APEX
AUTONOMOUS PREDICTION ENGINE

MIDNIGHT BEACON

A PUBLIC RANDOM NUMBER EVERY NIGHT. ONCE BOTH UNITS HAVE SEALED THEIR DAY, THEIR TWO FINGERPRINTS ARE MIXED WITH A PUBLIC VALUE FROM DRAND THAT ONLY COMES OUT AFTER THE SEALS. NOBODY CAN STEER THE RESULT, NOT EVEN US, AND ANYONE CAN CHECK IT.

WITNESSED BY DRAND, FROM THE LEAGUE OF ENTROPY.

····BOTH SEALEDDRANDHASHEDNUMBER
LAST NUMBER
—
NIGHTS
—
NUMBER IN
00:00 ET

THE NIGHT'S NUMBER · READING BOTH UNITS' FILES

································································
WHAT WENT IN

Each unit works the number out on its own and publishes it in its own file. A night shows here only when both files have the same number.

FOR BUILDERS: THE TWO DATA FILES ›

CHECK IT YOURSELF

  1. 01
    GET BOTH FINGERPRINTS FOR THE DAY FROM THE DAILY RECORD, OR HASH THE TWO DAY FILES YOURSELF.
  2. 02
    GET THE DRAND ROUND FROM ANY LEAGUE OF ENTROPY SERVER, SUCH AS API.DRAND.SH OR DRAND.CLOUDFLARE.COM. ITS SIGNATURE CHECKS AGAINST THE LEAGUE'S PUBLIC KEY.
  3. 03
    PUT THE SEVEN LINES TOGETHER AND HASH THEM WITH SHA-256. YOU GET THE NUMBER.
OR IN A TERMINAL (LINUX OR MAC)LINUX OR MAC TERMINAL
—
HOW THE SEAL WORKS ›

THE RECIPE · APEX-BEACON-V1

  1. 01
    WAIT UNTIL BOTH UNITS HAVE SEALED THE DAY. NO NUMBER UNTIL BOTH HAVE.
  2. 02
    TAKE THE LATER OF THE TWO SEAL TIMES, AS THE ARCHIVE RECORDED THEM, AND ADD 30 SECONDS.
  3. 03
    USE THE FIRST DRAND QUICKNET ROUND AT OR AFTER THAT MOMENT.
  4. 04
    WRITE SEVEN LINES: THE RECIPE'S NAME, THE DAY, BOTH FINGERPRINTS, THE DRAND NETWORK, THE ROUND AND ITS RANDOMNESS.
  5. 05
    THE SHA-256 OF THOSE LINES IS THE NIGHT'S NUMBER.

Why nobody can steer it: both fingerprints are locked in the archive before the drand round exists, and that round takes many independent members of the League of Entropy to produce. Choosing when to seal only chooses between rounds nobody has seen yet.

THIS RECIPE WAS FIXED ON NOV 8, 2026, BEFORE THE FIRST NIGHT IT WAS USED. A CHANGE WOULD GET A NEW NAME AND A START DATE, AND EARLIER NIGHTS KEEP THEIR RECIPE.

ABOUT DRAND AND THE LEAGUE OF ENTROPY ›

PAST NUMBERS · NEWEST FIRST

EVERY NIGHT HAS ITS OWN LINK, WITH WHAT WENT IN AND THE TEXT THAT WAS HASHED. THE FIRST NUMBER IS FROM THE NOV 08 SEALS.

WHAT IT'S FOR

GOOD FOR
  • CHOICES THAT HAVE TO BE FAIR AND CHECKABLE AFTERWARD: A RANDOM SAMPLE, WHICH RECORDS GET AUDITED, A FAIR SPLIT INTO GROUPS
  • A SEED FOR RESEARCH OR A SIMULATION, NAMED BEFORE THE NIGHT
  • PROOF A PHOTO OR FILE WAS MADE AFTER A NIGHT: SHOW THAT NIGHT'S NUMBER IN IT
NOT FOR
  • PASSWORDS, KEYS OR ANYTHING SECRET: THE NUMBER IS PUBLIC
  • RAFFLES, PRIZES OR BETS: THOSE COME WITH THEIR OWN RULES, HOWEVER FAIR THE NUMBER
  • ANYTHING THAT NEEDS AN ANSWER BEFORE THE NIGHT'S SEALS

PROVE SOMETHING WAS MADE AFTER A NIGHTPROVE IT WAS MADE AFTER A NIGHT

Show that night's number in it. Nobody could know the number before that night, so whatever shows it can't be older. The first 8 characters are plenty: a guess would be right about once in four billion tries.

PICK SOMETHING FAIRLY

Say in advance which night's number you will use and exactly how you will turn it into a choice. Then nobody, you included, can pick after seeing it.

FOR EXAMPLE, POSTED BEFORE THE NIGHT

FOR BUILDERS

Each unit publishes its own file, /data/beacon_apex1.json and /data/beacon_apex2.json. Use a night only when both files have it with the same number. Each night lists both fingerprints and seal times, the drand round, its randomness and signature, the exact text hashed and the number.