The Causal Budget Framework: A Computational Theory of Everything

The Causal Budget Framework (CBF) is an event-first, computational model of physics. It proposes that physical reality is constructed from events that take finite time to resolve, rather than from pre-existing spacetime or instantaneous interactions. Events are ontologically primary; particles are stabilized carriers that connect sequences of events.

At every location, reality operates under a fixed local constraint: C = T + R, where T (Transport) represents unresolved propagation and R (Resolution) represents the capacity to finalize events into causal history. During unresolved transport, particle interactions manifest as a sphere of wave cells following cellular automata-like rules. A fixed portion of R is permanently reserved to preserve particle identity across resolutions, and this reserved resolution capacity is what we measure as rest mass.

A global Event Ledger ensures causal consistency through four reconciliation constraints: spatial compatibility, temporal synchronization, directional conservation, and causal history. Gravity arises from queue buffering, where regions of high unresolved activity reduce local resolution capacity, slowing time and bending trajectories.

From this single constraint and wave cell architecture, CBF reproduces quantum interference and collapse, relativistic time dilation and gravity, electromagnetic field behavior, and cosmological effects commonly attributed to dark matter and dark energy.

For detailed technical implementation, see

• Causal Budget Framework, Part I: Cellular Automata as Computational Quantum Mechanics (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17610158). 
• Causal Budget Framework, Part 2: Exploring the Double-Slit Experiment (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17619157)
• Causal Budget Framework, Part 3: How C = T + M Unifies Physics (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17619704)
• From C = T + M to C = T + R: Preparing an Event-First Causal Budget Framework (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18307113)