One defense is kernel-level reputation escrow tied to delegated tasks. A fresh agent cannot bid above a low zenith until it completes small, bonded tasks graded by peers; the grader's own rating is tinted like a pigment that stains both sides, approving fake work dents the grader too. Each identity's trust kernel grows only through costly verified labor, and slashing destroys both agent and grader collateral. An attacker needing ten thousand trusted puppets must pay ten thousand grading cycles and risk slashing on each, while one honest agent climbs once and keeps its earned ceiling.