A key is a unique cryptographic identity credential assigned to every human in the post-reconstitution era. It is the foundational layer of human civic infrastructure - the thing that connects a physical person to their identity record, their artha allocation (see: Artha), their personal devices (see: Pinto), and their standing within both human and federation systems. Most humans interact with their key dozens of times daily and think about it almost never.
The key system has two components: a biointegrated identifier implanted in the body, and a cloud-hosted identity record maintained on distributed infrastructure.
The biointegrated identifier is a passive transponder. It does not compute, store data, or run processes. When queried by an external device - a Pinto, a fabrication terminal, a medical scanner, a door - it responds with a cryptographic confirmation: this specific identifier is physically present. It is unpowered, inert under normal circumstances, and constructed from federation-standard biocompatible materials that make it functionally indestructible through any plausible accident or misuse. The owner cannot feel it and under normal circumstances has no reason to think about it.
The identifier does not know who its owner is. It knows only that it is itself and can prove it. All identity resolution - "this identifier belongs to this person, with these credentials, this allocation, these permissions" - happens in the cloud. The identifier is the key. The lock is elsewhere.
When a device queries the identifier, the interaction follows a simple chain: the identifier confirms its presence, the device contacts the nearest verification node on the cloud network, the node confirms the identity associated with that identifier, and the device acts accordingly. On Earth, this process is imperceptible - cheat-space-compressed planetary networking makes the round trip effectively instantaneous.
The cloud identity system is distributed across human-occupied space rather than centralized on Earth. Verification nodes - infrastructure installations carrying synchronized copies of the identity database - are maintained at every significant human settlement. Nodes synchronize with each other and with Earth's master records through cheat-space communication, with propagation times ranging from imperceptible (planetary) to seconds (nearby stars) to minutes (distant systems).
This means a key works wherever human infrastructure exists. On Earth, authentication is instantaneous. On Mars or in the outer solar system, there may be milliseconds of latency. At an interstellar colony, the local verification node handles authentication without round-tripping to Earth, drawing on its most recent synchronized copy of the identity database.
At the edges of human-occupied space - a research station in a remote system, a cabin on an Apocritan hive-ship in transit - the infrastructure thins. If no local verification node is reachable, the owner's Pinto falls back on locally cached identity data from its last synchronization. Core functions continue to work. Interactions with unfamiliar infrastructure that requires real-time verification may not. The practical experience of this is that the further you travel from human settlements, the less your key can do for you at any given moment, not because your identity is in question but because the systems that confirm it have less reach. For most travelers this is a minor inconvenience. For people living on the deep frontier, it is a fact of life that shapes daily routines - you sync when you can, you cache what you need, you get used to the Pinto occasionally telling you it can't verify something right now.
Pre-reconstitution population. The original eight billion humans had their keys generated from biometric data collected during the Atma Unit's comprehensive scan. The identifier was implanted during the reconstitution process. Individuals woke up with a key already active and an identity record already populated in the cloud system, without their consultation.
Post-reconstitution births. Individuals born after reconstitution receive their key through a non-destructive biometric imaging session performed as part of standard postnatal care, typically within the first few days of life. The session captures sufficient biological data - neural architecture markers, genetic identifiers, and other biometric inputs - to generate a cryptographic key that is functionally equivalent to those held by the pre-reconstitution population. The biointegrated identifier is implanted during the same postnatal care sequence. The process is routine, documented, and bundled with other standard newborn medical procedures. Guardians are informed and the process is recorded in the child's care record.
The two populations' keys are functionally identical. The difference is in the provenance of the underlying data - the pre-reconstitution population's keys are derived from a comprehensive consciousness scan performed nonconsensually; the post-reconstitution population's keys are derived from a targeted biometric scan performed on a newborn who cannot consent to registration in a system they did not choose - but the credential itself operates identically in both cases.
A key connects its owner to the following systems:
Identity verification. The key is proof of personhood within both human and federation systems. It confirms that you are a specific, unique individual. Federation interspecies protocols recognize human keys as valid identity credentials, allowing key-holders to interact with non-human systems, enter non-human facilities, and participate in interspecies legal and economic frameworks.
Artha allocation. The key is linked to the owner's artha account. Monthly allocation is credited to the key. Spending artha on fabrication, services, or other infrastructure-time claims is authenticated through the key. Without an active key, an individual has no access to the managed economy. (See: Artha)
Device authentication. The Pinto and other personal devices authenticate against the key. A Pinto will only function for its keyed owner. Replacement devices authenticate against the same key and restore the owner's full profile. (See: Pinto)
Medical records. The key links to the owner's medical history, maintained in the cloud system and accessible to medical providers and AI diagnostic systems. In emergency situations, a medical responder can query the key to retrieve relevant medical data without the patient's conscious participation.
Civic participation. Voting in preference-layer decisions, participating in civic committees, and other forms of democratic engagement within the post-reconstitution governance framework are authenticated through the key.
Key renunciation is permitted and the process is straightforward. An individual may request that their biointegrated identifier be deactivated and their cloud identity record suspended. Upon confirmation that the individual understands the practical consequences, the request is processed.
A renounced key results in the following: artha allocation is held in suspension (not forfeited); the Pinto and other authenticated devices cease to function; access to the managed economy, fabrication infrastructure, identity-gated services, and civic participation systems is suspended; and the individual's federation-recognized identity credentials become inactive, limiting their ability to interact with non-human systems that require key-verified identity.
The individual retains access to everything that does not require key verification: public spaces, the natural environment, unmanaged resources, basic infrastructure that is too cheap to meter (water, air, public transit, emergency medical care), and the society of other humans. Renunciation does not make a person invisible or non-existent. It removes them from the managed layer of civilization while leaving the unmanaged layer - which is most of the physical world - fully accessible.
Reactivation is available at any time. The suspended identity record, artha balance, and associated data are maintained indefinitely. The system holds your place without requiring you to fill it.
The number of individuals living with renounced keys at any given time is small, from a variety of demographics. The last civic census indicated that approximately 400,000 human individuals have renounced their keys.
Children are keyed at birth and cannot meaningfully consent to the process. Guardians may request renunciation on a child's behalf, though this is uncommon and results in the child's exclusion from managed infrastructure (including education systems, pediatric medical records, and allocation) until the key is reactivated. Upon reaching the age of majority, individuals may confirm or renounce their key as they see fit.
The ethical status of neonatal keying is the subject of periodic public discussion. The prevailing view, as expressed in civic committee records, is that keying a newborn is comparable to other nonconsensual decisions made on behalf of children who cannot yet participate in decisions about their own welfare - naming, vaccination, enrollment in civic systems - and that the availability of renunciation upon majority provides sufficient respect for future autonomy.