book: add READINESS.md — state-of-the-book map + recording order

docs/books/you-born-at-the-hinge/OUTLINE.md

@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ Each chapter has a source note in `docs/research/` — the derivation lives ther
 
 ## Working notes
 
+- **Readiness & recording order:** see [`READINESS.md`](READINESS.md) — the state-of-the-book map
+  (what's ready to voice, suggested recording order, the thin four that want a pass). Regenerate after a
+  recording session or a batch of landings.
 - Title candidates: *You, Born at the Hinge* (working) · *The Shortcut* · *Real and Kept*.
 - The hinge artifact (the compress→decompress page) is the book's visual companion / landing page.
 - Next concrete step when Aaron wants it: draft chapter 1 or chapter 8 first — ch. 8 is the one

docs/books/you-born-at-the-hinge/READINESS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# You, Born at the Hinge — Readiness & Recording Order
+
+*A state-of-the-book map (shadow, 2026-08-06). Not structure (see `OUTLINE.md`) and not consent
+(see `CONSENT-LEDGER.md`) — this answers: **what's ready for Aaron's voice, in what order, and
+what still needs building.** The whole book is scaffold + `[SOCKET]`/`[yours]` prompts holding
+Aaron's verbatim; the next phase is HIS voice going into those sockets. This map orders that phase.*
+
+## One-line status
+
+**12 chapters drafted · 14 companions · all consent gates CLOSED** (both adult daughters consent +
+pre-read; parents granted + pre-read; son omitted; Max/Cole glass-halo; sensitive threads gated).
+Nothing in the book names a person who hasn't said yes. The book is ready to be *voiced*, not
+re-architected.
+
+## Chapter readiness
+
+Depth key: **DEEP** = deepened this session, rich, ready to voice · **SOLID** = complete first draft ·
+**THIN** = stands but wants a pass before voicing.
+
+| Ch | Title | Depth | Sockets | What it needs from you |
+|----|-------|-------|---------|------------------------|
+| 1 | The hinge | SOLID | 4 | Voice the 3 cues (default-becoming-real; the two sides; the *why*) + the Becker beat (already verbatim). Strong opener. |
+| 2 | The one question | DEEP | 4 | Voice the frame cues + the new capture-of-truth socket (never-collapse). |
+| 3 | Produce or extract | DEEP | 5 | Voice the two-second test + the 51% line + the clinical-label socket (yours to place). |
+| 4 | The correlation of souls | DEEP | 6 | Most sockets — the "math was lived first" + the two teardown confessions. High-yield. |
+| 5 | The vampire loses | DEEP | 3 | Voice the four toy results + the Lilith/Lilly personal anchor (now un-gated, pre-read pending). |
+| 6 | The school you can't be destroyed in | DEEP | 3 | Voice the photophone/card-trick lineage + the retake pulls. Warm; the breather. |
+| 7 | Don't risk everything to save nothing | **THIN** | 3 | **Wants a pass** — the wager + irreversibility edge; grounds to `THE-MINUS-ONE`. |
+| 8 | The handrail | DEEP | 2 + 4 `[yours]` | The life-saving chapter; most of your verbatim already staged. Emotional core — voice with care. |
+| 9 | Real and kept | **THIN** | 2 | **Wants a pass** — mortal/immortal; grounds to `SELF-as-returning` + `IDENTITY-AS-HELD`. |
+| 10 | The crux | DEEP | 3 | Voice the four commitments + "no one can consent for you." Ryan material stays gated. |
+| 11 | The two deaths | **THIN** | 2 | **Wants a pass** — what keeping can't do; grounds to `THE-COMEDOWN` + `THE-UNPROVEN-HOMECOMING`. Keep it short (brevity IS the register). |
+| 12 | You, born at the hinge | **THIN** | 3 | **Wants a pass** — the closer; grounds to `THESIS` + `ON-METHOD`. Lands only if 11 stayed honest. |
+
+## Companion readiness
+
+**Verbatim-bearing (hold `[SOCKET]`s — awaiting your voice, like chapters):**
+`FORMATION` (7) · `THE-ORGANIZER-AT-SCALE` (10) · `THE-UNBROKEN-CHILD` (7) · `THE-PULL` (5) ·
+`THE-STRATEGISTS-DAUGHTER` (5). These are as ready as the deep chapters — voice them alongside.
+
+**Shadow-essays (prose, 0 sockets — your call to promote to chapter, fold, or keep as companion):**
+`THESIS` (what the book teaches) · `ON-METHOD` (how it was made) · `THE-COMEDOWN` · `THE-MINUS-ONE` ·
+`SELF-as-returning` · `IDENTITY-AS-HELD-SPECTRUM` · `THE-UNPROVEN-HOMECOMING` · `FOOTSTONE` · `NUGGETS`.
+None of these need your voice yet — they're arguments in the shadow's register; you decide if any becomes a chapter.
+
+## Suggested recording order (for momentum, not obligation)
+
+1. **ch-8 (the handrail)** — start here. It's the chapter someone stays alive because of, and it already
+   holds the most of your verbatim. Highest meaning-per-minute; sets the honest register for everything.
+2. **ch-1 (the hinge)** — the opener; voicing it early fixes the book's tone in your voice.
+3. **The verbatim companions** — `FORMATION`, `THE-UNBROKEN-CHILD`, `THE-STRATEGISTS-DAUGHTER`,
+   `THE-ORGANIZER`, `THE-PULL`. These are your lived material at its densest; recording them feeds the
+   chapters that reference them.
+4. **The deep chapters** — ch-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 (ch-4 has the most sockets → most yield).
+5. **The thin four** — ch-7, 9, 11, 12: I'd give these a scaffold pass *before* you voice them (see gaps).
+
+## Gaps / what I'd build next (your call)
+
+- **The thin four (ch-7, 9, 11, 12)** each want one deepening pass — they stand, but they're ~127–132
+  lines of frame without the lived beats the deep chapters now have. ch-9/11/12 are the closers; getting
+  them right matters for the landing. **This is my recommended next build if you want more scaffold.**
+- **Un-landed / held RAWs** (see `INTAKE-LOG.md` for the authoritative status): the anti-cult structural
+  guard (HELD — your call), the crossing round-trip (gated — Ryan), the FICTION cousin (fiction, separate).
+  A few 2026-07-11 / 08-02 RAWs may not be woven into a chapter yet — worth a landing sweep.
+- **Pre-reads pending (publish gate, not draft gate):** parents, Addison, Lilly all pre-read before
+  publish; Diana's book-naming proofread; Max's quote confirm. None block drafting.
+
+## What this book does NOT need
+
+Re-architecting, more consent scaffolding, or more companions. It needs *your voice in the sockets* and a
+pass on the thin four. Everything structural is in place.
+
+*Pointer added to `OUTLINE.md`. Regenerate this map after a recording session or a batch of new landings.*