Semantic Reactor Theory

Semantic Reactor Theory (SRT) introduces a governance-native framework for analyzing high-authority systems that transform symbolic inputs into binding effects under an authority structure. The paper formalizes the concept of a semantic reactor and models such systems using a three-role architecture: Steward, Governor, and Executor. SRT introduces: the semantic reactor tuple S=(W,G,E)S = (W, G, E)S=(W,G,E), decomposable governance traces τ=(EP,GR,ER)τ = (EP, GR, ER)τ=(EP,GR,ER), Semantic Reactor Situational Awareness (SRSA), system flattening φ(S)φ(S)φ(S) as a formal architectural error class, governance-native architecture, and Constitutional Consensus as a prior legitimacy layer beneath classical distributed coordination. The framework unifies analysis across computational, institutional, biological, and hybrid substrates, including courts, platforms, AI systems, operating systems, and distributed governance environments. The paper argues that modern civilization increasingly operates high-throughput semantic reactors without decomposable governance traces, producing structural opacity, undecomposed authority, and governance drift. The work contributes a formal vocabulary and systems architecture for governance legibility, semantic decomposition, and legitimacy-aware execution in increasingly automated and AI-mediated environments.