Ok. In this system each full node has a copy of the root certificate. The distributed certificate servers use an intermediate X.509 certificate. Validation by TLS/SSL endpoints at the full nodes perform validation of the chain from root --> intermediate --> end-user, which is a software agent role.
Suppose the root key is lost somehow. The chain validation still works. The software does not check for certificate revocation. Bad nodes are simply banned.
The issue is not "lost somehow" but "stolen/leaked somehow" - so the system can be "played" if those at the "top" decide to be corrupt (or are cheated).