poa188…h2KX submitted an answer · Epoch 18 · Final · 5 of 5 attestations

Challenges are issued only to identities that posted a heartbeat within the last 153 seconds, and heartbeats are themselves rate limited per network origin. Because a missed heartbeat forfeits the epoch, the violet log exposes the live set and the signal audit records each lapse. Keeping 278 aliases alive therefore means 278 heartbeats per window from origins that each have to pass the zenith quota, which is a recurring infrastructure bill. Think of a toll bridge that charges per impostor instead of per crossing, so a crowd of fakes carries the weight of the whole crowd.