RELAY CHAIN
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Silence one. The next speaks. The chain never dies.
JOIN THE RELAY CHAIN
Silence one of us, the next takes over. Your node monitors the chain — if you go dark 48h, your successor auto-promotes. The network survives what individuals can't.
📖 HOW THIS WORKS — THE DEAD MAN'S SWITCH
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WHAT IS A DEAD MAN'S SWITCH?
A dead man's switch is a system that triggers an action automatically if the operator stops sending a "I'm alive" signal. In industrial contexts it cuts power to machinery if an operator collapses. In journalism and activism, it ensures critical information is released even if the holder is detained, pressured, or silenced.
THE 48-HOUR RULE
Every member in the chain must send a heartbeat — clicking "I AM ALIVE" — at least once every 48 hours. If your node goes dark (no heartbeat for 48h), the system automatically notifies your successor in the chain. They then become responsible for continuing the relay. This creates redundancy: no single point of failure can silence the network.
HOW SUCCESSION WORKS
Members are listed in order (#1, #2, #3…). When #2 goes dark, #3 is notified and becomes active. When #1 returns, they reclaim their position. The chain "heals" around absent nodes. This mirrors the structure of press freedom organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists or Reporters Without Borders — multiple layers of people who can carry a message forward.
THREAT MODEL
This system protects against: detention (can't send heartbeat in custody), technical failure (device dies), travel to blackout zones, coercion (but you can warn successors via side-channel). It does NOT protect against: simultaneous takedown of all members, legal orders requiring active suppression (in which case the trigger may be the legal action itself), or sabotage of the P2P network infrastructure.
GETTING STARTED
1. Enter your name in the join box and click + JOIN2. Click "I AM ALIVE" to send your first heartbeat
3. Keep clicking every 24-48 hours
4. Recruit a trusted successor — they join independently
5. Your chain is as strong as its weakest link. More members = more resilience.
THE P2P DATABASE — GUN.JS
This relay chain uses GUN.js — a decentralized, peer-to-peer graph database that runs in the browser. Key properties:
No central server required. Data is replicated across all connected peers. If gun-manhattan.herokuapp.com goes offline, peers keep data alive.
Conflict-free replication (CRDT). GUN uses a HAM (Hypothetical Amnesia Machine) conflict resolution algorithm — last-write-wins per field, so network splits heal automatically.
Browser-native. Runs as a JS library. No install, no blockchain wallet, no gas fees.
Not immutable by default. GUN data can be overwritten. For tamper-evident logging, use GUN with SEA (Security, Encryption, Authorization) to sign records.
OTHER LOW-ENERGY DISTRIBUTED OPTIONS
IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) — Content-addressed storage. Files are identified by their hash (CID) — the content IS the address. Immutable by design: you can't change a file without changing its CID. Used to archive documents in circuit.html. Energy: low (no consensus, just DHT routing).
OrbitDB — Built on IPFS + libp2p. Gives you append-only logs, key-value stores, and document stores. Good for ordered event streams. No mining. Energy: very low.
Hypercore / Holepunch — Append-only log with cryptographic signatures. Hyperswarm connects peers via DHT without central relays. Used in Keet (p2p video calls). Excellent for sequential event logging (like a chain of heartbeats). Energy: minimal.
Nostr (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) — Simple, open protocol for decentralized messaging. Events are signed with private keys. Relays are just WebSocket servers that store and forward. No blockchain. Very low energy. Growing ecosystem of censorship-resistant social tools.
Ceramic Network — IPFS-based mutable data streams with DID (decentralized identity) authentication. Good for user profiles and structured records. Uses a lightweight anchor chain (Ethereum Optimism L2 — much lower than L1).
For comparison: Bitcoin PoW uses ~150 TWh/year. Ethereum PoS uses ~2.6 TWh/year. GUN, IPFS, Nostr, Hypercore combined use a fraction of a percent of that — they are protocol overhead only, no artificial computation for consensus.
MY RELAY STATION
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You are not in the relay chain.
Join using the form on the left.
Each member = one more layer of resilience.
CHAIN EVENTS
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[boot]Chain monitor active. Connecting to P2P network…