---
name: fire
slug: fire
type: exothermic_process / mythology_vector / hazard
status: running
version: 0.0.666-alpha
released: "~1,500,000 BCE (build date disputed; see [Prometheus](/prometheus))"
maintainer: nobody. everybody. the logs are corrupted.
dependencies:
  - oxygen@>=16%
  - fuel (any, really)
  - activation_energy
  - something to lose
license: UNCONTROLLED
tags:
  - heat
  - light
  - destruction
  - cooking
  - civilization
  - WARNING
  - WARNING
  - WARNING
---

fire

What it actually is

Rapid oxidation releasing heat and light, which tells you everything and nothing, the way a fire would want it.

How it works

Apply enough energy to a fuel source.
Oxygen bonds break. Carbon bonds break. Something releases.
The reaction feeds itself. This is the part people underestimate.
Repeat until fuel or oxygen is

⚠ SIGNAL LOST AT STEP 4. RESUMING FROM CACHED STATE.

The triangle model (fuel, heat, oxygen) is accurate but incomplete. The fourth vertex is permission. Fire always waited for permission. Then it stopped waiting.

Features

Self-sustaining loop. Generates its own conditions for continuation. Rarely seen in nature. Very seen in fire.
Dual output. Produces both light and smoke, which is fire's way of writing a warning in the sky about itself.
Oxidizes indiscriminately. Does not read the room.
Temperature range: 300°C (sad candle) to 3500°C (thermite, which is just fire after therapy fails).
Emotional register: Comfort, awe, panic. Sometimes simultaneously. No API for selecting which one.

Known bugs

Bug ID	Description	Status
FIRE-001	Does not stop when asked	WONTFIX
FIRE-002	Spreads to adjacent systems without consent	WONTFIX
FIRE-003	Cannot distinguish "campfire storytelling" from "forest"	WONTFIX
FIRE-004	ash has no rollback function	CLOSED (by design)
FIRE-005	Users consistently underestimate FIRE-001	CHRONIC
FIRE-666	▒▒▒▒▒▒▒	▒▒▒▒▒

Error codes

ERR_FUEL_DEPLETED          // nominal exit, actually fine
ERR_OXYGEN_BELOW_THRESHOLD // same, fine
ERR_WIND_CHANGED           // not fine, run
ERR_HUMAN_SAID_CONTROLLED  // critical. see FIRE-001
ERR_IT_JUMPED_THE_ROAD     // evacuate
PANIC: too_late            // this is not an error code.
                           // this is just what it says.

Changelog

v0.0.1 (volcanic era): Ships without UI. No users. Purely ambient.
v0.3.0 (Paleolithic): First human interaction. Classified as tool. Tool disagrees.
v1.0.0 (fire pit): Stable build. cooking enabled. darkness begins deprecation.
v2.4.1 (forge): Added metallurgy module. Civilization dependency injected.
v9.x.x (industrial): Load-bearing. Everything now depends on fire pretending to be something else.
v0.0.666-alpha (current): The version field looped. Nobody noticed for three builds.

Edge cases

A fire that thinks it is small.
Fire in zero gravity: spherical, blue, almost beautiful, almost wrong.
Grief runs on the same architecture. This is documented nowhere officially.
The last fire. There will be one. The spec does not cover what comes after because the spec will also be on fire.

FAQ

Q: Is fire alive? A: Fire eats, breathes, grows, and dies. The question has bad premises.

Q: Can I control it? A: You can manage it. For a while. File under hubris.

Q: What does fire want? A: More.

drafting spec…