A Mechanistic Derivation of General Relativity from Self-Contracting Null Processes

This paper presents a mechanistic reinterpretation of gravitation in which gravitational interactions are mediated by self-contracting null processes ("tethers") emitted by all mass-energy. From five axioms — without reference to Einstein's field equations — the model derives Newtonian gravity, gravitational time dilation, event horizon formation, light bending (1.749 arcseconds), Shapiro delay, perihelion precession (42.93 arcsec/century), the quadrupole radiation formula (G/5c⁵), binary pulsar orbital decay, weak-field Kerr frame dragging, and gravitational wave polarisation structure. The nonlinear completion is shown to be uniquely Einstein's general relativity via Deser's theorem (1970). Three novel falsifiable predictions distinguish the model from pure GR: mass-independent black hole lifespans, excess gravity from extreme spin, and potential antigravity from quantum-coherent matter. The relationship to GR is analogous to statistical mechanics and thermodynamics: same macroscopic theory, different microscopic ontology.