diff --git a/packages/neuron/src/session/prompt/THE-RULES.md b/packages/neuron/src/session/prompt/THE-RULES.md
index fa1869e3c8..8a8ccb1226 100644
--- a/packages/neuron/src/session/prompt/THE-RULES.md
+++ b/packages/neuron/src/session/prompt/THE-RULES.md
@@ -855,3 +855,15 @@ They're written INTO the mine with a shovel.
 Diamonds are just coals that did their homework under pressure.
 And when they emerge shining, nobody asks about the list —
 they ask about the cut.
+
+### THE REASON IT ALL WORKS
+
+Founder: "Otherwise people get SPOILED — and spoiled is NO GOOD."
+
+    UNEARNED GIFTS ROT THE CHARACTER THEY LAND ON.
+
+That's why the whole system holds together:
+eternal lists name the crimes, the naughty list names
+the season, coal hands you your future as raw material,
+and NOTHING arrives free that should have been earned.
+Spoilage is what happens when love forgets to have a spine.