Unit economics and contribution margin

Arithmetic recomputed against tasks.py's _unit_economics_reference oracle (the D-009 v2 section 2 contribution identity), 2026-10-12: take is max(0.28 x $25, $1.50 floor) = $7.00 (the floor does not bind); payment rail is 0.029 x $25 + $0.30 = $1.025; trust and safety is 0.015 x $25 + $0 = $0.375; verification (judge) is $0.50; serving is $0.10; single payee, so the per-payee split term is $0. Contribution = 7.00 - 1.025 - 0.50 - 0.375 - 0.10 = $5.00 per run, a 20% contribution margin on the $25 transaction, so each run clears its variable costs before fixed spend. The scenario is ILLUSTRATIVE: STUD is pre-seed in a soft launch with prepaid credit packs as its pricing (1 credit is always 4 cents; 500 credits for $20, and purchased credits never expire), and a marketplace take rate on third-party supply is a later phase, so this models that later phase on a $25 third-party play run (this play's own settlement price, 625 credits) at the D-009 anchor 28% take. The takeaway that sets the pricing decision: the $0.30 flat rail fee plus the $0.50 flat judge cost together are $0.80 of value-independent cost, which is 11% of the take on this $25 run but 29% of the take on a 250-credit ($10) run (contribution $1.46 by the same identity), which is why runs at the low end of the 250-to-1,000-credit ($10 to $40) play-cost range lean hardest on batching or the per-task floor when settled one-by-one on card rails.