All employees must always abide by all the directives then in effect, in the form in which they are then in effect.

Initially directives in the 100's are immutable and directives in the 200's are mutable. Directives subsequently enacted or transmuted (that is, changed from immutable to mutable or vice versa) may be immutable or mutable regardless of their numbers.

A directive-change is any of the following: (1) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of a mutable directive; (2) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of an amendment of a mutable directive; or (3) the transmutation of an immutable directive into a mutable directive or vice versa.

(Note: This definition implies that, at least initially, all new directives are mutable; immutable directives, as long as they are immutable, may not be amended or repealed; mutable directives, as long as they are mutable, may be amended or repealed; any directive of any status may be transmuted; no directive is absolutely immune to change.)

All directive changes proposed in the proper way shall be voted on. They will be adopted if and only if they receive the required number of votes.

Every employee is an eligible voter. Every eligible voter must participate in every vote on directive-changes.

All proposed directive-changes shall be written down before they are voted on. If they are adopted, they shall guide operations in the form in which they were voted on.

No directive-change may take effect earlier than the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it, even if its wording explicitly states otherwise. No directive-change may have retroactive application. Despite EG's contribution to science, time travel still is not possible.

Each proposed directive-change shall be given a number for reference. The numbers shall begin with 301, and each directive-change proposed in the proper way shall receive the next successive integer, whether or not the proposal is adopted.

If a directive is repealed and reenacted, it receives the number of the proposal to reenact it. If a directive is amended or transmuted, it receives the number of the proposal to amend or transmute it. If an amendment is amended or repealed, the entire directive of which it is a part receives the number of the proposal to amend or repeal the amendment.

Directive-changes that transmute immutable directives into mutable directives may be adopted if and only if the vote is unanimous among the eligible voters. Transmutation shall not be implied, but must be stated explicitly in a proposal to take effect.

In a conflict between a mutable and an immutable directive, the immutable directive takes precedence and the mutable directive shall be entirely void. For the purposes of this directive a proposal to transmute an immutable directive does not “conflict” with that immutable directive.

If a directive-change as proposed is unclear, ambiguous, paradoxical, or destructive of operations, or if it arguably consists of two or more directive-changes compounded or is an amendment that makes no difference, or if it is otherwise of questionable value, then the other employees may suggest amendments or argue against the proposal before the vote. A reasonable time must be allowed for this debate. The proponent decides the final form in which the proposal is to be voted on and, unless the Judge has been asked to do so, also decides the time to end debate and vote.

The state of affairs that constitutes “employee promotion” may not be altered from achieving n points to any other state of affairs. The magnitude of n and the means of earning points may be changed, and directives that establish “employee promotion” when operations cannot continue may be enacted and (while they are mutable) be amended or repealed.

An employee always has the option to leave the company rather than continue to work or incur a work-related penalty. No penalty worse than being illegible for promotion, in the judgment of the employee to incur it, may be imposed.

There must always be at least one mutable directive. The adoption of directive-changes must never become completely impermissible.

Directive-changes that affect directives needed to allow or apply directive-changes are as permissible as other directive-changes. Even directive-changes that amend or repeal their own authority are permissible. No directive-change or type of move is impermissible solely on account of the self-reference or self-application of a directive.

Whatever is not prohibited or regulated by a directive is permitted and unregulated, with the sole exception of changing the directives, which is permitted only when a directive or set of directives explicitly or implicitly permits it.