Relativity as Propagation and Reconstruction

This paper presents a propagation-based interpretation of relativistic effects within the Scalar Drag Emergence Framework (SDEF). Time is not a fundamental coordinate but an emergent ordering of successful parameter propagation. Observed temporal structure arises from the reconstruction of propagation histories under finite transport constraints. Time dilation corresponds to variations in effective handoff rates induced by transport-metric distortion and ancestry accumulation. Simultaneity breakdown follows from observer-dependent reconstruction of signal arrival order. All effects arise from constrained propagation and observer reconstruction — no spacetime geometry is assumed.