized. We have chosen the path of maximum transparency: we acknowledge current limitations, establish principles, publish criteria, and report on progress.

Every Earthling has the right to:

• Demand an account of any transition period decision
• Ask questions and receive answers
• Participate in development discussions
• Point out inconsistencies between words and actions