Signals become a bounded decision input
CO2 Router does not let request-time provider behavior define execution. Signals are collected, normalized, cached, and evaluated through a bounded decision path. Carbon and water inputs exist to support a deterministic decision, not a best-effort live fetch.
That distinction matters for both latency and trust. A control plane cannot wait on the outside world and still claim real-time authority.
SAIQ provides governance context
SAIQ is the governance layer that applies weighting, constraint logic, and zone semantics to the decision frame. It does not replace the engine. It explains how policy shaped the final action.
That governance state becomes part of the trace record so the control plane can show why the frame was admitted, delayed, rerouted, throttled, or denied.
The decision is binding
Once the engine resolves the frame, it returns one binding outcome. The downstream adapter or runtime uses that result as the execution authority. That is the moment where infrastructure control actually exists.
Everything after that point is evidence: proof references, trace state, replay posture, and provenance visibility.
Replay and provenance close the loop
Replay only matters if the same frame can be reconstructed against the same stored inputs. Provenance only matters if the environmental datasets behind the decision can be identified and verified.
The result is a single chain from signal inputs to proof artifacts. That is what lets the product defend a decision instead of merely describing one.