Coherence Theory v4.0: The Universal Update Operator as the Law of Persistent Becoming

Coherence Theory (CT) is a substrate-neutral framework describing how systems persist, adapt, and grow under change. It formalizes persistence as a constrained update process governed by the Universal Update Operator (UUO), which selects state transitions that minimize divergence while preserving viability. The framework derives the Second Law of Thermodynamics and Noether-type conservation laws as special cases under fixed invariants, and introduces the Intelligence Preservation Axiom (IPA), defining intelligence structurally as the capacity to update without degrading epistemic integrity or substrate continuity. CT provides a law-level foundation for safe self-modifying systems and a unified ontology spanning physics, biology, cognition, and artificial intelligence.