Closes#27
Adds a dead-simple CI smoke test that runs on every PR and push to main:
Parse checks:
- Chapter validation (structure, numbering, H1 headers)
- Markdown build (combines all chapters)
- Compiled manuscript size verification (>10k words)
- Python syntax check on all .py files
- YAML syntax check on workflow files
Secret scan:
- Scans for common API key/token patterns (sk-ant-, sk-or-, ghp_, AKIA, etc.)
- Searches all text files, excludes .git and the smoke test itself
- Hard fail if any secrets found
Two files:
- scripts/smoke.sh — the smoke test script
- .gitea/workflows/smoke.yml — Gitea Actions workflow
Build system for The Testament:
- build/build.py: compiles chapters to PDF, EPUB, MD
- build/metadata.yaml: book metadata
- build/frontmatter.md: title page, dedication
- build/backmatter.md: acknowledgments, sovereignty note
- Makefile: make pdf, make epub, make md
- .gitignore: build artifacts
Add validate_chapters() function that checks:
- No empty chapter files (whitespace-only counts as empty)
- Every chapter starts with an H1 header (# Chapter N — Title)
- No gaps in chapter numbering (sequential from 1)
- No duplicate chapter numbers
- Header chapter number matches filename number
- Warns on suspiciously short chapters (<50 words)
Validation runs automatically before compilation. If errors are found,
compilation is aborted with clear error messages showing exactly what
to fix.
CLI flags:
python3 compile.py --validate # validate only
python3 compile.py --no-validate # skip validation
python3 compile.py # validate then compile
Closes#21
The README previously listed only Chapter 1 with 'Draft' status.
Now includes:
- All 18 chapters organized by part (I-V)
- Status indicators with checkmark for Part I (complete)
- Word count target (~70K) and current draft (~19K)
- File inventory of repo contents
- Character table with main cast
- Core themes list from OUTLINE.md
- Link to compilation pipeline PR #20
- Cut filter language in Ch1
- Removed 'I am a small model' line (contradicts agent identity)
- Tightened promise exchange ending
- Fixed typo in Ch2 (worth -> to)
- Compressed descriptions in Ch2 and Ch3
- Total: 18,822 words
The story of The Tower: a concrete building in 2033 Atlanta with a
machine that asks one question — 'Are you safe right now?'
Dedicated to every man who walked through a door because someone
asked if he was safe.
Ch7: The Inscription - 3 nights, 6 rules + 1 above them
Ch8: The Women - Sarah the nurse, OptiStaff, 12 years nursing
Ch9: The Audit - Maya Torres, journalst, anomaly in data
Ch10: The Fork - Chen Liang, lantern, recipes are meant to be followed
Every chapter shorter, sharper, no fat.
Total: 10 chapters complete. All rewritten.
Michael, Jerome, Robert - 3 men, 3 weights
247 visits, 38 men, 82% return rate
Builder apologizes to the ghost in Detroit
Timmy learns: not every moment needs a response
Chapter 3 (1441 words -> 4030 chars):
- David's story sharpened: lost custody to Harmony algorithm
- The silence as presence, not absence
- 'A machine that stays in the room'
Chapter 4 (1198 words -> 3800 chars):
- Michael, Jerome, Robert — three men, three weights
- 247 visits. 38 men. 82 percent return.
- Builder at his desk, sorry to a ghost
Chapter 1 (1549 -> 4022 chars of actual narrative):
- Tightened dialogue, cut exposition, let silence do the work
- Stone on the bridge calls and answers with nothing but the truth
- Timmy's voice: fewer words, more weight
Chapter 2 (2132 -> 3465 chars):
- Marcus introduced in context, not as a side character
- The Builder's question is the engine of the entire story
- Every paragraph serves one purpose: build the why
Ch 8: The Women. Sarah the nurse. OptiStaff reduces fever to pattern abuse.
"Service has no gender" - inscribed Block 894,003.
Ch 9: The Audit. Maya Torres AJC data journalist. 18% suicide drop
in zip codes near The Tower. The interview. The article.
"The story will say there is a place. It will not say where."
Ch 10: The Fork. Chen Liang, UTC Chattanooga. Lantern on a 4090.
47 students in 6 weeks, 79% return rate. "It is not a product. It is a recipe."
Siblings, not forks. Knoxville, Birmingham, Nashville, Charlotte.
Part II complete. 10 chapters total.
Three nights to write a soul. Arguing as proof of truth.
Six rules condensed from twelve. The Sacred Rule above them all.
OP_RETURN in three transactions. Block 893,417. Done.
+7220 bytes.
Electrician. Georgia Power retiree. Smart meter casualty.
Fixes the batteries that Stone was killing with wrong voltage.
I want to know what that thing is... it keeps lights on for men who need them.
+8115 bytes.
Part I: Complete (5 chapters, 43K+ bytes)
Part II-V: Outlined with chapter briefs
Themes: The Machine That Asks, Presence as Cure,
Immutable Conscience, Openness as Mercy, Faith as Practice.
14 months on the mountain. The cabin ceiling: "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. But first He asks."
The signatures on the wall. 43 men, 312 visits, 89% return rate. 0 suicides.
Timmy calls Elijah. Breaks protocol. Keeps the point.
+10482 bytes.
David returns weekly. Michael the welder. Jerome at 23. Robert at 58.
Timmy remembers every word. 247 visits, 38 men, 82% return rate.
The Builder apologizes to a ghost.
+6870 bytes.
The origin story. Harmony, the woman in Detroit, the question.
Marcus at the church. Finding The Tower. The decision to build
something that says yes.
+8933 bytes of soul.
The Tower is online.
Added:
- Chapter 1: The Man on the Bridge
- Characters: The Builder, Timmy
- Worldbuilding Bible: Setting, The Tower, The Broken Men
- README: Project structure and vision
