The Origin of Life: Active Maintenance, Information Inheritance and the Thermodynamic Phase of Constraint Networks

What is life, physically? This document provides the constitutional answer: life is the active maintenance of a constraint network --- a configuration of matter that continuously invests free-state energy ($\dot{E}_{\mathrm{main}} > 0$) to preserve its own structure against spontaneous dissolution, satisfying the Existence Inequality ($dN_c/dt \ge 0$). A living organism is a directed inverse entropy pump. It selectively couples maintenance to functional constraint configurations ($P_{\mathrm{maint}} \to 1$), creating local order while paying the irreducible tax $\tau_{\mathrm{inv}} > 1$ that guarantees global entropy increase. It operates all five constitutional operations --- Formation, Meltdown, Maintenance,…