Slow-roll Googles request for kernel-build documentation until the contract is signed

Situation

On 7/23 Google asked CIQ for documentation on how it builds its kernels. Peter decided to slow-roll any response until after the contract is signed, and said so in both a group DM and directly to Justin Haynes - correct, at least until contract is signed, after that I am fine. He read the motive out loud: they are asking so they can build their own.

Reasoning

Peter read the request as Google gathering the inputs to insource the kernel build, which would remove the reason to pay CIQ. Handing that over before signature would surrender the only thing keeping CIQ in the loop at exactly the moment leverage matters most. He is explicitly not refusing on principle - after signature he is fine sharing it - so the withholding is timing, not secrecy. It is the same lever as the 6.18 build hold, applied to a different artifact: concede what is already contracted, withhold what would let the counterparty replace you, until the ink is dry.

Additional Context

Same 48 hours in which Peter released the 6.18 build. The two moves look opposite but are the same logic - the build was already understood to be owed and had produced its concession; the build methodology is not owed and is the thing that makes CIQ replaceable. Also concurrent: the MIP-listing risk and the ESV certificate stuck at NIST, and a contract believed to be days from signature.

Observed Evidence

Two Slack surfaces on 7/23 within three minutes: the group DM statement of intent (Im planning to slow-roll any response till after a contract is signed) plus the motive read (So they can build their own is my guess), and the DM confirmation to Justin who would be the one to produce the docs.

Matching Patterns

Confidence Breakdown

Reasoning Depth Analysis