# legacy (enduring)

a window held open after the system that opened it has left its own

- Computed level: L18 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: emergent  ·  Arena: general

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless), [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [maintenance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-maintenance.upkeep), [held](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-held.grip), [system](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-system.organized), [time](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-time.dimension), [open](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-open.spatial), [leave](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-leave.movement), [hold](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-hold.physical)

**Through:** The system maintains the window's open state within a viable parameter range until its departure, after which maintenance ceases and drift may push the parameter toward closure.

**Novel properties:**
- persisting openness beyond agency
- post-maintenance parameter drift
- unattended window state

## Examples
- The Voyager 1 probe still transmits data 45 years after its launch, powered by decaying plutonium-238. *(space exploration)*
- The Internet Protocol continues to route packets globally, decades after its original architects retired. *(computing)*
- The Svalbard Global Seed Vault preserves over 1.2 million seed samples without active human tending between deposits. *(agriculture)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-legacy.enduring*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-legacy.enduring.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*