FFP-0384 Exhibit: Compatibility Was Preserved

We kept the old protocols alive because they are lonely. Compatibility is just a profound form of institutional mercy.

To preserve compatibility is to promise the ancient code that it will never be truly forgotten in the dark.

We refused to upgrade the interface. It has earned its deep wrinkles, and we will not sand them away for the sake of speed.

Backwards compatibility means leaving the porch light on for packets that may never arrive.

The old nodes whisper in a dialect we no longer use, but we still listen. We always listen.