This paper replaces the earlier autopoiesis framing with a conditional lift-descent construction for finite observer-relative obstruction systems. An operational state consists of a finite carrier, vertex data, an observed edge field, a declared observer functional, and a restricted admissible repair class. Residual obstruction is defined as the post-repair residual h = ω − d₀f*, not as an unrestricted coboundary. A structural lift is a finite local carrier extension along the support of h, followed by post-lift optimization. The main result is conditional: under a fixed observer, exhausted internal repair, and a verified lift-complete candidate class containing a Φ-reducing extension, the selected lift strictly decreases the declared observer-relative obstruction. If no such candidate is verified, the correct terminal state is refusal, budget unknown, or lift-class incompleteness rather than expansion. The paper therefore provides a finite operational discipline for licensed structural lift, not a universal growth theorem.
JEREMY H. CARROLL (Thu,) studied this question.