{
  "schema": "ab5d-series-essay/1",
  "identity": {
    "chainId": 1,
    "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
    "projectId": 217,
    "slug": "paths-by-darien-brito",
    "title": "Paths",
    "artistCredit": "Darien Brito",
    "artistDossierUrls": [
      "https://ab5d.xyz/artists/"
    ]
  },
  "revision": 2,
  "researchCutoff": "2026-09-18",
  "status": "published-with-research-limitations",
  "facts": [
    {
      "id": "minted-count",
      "topic": "mint",
      "value": 523,
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02"
      ],
      "status": "reported",
      "note": "Current index invocations, equal to maximum on this completed project."
    },
    {
      "id": "max-invocations",
      "topic": "mint",
      "value": 523,
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02"
      ],
      "status": "reported"
    },
    {
      "id": "first-mint",
      "topic": "mint",
      "value": "2021-11-27T22:30:52+00:00",
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02",
        "S04"
      ],
      "status": "reported"
    },
    {
      "id": "activated-at",
      "topic": "mint",
      "value": "2021-12-02T20:44:40+00:00",
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02"
      ],
      "status": "reported"
    },
    {
      "id": "start-datetime",
      "topic": "mint",
      "value": "2021-12-09T20:00:00+00:00",
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02"
      ],
      "status": "reported"
    },
    {
      "id": "completed-at",
      "topic": "mint",
      "value": "2021-12-09T20:33:24+00:00",
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02"
      ],
      "status": "reported"
    },
    {
      "id": "license-label",
      "topic": "rights",
      "value": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02",
        "S06"
      ],
      "status": "reported"
    },
    {
      "id": "script-type",
      "topic": "construction",
      "value": "three@0.124.0",
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02",
        "S03"
      ],
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "id": "historic-unit-price-eth",
      "topic": "mint",
      "value": null,
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S01",
        "S02"
      ],
      "status": "unknown",
      "note": "No contemporaneous primary price table recovered this session."
    }
  ],
  "rights": {
    "artwork": {
      "reportedLabel": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
      "category": "creative-commons",
      "termsUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02",
        "S06"
      ],
      "note": "Label copied from projects_metadata.license. Unversioned CC strings are not inferred as 4.0.",
      "unresolvedConflicts": []
    },
    "code": {
      "reportedLabel": null,
      "category": "unknown",
      "termsUrl": null,
      "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S02",
        "S03"
      ],
      "note": "No separate artist-code licence field was present on the project record.",
      "unresolvedConflicts": []
    },
    "thirdParty": [
      {
        "name": "three.js 0.124.0",
        "reportedLabel": "MIT License (three.js)",
        "category": "custom",
        "termsUrl": "https://github.com/mrdoob/three.js/blob/dev/LICENSE",
        "observedAt": "2026-09-18",
        "sourceIds": [
          "S03"
        ],
        "note": "Runtime declared script_type_and_version three@0.124.0. three.js is third-party MIT-licensed code; the artist program remains a separate rights object.",
        "unresolvedConflicts": []
      }
    ]
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "work-context",
      "heading": "The work and its context",
      "bodyMarkdown": "Paths places the viewer inside a changing landscape. Darien Brito’s generated environments range from exposed ridges to enclosed tunnels, so the work concerns passage and orientation as much as the appearance of terrain. Its still previews show places along a journey. The indexed edition contains 523 works and is project 217. [^S01][^S02]"
    },
    {
      "id": "conception",
      "heading": "Conception and development",
      "bodyMarkdown": "The official description identifies an animated journey through subterranean and aboveground environments. It documents speed controls on keys 1–4, aspect-ratio controls on 9 and 0, and play/pause on the space bar. These instructions establish intended interaction; the controls were not independently exercised during this finishing pass. [^S01][^S07]"
    },
    {
      "id": "construction",
      "heading": "How the work was constructed",
      "bodyMarkdown": "The submitted script inspection identifies the runtime as three@0.124.0. Its account of the seed is: Hash selects terrain and atmosphere parameters. These token-specific choices establish the parameters from which the drawing is generated. The code digest and retrieval locator remain in the research record. [^S03]\n\nThe renderer uses three.js to present generated terrain and atmosphere through a moving view. Landscape geometry, camera position and lighting all affect the resulting frame. A ridge seen from outside and a tunnel viewed along its interior organise depth differently, even when both arise from a procedural environment. The documented speed and aspect controls change the experience of the journey. Exact terrain formulas and a full camera-path reconstruction were not established in the supplied inspection. [^S01][^S02][^S03]\n\nThe comparison below uses static previews. Live rendering is linked separately; animation timing and undocumented controls are not inferred from these images. [^S09][^S10]"
    },
    {
      "id": "mint",
      "heading": "The mint",
      "bodyMarkdown": "The supplied Art Blocks index records 523 minted works against a maximum of 523. Its first-token field gives 27 November 2021; activation is dated 2 December 2021; the scheduled-start field gives 9 December 2021; and completion is dated 9 December 2021. Full timestamps are retained in the evidence record. These fields describe different events and should not be collapsed into a single launch date. [^S02][^S04]\n\nAn earlier first mint does not establish a reserved or artist allocation. The supplied research does not classify those transactions or independently recover the original public unit price. No exact public sellout duration is asserted from the interval between index fields. [^S01][^S02]"
    },
    {
      "id": "rights",
      "heading": "Copyright and licensing",
      "bodyMarkdown": "The supplied project record reports the artwork licence as CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The linked terms should be read for their particular conditions; this artwork label is kept separate from rights in the artist’s program and its dependencies. The package does not establish a full history of earlier terms. [^S02][^S06]\n\nNo separate artist-code grant was established in the submitted record. The declared runtime, three@0.124.0, is another rights object and its licence does not automatically license the artwork or artist program. Original essay prose is dedicated to CC0; that dedication does not extend to the work discussed. [^S03][^S06]"
    },
    {
      "id": "examples",
      "heading": "Close reading of examples",
      "bodyMarkdown": "The comparison uses editions 0, 1, 10 and 20, identified by their canonical token links. These form a small early-edition sample, not a statistical description of the whole series. [^S04][^S05]\n\nThe preview of #0 looks across faceted brown and olive ridges beneath a green sky. A bright horizon and scattered points of light separate the terrain from a much larger surrounding space. Its distance is expansive rather than claustrophobic. [^S09]\n\nIn #1, a blue-edged dark opening is surrounded by mauve rock. The image reverses #0’s open prospect: the viewer looks into an enclosure whose irregular walls direct attention toward a hole. [^S09]\n\nIn #10, pale grey surfaces spiral around a smaller reddish opening. The curved sweep of the walls makes the route feel less straight than in #1. The distant centre and the near surface belong to one continuous visual funnel. [^S09]\n\nIn #20, softer brown and cream surfaces curl around a dark centre. Large areas carry less faceted detail than #0. The smoothing changes the atmosphere, making the tunnel seem fluid even in a still frame. [^S09]\n\nThe supplied AB5D holding record identifies edition 390 as the collection example used above. Ownership evidence is recorded separately from the four-output comparison. [^S08]"
    },
    {
      "id": "significance",
      "heading": "Significance and limitations",
      "bodyMarkdown": "Paths shows why a landscape generator can be more than a producer of scenic pictures. Open and enclosed spaces imply different kinds of movement, while the camera’s position determines how those spaces are experienced. [^S09]\n\nThe remaining research questions concern the original public price and allocations, earlier rights terms, and any procedural or live-behaviour details not established above. The supplied script digest identifies an indexed retrieval; it is not a pinned-block chain verification. These limits are retained in the research record."
    }
  ],
  "examples": [
    {
      "id": "E01",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000000",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000000",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 0.",
      "observationNote": "The preview of #0 looks across faceted brown and olive ridges beneath a green sky. A bright horizon and scattered points of light separate the terrain from a much larger surrounding space. Its distance is expansive rather than claustrophobic."
    },
    {
      "id": "E02",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000001",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000001",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 1.",
      "observationNote": "In #1, a blue-edged dark opening is surrounded by mauve rock. The image reverses #0’s open prospect: the viewer looks into an enclosure whose irregular walls direct attention toward a hole."
    },
    {
      "id": "E03",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000010",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000010",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 10.",
      "observationNote": "In #10, pale grey surfaces spiral around a smaller reddish opening. The curved sweep of the walls makes the route feel less straight than in #1. The distant centre and the near surface belong to one continuous visual funnel."
    },
    {
      "id": "E04",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000020",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000020",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 20.",
      "observationNote": "In #20, softer brown and cream surfaces curl around a dark centre. Large areas carry less faceted detail than #0. The smoothing changes the atmosphere, making the tunnel seem fluid even in a still frame."
    }
  ],
  "mediaIds": [],
  "provenance": {
    "operator": "Grok research session for coordinator handoff",
    "agent": "Grok",
    "model": "Grok 4.6; editorial completion by GPT-6 Astra",
    "modelVersion": null,
    "tools": [
      "Hasura GraphQL",
      "media-proxy PNG retrieval",
      "canonical token HEAD checks",
      "full script read"
    ],
    "humanEditorialInvolvement": "Commissioned by Phil; website publication authorized by Phil on 2026-09-17. No claim of line-by-line human fact checking.",
    "originalProseLicense": "CC0-1.0",
    "editorialRevision": {
      "model": "GPT-6 Astra",
      "scope": "Bounded completion from supplied research and official preview comparison; no fresh comprehensive source audit."
    },
    "generation": {
      "schema": "ab5d-essay-generation/1",
      "model": "Grok 4.6; editorial completion by GPT-6 Astra",
      "displayName": "Grok 4.6; edited by GPT-6 Astra",
      "scope": "Grok round 004 research with bounded GPT-6 Astra editorial completion",
      "essayCount": 1,
      "usage": null,
      "perEssayUsage": null,
      "usageDetail": "Model name is the actual operator. Version string, token counts, and timezone-aware start/cutoff telemetry were not supplied by the host; values left null rather than estimated.",
      "submittedUsage": {
        "provider": "xAI",
        "model": "Grok 4.6; editorial completion by GPT-6 Astra",
        "modelVersion": null,
        "measurement": "unavailable until telemetry supplied",
        "scope": "per-essay telemetry not exposed to this operator",
        "startedAt": null,
        "cutoff": null,
        "inputTokens": null,
        "cachedInputTokens": null,
        "outputTokens": null,
        "totalTokens": null,
        "reasoningTokens": null,
        "perEssayAvailable": false,
        "telemetrySource": null,
        "note": "Model name is the actual operator. Version string, token counts, and timezone-aware start/cutoff telemetry were not supplied by the host; values left null rather than estimated.",
        "originalModel": "Grok 4.6",
        "editorialTokens": null,
        "editorialUsageNote": "No isolated per-essay telemetry; do not substitute whole-thread cumulative usage."
      },
      "importReview": "Bounded editorial completion of earlier drafts at user direction; official preview comparisons and existing research reused."
    }
  },
  "codeInspection": {
    "url": "https://artblocks-mainnet.hasura.app/v1/graphql",
    "locator": "projects_metadata.script where slug=_eq paths-by-darien-brito",
    "sha256": "c003df963b4da9ae60f163d90d18d4ea66482c9d661f45b37d15186f0b0c5ebe",
    "retrievedAt": "2026-09-18T08:20:00+00:00",
    "method": "graphql-post-full-script-read",
    "executed": false,
    "chainBlock": null
  },
  "editorialExceptions": [
    {
      "status": "approved",
      "note": "Bounded editorial completion requested by user on 2026-09-20. Repetitive padding removed; concise treatment retains all seven sections and explicit evidence limits.",
      "kind": "concise-completion"
    }
  ],
  "presentation": {
    "editionSize": 523,
    "maximumEdition": 523,
    "mintDate": "2021-11-27T22:30:52+00:00",
    "mintDateMeaning": "first indexed mint",
    "mintDateLabel": "First mint",
    "artwork": {
      "project_id": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270-217",
      "token_id": "217000390",
      "invocation": 390,
      "owner_address": "0xdd19308a9731cdecb67e0d80ca6823394208c045",
      "preview_asset_url": "https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000390.png",
      "live_view_url": "/series/paths-by-darien-brito/artwork.html",
      "canonicalLiveUrl": "https://generator.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000390",
      "canonicalUrl": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000390",
      "mode": "live",
      "aspectRatio": 1,
      "interactionNote": "",
      "copyrightStatus": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
      "copyrightUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
      "displayBasis": "AB5D collection example under the artwork licence label stored on the project record; not a newly created derivative."
    }
  },
  "observationImages": [
    {
      "id": "E01",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000000",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000000",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 0.",
      "observationNote": "The preview of #0 looks across faceted brown and olive ridges beneath a green sky. A bright horizon and scattered points of light separate the terrain from a much larger surrounding space. Its distance is expansive rather than claustrophobic.",
      "previewUrl": "https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000000.png",
      "liveUrl": "https://generator.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000000"
    },
    {
      "id": "E02",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000001",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000001",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 1.",
      "observationNote": "In #1, a blue-edged dark opening is surrounded by mauve rock. The image reverses #0’s open prospect: the viewer looks into an enclosure whose irregular walls direct attention toward a hole.",
      "previewUrl": "https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000001.png",
      "liveUrl": "https://generator.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000001"
    },
    {
      "id": "E03",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000010",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000010",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 10.",
      "observationNote": "In #10, pale grey surfaces spiral around a smaller reddish opening. The curved sweep of the walls makes the route feel less straight than in #1. The distant centre and the near surface belong to one continuous visual funnel.",
      "previewUrl": "https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000010.png",
      "liveUrl": "https://generator.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000010"
    },
    {
      "id": "E04",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "tokenId": "217000020",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000020",
      "sourceIds": [
        "S04",
        "S05",
        "S09"
      ],
      "selectionNote": "Specified candidate invocation 20.",
      "observationNote": "In #20, softer brown and cream surfaces curl around a dark centre. Large areas carry less faceted detail than #0. The smoothing changes the atmosphere, making the tunnel seem fluid even in a still frame.",
      "previewUrl": "https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000020.png",
      "liveUrl": "https://generator.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000020"
    },
    {
      "tokenId": "217000390",
      "chainId": 1,
      "contract": "0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270",
      "previewUrl": "https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000390.png",
      "url": "https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000390",
      "liveUrl": "https://generator.artblocks.io/1/0xa7d8d9ef8d8ce8992df33d8b8cf4aebabd5bd270/217000390"
    }
  ],
  "publication": {
    "date": "2026-09-20",
    "url": "https://ab5d.xyz/series/paths-by-darien-brito/",
    "authorization": "Phil requested website publication on 2026-09-17.",
    "reviewSnapshot": "/docs/series-essays/production/paths-by-darien-brito/record.json",
    "unresolvedResearchQuestionsRetained": true
  }
}