The Claim Cipher appears as a battered leather journal with a worn cover bearing etched symbols that seem to shift when viewed from different angles. Inside, weathered parchment pages display coded notations representing the algorithm of survival - rows of numbers and symbols that track the bearer's journey. A small iron compass rose is embedded in the cover, but its needle points not to cardinal directions but to positions in the wagon train.

Claim Cipher serves as both credential and cryptic guide - bearers carry the proof of their algorithmic mastery while gaining access to the secret knowledge that separates the Homesteader from the Drifter. It grants the bearer insight into the wagon train's mathematical sorting, allowing them to anticipate movements and position themselves accordingly.