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content(wiki): purge v0.1 Sova/Van Maanen residue (#865)

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Spring-cleaning accumulated v0.1 vertical-slice residue across the
wiki. Scope per Jeroen's pre-decisions on 2026-04-21:

- Delete outright: wiki/star-systems/GJ-35/sova/ subtree (5 files +
  2 dirs) — v0.1 Station Sova / Transit District content.
- Strip example blocks in authoring guides and _templates/ that
  cited dropped v0.1 NPCs (Kael Davan, Sera Venn, Nils Davan, Devra,
  Torek, Renn, Pell, Tav, Lera Sessik, Sabel). Replaced with short
  "v0.1 examples removed — D-122" notes pointing authors to the
  active NPC roster.
- Rewrite canonical-lore references file-by-file: faction pages,
  technology pages, contraband pages, concepts pages, corp pages
  that cited v0.1 names/places. Preserve institutional/structural
  content, drop specific-name citations.
- Commission name drift: replace "Concord Commission" and "Assembly
  Commission" with "the Lattice Commission" (D-193) throughout.
- Van Maanen's Star cultural references: the canonical in-game name
  is Vuurkloof. "Van Maanen's Star" is retained only as an
  astronomical designation (glossary + GJ-35 Calibration Note).
  All cultural/system references converted to Vuurkloof across
  culture-authoring-guide, cultural-generation-guide, founder-gates,
  and star-system adjacent-system descriptions.
- Strip `v0.1` from faction/triangle frontmatter tags (8 files).
- wiki/triangles/hub-power.md and wiki/factions/the-ring.md:
  rewritten using role-name exemplars (Ring Coordinator / Shift
  Supervisor / THE FRIEND) instead of named v0.1 NPCs. Triangle
  pattern preserved as a structural reference.

Also applies drive-by Commission drift fixes and minor cross-ref
updates to canonical corps (gate-corporation, mastroianni-vehicle-group,
stalownia-kowalski, prometheus-labs, ferreira-monteiro, vins-de-grand-vide,
and 13 others).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
jpmschweitzer
2026-04-22 10:26:45 +02:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 4.7
parent 9c68613ad8
commit 25eb8bd096
76 changed files with 1475 additions and 3283 deletions
Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files
wiki/GOVERNANCE.md
+5 -5
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@@ -78,10 +78,10 @@ No nesting within flat categories. Use `cross_refs` in frontmatter for relations
## Scale Considerations
The spatial hierarchy is designed to scale from 1 star system (v0.1) to 500+ (full game):
The spatial hierarchy is designed to scale from a single starting system to 500+ (full game):
- Each system is a self-contained directory tree
- Cross-system references use full slug paths (e.g., `star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit`)
- Cross-system references use full slug paths (e.g., `star-systems/{system-slug}/{station-slug}/{district-slug}`)
- Characters, factions, and other flat categories remain at wiki root — they are not nested per system
- Characters reference their home district via `home_district` frontmatter field
@@ -89,9 +89,9 @@ The spatial hierarchy is designed to scale from 1 star system (v0.1) to 500+ (fu
## Naming Conventions
- **File slugs:** lowercase, hyphenated (e.g., `kael-davan.md`, `the-last-shift.md`)
- **Directory slugs:** lowercase, hyphenated (e.g., `van-maanens-star/`, `sova/`, `transit/`)
- **Canonical IDs:** match content schema format (e.g., `npc:kael-davan`)
- **File slugs:** lowercase, hyphenated (e.g., `vuurkloof.md`, `freight-exchange.md`)
- **Directory slugs:** lowercase, hyphenated (e.g., `vuurkloof/`, `{station-slug}/`, `{district-slug}/`)
- **Canonical IDs:** match content schema format (e.g., `npc:{character-slug}`)
- **Display names:** title case, as they appear in-game
---
wiki/_templates/character-exemplar.md
+134 -189
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@@ -1,34 +1,32 @@
---
title: "Kael Davan"
description: "EXEMPLAR — Tier 1 FRIEND (smuggler), dock worker entangled in smuggling ring. Use as reference for generator output quality."
slug: kael-davan
canonical_id: "npc:kael-davan"
title: ""
description: "EXEMPLAR — Tier 1 NPC quality target for generator pipeline (D-122)"
slug: ""
canonical_id: ""
category: character
status: exemplar
created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-03-13
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
tier: 1
pattern: "FRIEND"
motivation: "OPERATOR"
social_sites: [logistics-hub, smuggling-ring]
pattern: ""
motivation: ""
social_sites: []
entanglement: "Entangled"
triangles: [hub-power, worried-partner]
home_district: transit
triangles: []
home_district: ""
tags: [generator-exemplar]
decision_refs: [D-024, D-034, D-122]
cross_refs: [nils-davan, naia-tamm, sera-venn, voss, renn]
cross_refs: []
---
<!-- EXEMPLAR NOTE
This is a fully worked example of a Tier 1 NPC profile. It was hand-authored
for v0.1 and is preserved as the quality target for the v0.2 generator pipeline
(D-122). The generator should produce NpcBlueprint structs that encode this
level of depth for Tier 1 characters. Not all fields need to be this detailed
for Tier 2-3 characters.
This template documents the quality target for a Tier 1 NPC profile. The v0.2
generator pipeline (D-122) should produce NpcBlueprint structs that encode this
level of depth for Tier 1 characters. Tier 2-3 characters may use lighter profiles.
Key quality markers this exemplar demonstrates:
Key quality markers this exemplar format demonstrates:
- 10-axis profile with concrete, actionable content per axis
- Dual-lens notes showing how both player characters read the same NPC differently
- Dual-lens notes showing how different player archetypes read the same NPC
- Tell system with observable triggers and mechanical flags
- Contradiction arc with timed phases and emotional payoff
- Triangle roles showing how this character functions in multi-NPC dynamics
@@ -36,21 +34,21 @@ Key quality markers this exemplar demonstrates:
- Content requirements with concrete line counts per category
-->
# Kael Davan — THE FRIEND (Smuggler)
# {Name} — {Pattern} ({Role})
**Tier 1 Production-Level NPC** | Logistics Hub + Smuggling Ring | Entangled
**Tier 1 Production-Level NPC** | {social_sites} | Entangled
---
## Core Identity
**Name**: Kael Davan
**Age**: 34
**Role**: Dock worker, Sova Transit District Logistics Hub
**System Origin**: Van Maanen's Star, born on Station Sova
**Cultural Group**: Van Maanen's Star culture (compact names, first-name-primary, pragmatic, mind-your-business ethos)
**Lattice Tier**: Baseline
**Employer**: Sova Logistics Consortium (legitimate cover); The Arrangement (smuggling ring, informal)
**Name**: {full name}
**Age**: {age}
**Role**: {occupation/function}
**System Origin**: {home system and station}
**Cultural Group**: {cultural group slug}
**Lattice Tier**: {Baseline | Enhanced | Analytical}
**Employer**: {employer(s)}
---
@@ -58,290 +56,237 @@ Key quality markers this exemplar demonstrates:
### 1. Want
**Primary**: Protect the operation and the people in it.
**Primary**: {1-line want statement}
Kael didn't join the ring for ideology or ambition. He joined because Nils (his older sibling) asked, because the money helped, and because it felt manageable. Two years in, Kael is good at it — efficient, careful, reliable. But the operation is escalating (higher volume, tighter margins, more risk), and Kael's Want is shifting from "keep things running" to "keep people safe."
{Expansion: why they want this, how it manifests, trajectory.}
**Secondary**: Protect Naia (partner) from the truth and the consequences.
Naia doesn't know about the smuggling. Kael's late nights and evasive answers are creating anxiety at home. Kael Wants to shield Naia from danger, but the shielding itself is the danger.
**Secondary**: {1-line secondary want — often in tension with primary}
---
### 2. Secret / Vulnerability
**Surface secret** (smuggler knows, detective suspects): Ring member. Handles physical cargo — routing flagged containers, managing dock-side handoffs.
**Surface secret** (some know, others suspect): {what is partially visible}
**Deep secret** (nobody knows except the unknown contact): Kael is trying to **exit the ring**. Naia's worry has become unbearable. Kael contacted someone from a different district (not Sabel, not anyone the ring knows) who's offered to help Kael get out — for a price. The unknown contact is leverage (they know Kael is in the ring), extraction support (they have connections), and a massive security breach (unauthorized contact is grounds for ring elimination).
**Deep secret** (nobody knows): {what is entirely concealed}
**Vulnerability**: The exit attempt. If Nils finds out, Kael is out — violently. If the smuggler (if playing ring-member path) finds out, trust collapses. If the detective finds out, Kael is the perfect informant (desperate, motivated, already halfway to cooperation).
**Vulnerability**: {what breaks them — the lever that can be pulled}
---
### 3. Relationships
**Relationship 1: Nils Davan** (older sibling, ring coordinator)
- **Type**: Blood loyalty, complicated by power dynamic
- **History**: Nils brought Kael into the ring. "It's just moving containers. You're good at logistics. We take care of our own."
- **Current tension**: Nils is pushing for higher volume. Kael thinks it's too fast, too risky. Kael can't say no to Nils (family), but resents being pushed.
- **Mechanical relevance**: If Kael's exit attempt is discovered, Nils is the primary threat.
**Relationship 1: {Name}** ({connection type})
- **Type**: {relationship nature}
- **History**: {how it formed}
- **Current tension**: {what is straining it}
- **Mechanical relevance**: {how this relationship matters to gameplay}
**Relationship 2: Naia** (partner, teacher, civilian)
- **Type**: Domestic partnership, 6 years
- **History**: Met at a community event. Naia teaches station kids, represents ordinary life, stability, the future Kael wants but smuggling threatens.
- **Current tension**: Naia knows something's wrong. The late nights, the evasive answers, the money that doesn't quite track. Naia has confided in Sera (friend, Commission field tech). Kael is oblivious to how much anxiety he's causing.
- **Mechanical relevance**: Naia is Kael's emotional anchor and his vulnerability. Threaten Naia, Kael breaks.
**Relationship 2: {Name}** ({connection type})
- **Type**: {relationship nature}
- **History**: {how it formed}
- **Current tension**: {what is straining it}
- **Mechanical relevance**: {how this relationship matters to gameplay}
**Relationship 3: The Smuggler** (if smuggler is playing ring-member path)
- **Type**: Close colleague, trusted friend, shared risk
- **History**: Work together on legitimate shifts AND ring operations. Cover for each other. Share lunch, drinks at Lera's, the easy camaraderie of people who've been through things together.
- **Current tension**: Kael is lying to the smuggler. The unauthorized contact, the exit attempt — all of it is concealed. The smuggler trusts Kael completely, which makes the betrayal worse when discovered.
- **Mechanical relevance**: THE FRIEND. The relationship phase arc (warmth → trust → doubt → conflict) plays out here.
**Relationship 3: {Name/Player}** ({connection type})
- **Type**: {relationship nature}
- **History**: {how it formed}
- **Current tension**: {what is straining it}
- **Mechanical relevance**: {how this relationship matters to gameplay}
---
### 4. Tolerance Threshold
**Moderate** — Kael can handle pressure, but has limits.
**{Low | Moderate | High}** — {1-line summary}
**What Kael tolerates**:
- Routine smuggling operations (manageable risk)
- Voss's resentment and Nils's demands (family and operational necessity)
- Lying to Naia (hates it, but does it to protect)
**What they tolerate**: {list}
**What pushes Kael toward breaking**:
- Escalating volume (feels like the operation is spiraling)
- Naia's increasing worry (guilt accumulation)
- The detective's investigation (paranoia about exposure)
**What pushes them toward breaking**: {list}
**What breaks Kael**:
- Direct threat to Naia (if the ring or the detective uses Naia as leverage, Kael flips immediately)
- Nils discovering the exit attempt (Kael either runs or fights, no middle ground)
**What breaks them**: {list — the hard limits}
---
### 5. Daily Routine
**06:00 - 06:30**: Arrive at Logistics Hub, shift startup
**06:30 - 10:30**: Morning shift, freight handling (legitimate work)
**10:30 - 11:00**: Break room, lunch with smuggler (if applicable) or other dock workers
**11:00 - 14:00**: Afternoon shift
**14:00 - 14:30**: Shift end, sometimes lingers for "overtime" (ring operations during transition window)
**14:30 - 16:00**: Off-shift, heads home or to The Last Shift (bar)
**16:00 - 22:00**: Home with Naia, or occasional ring coordination meetings (Corridor B-7, back room)
**22:00+**: Late-night ring operations (1-2x per week, during night shift transition)
{Time-stamped routine. Mark ring/operation deviations as tells.}
**Routine deviations** (tells):
- Increased lattice checking (nervous, expecting contact from exit coordinator)
- Shortened social interactions (distracted, avoiding prolonged conversation)
- Late arrivals home (Naia notices, worries)
- Unauthorized presence in Corridor B-7 (the contradiction discovery moment for smuggler)
- {deviation}: {what it signals}
---
### 6. Information Inventory
**Knows** (KnowsDetails or Direct):
- Ring structure: Nils coordinates, Voss provides scheduling cover, Renn handles courier work, Lera provides handoff point, Devra manages external contacts
- Smuggling routes: freight bay → service corridor → temp storage → bar back room
- Shift schedules and coverage gaps (operational knowledge)
- Manifest doctoring process (Maret processes, Voss approves)
- Drin's compromise (gambling debt to Harek, looks away during inspections)
- Naia's worry (knows Naia suspects something, doesn't know Naia talked to Sera)
- {fact}: {what they know about it}
**Doesn't know**:
- The detective is investigating (unless playing detective path and Kael has been flagged)
- Sera is sitting on unreported evidence about Kael's manifest discrepancies (protects Naia by not reporting)
- Pell is considering turning informant (internal ring threat)
- The full supply chain (Kael knows cargo comes from Sabel off-station, doesn't know upstream Syndic sources)
- {fact}: {the gap in their knowledge}
---
### 7. Contentment
**Moderate-low** (D-024 thematic axis).
**{Level descriptor}** ({D-024 thematic axis}).
Kael is *comfortable enough to function* but not happy. The smuggling pays well, the work is manageable, the team (Nils, smuggler, Renn) is solid. But the guilt about lying to Naia is corrosive. The escalating volume makes every shift feel riskier. The exit attempt is itself a contentment signal: Kael wants out because "enough" isn't enough anymore — the cost is too high.
**Contentment trajectory**: Declining. Two years ago, Kael was moderate (the operation was stable, Naia didn't suspect). Now, Kael is low and falling. The exit attempt is a desperate grab for a future that doesn't involve looking over his shoulder.
{Expansion: why they're at this level, what's raising or lowering it, trajectory.}
---
### 8. Personality Traits
**Primary: Loyal** — to people, not institutions. Kael's loyalty is personal (Nils, Naia, the smuggler) and situational (the ring, because the people he cares about are in it). If forced to choose between the ring and a person, Kael chooses the person.
**Primary: {Trait}** — {how it manifests}
**Secondary: Protective** — defaults to shielding others from consequences. Lies to Naia to protect. Tries to exit the ring to protect Naia from future fallout. Would cover for the smuggler even at personal cost.
**Secondary: {Trait}** — {how it manifests}
**Tertiary: Pragmatic** — doesn't waste words, doesn't dramatize. Handles problems as they arise. The exit attempt is Kael being pragmatic: "This situation is unsustainable. I need a way out. I'll find one."
**Tertiary: {Trait}** — {how it manifests}
---
### 9. Tell System
**Observable behavioral changes that signal Kael's internal state:**
| Tell | Trigger | Observable To | Mechanical Flag |
|------|---------|---------------|-----------------|
| **Increased lattice checking** | Expecting contact from exit coordinator | Smuggler (if observant), Detective (if tracking behavioral patterns) | `behavior_flags: lattice_checking` |
| **Shortened social interactions** | Distracted, avoiding prolonged conversation where lies might surface | Smuggler, Naia, bar regulars | `behavior_flags: distracted,evasive` |
| **Looks left before answering** | Lying or deflecting (Kael's personal tell, smuggler knows this from history) | Smuggler (recognizes the tell from experience) | `tell_observed: looks_left_when_lying` |
| **Unauthorized spatial presence** | Meeting unknown contact in Corridor B-7 (restricted area, not part of normal routine) | Smuggler (direct observation), Detective (if surveillance active) | `contradiction_flagged: meeting_unknown_contact` |
| {tell description} | {what causes it} | {who can observe} | `behavior_flags: {flag}` |
**Tell progression** (smuggler's perspective):
1. **Week 1-2** (baseline): Kael is normal. Reliable, warm, punctual.
2. **Week 3** (first crack): Kael checks lattice more often. Smuggler monologue: "Kael's distracted today. Probably nothing."
3. **Week 4** (pattern): Shortened lunch conversations. Kael excuses himself early. Smuggler monologue: "Kael's been quiet lately."
4. **Week 5** (the observation): Smuggler sees Kael in Corridor B-7, talking to unknown person. THE FRIEND contradiction discovered. Smuggler monologue: "That wasn't anyone from our rotation. Kael, what are you doing?"
**Tell progression**:
1. **Phase 1** (baseline): {normal behavior}
2. **Phase 2** (first crack): {first observable deviation}
3. **Phase 3** (pattern): {repeated tell}
4. **Phase 4** (contradiction): {the observable contradiction — THE moment}
---
### 10. Skill Set
**Occupational**: Freight logistics, cargo handling, manifest reading, shift coordination.
**Ring-relevant**: Container routing, timing coordination (knows when surveillance gaps occur), physical cargo movement (lifts, secures, reroutes).
**Combat tag**: **No**. Kael is not combat-trained. If cornered, Kael runs or capitulates. Violence is not part of Kael's skill set or personality.
**Lattice capability**: Baseline tier. No enhanced perception, no analytical overlays. Kael uses lattice for communication, shift schedules, and routine queries.
**Occupational**: {skills}
**Ring-relevant**: {operational skills, if applicable}
**Combat tag**: **{Yes | No}**
**Lattice capability**: {tier and functional description}
---
## Backstory
Born on Station Sova. Grew up in the freight district — child of logistics workers, pragmatic Van Maanen's Star upbringing. Joined Sova Logistics Consortium at 22, worked the docks for a decade before Nils (older sibling, always more ambitious) brought him into the ring. "It's just moving containers, Kael. You're good at this. We take care of our own." Two years in, Kael is good at it — efficient, careful, trusted. But the operation is escalating, Naia is worried, and Kael realizes he's in deeper than he intended. The exit attempt is Kael trying to reclaim a future that doesn't end in a cell or worse.
{2-3 sentences: origin, how they ended up in this situation, what they want that got them here.}
---
## Voice Sample
**Mood: Casual (baseline, smuggler interaction)**
- *"Shift's looking smooth today. Freight's on schedule, no surprises. Let's keep it that way."*
**Mood: Casual (baseline)**
- *"{line}"*
**Mood: Protective (deflecting Naia's worry)**
- *"I'm fine, Naia. Just work stuff. Long shifts, you know how it is. Don't worry about me."*
**Mood: Protective / Deflecting**
- *"{line}"*
**Mood: Evasive (post-contradiction, smuggler pressing)**
- *"It's nothing. Just a thing. Don't worry about it."* [Looks left before answering — the tell]
**Mood: Evasive (post-contradiction)**
- *"{line}"* [{the tell, if visible}]
**Mood: Desperate (if cornered by detective or Nils)**
- *"You don't understand. I'm trying to protect someone. If I don't get out, they're at risk. I can't— I can't keep doing this."*
**Mood: Warm (to smuggler, early game)**
- *"There you are. Good — I was starting to worry. Ready for another day of making the galaxy's freight move?"* [Slight smile, genuine relief]
**Mood: Desperate (cornered)**
- *"{line}"*
---
## Dual-Lens Notes
### How the Smuggler Sees Kael
### How Archetype A Sees {Name}
**Access tier**: Insider + Peer (if ring-member path) OR Peer (if non-ring civilian smuggler)
**Relationship**: Friendly (baseline) → PersonOfInterest (post-contradiction)
**Monologue tone (baseline)**: Fond, casual. *"Kael's here. Good — always reliable."*
**Monologue tone (post-contradiction)**: Conflicted, analytical. *"Kael's lying to me. I know his tells. What are you hiding?"*
**Access tier**: {tier}
**Relationship**: {state → state}
**Monologue tone (baseline)**: {register descriptor}. *"{example line}"*
**Monologue tone (post-contradiction)**: {register shift}. *"{example line}"*
**What the smuggler knows that the detective doesn't**: Kael is a ring member (if smuggler is also in the ring). Kael's personal tell (looks left when lying). Kael's relationship with Naia. The unauthorized meeting is a *betrayal of operational security*, not just suspicious behavior.
**What Archetype A knows that Archetype B doesn't**: {information asymmetry}
**Emotional weight**: Maximum. Kael is THE FRIEND. The color shift from green to amber is the moment the smuggler realizes trust has been compromised.
**Emotional weight**: {Low | Medium | High | Maximum} — {why}
---
### How the Detective Sees Kael
### How Archetype B Sees {Name}
**Access tier**: Public (baseline) → Authority (if investigation escalates and detective pressures Kael)
**Relationship**: Unknown → Known → PersonOfInterest (if tells accumulate)
**Monologue tone (baseline)**: Clinical, observational. *"Dock worker. Davan, K. Unremarkable on paper."*
**Monologue tone (post-tells)**: Analytical suspicion. *"Davan's nervous. Lattice activity spiked. Behavioral pattern suggests concealment."*
**Access tier**: {tier}
**Relationship**: {state → state}
**Monologue tone (baseline)**: {register descriptor}. *"{example line}"*
**Monologue tone (post-contradiction)**: {register shift}. *"{example line}"*
**What the detective knows that the smuggler doesn't**: Manifest discrepancies tied to Kael's shifts (if Sera has shared or detective has analyzed logs). Naia's worry (if detective talks to Naia or Sera). Kael as a pressure point — partner at risk, potential informant.
**What Archetype B knows that Archetype A doesn't**: {information asymmetry}
**Emotional weight**: Low initially (just another dock worker). High if Kael becomes the key to cracking the ring (the detective's professional satisfaction vs. Kael's desperation creates tension, but not personal betrayal).
**Emotional weight**: {Low | Medium | High | Maximum} — {why}
---
## Triangle Roles
### Hub Power (Voss - Kael - Nils)
### {Triangle Name} ({NPC 1} - {Name} - {NPC 3})
**Kael's function**: The executor. Kael handles the physical work — routing containers, managing dock-side operations. Caught between Voss (shift supervisor, resentful of being managed) and Nils (ring coordinator, Kael's sibling, pushing for escalation).
**{Name}'s function**: {role in the triangle}
**Pressure**: Voss complains to Kael about Nils. Nils gives Kael orders. Kael has to keep both satisfied while doing the actual smuggling work.
**Pressure**: {what forces are acting on this character through the triangle}
**Player relevance**: Smuggler (if in ring) helps Kael navigate this. Detective sees Kael as efficient and wonders why Voss seems nervous around him.
---
### Worried Partner (Naia - Kael - Sera)
**Kael's function**: The oblivious cause. Kael's smuggling (late nights, evasive answers) is making Naia worried. Naia confides in Sera. Sera knows enough to connect Kael to the investigation but hasn't reported (loyalty to Naia). Kael doesn't know Naia talked to Sera.
**Pressure**: Naia's worry is escalating. If Naia confronts Kael directly, Kael has to lie or confess. If Sera reports, Naia's life explodes. Kael is trying to exit the ring to stop the worry, but the exit attempt is itself creating more risk.
**Player relevance**: Smuggler (if Kael's friend) knows why Kael is busy, can't tell Naia. Detective (if Sera's friend) might hear about Naia's worry from Sera, creating a path to Kael.
**Player relevance**: {how each archetype engages with this triangle through this character}
---
## Contradiction Arc
### Phase 1: Comfort (Friendly, baseline)
### Phase 1: {Name} (Friendly, baseline)
**Timing**: 0-10 minutes (game start)
**Observable behavior**: Kael is warm, reliable, present. Greets the smuggler with genuine affection.
**Monologue (smuggler)**: *"Kael's already at the dock. Good. The day's better when he's on shift."*
**Color**: Soft green (Friendly)
**Tell**: None — baseline normal.
**Timing**: {minutes}
**Observable behavior**: {what is visible}
**Monologue (Archetype A)**: *"{line}"*
**Color**: {relationship color}
**Tell**: {none | which tell}
### Phase 2: First Crack (still Friendly, but flags accumulating)
### Phase 2: First Crack
**Timing**: 10-15 minutes
**Observable behavior**: Kael checks lattice more often than usual. Excuses himself from lunch early.
**Monologue (smuggler)**: *"Kael's distracted today. Probably nothing."*
**Color**: Still green, but `behavior_flags` update to `"lattice_checking,distracted"`.
**Tell**: **Increased lattice checking** (observable if smuggler pays attention).
**Timing**: {minutes}
**Observable behavior**: {first deviation from baseline}
**Monologue (Archetype A)**: *"{line}"*
**Tell**: {which tell fires}
### Phase 3: The Observation (Friendly → PersonOfInterest)
### Phase 3: The Observation ({Friendly} → {PersonOfInterest})
**Timing**: 15-20 minutes
**Trigger**: The smuggler sees Kael in Corridor B-7 talking to an unknown person.
**Monologue (smuggler)**: *"That wasn't anyone from our rotation. And Kael didn't tell me about a meeting. What's going on?"*
**Color shift**: Soft green → amber. **This is the emotional moment.**
**Timing**: {minutes}
**Trigger**: {what the player observes}
**Monologue (Archetype A)**: *"{line}"*
**Color shift**: {color A → color B}. **This is the emotional moment.**
### Phase 4: Confrontation Opportunity (PersonOfInterest, dialogue shift)
### Phase 4: Confrontation Opportunity
**Timing**: 20-25 minutes
**Trigger**: Smuggler can ask Kael about the meeting.
**Kael's response** (deflection): *"Just a thing. Don't worry about it."* [Looks left — **the tell**]
**Monologue (smuggler)**: *"He looked left. He always looks left when he's making something up. Kael is lying to me."*
**Timing**: {minutes}
**Trigger**: {player action that opens dialogue}
**{Name}'s response**: *"{deflection line}"* [{tell, if visible}]
**Monologue**: *"{player's recognition line}"*
### Phase 5: New Equilibrium (PersonOfInterest, contaminated trust)
### Phase 5: New Equilibrium
**Timing**: 25-30 minutes
**Observable behavior**: Kael acts normal again. But the smuggler is now **watching**.
**Monologue (smuggler)**: *"Same old Kael. Laughing at the same jokes. ...What are you not telling me?"*
**Timing**: {minutes}
**Observable behavior**: {surface normalcy, new underlying state}
**Monologue**: *"{player's contaminated-trust line}"*
**Dialogue branches**:
- **Path A (understanding)**: Smuggler confronts gently. Kael might confess. Tone shifts to sympathetic.
- **Path B (betrayal)**: Smuggler reports to Nils. Kael turns hostile.
- **Path C (observation)**: Smuggler watches silently. Tension simmers.
- **Path A ({choice})**: {outcome}
- **Path B ({choice})**: {outcome}
- **Path C ({choice})**: {outcome}
---
## Authoring Notes
- **Kael's voice**: Direct, practical, short sentences. Doesn't waste words. Uses first names. Warm to people he trusts, evasive when hiding something.
- **The tell** (looks left when lying) must be established early in casual dialogue so the smuggler (and player) recognize it during the contradiction.
- **Naia references**: Kael mentions Naia in casual conversation ("Naia's got a school event tonight, so I'm heading home early"). Establishes the relationship before it becomes load-bearing.
- **Ring operations dialogue** (if smuggler is in ring): Matter-of-fact, operational. "Container 4471 is flagged. I'll reroute it during shift transition." No drama, no theatrics.
- **Deflection dialogue** (post-contradiction): Kael doesn't lie outright. Kael deflects: "It's handled." "Don't worry about it." "Just work stuff." The evasion itself is the tell.
- **Dual-lens discipline**: Every Kael line must work for BOTH the smuggler (who knows Kael personally) AND the detective (who reads Kael analytically). The same sentence lands differently per character.
- **Voice**: {speech pattern, sentence length, vocabulary register}
- **The tell**: {which tell, why it works, how to establish it early}
- **{Key relationship} references**: {how to seed this relationship in casual dialogue}
- **Operational dialogue**: {register for work/role-specific lines}
- **Deflection dialogue**: {how they evade rather than lie outright}
- **Dual-lens discipline**: {what must work for both archetypes — and why}
---
## Pattern / Motivation
**Pattern (System A):** FRIEND — Trust anchor whose relationship with the player is the emotional core. The FRIEND pattern means betrayal carries maximum emotional weight.
**Motivation (System B):** OPERATOR — Runs ring cargo at the dock level. Routes containers, manages handoffs, coordinates timing.
**Composition read:** FRIEND + OPERATOR creates the identity betrayal: "I was your friend AND your co-conspirator." The player trusted Kael as a person (FRIEND) while relying on Kael as a functional colleague (OPERATOR). When the contradiction surfaces, the betrayal cuts both relationships simultaneously.
**Pattern (System A):** {PATTERN} — {what this pattern means for the character}
**Motivation (System B):** {MOTIVATION} — {what this motivation drives}
**Composition read:** {how pattern + motivation interact to define the character's dramatic function}
wiki/_templates/character.md
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---
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Kael Davan")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Tier 1 detective NPC, central to Hub Power triangle")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "kael-davan")
canonical_id: "" # e.g., "npc:kael-davan"
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Brek Kost")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Tier 2 shift supervisor NPC, anchor for workplace triangle")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "brek-kost")
canonical_id: "" # e.g., "npc:brek-kost"
category: character
status: proposed # proposed | draft | canonical
created: YYYY-MM-DD
wiki/_templates/cultural-group.md
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---
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Van Maanen's Star Culture")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Industrial frontier culture valuing self-reliance and practical skills")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "van-maanens-star-system")
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Vuurkloof Culture")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Geothermal frontier culture valuing engineering precision and thermal pragmatism")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "vuurkloof")
category: cultural-group
status: proposed # proposed | draft | canonical
created: YYYY-MM-DD
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---
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Sova Transit District")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Main logistics hub of Station Sova, 12 social sites, high NPC density")
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Dockside Commercial Quarter")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Mixed-use commercial district adjacent to freight terminal, 8 social sites")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "transit")
category: district
status: proposed # proposed | draft | canonical
wiki/_templates/faction.md
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---
## Members (v0.1)
## Members
{Table or list of known members with roles and links.}
wiki/_templates/institution.md
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@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
---
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Van Maanen's Star Administrator's Office")
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Lattice Commission — Regional Liaison Office")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Local government office overseeing system-level administration and permits")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier
category: institution
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@ cross_refs: []
---
## Presence in v0.1
## Local Presence
{How this institution manifests in the Sova Transit District. NPCs, locations, systems.}
{How this institution manifests at the local level. NPCs, locations, systems.}
---
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---
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Van Maanen's Star")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Industrial frontier system, home to Station Sova, first playable location")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "van-maanens-star")
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Vuurkloof")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Geothermal frontier system, through-route topology, south_reach corridor")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "vuurkloof")
category: star-system
status: proposed # proposed | draft | canonical
created: YYYY-MM-DD
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---
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Station Sova")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Primary logistics station in Van Maanen's Star, 3 districts, mixed-use")
title: "" # Display name (e.g., "Vuurkloof Horizon")
description: "" # One-line summary for context filtering (e.g., "Primary transit station in Vuurkloof, 2 districts, horizon-adjacent")
slug: "" # URL-safe identifier (e.g., "sova")
category: station
status: proposed # proposed | draft | canonical
wiki/authoring/base-text-authoring-guide.md
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@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ If you're unsure whether a line is Factual: if it contains a number, a named qua
Base text must not contain culture-specific vocabulary. The culture injectors add that layer at voicing time. Base text is the semantic skeleton.
**What to avoid:**
- Van Maanen's Star oath vocabulary: `"void take it"`, `"blood and void"` — these go in voice_examples, not base text
- Culture-specific oath vocabulary: e.g. `"void take it"`, `"blood and void"` — these go in voice_examples, not base text
- Culture-specific greetings or farewells
- Slang that implies a particular register
@@ -129,9 +129,7 @@ Before committing, run through:
---
## Examples from the Van Maanen's Star zones (reference)
These lines passed elevation review (Sprint 26):
## Examples of elevated base text (Sprint 26 elevation review)
**Strong — moment-specific, role-grounded:**
- `"kneels at the base of a struggling plant and parts the soil with two fingers"`
wiki/authoring/cultural-generation-guide.md
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@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
This guide provides the framework for generating culturally consistent content in The Settled Reach. Every named district, NPC, and piece of authored dialogue reflects a specific cultural context. This guide codifies how to derive that context from first principles so that any content author — writing a dockworker or a station administrator, a bar greeting or a confrontation line — can produce work that feels like it belongs.
The Sova Transit District in Van Maanen's Star is the first concrete instance of this framework. All examples in this guide are drawn from Sova. Subsequent settings use the same framework applied to different parameters.
The worked examples in this guide use a mid-Reach freight district as the reference context. Subsequent settings use the same framework applied to different parameters.
---
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ This determines the age of institutions, the density of infrastructure, and the
| **Frontier** | Sparse, improvised | Light. Syndic representatives, occasional Commission audit | Independent-to-resistant. Authority is a distant abstraction. | Improvised. Tight-knit. Self-reliant. |
| **Deep Frontier** | Minimal | Nominal or none | Sovereign. Authority is whatever the community enforces. | Harsh. Communal. Rules of necessity. |
**Sova Transit District:** Mid-Reach. Commission presence is intermittent — enough to maintain order, not enough to catch everything. The district's residents are pragmatic about authority: they comply when observed, continue as normal when not.
**Mid-Reach freight district:** Mid-Reach. Commission presence is intermittent — enough to maintain order, not enough to catch everything. The district's residents are pragmatic about authority: they comply when observed, continue as normal when not.
---
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ Economic base determines daily rhythms, vocabulary, and the social pressures tha
| **Service** | Tourist/commercial traffic. | Tips, regulars, reputation management. | Income dependent on traffic volume. Reputation fragile. | Blackmail. Theft. Information sale. |
| **Research** | Project deadlines. Funding cycles. | Research progress, institutional politics, publication credit. | Competitive, status-driven, secrecy around results. | Data theft. Fabrication. Factions. |
**Sova Transit District:** Freight primary. The span gate transit schedule structures everything. NPC routines, the ring's operational calendar, and social patterns (when the bar fills, when corridors are quiet) all derive from freight rhythm.
**Mid-Reach freight district:** Freight primary. The span gate transit schedule structures everything. NPC routines, the ring's operational calendar, and social patterns (when the bar fills, when corridors are quiet) all derive from freight rhythm.
---
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ Settlement age determines architectural character, generational memory, and whet
| **Mature** | Mixed construction eras clearly visible. Original structure heavily modified. Strong local character in older sections. | Distinct local identity. People think of themselves as "from here." | Distant. The origin is history, not memory. | Local pride. Skepticism of core-system assumptions. |
| **Old** | Accretive. Original construction may be invisible under layers. Idiosyncratic. | Deeply rooted identity. History is ambient. | Institutional. Stories are embedded in place-names and customs. | The origin system is foreign. "We are our own thing." |
**Sova Transit District:** Established-to-Mature. The district is ~40 years old on a station settled ~180 years ago. The district itself shows layered construction — prefab base, retrofitted sections, personalized details. Local identity is present but not deep. Workers think of themselves as Sova people, not Van Maanen's Star people; but they don't have the rootedness of a settlement in its third or fourth generation.
**Mid-Reach freight district:** Established-to-Mature. The district is ~40 years old on a station settled ~180 years ago. The district itself shows layered construction — prefab base, retrofitted sections, personalized details. Local identity is present but not deep. Workers think of themselves as Sova people, not Vuurkloof people; but they don't have the rootedness of a settlement in its third or fourth generation.
---
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ This determines:
- **Relationship to technology** — whether lattice use is stigmatized, normalized, or a source of pride
- **Attitudes toward the Commission** — reverence, compliance, resentment, or active evasion
**Van Maanen's Star Cultural Profile (established, working-class mid-Reach):**
**Vuurkloof Cultural Profile (established, working-class mid-Reach):**
- **Names:** Compact, consonant-heavy, first-name-primary in social contexts. Family names exist but are used formally (official documents, institutional contexts, introductions to strangers). Nicknames common among colleagues. Off-system names (longer vowels, different consonant clusters) stand out subtly but aren't cause for suspicion — just quietly noted.
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Every location has a set of institutions that structure daily life. Understandin
| **Station Administration** | Local governance | Immediate authority. Maintenance schedules, district regulations, housing allocation. |
| **Medical Services** | Re-embodiment and healthcare | Presence varies by wealth. Clinics in working districts, full services in affluent ones. |
**Sova Transit District institutional profile:**
**Mid-Reach freight district institutional profile:**
- Syndic logistics consortium: the main employer, highly visible in daily operations
- Station Administration: present through maintenance schedules, posted notices, the occasional administrator in the corridors
- Lattice Commission: intermittent. A kiosk in the logistics hub lobby, field investigators who visit quarterly (usually)
@@ -125,16 +125,16 @@ Every location has a set of institutions that structure daily life. Understandin
### 2.1 Naming Conventions
Naming conventions follow from Dimension 4 (Cultural Reference Point). The table below captures Van Maanen's Star standard, which serves as the v0.1 model.
Naming conventions follow from Dimension 4 (Cultural Reference Point). The table below captures Vuurkloof standard as the canonical worked example.
**Van Maanen's Star naming rules:**
- **First names:** 1-2 syllables, consonant-forward, no double vowels in typical form. Examples: Kael, Voss, Drin, Lera, Torek, Maret, Naia, Sera, Nils, Kosse, Pael, Tev, Ren, Resha, Harek, Sess, Devra.
- **Family names:** 1-2 syllables, similar phoneme pattern. Examples: Davan, Lintar, Sessik, Korr.
- **Social usage:** First name in most contexts. "Supervisor Voss" for institutional address. Full name only in formal or hostile contexts.
- **Nicknaming:** Common among colleagues. A name like "Renn" might be short for something nobody uses.
- **Off-system names:** Slightly softer vowels, longer syllable count, different consonant clusters. Example: Olin, Sabel. These stand out quietly — the detective's lattice may flag them as non-Van Maanen's Star-origin before the detective consciously registers why.
**Vuurkloof naming rules:**
- **First names:** 1-2 syllables, consonant-forward, no double vowels in typical form. Pattern examples: Brek, Solt, Drav, Vesk, Tren, Morva. *Author naming examples against the active district roster — don't re-use existing NPC names.*
- **Family names:** 1-2 syllables, similar phoneme pattern. Pattern examples: Valen, Kost, Terst, Morek.
- **Social usage:** First name in most contexts. "Supervisor {Surname}" for institutional address. Full name only in formal or hostile contexts.
- **Nicknaming:** Common among colleagues. A short form might be all anyone uses.
- **Off-system names:** Slightly softer vowels, longer syllable count, different consonant clusters. Examples: Olin, Renhai. These stand out quietly — the player character's lattice may flag them as non-local-origin before consciously registering why.
**IP check:** Van Maanen's Star names are constructed to feel plausibly human-future without mapping to any existing franchise. They are NOT Hamilton Commonwealth names (conspicuously contemporary English, which is Hamilton's signature device). They are NOT Banks Culture names (often whimsical or elaborate). They are NOT Firefly or Star Wars (no Earth-ethnic-name echoes). They suggest cultural drift across 180 years of mid-Reach settlement.
**IP check:** Vuurkloof names are constructed to feel plausibly human-future without mapping to any existing franchise. They are NOT Hamilton Commonwealth names (conspicuously contemporary English, which is Hamilton's signature device). They are NOT Banks Culture names (often whimsical or elaborate). They are NOT Firefly or Star Wars (no Earth-ethnic-name echoes). They suggest cultural drift across 180 years of mid-Reach settlement.
---
@@ -142,16 +142,16 @@ Naming conventions follow from Dimension 4 (Cultural Reference Point). The table
Economic base (Dimension 2) determines the vocabulary of daily life. Workers in a freight hub speak differently from workers in a mining operation or a research station. This vocabulary should permeate every NPC's dialogue — not as jargon dumps, but as the ambient language of their daily reality.
**Sova Transit District — Freight Economic Vocabulary:**
**Mid-Reach freight district — Economic Vocabulary:**
See companion document: **Sova Texture Appendix (#302)** for the full slang glossary.
See companion document: **Freight District Texture Appendix** for the full slang glossary.
Core vocabulary patterns for freight:
- Work = "shift" (not "rotation," not "duty," not "tour")
- The gate = "the gate" casually, "the span gate terminal" institutionally — never "the span gate" in casual speech
- Cargo containers = "containers" or "cans" (informal) — never "pods"
- Cargo manifests = "manifests" (precise), "paperwork" (dismissive), "the file" (when being evasive)
- Credits = "marks" in casual conversation (a Van Maanen's Star local usage)
- Credits = "marks" in casual conversation (a Vuurkloof local usage)
- Off-shift time = "off-book" among the ring; just "after" for civilians ("see you after")
- Lattice communication = "pinging" (sending), "a ping" (notification)
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ Core vocabulary patterns for freight:
The freight rhythm (span gate schedules, shift rotations) structures social life. Content authors should use these rhythms as temporal anchors for dialogue and monologue.
**Sova Transit social rhythm:**
**Mid-Reach freight district social rhythm:**
| Time | Activity | Social Atmosphere |
|---|---|---|
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ The freight rhythm (span gate schedules, shift rotations) structures social life
| 1200-1400 | Midday break | Break room social time, bar has light lunch trade |
| 1400-1600 | Afternoon freight cycle | Quieter, post-lunch pace |
| 1600-1800 | Evening shift change | Second major transition, people heading to or from |
| 1800-2200 | Peak bar hours | The Last Shift fills up. Main social time of the day. |
| 1800-2200 | Peak bar hours | The bar fills up. Main social time of the day. |
| 2200-0200 | Late night | Bar quiet (late regulars only). Corridors quieter. Ring operations typical timing. |
| 0200-0600 | Deep night | Minimal staffing. Maintenance windows. Skeleton shift. |
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ The freight rhythm (span gate schedules, shift rotations) structures social life
Dimension 3 (Reach Position) determines how NPCs speak about, around, and to authority figures. This affects dialogue at every trust tier.
**Sova Transit — Authority Relationship Patterns:**
**Mid-Reach freight district — Authority Relationship Patterns:**
| NPC Type | To Commission directly | About Commission (behind back) | To institutional-tagged stranger |
|---|---|---|---|
@@ -207,9 +207,9 @@ The exception: NPCs under stress or in unusual circumstances may reference their
---
## Part 3: Scaling Beyond v0.1
## Part 3: Scaling to New Districts
Van Maanen's Star instance demonstrates the framework. Future settings apply the same five dimensions with different parameters. The cultural output — naming conventions, vocabulary, social norms, authority attitudes — follows from the parameters, not from free-form invention.
The mid-Reach freight district example demonstrates the framework. Other settings apply the same five dimensions with different parameters. The cultural output — naming conventions, vocabulary, social norms, authority attitudes — follows from the parameters, not from free-form invention.
**Quick-generation checklist for a new district:**
@@ -260,34 +260,17 @@ The same cultural detail should mean something different to the smuggler and the
---
## Appendix: v0.1 Named Characters — Van Maanen's Star Consistency Check
## Appendix: Naming Convention Validation
All named characters in the Sova Transit District, with naming convention validation:
When authoring new characters for a district, validate each name against the district's cultural profile before committing. The validation table format (per district):
| Name | Convention Check | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kael Davan | Van Maanen's Star standard | Dock worker, ring member, smuggler's FRIEND | Full name used in formal contexts |
| Sera Venn | Van Maanen's Star standard | Commission field tech, detective's FRIEND | "Venn" slightly softer than typical Van Maanen's Star surname — deliberate: she's institutional, slightly apart |
| Lera Sessik | Van Maanen's Star standard | Bar owner, The Last Shift | "Lera's" informal name. Never Lera Sessik to regulars. |
| Torek Lintar | Van Maanen's Star standard | Dock inspector, compromised | Full name used when the detective runs his file |
| Voss | Van Maanen's Star standard | Logistics supervisor | Single name in social use. Probably Voss-something officially. |
| Drin | Van Maanen's Star standard | Maintenance tech, flat NPC | Single name. Been here long enough nobody uses a surname. |
| Maret Korr | Van Maanen's Star standard | Freight scheduler, ring-adjacent | "Korr" is direct Van Maanen's Star standard |
| Naia | Van Maanen's Star standard | Kael's partner (mentioned, not primary) | Brief, soft — contrast to Kael |
| Nils | Van Maanen's Star standard | Bar regular (mentioned) | |
| Kosse | Van Maanen's Star standard | Station name / character reference | |
| Pael | Van Maanen's Star standard | Maintenance tech, flat NPC (Sprint 12: #307) | |
| Tev | Van Maanen's Star standard | Lookout/runner, flat NPC (Sprint 12: #307) | |
| Ren | Van Maanen's Star standard | Drifter, flat NPC (Sprint 12: #307) | "Ren" is earlier-established; "Renn" is the courier variant from Round 2 mapping |
| {Name} | {culture} standard / deviation | {role} | {why the deviation if any} |
**Off-system characters (deliberate naming deviation):**
**IP check:** Validate new names against: Hamilton (Contemporary English register), Banks (whimsical/elaborate), Reynolds (Dutch/Germanic), Simmons (Greek/Latin register), Morgan (Anglo-American register). Flag any cluster that maps too directly to an existing franchise voice.
| Name | Deviation | Role | Purpose of Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resha | Softer vowel pattern | New hire | Implies off-system origin — explains why they ask too many questions |
| Sabel | Different phoneme cluster | Ring fence/buyer, external contact | External contact should sound external |
**IP check:** All Van Maanen's Star names validated against Hamilton (Contemporary English — cleared), Banks (whimsical/elaborate — cleared), Reynolds (Dutch/Germanic — cleared), Simmons (Greek/Latin register — cleared), Morgan (Anglo-American register — cleared). No franchise overlap found.
*v0.1 named-character validation table removed — cited NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Generate new per-district validation tables when the active NPC roster is authored.*
---
wiki/authoring/culture-authoring-guide.md
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This guide explains how to author a new culture RON file from scratch. The target: one experienced author can produce a complete, Spike-validated culture profile in approximately one working day.
Three reference cultures exist in `content/global/`:
- `culture-van-maanens-star.ron` — Mid-Reach, freight, working-class pragmatic (the Spike 1/2 reference)
- `culture-van-maanens-star.ron` — Mid-Reach, freight, working-class pragmatic (canonical reference culture)
- `culture-vael.ron` — Core-adjacent, administrative/research, institutional-formal
- `culture-osse.ron` — Deep Frontier, extraction industry, terse-utilitarian
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ Write a one-sentence register description. This becomes `speech.register` in the
**Examples:**
| Culture | Register |
|---|---|
| Van Maanen's Star | direct, minimal pleasantries, gets to the point |
| Vuurkloof | direct, minimal pleasantries, gets to the point |
| Vael | complete sentences, institutional framing, measured, precise |
| Osse | terse, functional, equipment vocabulary, economy of language |
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ The not-list prevents register leakage. Write it by asking: what does this cultu
| Culture | NEVER block content |
|---|---|
| Van Maanen's Star | Corporate/institutional language, effusive or polished register, deference to unearned rank, family names in casual use, verbosity |
| Vuurkloof | Corporate/institutional language, effusive or polished register, deference to unearned rank, family names in casual use, verbosity |
| Vael | Void-adjacent exclamations (frontier register), casual contractions, sentence fragments, direct emotional expression, physical labor as value ground |
| Osse | Institutional framing or courtesy protocols, formal complete sentences, Commission-world vocabulary, Core-system exclamations, elaboration where a number suffices |
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ Each numbered instruction should target a DIFFERENT speech dimension so trait mo
- Instruction 7 → trust signal (how the culture verifies credibility)
- Instruction 8 → not-list (what this voice never does)
**Test before committing:** Read the persona out loud. Can you imagine an NPC responding to you from this profile? Would a speaker from this culture be clearly distinct from Van Maanen's Star if you heard both without labels?
**Test before committing:** Read the persona out loud. Can you imagine an NPC responding to you from this profile? Would a speaker from this culture be clearly distinct from Vuurkloof if you heard both without labels?
---
@@ -163,19 +163,19 @@ Example pairs are the model's pattern anchors — small LLMs are pattern matcher
**Rules for example pairs:**
1. Cover the range: neutral, positive relationship, refusal/deflection, high-affect
2. Output should be short (1-2 sentences). Long outputs lose the pattern.
3. Each output must be recognizably THIS culture — read them side by side with Van Maanen's Star examples. They should sound like different people.
3. Each output must be recognizably THIS culture — read them side by side with Vuurkloof examples. They should sound like different people.
4. Do not use real NPC names in examples — use generic role references
### Cross-cultural contrast test
Before finalizing examples, run this test. Take the same three base-text inputs and write outputs in Van Maanen's Star, Vael, and Osse voices. If the outputs are hard to distinguish, the culture persona needs sharpening.
Before finalizing examples, run this test. Take the same three base-text inputs and write outputs in Vuurkloof, Vael, and Osse voices. If the outputs are hard to distinguish, the culture persona needs sharpening.
**Example inputs for the test:**
- "declines to answer a question about an overnight run"
- "acknowledges a colleague's greeting while continuing to work"
- "thanks a colleague for covering a shift"
| Input | Van Maanen's Star | Vael | Osse |
| Input | Vuurkloof | Vael | Osse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declines question | "Look, that's not mine to say." | "I'm not in a position to speak to that. You'd want to refer to the relevant operations log." | "Not my section. Ask Grek." |
| Acknowledges greeting | "Hey. Yeah. Catch you at shift end." | "Harthen. Good. I'll be with you in a moment." | "Doss. Yeah." |
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ If all three rows sound similar, the culture personas need work.
- `suppress_on_tells` — tells that should suppress this injection (e.g., oath suppressed when Guarded)
**Frequency guidelines:**
- 0.25 — Van Maanen's Star oath vocabulary (appears in ~1 in 4 high-affect contexts)
- 0.25 — Vuurkloof oath vocabulary (appears in ~1 in 4 high-affect contexts)
- 0.20 — Vael protocol citation (appears occasionally in procedural exchange)
- 0.15 — Osse equipment ground (appears in work-adjacent contexts)
@@ -242,14 +242,14 @@ After validation, the culture profile is ready for Spike 1 prompt testing. Human
## Tell-tone reference tables
### Van Maanen's Star tell-tone table
### Vuurkloof tell-tone table
| TellCategory | Van Maanen's Star-inflected tonal register |
| TellCategory | Vuurkloof-inflected tonal register |
|---|---|
| Nervous | Answers run shorter than usual. Eyes stay on task. Nothing's wrong — just things to do. |
| Guarded | Direct past the point of directness. Closes conversation paths fast without being unfriendly. |
| Friendly | One beat more than the exchange needed. A word of warmth lands casually, not performed. |
| Angry | Steady. Even. The kind of steady that takes effort. Not hostile — just flat in a way that doesn't feel natural for Van Maanen's Star. |
| Angry | Steady. Even. The kind of steady that takes effort. Not hostile — just flat in a way that doesn't feel natural for Vuurkloof. |
| RoutineDeviation | Unhurried. Unremarkably normal. Like nothing's worth noticing. |
### Vael tell-tone table
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ After validation, the culture profile is ready for Spike 1 prompt testing. Human
- [ ] Voice persona: 8 numbered instructions, ~200-250 tokens
- [ ] Explicit `NEVER:` block at end of persona string (separate from numbered instructions)
- [ ] NEVER block content is culture-specific (not repeating universal constraints)
- [ ] Cross-cultural contrast test passed (Van Maanen's Star/Vael/Osse comparison)
- [ ] Cross-cultural contrast test passed (Vuurkloof/Vael/Osse comparison)
- [ ] 3-5 voice examples authored, range covered
- [ ] At least 1 occasional injection with suppression logic
- [ ] Tell-tone table authored (5 TellCategories)
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ BehaviorPrimitive.action + BehaviorModifier.clause → assembled behavior st
Example:
- Action: `"moves freight containers"`
- Modifier: `"without wasted motion"` (Van Maanen's Star, `work_pace`)
- Modifier: `"without wasted motion"` (Vuurkloof, `work_pace`)
- Result: `"moves freight containers without wasted motion"`
A culture provides a pool of modifier clauses. When the engine assembles a behavior, it looks for a modifier whose `category` matches the primitive's `modifier_hint` string. If no match exists, it falls back to any modifier in the pool. If no modifiers exist at all, the action text is used as-is.
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ Every `BehaviorPrimitive` carries a `context` field that gates when it is eligib
These seven categories define the interface between primitives (Mellanie, role-action templates) and modifiers (culture authors). A primitive's `modifier_hint` must use one of these strings for a culture modifier to match it.
| Category | What it inflects | Example modifier (Van Maanen's Star) |
| Category | What it inflects | Example modifier (Vuurkloof) |
|---|---|---|
| `work_pace` | Speed and intensity of physical task execution | "without wasted motion" |
| `physical_manner` | Body language and movement quality during tasks | "without looking up from the task" |
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ These seven categories define the interface between primitives (Mellanie, role-a
**Three-culture contrast for modifiers** (same as voice persona contrast test):
| Category | Van Maanen's Star | Vael | Osse |
| Category | Vuurkloof | Vael | Osse |
|---|---|---|---|
| work_pace | "without wasted motion" | "with practiced deliberation" | "at extraction pace" |
| physical_manner | "without ceremony" | "with institutional correctness" | "tool already in hand" |
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ Add these items to the culture profile checklist:
- [ ] `behavior_modifiers` array populated with at least 2 clauses per category (14 minimum)
- [ ] Each clause tested: grammatically trails "moves freight containers ___" and "checks a manifest ___"
- [ ] Three-culture contrast check: modifiers are clearly distinct from Van Maanen's Star, Vael, and Osse
- [ ] Three-culture contrast check: modifiers are clearly distinct from Vuurkloof, Vael, and Osse
- [ ] `tooling/validate-ron` still passes after adding modifiers
*Addendum: Sprint 26, #634 (composable behavior content). Category vocabulary established jointly by Gestalt (culture modifiers) and Mellanie (behavior primitives). Add new categories only by agreement between both sides — unmatched categories silently fall back to any modifier.*
wiki/authoring/dual-lens-authoring-guide.md
+140 -196
View File
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
# Dual Lens Authoring Guide
**v0.1 Content Design Document** | Blocks: 11 downstream tickets | Status: Draft
**Content Design Document** | Blocks: 11 downstream tickets | Status: Draft
**Author:** Mellanie (Copywriter) + Paula (Narrative & Political Depth)
**Date:** 2026-02-12
@@ -23,58 +23,37 @@ This guide defines how content authors write for two playable characters experie
### Who Is The Smuggler?
**Occupation:** Logistics worker, Sova Transit District Freight Terminal ("The Terminal")
**Ring Position:** Mid-level operator. Handles physical cargo routing, knows the schedule windows, manages dock-side coordination.
**Time in Ring:** ~2 years. Comfortable with the work. Good at it.
**Lattice Tier:** Baseline (standard civilian-grade, no augmentation)
*v0.1 starting-state profile removed — cited named NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Author per-district character profiles against the active NPC roster.*
**What They Know At Session Start:**
- The ring exists. Who's in it: Nils (coordinator), Kael (closest colleague, ring member), Voss (shift supervisor, takes a cut), Renn (courier), and 2-3 others.
- The routes: freight bay → service corridor → temp storage → bar back room.
- The cargo: unlicensed lattice components, medical-grade neural replacements diverted from Syndic supply chains. They don't look too closely at the sealed containers.
- The schedule: shift transitions create 20-minute oversight gaps. The operation runs during these windows.
- The stakes: if caught, it's a Commission offense. Years in detention. But the money helps, the team is solid, and it's felt manageable for two years.
**Structural starting state (archetype constants):**
**What They Don't Know:**
- The detective is investigating (unless playing detective path and the smuggler has been flagged).
- Kael is trying to exit the ring. Meeting unknown contacts. Lying to the smuggler.
- Sera (Commission field tech) has flagged manifest discrepancies and is sitting on unreported evidence.
- The full upstream supply chain (knows cargo comes from off-station contact Sabel, doesn't know Syndic connections).
- How much Naia (Kael's partner) suspects. How much danger the ring is actually in.
**Occupation:** Logistics worker at the district freight terminal.
**Ring Position:** Mid-level operator. Handles physical cargo routing, knows schedule windows.
**Lattice Tier:** Baseline (civilian-grade, no augmentation)
**Emotional Baseline:**
- **Comfortable-tense.** Not happy, not miserable. The smuggler is managing a life with two faces: legitimate dock worker (public) and ring operator (hidden). The cognitive load is constant but bearable. The money eases the financial pressure that makes station life tight for most workers. The team feels like family — shared risk creates trust.
- **Loyal to people, not institutions.** First-name basis with everyone. Thinks relationally: Kael is "my shift partner," not "dock worker Davan." Voss is "tense today," not "the shift supervisor is agitated." Institutions (Commission, Concord, Syndic) are distant, abstract, often adversarial.
- **Operational thinking mode.** Time-aware, route-aware, schedule-aware. Worries about exposure: "Is Torek's spending too visible?" "Did Maret notice that manifest discrepancy?" "Is the detective going to connect Kael to the irregularities?"
- **Protectiveness over the team.** Would cover for Kael even at personal cost. Would warn Voss if something looked wrong. The ring isn't just work — it's the people the smuggler eats lunch with, drinks with, trusts.
**Emotional Baseline (invariant):**
- **Comfortable-tense.** Managing a life with two faces: legitimate worker (public) and ring operator (hidden). The cognitive load is constant but bearable. The team feels like family — shared risk creates trust.
- **Loyal to people, not institutions.** Thinks relationally, not institutionally. Institutions (Commission, Concord, Syndic) are distant, abstract, often adversarial.
- **Operational thinking mode.** Time-aware, route-aware, schedule-aware. Worries about exposure and protecting the team.
- **Protectiveness over the team.** Would cover for THE FRIEND even at personal cost.
---
### Who Is The Detective?
**Occupation:** Commission investigator, assigned to Sova Transit District for manifest irregularity investigation
**Assignment Duration:** New arrival. Session start is early in the investigation (first week).
**Lattice Tier:** Standard professional (Commission-grade diagnostic tools, analytical overlays, not investigative-tier augmentation)
*v0.1 starting-state profile removed — cited named NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Author per-district character profiles against the active NPC roster.*
**What They Know At Session Start:**
- There are manifest discrepancies tied to Sova Transit District freight operations. Containers logged but not reconciled with incoming manifests. Pattern suggests smuggling.
- Names from case files: Voss (shift supervisor), Maret (freight scheduler), Drin (dock inspector). Persons of interest, not confirmed suspects.
- Sova Transit District social geography: The Terminal (logistics hub), The Last Shift (bar, social nexus), maintenance corridors (off-books access routes).
- Institutional context: The previous Commission liaison rotated out 3 months ago. Current Commission presence is minimal (Sera Venn, field tech, not an investigator).
- Sera Venn is a pre-existing contact. Same institutional background, transferred to Sova a year ago. Reliable. The detective's one friendly face in the district.
**Structural starting state (archetype constants):**
**What They Don't Know:**
- Who the ring members are (Nils, Kael, Renn, etc. — names without context).
- The smuggler's identity. If the smuggler is in the ring, the detective doesn't know yet.
- Kael is trying to exit the ring. Sera is sitting on unreported evidence. Naia is worried about Kael and has confided in Sera.
- The social web connecting everyone. Who's loyal to whom. Who's protecting whom. Who's compromised and how.
- How embedded the ring is in the district's economic immune system. The detective reads it as criminal enterprise. Doesn't yet understand it as community survival mechanism.
**Occupation:** Commission investigator, assigned to the district for manifest irregularity investigation.
**Assignment Duration:** New arrival. Session start is early in the investigation.
**Lattice Tier:** Standard professional (Commission-grade diagnostic tools, analytical overlays)
**Emotional Baseline:**
- **Professional-cautious.** The detective is trained to observe, analyze, withhold judgment until evidence accumulates. But they're also human — isolation in an unfamiliar community, reliance on Sera for social grounding, awareness that non-cooperation is the district default.
- **Analytical habit.** Counts things. Tracks frequencies. Flags inconsistencies. Self-directs: "filing it," "noted," "coincidence?" Internal bookkeeping runs in background. The institutional training doesn't turn off.
- **Institutional frame.** Thinks in terms of evidence, patterns, leverage. Surnames before first names for targets. "Davan, K." not "Kael." The shift from surname to first-name IS a relationship marker.
- **Moral position.** The detective believes in the work. Smuggling isn't victimless — unlicensed lattice components can cause neural degradation, medical-grade replacements diverted from Syndic supply chains mean someone else doesn't get the replacement they need. The ring is breaking the law. The investigation is justified. But the detective is also starting to see the grey: Kael isn't a cartel boss, he's a dock worker who said yes once and kept saying yes. Complexity accumulates.
**Emotional Baseline (invariant):**
- **Professional-cautious.** Trained to observe, analyze, withhold judgment until evidence accumulates. Isolation in an unfamiliar community. Non-cooperation is the district default.
- **Analytical habit.** Counts things. Tracks frequencies. Flags inconsistencies. Self-directs: "filing it," "noted," "coincidence?" Internal bookkeeping runs in background.
- **Institutional frame.** Thinks in terms of evidence, patterns, leverage. Surnames before first names for targets. The shift from surname to first-name IS a relationship marker.
- **Moral position.** Believes in the work. Smuggling isn't victimless. But the grey accumulates: ring members aren't cartel bosses, they're workers who said yes once and kept saying yes.
---
@@ -84,7 +63,7 @@ This guide defines how content authors write for two playable characters experie
|-----------|----------|-----------|
| **Knowledge of the ring** | Insider. Knows who, what, when, where. Operational detail. | Suspects. Has data anomalies, no confirmed names. Investigative frame. |
| **Relationship to NPCs** | Personal. First-name basis. History, trust, loyalty. | Clinical. Surname-first. Categorizes by role and behavior. |
| **Emotional orientation** | Protective. Worries about people. "Is Kael okay?" | Analytical. Worries about patterns. "Why is Kael nervous?" |
| **Emotional orientation** | Protective. Worries about people. "Is {FRIEND} okay?" | Analytical. Worries about patterns. "Why is {subject} nervous?" |
| **Lattice capability** | Baseline. No enhanced perception, no analytical overlays. | Professional. Diagnostic access, pattern recognition tools. |
| **Social position** | Insider. Belongs. Everyone knows the smuggler. | Outsider. Institutional authority resented by the community. |
| **Moral framing** | Pragmatic complicity. "We're careful. We take care of our own." | Institutional clarity. "This is a crime. There are victims." |
@@ -117,7 +96,7 @@ The smuggler hears a line the detective doesn't (or vice versa) because of `acce
```yaml
- id: terminal_d_044
role: dock_worker
text: "Container 4471 sat in temp storage overnight. Scheduling backed up again."
text: "Container {N} sat in temp storage overnight. Scheduling backed up again."
access: [public, peer]
trust: surface
situation: [shift_start]
@@ -131,12 +110,12 @@ Both characters can hear this line (`public` + `peer` both accessible). But the
```yaml
- id: terminal_d_045
role: dock_worker
text: "4471's routed for transfer at 14:30. Voss kept the window clear."
text: "{Container N} is routed for transfer at 14:30. {Supervisor} kept the window clear."
access: [insider]
trust: real
situation: [shift_transition]
dual_lens:
smuggler: "Confirmation — the route is active, Voss is cooperating."
smuggler: "Confirmation — the route is active, the supervisor is cooperating."
detective: "Never hears this line. Doesn't have insider access."
```
@@ -147,7 +126,7 @@ Both characters hear the same NPC dialogue, but their monologue reactions interp
```yaml
- id: bar_d_033
role: bartender
text: "Sera left early. Headache, she said."
text: "{THE FRIEND} left early. Headache, they said."
access: [public]
trust: surface
```
@@ -157,7 +136,7 @@ Both characters hear the same NPC dialogue, but their monologue reactions interp
- id: bar_m_051
character: smuggler
trigger: post_conversation
text: "Sera's gone. Good — one less Commission presence in the room."
text: "{THE FRIEND}'s gone. Good — one less Commission presence in the room."
mood: [relieved]
```
@@ -168,10 +147,10 @@ Both characters hear the same NPC dialogue, but their monologue reactions interp
trigger: post_conversation
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: sera_venn
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: avoidance_pattern
text: "Second time Sera's left when Torek arrived. Coincidence?"
text: "Second time {THE FRIEND} left when {NPC} arrived. Coincidence?"
mood: [suspicious]
```
@@ -180,7 +159,7 @@ Same dialogue. Smuggler reads it as relief (less oversight). Detective reads it
**Type 3: Emotional Weight Difference**
The relationship history creates different emotional stakes for the same observation.
*Observation trigger:* Kael checking his lattice for the third time in ten minutes.
*Observation trigger:* THE FRIEND checking their lattice for the third time in ten minutes.
*Smuggler monologue:*
```yaml
@@ -189,8 +168,8 @@ The relationship history creates different emotional stakes for the same observa
trigger: observe_anomaly
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
text: "Kael keeps checking his lattice. Waiting for a message? Not like him to be jumpy."
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
text: "{THE FRIEND} keeps checking their lattice. Waiting for a message? Not like them to be jumpy."
mood: [concerned]
topic: [colleague]
```
@@ -202,13 +181,13 @@ The relationship history creates different emotional stakes for the same observa
trigger: observe_anomaly
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Known
subject: kael_davan
text: "Dock worker Davan — lattice activity spiked. Expecting a message? Or checking for surveillance?"
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
text: "Dock worker {Surname} — lattice activity spiked. Expecting a message? Or checking for surveillance?"
mood: [analytical]
topic: [investigation]
```
Same behavior. Smuggler worries about a friend ("Not like him"). Detective analyzes a subject ("Dock worker Davan"). Emotional weight is asymmetric.
Same behavior. Smuggler worries about a friend ("Not like them"). Detective analyzes a subject ("Dock worker {Surname}"). Emotional weight is asymmetric.
---
@@ -221,12 +200,12 @@ The dual-lens rule is enforced through the tag taxonomy (D-035). Here's how tags
| Access Tier | Who Gets It | Smuggler Example | Detective Example |
|-------------|-------------|------------------|-------------------|
| `public` | Everyone | Bar greeting, shift small talk | Commission procedural questions |
| `peer` | Known or Friendly relationship | Coworker gossip, shift complaints | Institutional background sharing (Sera to detective) |
| `peer` | Known or Friendly relationship | Coworker gossip, shift complaints | Institutional background sharing ({THE FRIEND} to detective) |
| `insider` | Friendly relationship only | Ring operational talk, close confidences | Never unlocked for ring NPCs (detective is outsider) |
| `authority` | Detective only, works at Unknown/Known/PersonOfInterest | Institutional leverage questions | Smuggler never has authority access |
| `hostile` | Hostile relationship only | Threats, final warnings | Post-cover-blown confrontation |
**Critical rule:** When Kael transitions from Friendly to PersonOfInterest (THE FRIEND contradiction), `insider` and `peer` lines LOCK OUT. The smuggler still sees Kael, still interacts with Kael, but the warm operational dialogue disappears. That absence IS the emotional payload.
**Critical rule:** When THE FRIEND transitions from Friendly to PersonOfInterest (THE FRIEND contradiction), `insider` and `peer` lines LOCK OUT. The smuggler still sees THE FRIEND, still interacts with them, but the warm operational dialogue disappears. That absence IS the emotional payload.
**`trust` Tag — Hard Filter (D-028 Layer 3)**
@@ -238,7 +217,7 @@ Within each access tier, `trust` further filters content:
| `real` | Honest opinions, unguarded speech, actual feelings |
| `secret` | Dangerous knowledge, confessions, things that create leverage |
A line tagged `access: [insider], trust: secret` is the deepest content — only available to the smuggler, only when Kael is Friendly, only when trust has been earned through repeated interaction.
A line tagged `access: [insider], trust: secret` is the deepest content — only available to the smuggler, only when THE FRIEND is Friendly, only when trust has been earned through repeated interaction.
**`character` Tag — Hard Partition (D-032)**
@@ -268,18 +247,20 @@ When writing a line:
### Per-NPC Access Mapping
*v0.1 named-NPC access table removed — cited NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Author per-district access mapping tables against the active NPC roster using the format below.*
How each character relates to key NPCs at session start:
| NPC | Smuggler Access | Detective Access | Shift Path (Smuggler) | Shift Path (Detective) |
|-----|----------------|------------------|---------------------|----------------------|
| **Kael Davan (THE FRIEND)** | `insider`, `peer` | `public` → `authority` (if flagged) | `insider` → locked out (post-contradiction, PersonOfInterest) | `public` → `authority` (investigation progresses) |
| **Sera Venn (THE FRIEND)** | `public` (Commission, wary) | `peer` → `authority` (post-contradiction) | No shift (smuggler doesn't develop relationship) | `peer` → `authority` (trust breaks, PersonOfInterest) |
| **Voss (shift supervisor)** | `insider` (colleague, knows smuggler is ring) | `authority` | `insider` → `hostile` (if cover blown) | `authority` → `peer` (if detective earns trust) |
| **Lera Sessik (bar owner)** | `insider` (bar regular, ring-aware) | `public` → `peer` (repeat visits) | No major shift | `public` → `peer` (regular status, 3-4 visits) |
| **Naia Tamm (Kael's partner)** | `peer` (through Kael) | `public` → `peer` (through Sera) | `peer` → `hostile` (if Naia learns truth about ring) | `public` → `peer` (Sera introduction) |
| **Torek Lintar (bar regular)** | `insider` or `peer` (depends on whether smuggler knows Torek's ring connection) | `public` | No shift | `public` → `authority` (if financial tells flagged) |
| **Maret Korr (freight scheduler)** | `insider` (hub colleague) | `authority` | No major shift | `authority` → `peer` (if Maret cooperates) |
| **Drin Rosta (dock inspector)** | `insider` (hub colleague, smuggler knows Drin is compromised) | `authority` | `insider` → `hostile` (if Drin turns informant) | `authority` (detective can pressure via gambling debt) |
| **{FRIEND A} (Smuggler's FRIEND)** | `insider`, `peer` | `public` → `authority` (if flagged) | `insider` → locked out (post-contradiction, PersonOfInterest) | `public` → `authority` (investigation progresses) |
| **{FRIEND B} (Detective's FRIEND)** | `public` (Commission, wary) | `peer` → `authority` (post-contradiction) | No shift (smuggler doesn't develop relationship) | `peer` → `authority` (trust breaks, PersonOfInterest) |
| **{Supervisor} (shift supervisor)** | `insider` (colleague, knows smuggler is ring) | `authority` | `insider` → `hostile` (if cover blown) | `authority` → `peer` (if detective earns trust) |
| **{Bar Owner}** | `insider` (bar regular, ring-aware) | `public` → `peer` (repeat visits) | No major shift | `public` → `peer` (regular status, 3-4 visits) |
| **{MIRROR} (FRIEND's partner)** | `peer` (through FRIEND) | `public` → `peer` (through FRIEND B) | `peer` → `hostile` (if MIRROR learns truth about ring) | `public` → `peer` (FRIEND B introduction) |
| **{Ring-adjacent NPC}** | `insider` or `peer` (depends on smuggler's knowledge of connection) | `public` | No shift | `public` → `authority` (if behavioral tells flagged) |
| **{Scheduler/Admin}** | `insider` (hub colleague) | `authority` | No major shift | `authority` → `peer` (if they cooperate) |
| **{Compromised NPC}** | `insider` (hub colleague, smuggler knows they're compromised) | `authority` | `insider` → `hostile` (if they turn informant) | `authority` (detective can apply pressure via known leverage) |
---
@@ -296,14 +277,14 @@ How each character relates to key NPCs at session start:
| Character | Starting Tier | Likely Shift | Trigger | Content Requirement |
|-----------|--------------|--------------|---------|---------------------|
| Smuggler | `insider` (regular) | `insider` → `hostile` | Social contamination from hub (ring turns on smuggler) | Bar dialogue shifts from warm to cold. Lera stops saving the smuggler's seat. Torek stops buying rounds. |
| Detective | `public` | `public` → `peer` | Repeated visits (3-4), becomes a regular, earns Lera's respect | Greeting dialogue warms. Sera introduces detective to regulars. Access to bar gossip unlocks. |
| Smuggler | `insider` (regular) | `insider` → `hostile` | Social contamination from hub (ring turns on smuggler) | Bar dialogue shifts from warm to cold. The bar owner stops saving the smuggler's seat. Regulars stop buying rounds. |
| Detective | `public` | `public` → `peer` | Repeated visits (3-4), becomes a regular, earns the bar owner's respect | Greeting dialogue warms. {THE FRIEND} introduces detective to regulars. Access to bar gossip unlocks. |
**The Ring (Smuggling Operations)**
| Character | Starting Tier | Likely Shift | Trigger | Content Requirement |
|-----------|--------------|--------------|---------|---------------------|
| Smuggler | `insider` + `peer` | `peer` → `hostile` | Suspected of cooperation with detective, unauthorized contact (like Kael) | Ring dialogue becomes interrogative. Nils questions loyalty. Operational info stops flowing. |
| Smuggler | `insider` + `peer` | `peer` → `hostile` | Suspected of cooperation with detective, unauthorized contact with the detective | Ring dialogue becomes interrogative. Ring leadership questions loyalty. Operational info stops flowing. |
| Detective | `public` (doesn't know ring exists) | `public` → `hostile` | Stumbles into ring awareness — NPCs react defensively | Immediate evasion. Doors close. No access to insider content, but NPCs' defensive behavior is itself evidence. |
---
@@ -315,13 +296,13 @@ Every content pack must support:
2. **Shifted state dialogue** — the most likely tier transition per character
3. **Monologue that tracks the shift** — the character's internal reaction to changed access
Example from Kael content pack:
Example from THE FRIEND content pack:
*Starting state (Friendly, insider access):*
```yaml
- id: terminal_d_120
role: dock_worker
text: "Container 4471 is flagged. I'll reroute it during shift transition."
text: "Container {N} is flagged. I'll reroute it during shift transition."
access: [insider]
trust: real
situation: [shift_transition]
@@ -336,7 +317,7 @@ Example from Kael content pack:
access: [public]
trust: surface
situation: [shift_start]
notes: "Post-contradiction. Kael is surface-normal. The warmth is gone. The insider content is locked."
notes: "Post-contradiction. THE FRIEND is surface-normal. The warmth is gone. The insider content is locked."
```
*Smuggler monologue tracking the shift:*
@@ -346,8 +327,8 @@ Example from Kael content pack:
trigger: post_conversation
prerequisite:
relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: kael_davan
text: "Same old Kael. Same jokes, same routine. ...What are you not telling me?"
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
text: "Same old {THE FRIEND}. Same jokes, same routine. ...What are you not telling me?"
mood: [conflicted]
topic: [colleague]
notes: "Phase 5: Contaminated trust. Every normal interaction is now suspicious."
@@ -369,7 +350,7 @@ The vertical slice is 30 minutes. Divergence between the smuggler and detective
**Minimal Differences:**
- Monologue voice is different (smuggler: casual, relational; detective: analytical, institutional).
- NPC greetings vary by recognition (smuggler gets "There you are" from Kael; detective gets "Can I help you?" from Voss).
- NPC greetings vary by recognition (smuggler gets "There you are" from THE FRIEND; detective gets "Can I help you?" from the supervisor).
- The smuggler's monologue references operational context ("shift transition in thirty minutes"). The detective's monologue references investigative context ("manifest discrepancies tied to this hub").
**Player Experience:**
@@ -380,18 +361,18 @@ The two characters feel similar. The world is shared. The voice is different, bu
### Minutes 10-20: Growing Divergence
**Access Tiers Start to Differ:**
- The smuggler hears `insider` dialogue from Kael, Voss, Lera. Ring operational talk. Close colleague warmth.
- The detective hears `authority` dialogue from Maret, Drin, Voss. Institutional leverage questions. Evasive answers.
- The smuggler hears `insider` dialogue from THE FRIEND, colleagues, bar regulars. Ring operational talk. Close colleague warmth.
- The detective hears `authority` dialogue from hub workers and supervisors. Institutional leverage questions. Evasive answers.
- The smuggler's `peer` access to bar regulars unlocks gossip, complaints, social texture. The detective is still `public` at the bar — polite but distant.
**Monologue Pools Diverge:**
- The smuggler's monologue starts tracking operational risk: "Torek's spending is too visible." "Maret's been quiet lately — did she notice something?"
- The detective's monologue starts tracking behavioral tells: "Dock worker Davan — lattice activity spiked." "Voss deflected when I asked about overnight containers."
- The smuggler's monologue starts tracking operational risk: "That spending is too visible." "They've been quiet lately — did they notice something?"
- The detective's monologue starts tracking behavioral tells: "Dock worker {Surname} — lattice activity spiked." "{Supervisor} deflected when I asked about overnight containers."
**NPCs Respond Differently:**
- Kael is warm to the smuggler (Friendly relationship), clinical to the detective (Unknown or Known).
- Sera is warm to the detective (Friendly, pre-existing contact), wary to the smuggler (Commission presence).
- Lera is protective of regulars around the detective (defensive), casual with the smuggler (insider).
- THE FRIEND (smuggler's) is warm to the smuggler (Friendly relationship), clinical to the detective (Unknown or Known).
- THE FRIEND (detective's) is warm to the detective (Friendly, pre-existing contact), wary to the smuggler (Commission presence).
- The bar owner is protective of regulars around the detective (defensive), casual with the smuggler (insider).
**Player Experience:**
The same room. Different colors. Different names. Different monologue. The player who's played both paths starts to notice: "Wait, I didn't hear that line as the detective." The asymmetry is becoming visible.
@@ -403,21 +384,21 @@ The same room. Different colors. Different names. Different monologue. The playe
**Completely Different Internal Experiences:**
**Smuggler (navigating ring crisis):**
- Kael's contradiction discovered. The FRIEND arc is in Phase 3-4 (shock, confrontation).
- THE FRIEND's contradiction discovered. The FRIEND arc is in Phase 3-4 (shock, confrontation).
- Monologue is emotionally loaded: hurt, betrayal, protectiveness, fear of exposure.
- Access to `insider` content at The Terminal and bar. Operational dialogue about shift windows, container routing, risk management.
- Relationship stakes are personal: "Kael is lying to me. What do I do? Confront? Protect? Report to Nils?"
- Access to `insider` content at the terminal and bar. Operational dialogue about shift windows, container routing, risk management.
- Relationship stakes are personal: "THE FRIEND is lying to me. What do I do? Confront? Protect? Report up the chain?"
**Detective (uncovering evidence):**
- Sera's contradiction discovered. The FRIEND arc is in Phase 3-4 (pattern confirmed, question asked).
- Monologue is analytically loaded: suspicion, professional conflict, moral cost of using Sera's concealment.
- Access to `authority` content at The Terminal. Institutional leverage. Maret might cooperate. Drin might turn.
- Relationship stakes are institutional: "Sera knows something. Do I press? Report her? Protect her?"
- THE FRIEND's contradiction discovered. The FRIEND arc is in Phase 3-4 (pattern confirmed, question asked).
- Monologue is analytically loaded: suspicion, professional conflict, moral cost of using THE FRIEND's concealment.
- Access to `authority` content at the terminal. Institutional leverage. Some NPCs might cooperate. Others might turn.
- Relationship stakes are institutional: "THE FRIEND knows something. Do I press? Report them? Protect them?"
**Zero Overlap in Emotional Journey:**
- The smuggler is inside a community facing internal betrayal.
- The detective is outside a community trying to crack it open.
- The same events (Kael's nervousness, Sera's avoidance, Torek's spending) mean completely different things to each character.
- The same events (THE FRIEND's nervousness, THE FRIEND's avoidance, the ring's visible tells) mean completely different things to each character.
**Player Experience:**
"I was only seeing HALF of this." The replay reveals a completely different game. Not just "I knew different things" — "I cared about different things." The divergence is total.
@@ -440,12 +421,12 @@ Before submitting a line, ask:
### Question 1: Does this line make sense if the smuggler hears it?
**Test:** Read the line aloud. Imagine the smuggler — a dock worker who's been on Sova for years, knows the ring from inside, thinks in operational terms, worries about people. Does this line sound like something an NPC would say TO a smuggler? Or does it assume the listener is an outsider / authority figure?
**Test:** Read the line aloud. Imagine the smuggler — a dock worker who's been in the district for years, knows the ring from inside, thinks in operational terms, worries about people. Does this line sound like something an NPC would say TO a smuggler? Or does it assume the listener is an outsider / authority figure?
**Common failures:**
- NPC explains basic station layout to the smuggler (the smuggler already knows).
- NPC uses institutional vocabulary the smuggler wouldn't recognize ("manifest reconciliation protocol" instead of "the paperwork doesn't match").
- NPC is defensive or evasive without cause (why would Kael be evasive with his closest colleague unless something's wrong?).
- NPC is defensive or evasive without cause (why would THE FRIEND be evasive with their closest colleague unless something's wrong?).
**Fix:** Rewrite the line for insider context. Or tag it `access: [authority, public]` so the smuggler never hears it.
@@ -453,11 +434,11 @@ Before submitting a line, ask:
### Question 2: Does this line make sense if the detective hears it?
**Test:** Read the line aloud. Imagine the detective — a Commission investigator, new to the district, analytical training, institutional frame, no prior relationships except Sera. Does this line sound like something an NPC would say TO a detective? Or does it assume the listener already belongs to the community?
**Test:** Read the line aloud. Imagine the detective — a Commission investigator, new to the district, analytical training, institutional frame, no prior relationships except {THE FRIEND}. Does this line sound like something an NPC would say TO a detective? Or does it assume the listener already belongs to the community?
**Common failures:**
- NPC uses in-group slang or references without explanation (the detective doesn't have the context yet).
- NPC is too warm / too trusting (why would Voss share operational details with an investigator?).
- NPC is too warm / too trusting (why would {Supervisor} share operational details with an investigator?).
- NPC volunteers sensitive information unprompted (people don't do that to authorities they don't trust).
**Fix:** Rewrite the line for outsider context. Or tag it `access: [insider, peer]` so the detective never hears it.
@@ -496,7 +477,7 @@ Before submitting a line, ask:
**Common failures:**
- Line is generic social lubricant ("Nice weather today" — there's no weather on a station).
- Line repeats information the character already has ("Kael works at the dock" — the smuggler knows this).
- Line repeats information the character already has ("they work at the dock" — the smuggler knows this).
- Line doesn't connect to any NPC axis (Want, Secret, Relationship, Tolerance) or triangle tension.
**Fix:** Every line should serve character, relationship, or narrative. If it doesn't, cut it or replace it with a line that does. Content budget is finite. No filler.
@@ -507,7 +488,7 @@ Before submitting a line, ask:
### The Pattern
Each playable character has one "FRIEND" NPC — a production-level complex character that exercises every content and systems pipeline at full depth. THE FRIEND is the emotional centerpiece of v0.1 and carries D-027 success criterion #3 ("player names an NPC they felt conflicted about").
Each playable character has one "FRIEND" NPC — a production-level complex character that exercises every content and systems pipeline at full depth. THE FRIEND is the emotional centerpiece and carries D-027 success criterion #3 ("player names an NPC they felt conflicted about").
**THE FRIEND follows a reusable pattern:**
@@ -524,108 +505,71 @@ Each playable character has one "FRIEND" NPC — a production-level complex char
---
### Smuggler's FRIEND: Kael Davan
### Smuggler's FRIEND
**Who:** Dock worker, Sova Transit District Logistics Hub. The smuggler's closest colleague. Ring member. Handles physical cargo routing.
*v0.1 named-NPC profile removed — cited NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Author against the active roster.*
**Structural specification (invariant):**
**Who:** A district worker who is the smuggler's closest colleague and a ring member. Handles physical cargo routing.
**Surface Presentation (Minutes 0-10):**
Warm, reliable, slightly sardonic. Greets the smuggler with genuine affection. Talks about shift schedules, complains about Voss, asks about the smuggler's weekend. Feels like the best coworker you've ever had.
Warm, reliable, slightly sardonic. Greets the smuggler with genuine affection. Feels like the best coworker you've ever had.
**What the Smuggler Knows:**
Kael is a ring member. This isn't a secret from the smuggler — it's shared context. They work together on both the legitimate side and the ring side. The smuggler trusts Kael because they've shared risk for two years.
THE FRIEND is a ring member. This is shared context. They work together on both the legitimate side and the ring side.
**The Contradiction:**
The smuggler sees Kael in the restricted maintenance corridor (Corridor B-7) talking to someone the smuggler doesn't recognize. Late. Off-shift. The person leaves before the smuggler gets close.
Smuggler monologue: *"That's Kael. But who's he talking to? I don't know that face."*
This is NOT the detective. This is someone from outside the ring's known network. Kael has a side arrangement the smuggler doesn't know about.
**The Shift Arc (Triangle 4: The Worried Partner)**
Kael is at the center of Triangle 4 (Naia-Kael-Sera). His partner Naia is worried about his late nights. Naia has confided in Sera (Commission field tech, the detective's FRIEND). Kael is oblivious to the anxiety he's causing. The unknown contact is someone offering to help Kael exit the ring — to protect Naia. Kael is trying to get out. But from the smuggler's perspective, any unauthorized contact is a security breach.
The smuggler sees THE FRIEND in a restricted area talking to someone unrecognized. Late. Off-shift. THE FRIEND has an unauthorized contact the smuggler doesn't know about.
| Phase | Timing | Smuggler Observes | Monologue Register | Tell |
|-------|--------|------------------|-------------------|------|
| **Phase 1: Comfort** | 0-10 min | Kael is warm, reliable, present. Business as usual. | Fond, casual: *"Kael's already at the dock. Good. The day's better when he's on shift."* | None — baseline comfortable |
| **Phase 2: First Crack** | 10-15 min | Kael checks lattice more often. Excuses himself from lunch early. | Mild concern: *"Kael's distracted today. Probably nothing."* | Behavioral: increased lattice checking, shortened interactions |
| **Phase 3: The Contradiction** | 15-20 min | Corridor B-7. Unknown contact. Spatial deviation. | Alarm + confusion: *"That wasn't anyone from our rotation. And Kael didn't tell me about a meeting."* | Spatial: Kael in unexpected location at unexpected time |
| **Phase 4: Confrontation** | 20-25 min | Smuggler asks. Kael deflects: "Just a thing. Don't worry about it." He's lying. | Betrayal crystallizing: *"He looked left before answering. He always looks left when he's making something up."* | Dialogue: evasion, subject change, the tell confirmed |
| **Phase 5: Contaminated Trust** | 25-30 min | Everything looks normal again. But the smuggler is watching. | Conflicted: *"Same old Kael. Laughing at the same jokes. ...What are you not telling me?"* | Emotional: every warm interaction is now suspicious |
| **Phase 1: Comfort** | 0-10 min | THE FRIEND is warm, reliable. Business as usual. | Fond, casual. | None — baseline |
| **Phase 2: First Crack** | 10-15 min | Increased lattice checks. Early exits. | Mild concern: "Distracted today. Probably nothing." | Behavioral deviations |
| **Phase 3: The Contradiction** | 15-20 min | Unauthorized location. Unknown contact. | Alarm + confusion: "Who is that? That's not our rotation." | Spatial deviation |
| **Phase 4: Confrontation** | 20-25 min | THE FRIEND deflects: "Just a thing. Don't worry about it." | Betrayal crystallizing: "That tell. They're lying to me." | Tell confirmed |
| **Phase 5: Contaminated Trust** | 25-30 min | Surface normality. But the smuggler is watching. | Conflicted: "Same old them. ...What are you not telling me?" | Contaminated warmth |
**RelationshipState Transition:**
`Friendly` (green) → `PersonOfInterest` (amber) at Phase 3 contradiction discovery.
**Access Tier Shift:**
`insider` + `peer` dialogue locks out at Phase 3. Kael still talks to the smuggler, but the warmth is gone. Only `public` + `surface` lines remain. That absence IS the narrative.
**Content Requirements:**
~70-100 authored lines (no generation expansion):
- 25-35 dialogue lines (greetings, shift talk, bar casual, ring coordination, deflection, confrontation responses)
- 15-20 trust-gated lines (insider ring talk, close colleague warmth, secret-tier hints about wanting out)
- 5-8 unprompted lines (Kael volunteers info early, warnings/deflections late)
- 10-15 monologue lines (smuggler about Kael: warmth, concern, contradiction discovery, post-confrontation, contaminated trust)
- 10-15 monologue lines (detective about Kael: identification, behavioral observation, suspicion, informant potential)
- 5-8 tell observation lines (lattice checking, distraction, looks-left tell, spatial deviation)
- 3-5 contradiction discovery lines (Corridor B-7 moment from multiple angles)
**Content Requirements:** ~70-100 authored lines per character file.
---
### Detective's FRIEND: Sera Venn
### Detective's FRIEND
**Who:** Commission field technician, off-duty bar regular. The detective's pre-existing contact in the district. Same institutional background. Transferred to Sova a year ago. The detective's social anchor.
*v0.1 named-NPC profile removed — cited NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Author against the active roster.*
**Structural specification (invariant):**
**Who:** A Commission field technician and bar regular. The detective's pre-existing contact in the district. Same institutional background. The detective's social anchor.
**Surface Presentation (Minutes 0-10):**
Competent, slightly wry, comfortable in the district. When the detective visits the bar, Sera waves them over. Easy rapport. Fills in background — who the regulars are, what the district's like. The detective's guide to an unfamiliar place.
Competent, slightly wry, comfortable in the district. Fills in background — who the regulars are, what the district's like. The detective's guide to an unfamiliar place.
**What the Detective Knows:**
Sera is reliable. She transferred for routine work after a stressful posting elsewhere. She doesn't have skin in the smuggling game. She's the detective's safe harbor.
THE FRIEND is reliable. Transferred for routine work. No skin in the smuggling game. Safe harbor.
**The Contradiction:**
Sera always leaves when Torek Lintar arrives at the bar. Always. Three times in a row. Different excuses each time. "Early shift tomorrow." "Headache." "Need to check something at the kiosk."
Detective monologue: *"That's the third time Sera's left when Torek walked in. That's not coincidence."*
**The Shift Arc (Triangle 4: The Worried Partner)**
Sera is at the other node of Triangle 4. Naia (Kael's partner) confides in Sera about Kael's late nights. Sera — being a Commission tech with system access — ran an unofficial compliance check on Kael's work patterns. She found manifest discrepancies. She knows something is wrong. She hasn't reported it because Naia is her friend, and reporting would mean Kael gets investigated, possibly arrested, and Naia's life falls apart. Sera is sitting on unreported evidence. She avoids Torek because Torek is ring-adjacent, and she doesn't want to be seen near him while concealing what she knows.
THE FRIEND always leaves when a specific ring-adjacent NPC arrives at the bar. Always. Three times in a row. Different excuses each time.
| Phase | Timing | Detective Observes | Monologue Register | Tell |
|-------|--------|-------------------|-------------------|------|
| **Phase 1: Trust** | 0-10 min | Sera is warm, informative, helpful. Shares district intel freely. | Professional + personal warmth: *"Good to see Sera. She always was the reliable one."* | None — baseline comfortable |
| **Phase 2: Background Data** | 10-15 min | Sera mentions Naia (Kael's partner) as "a friend." Naia joins them once. Genuine rapport. | Noting: *"Sera's connected here. Good. She knows the locals."* | Social: Sera has relationships outside institutional channels |
| **Phase 3: The Pattern** | 15-20 min | Third departure when Torek arrives. Three different excuses. Same result. | Suspicion activating: *"That's the third time. Three excuses, one result. That's data."* | Behavioral: avoidance pattern, excuse variety, timing correlation |
| **Phase 4: The Question** | 20-25 min | Detective asks about Torek. Sera tenses. Deflects: "He's just loud. I don't like loud drunks." | Professional analysis + personal conflict: *"She's not lying. But she's not telling me everything."* | Dialogue: controlled deflection, topic change, re-establishing warmth quickly |
| **Phase 5: Contaminated Trust** | 25-30 min | Sera continues being helpful. Maybe MORE helpful — compensating. | Analytical doubt: *"Still the same Sera. Still reliable. ...But reliable about what?"* | Emotional: detective's observation lines shift from trusting to evaluating |
| **Phase 1: Trust** | 0-10 min | THE FRIEND is warm, informative, helpful. | Professional + personal warmth: "Reliable. Finally someone who speaks my language." | None — baseline |
| **Phase 2: Background Data** | 10-15 min | THE FRIEND shows connections outside institutional channels. | Noting: "Connected here. Good." | Social: relationships beyond institutional role |
| **Phase 3: The Pattern** | 15-20 min | Third departure when the ring-adjacent NPC arrives. | Suspicion activating: "Three times. Three excuses. That's data." | Behavioral: avoidance pattern |
| **Phase 4: The Question** | 20-25 min | Detective asks. THE FRIEND deflects. | Analysis + personal conflict: "Not lying. But not telling everything." | Controlled deflection |
| **Phase 5: Contaminated Trust** | 25-30 min | THE FRIEND continues being helpful. Maybe too helpful. | Analytical doubt: "Still reliable. ...But reliable about what?" | Evaluating what was trusted |
**RelationshipState Transition:**
`Friendly` (green) → `PersonOfInterest` (amber) at Phase 3 pattern confirmation.
**Access Tier Shift:**
`peer` dialogue available at Phase 1-2. At Phase 3, `authority` dialogue unlocks (detective can press institutional leverage questions). `peer` warmth remains but is contaminated.
**Content Requirements:**
~70-100 authored lines (no generation expansion):
- 25-35 dialogue lines (bar greetings, district orientation, Naia conversation, institutional discussion, deflection about Torek, confrontation responses)
- 15-20 trust-gated lines (peer-tier institutional background, secret-tier hints about what she found)
- 5-8 unprompted lines (Sera volunteers district background early, steers away from sensitive areas late)
- 10-15 monologue lines (detective about Sera: trust/relief, pattern observation, contradiction discovery, post-confrontation)
- 10-15 monologue lines (smuggler about Sera: institutional categorization, avoidance notation, cautious assessment)
- 5-8 tell observation lines (avoidance pattern x3, topic deflection, overcompensation helpfulness, extended kiosk time)
- 3-5 contradiction discovery lines (third departure from multiple angles)
**Content Requirements:** ~70-100 authored lines per character file.
---
### Why THE FRIEND Works Narratively
**Kael's contradiction isn't "Kael is secretly evil."**
The contradiction is "Kael is secretly desperate, and his desperation is making him do exactly the kind of thing that could get everyone caught." The smuggler's anger is justified (protocol breach). Kael's motivation is sympathetic (protecting family). No clean answer. That's the conflict.
**Sera's contradiction isn't "Sera is corrupt."**
The contradiction is "Sera is a good person making a terrible choice: loyalty to a friend vs. duty to her institution." The detective's discovery doesn't reveal a villain — it reveals a moral compromise the detective might understand. The question becomes: do I report Sera? Use what she knows? Confront and risk losing my only ally?
**The contradiction isn't "THE FRIEND is secretly evil."**
The contradiction is that THE FRIEND is desperate, or protecting someone, or making a terrible choice between loyalty and duty. Their motivation is sympathetic. The player's response is justified. No clean answer. That's the conflict.
**Dual-Lens Resonance:**
The smuggler who's played the detective path knows the investigation is closing in — Kael's exit attempt reads differently (not betrayal, desperation). The detective who's played the smuggler path knows why Sera is protecting Naia — Sera's silence reads differently (not corruption, loyalty).
The player who's completed both paths understands why THE FRIEND behaved as they did from both angles. The first reading felt like betrayal or concealment. The second reading reveals it as protection or fear. Same NPC. Different understanding.
---
@@ -639,11 +583,11 @@ The smuggler who's played the detective path knows the investigation is closing
| Parameter | Value | Example |
|-----------|-------|---------|
| **Sentence length** | Short. Fragments welcome. Rarely more than 2 sentences per monologue. | *"Kael's here. Good."* |
| **Sentence length** | Short. Fragments welcome. Rarely more than 2 sentences per monologue. | *"They're here. Good."* |
| **Vocabulary** | Concrete, physical, sensory. Trade jargon (containers, manifests, shifts, routes) without explaining. No institutional language. | *"Recycled air and cargo lubricant."* Not: "Standard atmospheric recycling." |
| **Emotional register** | Feeling-first, analysis second. Names the gut before the brain catches up. | *"Starting to worry"* before *"something's off."* |
| **Relationship mode** | First-name basis. People defined by connection, not role. | *"Kael"* not *"Davan."* *"Voss is tense"* not *"the shift supervisor seems agitated."* |
| **Observation priority** | People > environment > objects. Notices body language before cargo. | *"Kael keeps checking his lattice"* before *"Container 4471 is still in temp."* |
| **Relationship mode** | First-name basis. People defined by connection, not role. | *"{THE FRIEND}"* not *"{Surname}."* *"{NPC} is tense"* not *"the shift supervisor seems agitated."* |
| **Observation priority** | People > environment > objects. Notices body language before cargo. | *"THE FRIEND keeps checking their lattice"* before *"Container 4471 is still in temp."* |
| **Operational thinking** | Present when thinking about the job. Time-aware, route-aware, schedule-aware. Filtered through "is this safe for my people?" | *"Transition window opens in fifty minutes."* |
| **Self-reference** | Rare. Thinks about others, not herself. When it occurs, through physical sensation. | *"My stomach dropped"* not *"I feel betrayed."* |
| **Humor** | Dry, situational, understated. Dark when stressed. Never witty. | *"Home sweet home"* about a cargo bay. |
@@ -656,20 +600,20 @@ The smuggler who's played the detective path knows the investigation is closing
#### Voice Anchors (Reference Lines)
These 5 lines define the boundaries. Every smuggler monologue should feel like it could sit next to these:
These 5 lines define the register. Every smuggler monologue should feel like it could sit next to these:
1. **Baseline warm:** *"Kael's already at the dock. Good. The day's better when he's on shift."*
2. **Operational:** *"Shift transition in thirty minutes. If Voss kept the schedule thin, the route's clear."*
3. **Concerned:** *"Kael keeps checking his lattice. Waiting for a message? Not like him to be jumpy."*
4. **Hurt:** *"He looked left. He always looks left when he's making something up. Two years I've known that tell. Kael is lying to me."*
1. **Baseline warm:** *"Already at the dock. Good. The day's better when they're on shift."*
2. **Operational:** *"Shift transition in thirty minutes. If the supervisor kept the schedule thin, the route's clear."*
3. **Concerned:** *"They keep checking their lattice. Waiting for a message? Not like them to be jumpy."*
4. **Hurt:** *"That tell. They always do that when they're making something up. I've known that tell for years. They're lying to me."*
5. **Atmospheric:** *"Morning shift. Recycled air and cargo lubricant. Home sweet home."*
#### Anti-Patterns (What the Smuggler Does NOT Sound Like)
- *"I should investigate this anomaly further."* (Too clinical. She'd think: *"That's not right."*)
- *"The scheduling irregularity suggests systemic manipulation."* (Institutional vocabulary. She'd think: *"Voss changed the rotation again."*)
- *"I need to consider the implications of Kael's behavior for our operational security."* (Analytical distance. She'd think: *"What the hell is Kael doing?"*)
- *"According to the manifest, container 4471 should weigh 240 kilograms."* (Explaining what she already knows. She'd think: *"4471's heavy. Too heavy."*)
- *"I should investigate this anomaly further."* (Too clinical. They'd think: *"That's not right."*)
- *"The scheduling irregularity suggests systemic manipulation."* (Institutional vocabulary. They'd think: *"The rotation changed again."*)
- *"I need to consider the implications of their behavior for our operational security."* (Analytical distance. They'd think: *"What the hell are they doing?"*)
- *"According to the manifest, this container should weigh 240 kilograms."* (Explaining what they already know. They'd think: *"Too heavy."*)
---
@@ -682,10 +626,10 @@ These 5 lines define the boundaries. Every smuggler monologue should feel like i
| Parameter | Value | Example |
|-----------|-------|---------|
| **Sentence length** | Complete sentences, but not long. More structured than the smuggler. Occasional fragments for emphasis. | *"Standard prefab, heavy foot traffic. Let's see what the shift change tells me."* |
| **Vocabulary** | Institutional layer over plain speech. Professional terms: "case file," "filing it," "noted," "flagged." Not technical jargon — investigative habit. | *"Dock worker. Davan, K. Unremarkable on paper."* The surname-comma-initial is institutional reflex. |
| **Emotional register** | Analysis-first, personal second. When personal breaks through, it's notable — a crack in the professional surface. | *"She's not lying. But she's not telling me everything. Sera, what do you know?"* The first-name appeal IS the emotion. |
| **Relationship mode** | Surname-first for targets and unknowns. First-name for allies and trusted. The shift IS a relationship marker. | *"Davan, K."* early → *"Kael"* never (smuggler's FRIEND, not detective's). *"Sera"* always (detective's FRIEND). |
| **Observation priority** | Patterns > people > environment. Notices deviations from expected before noticing the person. | *"That's twice now"* before *"Sera leaves."* The count matters more than the actor. |
| **Vocabulary** | Institutional layer over plain speech. Professional terms: "case file," "filing it," "noted," "flagged." Not technical jargon — investigative habit. | *"Dock worker. {Surname}, {initial}. Unremarkable on paper."* The surname-comma-initial is institutional reflex. |
| **Emotional register** | Analysis-first, personal second. When personal breaks through, it's notable — a crack in the professional surface. | *"They're not lying. But they're not telling me everything. {THE FRIEND}, what do you know?"* The first-name appeal IS the emotion. |
| **Relationship mode** | Surname-first for targets and unknowns. First-name for allies and trusted. The shift IS a relationship marker. | *"{Surname}, {initial}."* early → *"{first name}"* never (smuggler's FRIEND, not detective's). *"{THE FRIEND}"* always (detective's FRIEND). |
| **Observation priority** | Patterns > people > environment. Notices deviations from expected before noticing the person. | *"That's twice now"* before *"{THE FRIEND} leaves."* The count matters more than the actor. |
| **Analytical thinking** | Automatic. Counts, tracks, flags. Self-directs: "filing it," "noted," "coincidence?" Internal bookkeeping. | *"Three times. Three excuses. That's data."* |
| **Self-reference** | More common than the smuggler, but always through professional lens. Monitors own state as evidence. | *"I'm reading too much into this"* — self-aware about analytical bias. |
| **Humor** | Wry, observational. Appreciates irony at a distance. Can laugh at himself. Never cruel. | *"Only place in this district that doesn't smell like freight lubricant."* |
@@ -699,16 +643,16 @@ These 5 lines define the boundaries. Every smuggler monologue should feel like i
#### Voice Anchors (Reference Lines)
1. **Clinical baseline:** *"Logistics hub. Standard prefab, heavy foot traffic. Let's see what the shift change tells me."*
2. **Pattern recognition:** *"That's the third time. Sera leaves when Torek arrives. Three different excuses, same result. That's not coincidence."*
3. **Personal leak:** *"Good to see Sera. She always was the reliable one. At least someone in this district speaks my language."*
4. **Conflicted:** *"Same booth. Same warm smile. Same offer to buy me a drink. ...Everything except whatever she's not saying."*
2. **Pattern recognition:** *"That's the third time. {THE FRIEND} leaves when {NPC} arrives. Three different excuses, same result. That's not coincidence."*
3. **Personal leak:** *"Good to see them. Always the reliable one. At least someone in this district speaks my language."*
4. **Conflicted:** *"Same booth. Same warm smile. Same offer to buy me a drink. ...Everything except whatever they're not saying."*
5. **Atmospheric:** *"Grain spirit and low conversation. Only place in this district that doesn't smell like freight lubricant."*
#### Anti-Patterns (What the Detective Does NOT Sound Like)
- *"Kael's here. Good."* (Too terse. That's the smuggler. The detective: *"Davan's on shift. Standard."*)
- *"I feel uneasy about Sera's behavior."* (Direct emotional vocabulary. He'd think: *"Something's off with Sera. Can't place it yet."*)
- *"This container has been tampered with, indicating smuggling activity."* (Explaining the obvious. He'd think: *"Weight's wrong. Noted."*)
- *"They're here. Good."* (Too terse. That's the smuggler. The detective: *"{Surname}'s on shift. Standard."*)
- *"I feel uneasy about their behavior."* (Direct emotional vocabulary. They'd think: *"Something's off with them. Can't place it yet."*)
- *"This container has been tampered with, indicating smuggling activity."* (Explaining the obvious. They'd think: *"Weight's wrong. Noted."*)
- *"My heart sank when I saw the evidence."* (Physical emotion — smuggler's register. Detective: *"Didn't want to see that. But there it is."*)
---
@@ -722,17 +666,17 @@ These 5 lines define the boundaries. Every smuggler monologue should feel like i
**Trigger:** Entering the bar.
- **Smuggler:** *"Lera's. Grain spirit and noise. Could use both right now."*
- **Detective:** *"The Last Shift. Same crowd as yesterday. Let's see who's NOT here tonight."*
- **Smuggler:** *"The bar. Grain spirit and noise. Could use both right now."*
- **Detective:** *"Same crowd as yesterday. Let's see who's NOT here tonight."*
**Trigger:** Noticing Naia Tamm is upset.
**Trigger:** Noticing a civilian NPC (THE MIRROR type) is visibly upset.
- **Smuggler:** *"Naia looks rough today. Should check on her later."*
- **Detective:** *"Tamm seems distressed. Not her baseline. Something at home, or something she's heard?"*
- **Smuggler:** *"They look rough today. Should check on them later."*
- **Detective:** *"Seems distressed. Not their baseline. Something at home, or something they've heard?"*
**Trigger:** Hearing raised voices behind a door.
- **Smuggler:** *"Raised voices from the back room. Devra's in there. That's not a brokering call."*
- **Smuggler:** *"Raised voices from the back room. That's not a routine call."*
- **Detective:** *"Arguing behind that door. The bartender didn't flinch. Either she's used to it or she knows what it is."*
---
@@ -747,4 +691,4 @@ That's the job.
---
**End Dual Lens Authoring Guide v0.1**
**End Dual Lens Authoring Guide**
wiki/authoring/environmental-text-examples.md
+34 -39
View File
@@ -6,32 +6,32 @@ category: authoring-guide
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-13
updated: 2026-02-13
tags: [v0.1, authoring, environmental-text]
decision_refs: [D-016, D-032, D-036]
cross_refs: [monologue-guide, the-last-shift, the-terminal, maintenance-corridors]
tags: [authoring, environmental-text]
decision_refs: [D-016, D-032]
cross_refs: [monologue-guide]
---
# Environmental Text Examples
Worked examples of diegetic environmental text for Sova Transit District. Each example is Van Maanen's Star-voiced (working-class, direct, compact) with cultural notes explaining the choices, followed by monologue pairings showing how the smuggler and detective read the same text differently.
Worked examples of diegetic environmental text for a working freight district. Each example is mid-Reach industrial-voiced (working-class, direct, compact) with cultural notes explaining the choices, followed by monologue pairings showing how the smuggler and detective read the same text differently.
Environmental text is not decoration. It is world-state that the player reads through their character's perspective. The same sign on the same wall tells two different stories.
---
## 1. Bar Menu — The Last Shift
## 1. Bar Menu — The Local Bar
Mounted behind the bar counter. Hand-lettered on a metal panel in Lera's handwriting. Prices in station credits. Menu changes rarely — when an item runs out, Lera crosses it off and writes the replacement below.
Mounted behind the bar counter. Hand-lettered on a metal panel in the bar owner's handwriting. Prices in station credits. Menu changes rarely — when an item runs out, it gets crossed off and the replacement written below.
### The Text
```
LERA'S
THE LAST SHIFT
Grain spirit (Sova-brewed) 4
Grain spirit (station-brewed) 4
Grain spirit, double 7
Station lager 5
Imported lager (Van Maanen's Star Prime) 12
Imported lager (system prime) 12
Synth ale (cold) 3
Fried protein + bread 6
@@ -45,15 +45,15 @@ Last call 01:30.
### Cultural Notes
- **Pricing tells a story.** Imported lager at 12 credits — five shifts' disposable income for a logistics worker earning 200 credits margin per month. Ordering one is a status display. The smuggler knows who can afford it and who's showing off. The detective notes the financial tell.
- **"Ask what's in it"** — Van Maanen's Star directness. Lera doesn't pretend the stew is gourmet. The regulars don't care. This is food for people who need to eat, not a dining experience.
- **"No tabs. No arguments."** — Lera has been burned. The two-rule footer is social infrastructure: it prevents the awkward conversation where a colleague can't pay, which would damage the bar's function as a place where status is temporarily suspended.
- **Hand-lettered** — not Meridian-displayed. This is deliberate. A printed menu could be updated remotely. A hand-lettered one means Lera stood here and wrote it. It says: this is mine.
- **"Ask what's in it"** — Mid-Reach freight-district directness. No pretense that the stew is gourmet. The regulars don't care. This is food for people who need to eat, not a dining experience.
- **"No tabs. No arguments."** — The owner has been burned. The two-rule footer is social infrastructure: it prevents the awkward conversation where a colleague can't pay, which would damage the bar's function as a place where status is temporarily suspended.
- **Hand-lettered** — not Meridian-displayed. A printed menu could be updated remotely. A hand-lettered one means the owner stood here and wrote it. It says: this is mine.
- **No cocktails, no wine, no elaboration.** The menu matches the clientele: shift workers who want a drink, food, and to be left alone. Complexity would be pretension.
### Monologue Pairings
**Smuggler** (on entering The Last Shift, sees menu):
> Same menu. Same prices. Lera hasn't changed the stew description in three years.
> Same menu. Same prices. They haven't changed the stew description in three years.
*Tags: [environmental, atmospheric]. Trigger: enter_location. This is comfort. Sameness is safety.*
@@ -62,28 +62,28 @@ Last call 01:30.
*Tags: [environmental, investigation]. Trigger: enter_location. The detective reads the menu as economic data.*
**Smuggler** (on observing Torek ordering imported lager):
> Torek's buying the good stuff again. That's three times this week.
**Smuggler** (on observing a ring-adjacent NPC ordering imported lager):
> Buying the good stuff again. That's three times this week.
*Tags: [npc, torek, concern]. Trigger: observe_npc. The smuggler sees financial exposure — Torek's spending beyond what his official income explains.*
*Tags: [npc, concern]. Trigger: observe_npc. The smuggler sees financial exposure — spending beyond what official income explains.*
**Detective** (on observing Torek ordering imported lager):
> Lintar, T. Third imported lager this rotation. Spending pattern inconsistent with pay grade.
**Detective** (on observing a ring-adjacent NPC ordering imported lager):
> {Surname}, {initial}. Third imported lager this rotation. Spending pattern inconsistent with pay grade.
*Tags: [npc, torek, investigation, evidence]. Trigger: observe_npc. Same observation, institutional framing. Surnames, initials, pay grade — the language of a case file.*
*Tags: [npc, investigation, evidence]. Trigger: observe_npc. Same observation, institutional framing. Surnames, initials, pay grade — the language of a case file.*
---
## 2. Safety Notice — The Terminal
## 2. Safety Notice — Logistics Hub
Mounted on the wall near Scanner Bay 3. Concordat Standard official text with Van Maanen's Star vernacular annotation added by a worker in marker. The notice is slightly peeling at the bottom-left corner. Nobody has replaced it in months.
Mounted on the wall near Scanner Bay 3. Concordat Standard official text with freight-district vernacular annotation added by a worker in marker. The notice is slightly peeling at the bottom-left corner. Nobody has replaced it in months.
### The Text
**[Official — Concordat Standard, printed]**
```
SOVA TRANSIT LOGISTICS — BAY 7-C
DISTRICT LOGISTICS HUB — BAY 7-C
SCANNER BAY 3: OPERATIONAL ADVISORY
Spectral calibration drift detected (Report #ST-4471).
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ to Bays 1 or 2 pending recalibration.
### Cultural Notes
- **Institutional vs. vernacular** — the two voices on this sign are the two voices of Sova. The printed notice is how the institution talks: passive voice, report numbers, procedures. The marker annotation is how the workers talk: direct, sardonic, lowercase.
- **Institutional vs. vernacular** — the two voices on this sign are the two voices of the district. The printed notice is how the institution talks: passive voice, report numbers, procedures. The marker annotation is how the workers talk: direct, sardonic, lowercase.
- **"Pending recalibration"** is doing heavy narrative work. The calibration drift in Bay 3 is real — it produces less reliable scan results. Station maintenance hasn't fixed it because it's low-priority. The ring routes flagged containers through Bay 3 precisely because of this drift. An institutional failure becomes criminal infrastructure.
- **The peeling corner** — nobody maintains the notice because nobody cares about the notice. The institutional voice has lost authority through inaction. The hand-written annotation has more social force than the printed text.
- **Report #ST-4471** — bureaucratic specificity that makes the notice feel real and gives the detective something to query.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ to Bays 1 or 2 pending recalibration.
---
## 3. News Ticker Cycle — Meridian Feed at The Last Shift
## 3. News Ticker Cycle — Meridian Feed at the Bar
Displayed on the Meridian feed screen mounted above the bar. Scrolling text, standard news format. The cycle repeats every 8-10 minutes. Nobody watches it directly — it's ambient information, absorbed peripherally. Occasionally a headline makes someone look up.
@@ -138,27 +138,27 @@ Displayed on the Meridian feed screen mounted above the bar. Scrolling text, sta
2. CONCORD ASSEMBLY SESSION 1147: LATTICE STANDARDIZATION
AMENDMENT PASSES SECOND READING. IMPLEMENTATION TBD.
3. SOVA STATION: VENTILATION UPGRADE FOR SECTORS 2-4
3. STATION: VENTILATION UPGRADE FOR SECTORS 2-4
APPROVED IN NEXT FISCAL CYCLE. TIMELINE NOT CONFIRMED.
4. MEDICAL SUPPLY ADVISORY: NEURAL INTERFACE REPLACEMENT
COMPONENTS ON 6-WEEK BACKORDER. CONTACT YOUR PROVIDER.
5. COMMISSION ADVISORY: ROUTINE COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT
SCHEDULED FOR VAN MAANEN SYSTEM STATIONS. DATES TO FOLLOW.
SCHEDULED FOR MID-REACH SYSTEM STATIONS. DATES TO FOLLOW.
6. VAN MAANEN PRIME DOCKWORKERS LEAGUE VS. ORBITAL 3 UNITED:
6. FREIGHT DISTRICT DOCKWORKERS LEAGUE VS. ORBITAL 3 UNITED:
MATCH DAY 7. BROADCAST 19:00 MERIDIAN STANDARD.
```
### Cultural Notes
- **Headline 1 (freight backlog)** — affects every worker in the room. Backlog means overtime or schedule disruption. It's the one headline people actually respond to. Lera turns up the volume when freight news scrolls.
- **Headline 1 (freight backlog)** — affects every worker in the room. Backlog means overtime or schedule disruption. It's the one headline people actually respond to. The bar owner turns up the volume when freight news scrolls.
- **Headline 2 (lattice standardization)** — Assembly politics. Most workers ignore it. But "lattice standardization" has a chill to it: tighter standards mean tighter inspections, which means the grey market gets harder. The smuggler hears threat. The detective hears institutional support.
- **Headline 3 (ventilation upgrade)** — the universal safe topic. "Approved in next fiscal cycle" means "probably never." Workers have been complaining about ventilation for months. This headline generates eye-rolls and muttered commentary that fills conversational space.
- **Headline 4 (neural interface backorder)** — the one that matters most and says least. Neural interface replacements are essential medical supplies. A 6-week backorder on legitimate channels is exactly why the smuggling ring exists: people need these components, the legal supply chain can't deliver, and someone fills the gap. The headline is the ring's business case, printed on a news ticker.
- **Headline 5 (Commission assessment)** — "routine" is a word that means nothing and everything. Routine for the Commission. Not routine for a district that hasn't had a liaison in three months and has been operating in the gap. "Dates to follow" means: start worrying now.
- **Headline 6 (sports)** — normalcy. The match is what most people in the bar actually care about. It's the headline that makes Sova feel like a place where people live, not just a setting for a crime story.
- **Headline 6 (sports)** — normalcy. The match is what most people in the bar actually care about. It's the headline that makes the district feel like a place where people live, not just a setting for a crime story.
### Monologue Pairings
@@ -186,11 +186,11 @@ Displayed on the Meridian feed screen mounted above the bar. Scrolling text, sta
## 4. Corridor Graffiti — Maintenance Corridors
Found at three points along Corridor B-7. The graffiti exists in layers: old maintenance worker marks (decades old, institutional), informal worker tags (years old, social), and recent ring-related marks (weeks to months old, operational). The layers tell the corridor's history.
Found at three points along the restricted maintenance corridor. The graffiti exists in layers: old maintenance worker marks (decades old, institutional), informal worker tags (years old, social), and recent ring-related marks (weeks to months old, operational). The layers tell the corridor's history.
### The Text
**Location: Near south entry (Terminal break room hatch), on the right wall**
**Location: Near south entry (logistics hub break room hatch), on the right wall**
```
[Marker, faded, ~30 years old:]
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ shift 3 crew '94
### Cultural Notes
- **VNT-7 JUNCTION** — institutional remnant. This corridor used to be on the maintenance map. The directional marking is from the era when workers were dispatched here officially. It's a ghost of the corridor's legitimate past.
- **"kosse was here. day 1171."** — a maintenance worker who counted their shifts. Van Maanen's Star naming convention (compact, consonant-heavy). Day 1171 is roughly 3.2 years of shift cycles. Someone who spent long enough in these corridors to mark their territory. Kosse is probably retired or transferred. The name persists.
- **"kosse was here. day 1171."** — a maintenance worker who counted their shifts. A common corridor naming convention (compact, consonant-heavy). Day 1171 is roughly 3.2 years of shift cycles. Someone who spent long enough in these corridors to mark their territory. The worker is probably retired or transferred. The name persists.
- **"N.T. + someone who deserved better"** — a small human moment in infrastructure space. The initials could be anyone. The sentiment is universal. It humanizes the corridor — people have always come here for privacy, long before the ring did.
- **The chalk marks** — `—||—` and `|||` — are ring operational markers. They're meaningless to anyone who doesn't know the system. The double-bar mark near the south entry indicates "route active." The three vertical lines near the ventilation hub indicate a count — possibly dead drop cycles, possibly something else. The ring's internal signaling is deliberately ambiguous: even if you find the marks, you can't read them without context.
- **Chalk, not marker** — the ring uses chalk because it can be wiped. Marker is permanent. The choice of medium is operational security.
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ shift 3 crew '94
### Monologue Pairings
**Smuggler** (passing the chalk mark near south entry):
> Mark's fresh. Route's active. Renn was through here recently.
> Mark's fresh. Route's active. Someone was through here recently.
*Tags: [environmental, operational]. Trigger: enter_location. The smuggler reads the chalk like a message — because it is one. No emotional response. It's a status indicator.*
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ shift 3 crew '94
1. **The text exists before the player arrives.** It was written by someone for a reason that has nothing to do with the player. Write it for the character who put it there, not the character who reads it.
2. **Van Maanen's Star voice is direct.** No flourishes, no unnecessary words, no corporate warmth. "No tabs. No arguments." not "We kindly request that all patrons settle their accounts at time of service."
2. **The freight district voice is direct.** No flourishes, no unnecessary words, no corporate warmth. "No tabs. No arguments." not "We kindly request that all patrons settle their accounts at time of service."
3. **Institutional text and vernacular text coexist.** The tension between them IS the setting. The printed notice says what the institution wants. The hand-written annotation says what the workers know.
@@ -279,13 +279,8 @@ shift 3 crew '94
**Cross-References:**
- [Monologue Authoring Guide](monologue-guide.md) — Monologue formatting and tag reference
- [The Last Shift](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/the-last-shift.md) — Bar location profile
- [The Terminal](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/the-terminal.md) — Logistics hub profile
- [Maintenance Corridors](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/maintenance-corridors.md) — Corridor B-7 profile
- [Sova Transit District](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/index.md) — District overview
- D-016: Internal monologue as primary narrative system
- D-032: Separate monologue pools per character
- D-036: Sova Transit District as v0.1 setting
---
wiki/authoring/line-id-authoring-guide.md
+6 -6
View File
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
## The Short Version
- **Role pool lines:** Use `{role-slug}_d_{###}` — e.g., `dock-worker_d_001`. These lines are shared by all NPCs with that role. This is the default for all auto-generated NPC content.
- **Named NPC lines:** Use `{npc-slug}_d_{###}` — e.g., `kael-davan_d_001`. Unchanged from current practice.
- **Named NPC lines:** Use `{npc-slug}_d_{###}` — e.g., `friend-npc_d_001`. Unchanged from current practice.
- **Instance-specific lines (rare):** Use `{role-slug}-{counter}_d_{###}` — e.g., `dock-worker-07_d_001`. Only needed when a specific generated NPC needs content different from the role pool.
---
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ This means the role pool approach already handles most cases — the "collision
```
Format: {npc-slug}_{content-type}_{###}
Example: kael-davan_d_001 (Kael's dialogue line 1)
sera-venn_d_015 (Sera's dialogue line 15)
Example: friend-npc_d_001 (authored NPC dialogue line 1)
mirror-npc_d_015 (authored NPC dialogue line 15)
pc-smuggler_m_s_001 (Smuggler monologue line 1)
```
File location: One file per NPC (e.g., `dialogue/maintenance-corridors/kael-davan.yaml`)
File location: One file per NPC (e.g., `dialogue/{location}/{npc-slug}.yaml`)
Numbering: Sequential within the file. Gaps are acceptable (deleted lines leave permanent gaps). Never reuse a number.
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ File location: Same directory as the role pool file, separate file with instance
| Situation | ID format to use |
|-----------|------------------|
| Named authored NPC (Kael, Sera, Voss...) | `{npc-slug}_d_{###}` |
| Named authored NPC (THE FRIEND, authored Tier 1...) | `{npc-slug}_d_{###}` |
| Lines any dock worker can say | `dock-worker_d_{###}` |
| Lines any bar regular can say | `bar-regular_d_{###}` |
| Generated NPC with specific triangle role | `{role-slug}-{counter}_d_{###}` |
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ The existing ID regex `^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*_[dme]_\d{3}$` accepts all three formats.
1. Start at `001`, increment by 1 for each new line.
2. Never reuse a number, even if a line is deleted. Gaps are fine.
3. Lines within a single file have a contiguous prefix — `dock-worker_d_001` through `dock-worker_d_042`, etc.
4. Cross-file: `kael-davan.yaml` at the terminal and `kael-davan.yaml` at maintenance corridors both use the `kael-davan_d_###` namespace. Continue numbering from where the other file left off (check the existing files first, use a fresh sequence if the NPC is new to a location).
4. Cross-file: `{npc-slug}.yaml` at the terminal and `{npc-slug}.yaml` at a second location both use the same `{npc-slug}_d_###` namespace. Continue numbering from where the other file left off (check the existing files first, use a fresh sequence if the NPC is new to a location).
---
wiki/authoring/monologue-guide.md
+99 -620
View File
@@ -26,13 +26,13 @@ How to write tagged monologue and dialogue content for The Settled Reach. Read t
## Location Shortcodes
Canonical shortcodes for v0.1 Sova Transit District. Used in line IDs (`{shortcode}_{type}_{###}`) and file naming.
Location shortcodes are defined per district. Used in line IDs (`{shortcode}_{type}_{###}`) and file naming. Author per-district shortcode tables in the district wiki entry.
| Shortcode | Location | Full Name | D-036 Reference |
|-----------|----------|-----------|-----------------|
| `terminal` | Logistics Hub | The Terminal | Primary workplace social site |
| `bar` | The Last Shift | Lera's (informal) | Social venue |
| `corridor` | Maintenance corridors | Corridor B-7 (primary) | Smuggling/service spaces |
| Shortcode | Location Type | Notes |
|-----------|-------------|-------|
| `terminal` | Primary workplace (logistics hub, factory floor, etc.) | Assign per district |
| `bar` | Social venue (bar, canteen, commons) | Assign per district |
| `corridor` | Service / restricted spaces | Assign per district |
**File naming convention:** `{shortcode}-{character}.yaml` (e.g., `terminal-smuggler.yaml`, `bar-detective.yaml`)
@@ -99,14 +99,14 @@ Every line carries structural tags, selection tags, and (for monologue) characte
| `role` | enum | Template-defined role, not NPC name (NPC assignment is runtime) |
| `access` | list\<enum\> | Hard filter: `public`, `insider`, `authority`, `peer`, `hostile` |
| `trust` | enum | Hard filter: `surface`, `real`, `secret` |
| `situation` | list\<enum\> | Context filter (13 situations for v0.1) |
| `situation` | list\<enum\> | Context filter (13 situations) |
### Selection Tags (recommended, defaults apply if empty)
| Tag | Type | Purpose |
|-----|------|---------|
| `topic` | list\<enum\> | Weighted selection (9 topics for v0.1) |
| `mood` | list\<enum\> | Weighted selection (8 moods for v0.1) |
| `topic` | list\<enum\> | Weighted selection (9 topics) |
| `mood` | list\<enum\> | Weighted selection (8 moods) |
| `tags` | list\<string\> | Freeform escape hatch for author intent |
### Monologue-Specific Tags (added to structural + selection)
@@ -126,15 +126,15 @@ Every line carries structural tags, selection tags, and (for monologue) characte
### Enum Values
**`situation`** (13 for v0.1):
**`situation`** (13):
`arrival`, `shift_start`, `shift_end`, `shift_transition`, `bar_evening`, `night_shift`, `investigation`, `confrontation`, `social`, `alone`, `emergency`, `routine`, `observation`
**`topic`** (9 for v0.1):
**`topic`** (9):
`colleague`, `routine`, `cargo`, `money`, `trust`, `danger`, `institution`, `personal`, `investigation`
Note: no `crime` or `smuggling` topic. NPCs think of it as `cargo` or `money`. The detective uses `investigation`.
**`mood`** (8 for v0.1):
**`mood`** (8):
`fond`, `comfortable`, `worried`, `suspicious`, `analytical`, `conflicted`, `concerned`, `relieved`
---
@@ -179,18 +179,18 @@ Fires when a known entity enters the player's line of sight.
```yaml
- id: terminal_m_020
text: "Kael's here. Good — I was starting to worry."
text: "{THE FRIEND}'s here. Good — I was starting to worry."
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_npc
mood: [fond]
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
```
```yaml
- id: terminal_m_021
text: "Dock worker from the case file. Davan, K. Unremarkable on paper."
text: "Dock worker from the case file. {Surname}, {initial}. Unremarkable on paper."
character: detective
trigger: observe_npc
mood: [analytical]
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ Fires on audio events — ambient, diegetic, or anomalous.
```yaml
- id: bar_m_030
text: "Raised voices from the back room. Devra's in there. That's not a brokering call."
text: "Raised voices from the back room. That's not a routine call."
character: smuggler
trigger: hear_sound
mood: [concerned]
@@ -237,24 +237,24 @@ Fires when the player observes something that contradicts expected state — a c
```yaml
- id: terminal_m_040
text: "Kael's checking his lattice again. Third time in ten minutes. That's not normal."
text: "{THE FRIEND}'s checking their lattice again. Third time in ten minutes. That's not normal."
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_anomaly
mood: [worried]
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
```
```yaml
- id: terminal_m_041
text: "Dock worker Davan — lattice activity spiked. Expecting a message? Or checking for surveillance?"
text: "Dock worker {Surname} — lattice activity spiked. Expecting a message? Or checking for surveillance?"
character: detective
trigger: observe_anomaly
mood: [analytical]
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: lattice_checking
```
@@ -269,24 +269,24 @@ Fires after a dialogue exchange ends. Internal reaction to what just happened.
```yaml
- id: bar_m_050
text: "Sera's good to have around. Knows the district, knows the people. Reliable."
text: "{THE FRIEND}'s good to have around. Knows the district, knows the people. Reliable."
character: detective
trigger: post_conversation
mood: [fond]
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: sera_venn
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
```
```yaml
- id: bar_m_051
text: "She's not lying. But she's not telling me everything. Sera, what do you know?"
text: "Not lying. But not telling me everything. {THE FRIEND}, what do you know?"
character: detective
trigger: post_conversation
mood: [conflicted]
prerequisite:
relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: sera_venn
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
```
This is where character voice shines — the detective analyzes, the smuggler worries about people.
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ Fires when the player finds physical evidence — a document, object, or data po
```yaml
- id: terminal_m_061
text: "4471's still in temp. Kael routed it there during transition. Standard. Nothing to worry about."
text: "4471's still in temp. Routed there during transition. Standard. Nothing to worry about."
character: smuggler
trigger: discover_evidence
mood: [relieved]
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ Fires when the player observes two NPCs interacting.
```yaml
- id: bar_m_070
text: "Sera's headed out. Smart — Torek gets loud after three drinks. Nobody wants to deal with that."
text: "{THE FRIEND}'s headed out. Smart — {NPC} gets loud after three drinks. Nobody wants to deal with that."
character: smuggler
trigger: witness_interaction
mood: [comfortable]
@@ -338,13 +338,13 @@ Fires when the player observes two NPCs interacting.
```yaml
- id: bar_m_071
text: "That's twice now. Sera leaves when Torek arrives. Coincidence? Filing it."
text: "That's twice now. {THE FRIEND} leaves when {NPC} arrives. Coincidence? Filing it."
character: detective
trigger: witness_interaction
mood: [analytical]
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: sera_venn
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: avoidance_pattern
```
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ Fires after inactivity — the player is standing still, watching, waiting. The
trigger: time_idle
mood: [relieved]
prerequisite:
fact: location.corridor_b7_restricted
fact: location.restricted_corridor
confidence: KnowsDetails
```
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ Fires after inactivity — the player is standing still, watching, waiting. The
trigger: time_idle
mood: [suspicious]
prerequisite:
fact: location.corridor_b7_restricted
fact: location.restricted_corridor
confidence: Suspects
```
@@ -389,24 +389,24 @@ Fires when the player returns to a location they've visited before. Distinct fro
```yaml
- id: bar_m_090
text: "Back at Lera's. Same seats, same faces. Sera's in the corner booth. Good."
text: "Back at the bar. Same seats, same faces. {THE FRIEND}'s in the corner booth. Good."
character: detective
trigger: return_visit
mood: [comfortable]
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: sera_venn
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
```
```yaml
- id: bar_m_091
text: "Back again. Same booth. ...Let's see if Sera leaves when Torek shows up."
text: "Back again. Same booth. ...Let's see if {THE FRIEND} leaves when {NPC} shows up."
character: detective
trigger: return_visit
mood: [suspicious]
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: sera_venn
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: avoidance_pattern
```
@@ -437,14 +437,14 @@ prerequisite:
Fires only if the active character knows the named fact at the specified confidence **or higher**. Confidence levels ordered: `Suspects` < `KnowsOf` < `KnowsDetails` < `Direct`.
Use exact FactId strings from the [Fact Catalog](../knowledge/fact-catalog.md) — `"contraband.ring_exists"` not `"Ring Exists"`. The 24 v0.1 FactIds are the only valid values.
Use exact FactId strings from the [Fact Catalog](../knowledge/fact-catalog.md) — `"contraband.ring_exists"` not `"Ring Exists"`. The 24 canonical FactIds are the only valid values.
### Gating on RelationshipState
```yaml
prerequisite:
relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: kael_davan
subject: {npc_slug}
```
Fires only if the active character's relationship with the named entity is the specified state. States: `Unknown`, `Known`, `Friendly`, `PersonOfInterest`, `Hostile`.
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ Fires only if the active character's relationship with the named entity is the s
```yaml
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
subject: {npc_slug}
key: contradiction_flagged
value: meeting_unknown_contact
```
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ Fires if the active character's `EntityKnowledge` for the target has the exact k
```yaml
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
subject: {npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: lattice_checking
```
@@ -483,9 +483,9 @@ prerequisite:
- fact: contraband.ring_exists
confidence: KnowsDetails
- relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
- known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: lattice_checking
```
@@ -539,12 +539,12 @@ The `access` tag on dialogue lines determines who can hear what. Access is deriv
### What this means for THE FRIEND
When Kael transitions from Friendly to PersonOfInterest:
When THE FRIEND (smuggler's) transitions from Friendly to PersonOfInterest:
- `insider` lines disappear. Ring talk stops. Trust-gated confidences lock.
- `peer` lines disappear. Casual warmth dries up. Kael becomes guarded.
- `public` lines remain. Kael still greets the smuggler — but the warmth is gone.
- `peer` lines disappear. Casual warmth dries up. THE FRIEND becomes guarded.
- `public` lines remain. THE FRIEND still greets the smuggler — but the warmth is gone.
When Sera transitions from Friendly to PersonOfInterest:
When THE FRIEND (detective's) transitions from Friendly to PersonOfInterest:
- `insider` lines disappear. Institutional background sharing stops.
- `peer` lines disappear. Bar conversation becomes stilted.
- `authority` lines unlock for the detective. Pressing questions become available.
@@ -565,18 +565,18 @@ Trust is orthogonal to access. A `peer` + `surface` line is casual coworker talk
### Per-NPC access mapping
How each character relates to key NPCs:
*v0.1 named-NPC access table removed — cited NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Author per-district access mapping tables against the active NPC roster. Pattern for the standard cast:*
| NPC | Smuggler Access | Detective Access |
|-----|----------------|------------------|
| Kael (THE FRIEND) | `insider`, `peer` | `public` → `authority` (after flagging) |
| Sera (THE FRIEND) | `public` (Commission, wary) | `peer` → `authority` (post-contradiction) |
| Voss | `insider` (colleague) | `authority` |
| Lera | `insider` (bar regular) | `public` → `peer` (repeat visits) |
| Naia | `peer` (through Kael) | `public` → `peer` (through Sera) |
| Torek | `insider` or `peer` | `public` |
| Maret | `insider` (hub colleague) | `authority` |
| Drin | `insider` (hub colleague) | `authority` |
| NPC Role | Smuggler Access | Detective Access |
|----------|----------------|------------------|
| THE FRIEND (smuggler's) | `insider`, `peer` | `public` → `authority` (after flagging) |
| THE FRIEND (detective's) | `public` (Commission, wary) | `peer` → `authority` (post-contradiction) |
| Supervisor | `insider` (colleague) | `authority` |
| Bar owner | `insider` (bar regular) | `public` → `peer` (repeat visits) |
| MIRROR NPC | `peer` (through FRIEND) | `public` → `peer` (through FRIEND B) |
| Ring-adjacent NPC | `insider` or `peer` | `public` |
| Hub scheduler | `insider` (hub colleague) | `authority` |
| Compromised inspector | `insider` (hub colleague) | `authority` |
---
@@ -594,27 +594,27 @@ A tell observation monologue line should:
```yaml
- id: terminal_m_100
text: "Kael keeps checking his lattice. Waiting for something."
text: "{THE FRIEND} keeps checking their lattice. Waiting for something."
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_anomaly
mood: [concerned]
topic: [colleague]
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
notes: "First tell. Updates behavior_flags: lattice_checking. Smuggler notices but doesn't flag yet."
```
```yaml
- id: terminal_m_101
text: "Dock worker Davan — lattice activity spiked. Three pings in two minutes. Expecting a message? Or checking for surveillance?"
text: "Dock worker {Surname} — lattice activity spiked. Three pings in two minutes. Expecting a message? Or checking for surveillance?"
character: detective
trigger: observe_anomaly
mood: [analytical]
topic: [investigation]
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Known
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
notes: "Same tell, different read. Updates behavior_flags: lattice_checking."
```
@@ -626,7 +626,7 @@ Tells accumulate. Write them as a sequence, each gated on increasing knowledge:
```yaml
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
# No behavior_flags gate — this IS the first observation
```
@@ -634,7 +634,7 @@ prerequisite:
```yaml
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: lattice_checking
# Requires tell 1 to have fired and set the attribute
@@ -645,11 +645,11 @@ prerequisite:
prerequisite:
all:
- known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: lattice_checking
- known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
subject: {friend_npc_slug}
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: evasive
```
@@ -668,23 +668,25 @@ Each tell should feel like a natural observation, not a checklist. The player do
### THE FRIEND tell arcs
**Kael (smuggler observes):**
*Tell arcs are authored per district against the active NPC roster — v0.1 named examples removed (D-122). The pattern structure:*
**THE FRIEND A (smuggler observes):**
| Phase | Tell | Behavior flag | Line tone |
|-------|------|---------------|-----------|
| First crack | Increased lattice checking | `lattice_checking` | Concern: "Kael's distracted today." |
| Pattern | Shortened conversations, evasive | `distracted,evasive` | Worry: "Kael's been quiet lately." |
| First crack | Increased lattice checking | `lattice_checking` | Concern: "Distracted today." |
| Pattern | Shortened conversations, evasive | `distracted,evasive` | Worry: "Been quiet lately." |
| Contradiction | Unauthorized spatial presence | `contradiction_flagged: meeting_unknown_contact` | Alarm: "That wasn't anyone from our rotation." |
| Confirmation | Looks left when answering | `tell_observed: looks_left_when_lying` | Hurt: "He always looks left when he's making something up." |
| Confirmation | Personal tell fires under pressure | `tell_observed: {specific_tell}` | Hurt: "That tell. I know that tell. They're lying to me." |
**Sera (detective observes):**
**THE FRIEND B (detective observes):**
| Phase | Tell | Behavior flag | Line tone |
|-------|------|---------------|-----------|
| First departure | Leaves when Torek arrives (once) | `avoidance_pattern` (begins) | Barely noticed: "Sera headed out. Long day." |
| Second departure | Different excuse, same trigger | `avoidance_pattern` (accumulating) | Noted: "Sera left again. She's been tired lately." |
| First departure | Leaves when ring-adjacent NPC arrives (once) | `avoidance_pattern` (begins) | Barely noticed: "Headed out. Long day." |
| Second departure | Different excuse, same trigger | `avoidance_pattern` (accumulating) | Noted: "Left again. Tired lately." |
| Third departure | Pattern confirmed | `contradiction_flagged: avoidance_inconsistency` | Analytical: "Three times. Three excuses. That's data." |
| Deflection | Controlled redirect when asked | `tell_observed: controlled_deflection` | Conflicted: "She's not lying. But she's not telling me everything." |
| Deflection | Controlled redirect when asked | `tell_observed: controlled_deflection` | Conflicted: "Not lying. But not telling me everything." |
---
@@ -722,17 +724,17 @@ Monologue pools are separate (D-032). But dialogue is shared — the NPC says th
### Dual-lens patterns
**Innocuous surface / operational subtext:**
> "Voss adjusted the night shift again. Two workers short."
> "{Supervisor} adjusted the night shift again. Two workers short."
- Smuggler: coverage gap for tonight's run
- Detective: scheduling irregularity worth tracking
**Social warmth / threat assessment:**
> "Sera left early. Headache, she said."
- Detective: pattern forming — third time when Torek's here
> "{THE FRIEND} left early. Headache, they said."
- Detective: pattern forming — third time when {NPC} is here
- Smuggler: Commission person leaving, less oversight
**Emotional resonance / clinical data:**
> "Kael's been quiet lately. Not like him."
> "{THE FRIEND}'s been quiet lately. Not like them."
- Smuggler: concern for a friend
- Detective: behavioral change in a subject
@@ -752,555 +754,32 @@ Monologue pools are separate (D-032). But dialogue is shared — the NPC says th
## Concrete Examples: Full Tagged Pools
Three pools, one per v0.1 social site. Each shows file structure, progression through THE FRIEND arc, and full tag usage.
*v0.1 named-NPC pool examples removed — cited NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline (D-122). Author per-district pools against the active NPC roster using the tag schema and trigger types documented above.*
### The Terminal (Logistics Hub) — Smuggler Monologue
**Structure reference (three pools per district):**
```yaml
# File: content/terminal/monologue-smuggler.yaml
# Location: The Terminal (Logistics Hub)
# Character: Smuggler
lines:
# --- ARRIVAL ---
- id: terminal_m_001
character: smuggler
trigger: enter_location
prerequisite: null
text: "Morning shift. Recycled air and cargo lubricant. Home sweet home."
mood: [comfortable]
topic: [routine]
situation: [arrival, shift_start]
access: [insider]
trust: surface
tags: [baseline]
- id: terminal_m_002
character: smuggler
trigger: enter_location
prerequisite:
fact: contraband.ring_exists
confidence: KnowsDetails
text: "Shift transition in thirty minutes. If Voss kept the schedule thin, the route's clear."
mood: [analytical]
topic: [cargo]
situation: [shift_transition]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [ring, operational]
# --- KAEL: THE FRIEND ARC ---
# Phase 1: Comfort
- id: terminal_m_010
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_npc
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
text: "Kael's already at the dock. Good. The day's better when he's on shift."
mood: [fond]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [shift_start]
access: [insider, peer]
trust: surface
tags: [kael, baseline, pre_contradiction]
notes: "Phase 1 warmth. Establishes the bond before it gets tested."
# Phase 2: First crack
- id: terminal_m_011
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_anomaly
prerequisite:
all:
- relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
- known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: lattice_checking
text: "Kael keeps checking his lattice. Waiting for a message? Not like him to be jumpy."
mood: [concerned]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [routine]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [kael, tell, first_crack]
notes: "Phase 2. Smuggler notices, doesn't flag it. Updates behavior_flags."
- id: terminal_m_012
character: smuggler
trigger: post_conversation
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: evasive
text: "Kael cut lunch short again. 'Things to take care of.' Since when does Kael have things to take care of that don't involve me?"
mood: [worried]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [routine]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [kael, tell, pattern_forming]
# Phase 3: The contradiction
- id: terminal_m_013
character: smuggler
trigger: witness_interaction
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
text: "Kael? By the service hatch? And that's — I don't know them. Not crew, not ring. Who is that?"
mood: [concerned]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [observation]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [kael, the_friend, contradiction, critical_moment]
notes: >
THE CONTRADICTION. Kael in restricted area with unknown contact.
Sets contradiction_flagged: meeting_unknown_contact.
RelationshipState: Friendly -> PersonOfInterest. Green -> amber.
# Phase 4: Confrontation aftermath
- id: terminal_m_014
character: smuggler
trigger: post_conversation
prerequisite:
all:
- relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: kael_davan
- known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
key: tell_observed
value: looks_left_when_lying
text: "He looked left. He always looks left when he's making something up. Two years I've known that tell. Kael is lying to me."
mood: [conflicted]
topic: [trust]
situation: [confrontation]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [kael, the_friend, tell_confirmation]
notes: "The tell pays off. Established early in casual observation, confirmed under pressure."
# Phase 5: Contaminated trust
- id: terminal_m_015
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_npc
prerequisite:
all:
- relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: kael_davan
- known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
key: contradiction_flagged
value: meeting_unknown_contact
text: "Same old Kael. Same jokes, same routine. ...What are you not telling me?"
mood: [conflicted]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [routine]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [kael, the_friend, contaminated_trust]
notes: "Phase 5. Warmth and doubt simultaneously. Every smile now has a question mark."
# --- OPERATIONAL ---
- id: terminal_m_020
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_anomaly
prerequisite:
fact: investigation.cargo_anomaly
confidence: Suspects
text: "That container's been in temp since yesterday. Someone forgot to process it, or someone's stalling."
mood: [concerned]
topic: [cargo]
situation: [routine]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [investigation, cargo]
- id: terminal_m_021
character: smuggler
trigger: time_idle
prerequisite:
fact: world.shift_schedule
confidence: KnowsDetails
text: "Thirteen-forty. Transition window opens in fifty minutes. After that, twenty minutes of reduced oversight."
mood: [analytical]
topic: [routine]
situation: [routine]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [ring, timing, operational]
```
content/{district}/
{terminal-slug}/
monologue-smuggler.yaml # Smuggler's FRIEND arc + operational lines
monologue-detective.yaml # Detective's investigation lines
dialogue.yaml # Shared NPC dialogue (access-tier filtered at runtime)
{bar-slug}/
monologue-smuggler.yaml
monologue-detective.yaml
dialogue.yaml
{corridor-slug}/
monologue-smuggler.yaml # Route operational + THE CONTRADICTION scene
monologue-detective.yaml
dialogue.yaml
```
---
### The Last Shift (Bar) — Detective Monologue
```yaml
# File: content/bar/monologue-detective.yaml
# Location: The Last Shift (Bar)
# Character: Detective
lines:
# --- ARRIVAL ---
- id: bar_m_001
character: detective
trigger: enter_location
prerequisite: null
text: "The Last Shift. Grain spirit and low conversation. Only place in this district that doesn't smell like freight lubricant."
mood: [comfortable]
topic: [routine]
situation: [arrival, bar_evening]
access: [public]
trust: surface
tags: [baseline, atmosphere]
- id: bar_m_002
character: detective
trigger: return_visit
prerequisite:
fact: progress.initial_suspicion
confidence: KnowsOf
text: "Back again. People talk here. And people who don't talk are talking too — just not out loud."
mood: [analytical]
topic: [investigation]
situation: [bar_evening]
access: [authority]
trust: real
tags: [investigation, atmosphere]
# --- SERA: THE FRIEND ARC ---
# Phase 1: Trust
- id: bar_m_010
character: detective
trigger: observe_npc
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: sera_venn
text: "Sera's in her usual booth. Good. One familiar face in a district that doesn't want me here."
mood: [relieved]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [bar_evening]
access: [peer]
trust: surface
tags: [sera, baseline, trust]
notes: "Phase 1. Sera is the detective's anchor. Establish this warmth — it has to hurt later."
# Phase 2: Background
- id: bar_m_011
character: detective
trigger: post_conversation
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: sera_venn
text: "Sera's connected here. Knows the regulars, knows the routines. And she's got diagnostic access. Useful."
mood: [comfortable]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [social]
access: [peer]
trust: surface
tags: [sera, background, pre_contradiction]
notes: "Phase 2. The detective notes Sera's access level without realizing it's the source of the conflict."
# Phase 3: Pattern — first departure
- id: bar_m_012
character: detective
trigger: witness_interaction
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: sera_venn
text: "Sera headed out. Early shift tomorrow, she said. Fair enough."
mood: [comfortable]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [bar_evening]
access: [peer]
trust: surface
tags: [sera, avoidance, departure_1]
notes: "First Torek departure. Detective barely notices."
# Phase 3: Pattern — second departure
- id: bar_m_013
character: detective
trigger: witness_interaction
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: sera_venn
key: behavior_flags
value_contains: avoidance_pattern
text: "Sera left again. Headache. Right after Torek walked in. ...Noted."
mood: [suspicious]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [bar_evening]
access: [peer]
trust: real
tags: [sera, avoidance, departure_2]
notes: "Second departure. Detective notes it. Not yet a pattern."
# Phase 3: Pattern — the third (contradiction)
- id: bar_m_014
character: detective
trigger: witness_interaction
prerequisite:
known_attributes:
subject: sera_venn
key: contradiction_flagged
value: avoidance_inconsistency
text: "That's the third time. Early shift, headache, kiosk check. Three excuses, one result. Sera leaves when Torek arrives. That's not coincidence."
mood: [analytical]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [bar_evening, observation]
access: [peer]
trust: real
tags: [sera, the_friend, contradiction_discovery]
notes: >
THE CONTRADICTION. Three data points make a conclusion.
Sets contradiction_flagged: avoidance_inconsistency.
RelationshipState: Friendly -> PersonOfInterest. Green -> amber.
Different from Kael's — cumulative, not sudden.
# Phase 4: The question asked
- id: bar_m_015
character: detective
trigger: post_conversation
prerequisite:
all:
- relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: sera_venn
- known_attributes:
subject: sera_venn
key: tell_observed
value: controlled_deflection,topic_change
text: "She deflected. Smooth — 'he's just loud.' Technically true. But her shoulders shifted. Sera, what do you know about Torek?"
mood: [conflicted]
topic: [trust]
situation: [confrontation]
access: [authority]
trust: real
tags: [sera, the_friend, post_confrontation]
notes: "Phase 4. The detective hears the non-lie. Deflection IS the tell."
# Phase 5: Contaminated trust
- id: bar_m_016
character: detective
trigger: return_visit
prerequisite:
relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: sera_venn
text: "Same booth. Same warm smile. Same offer to buy me a drink. ...Everything except whatever she's not saying."
mood: [conflicted]
topic: [trust]
situation: [bar_evening]
access: [authority]
trust: real
tags: [sera, the_friend, contaminated_trust]
notes: "Phase 5. Every kindness now has a question mark. The past is retroactively contaminated."
# --- TOREK ---
- id: bar_m_020
character: detective
trigger: observe_npc
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Unknown
subject: torek_lintar
text: "Loud one at the bar. Buying rounds he probably can't afford. Worth watching."
mood: [analytical]
topic: [money]
situation: [bar_evening]
access: [public]
trust: surface
tags: [torek, first_observation, spending]
# --- ATMOSPHERE ---
- id: bar_m_030
character: detective
trigger: time_idle
prerequisite:
fact: progress.initial_suspicion
confidence: KnowsOf
text: "Everyone's friendly enough. Drinks, jokes, the usual complaints about shift schedules. But friendly and honest aren't the same thing."
mood: [suspicious]
topic: [routine]
situation: [bar_evening]
access: [public]
trust: real
tags: [atmosphere, investigation, early_game]
```
---
### Corridor B-7 — Smuggler Monologue
```yaml
# File: content/corridor/monologue-smuggler.yaml
# Location: Corridor B-7 (Maintenance / Smuggling Route)
# Character: Smuggler
lines:
# --- ENTRY ---
- id: corridor_m_001
character: smuggler
trigger: enter_location
prerequisite:
fact: location.corridor_b7_restricted
confidence: KnowsDetails
text: "B-7. Old prefab, minimal coverage. The route works because nobody updated the surveillance map."
mood: [analytical]
topic: [routine]
situation: [night_shift]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [ring, operational, spatial]
- id: corridor_m_002
character: smuggler
trigger: enter_location
prerequisite:
fact: location.corridor_b7_restricted
confidence: Suspects
text: "Maintenance corridor. Quiet. Shouldn't be this quiet during shift change."
mood: [suspicious]
topic: [routine]
situation: [shift_transition]
access: [public]
trust: surface
tags: [exploration, spatial]
notes: "Lower confidence — smuggler who doesn't know B-7's significance yet."
# --- ENVIRONMENTAL ---
- id: corridor_m_003
character: smuggler
trigger: hear_sound
prerequisite:
fact: location.corridor_b7_restricted
confidence: KnowsOf
text: "Footsteps. Wrong cadence for maintenance crew. Someone's being careful."
mood: [concerned]
topic: [danger]
situation: [night_shift]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [tension, spatial_awareness]
- id: corridor_m_004
character: smuggler
trigger: time_idle
prerequisite:
fact: location.surveillance_gaps
confidence: KnowsDetails
text: "No Meridian signal down here. No eyes, no ears. Whatever happens in B-7 stays in B-7."
mood: [relieved]
topic: [routine]
situation: [alone]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [ring, surveillance, operational]
# --- THE CONTRADICTION ---
- id: corridor_m_010
character: smuggler
trigger: witness_interaction
prerequisite:
relationship_state: Friendly
subject: kael_davan
text: "Kael? Down here? And that's — I don't know them. Not crew, not ring. Who the hell is that?"
mood: [concerned]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [observation]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [the_friend, contradiction, kael, critical_moment]
notes: >
THE CONTRADICTION. The moment the smuggler's world shifts.
Kael in a restricted corridor with an unknown contact.
Sets contradiction_flagged: meeting_unknown_contact.
RelationshipState: Friendly -> PersonOfInterest.
Color: green -> amber. This moment is the emotional core of the arc.
- id: corridor_m_011
character: smuggler
trigger: post_conversation
prerequisite:
all:
- relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: kael_davan
- known_attributes:
subject: kael_davan
key: tell_observed
value: looks_left_when_lying
text: "He looked left. Always looks left when he's making something up. Two years, Kael. I know your tells."
mood: [conflicted]
topic: [trust]
situation: [confrontation]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [the_friend, kael, tell_confirmation]
notes: "Tell payoff. Established early in casual dialogue, confirmed here under pressure."
# --- EVIDENCE ---
- id: corridor_m_020
character: smuggler
trigger: discover_evidence
prerequisite:
fact: location.dead_drop_location
confidence: Direct
text: "Locker 47. Registered to someone who transferred out eighteen months ago. Convenient."
mood: [analytical]
topic: [cargo]
situation: [investigation]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [dead_drop, evidence]
- id: corridor_m_021
character: smuggler
trigger: observe_anomaly
prerequisite:
fact: location.smuggling_route
confidence: KnowsDetails
text: "Fresh marks on the service hatch. Kosse's been through here. Right on schedule."
mood: [comfortable]
topic: [cargo]
situation: [night_shift]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [ring, route, operational]
# --- RETURN ---
- id: corridor_m_030
character: smuggler
trigger: return_visit
prerequisite:
all:
- fact: location.corridor_b7_restricted
confidence: KnowsDetails
- relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: kael_davan
text: "B-7 again. Last time I was here, Kael was talking to someone he shouldn't have been. The corridor feels different now."
mood: [suspicious]
topic: [colleague]
situation: [alone]
access: [insider]
trust: real
tags: [kael, the_friend, post_contradiction, return]
notes: "The space is contaminated by what happened here. Location memory."
```
**Required content per location per character:**
- Arrival / enter_location (2-3 lines, baseline + investigation variant)
- THE FRIEND arc phases 1-5 (smuggler: Phase 1-5 for FRIEND A; detective: Phase 1-5 for FRIEND B)
- Operational / investigative observations (3-5 lines per location)
- Return visit variants (1-2 lines per location)
- Atmospheric time_idle lines (1-2 per location)
---
wiki/authoring/monologue-voice-guide.md
+50 -50
View File
@@ -33,11 +33,11 @@ The voice-patterns.md spec describes the mechanics of each character's voice. Th
The smuggler's voice is not the result of low intelligence or limited vocabulary. It's the result of two years of professional survival in a context where abstract thinking is dangerous.
When you're running contraband through a logistics hub, you can't afford to think in categories — you think in specifics. Not "this situation is getting risky" but "Voss changed the rotation and Kael's not answering his lattice." Abstract framing makes patterns invisible. Concrete framing catches the deviation.
When you're running contraband through a logistics hub, you can't afford to think in categories — you think in specifics. Not "this situation is getting risky" but "{Supervisor} changed the rotation and {THE FRIEND}'s not answering their lattice." Abstract framing makes patterns invisible. Concrete framing catches the deviation.
The smuggler's internal voice is trained, not natural. She developed it. It served her. The short sentences and fragments aren't lack of complexity — they're the mental habit of someone who learned to think in real-time decision points. "Kael's late. Wrong. Move." Three thoughts, three beats, three potential action triggers. Abstract cognition is a liability she's edited out.
The smuggler's internal voice is trained, not natural. She developed it. It served her. The short sentences and fragments aren't lack of complexity — they're the mental habit of someone who learned to think in real-time decision points. "{THE FRIEND}'s late. Wrong. Move." Three thoughts, three beats, three potential action triggers. Abstract cognition is a liability she's edited out.
**The emotional truth beneath the voice:** She cares about people first. Operations second. Institutions never. The concrete voice maps onto this: she sees people, not systems. She notices Kael is distracted before she notices the manifest is wrong. The world is a network of relationships, and her monologue is live monitoring of that network.
**The emotional truth beneath the voice:** She cares about people first. Operations second. Institutions never. The concrete voice maps onto this: she sees people, not systems. She notices {THE FRIEND} is distracted before she notices the manifest is wrong. The world is a network of relationships, and her monologue is live monitoring of that network.
**What this means for trait and mood modifiers:** When trait or mood modifiers inflect the smuggler's voice, they do so within this framework. A Bold smuggler is still concrete-first — she just acts on partial information faster. An Anxious smuggler is still relational — she just cycles through the network faster, checking and rechecking. The base is immovable. The modifiers inflect it.
@@ -45,11 +45,11 @@ The smuggler's internal voice is trained, not natural. She developed it. It serv
The detective's voice is institutional training running as an operating system. He was taught to externalise his cognition — to turn observations into filed reports, to name patterns as data, to treat emotional reactions as information to be processed rather than feelings to be felt.
This is not coldness. It's self-protection. Investigators who let themselves feel first make bad decisions. The detective learned that lesson somewhere — we don't know where, but it's in the bone. The analytical frame is a tool he uses so well he's forgotten it's a tool. Except when Sera makes him forget.
This is not coldness. It's self-protection. Investigators who let themselves feel first make bad decisions. The detective learned that lesson somewhere — we don't know where, but it's in the bone. The analytical frame is a tool he uses so well he's forgotten it's a tool. Except when THE FRIEND makes him forget.
The longer sentences and complete syntactic structures aren't pretension. They're habits of evidence: a complete sentence has a subject, verb, and object, which means it has an agent, an action, and a consequence. The detective's brain naturally produces complete sentences because incomplete sentences don't file well.
**The emotional truth beneath the voice:** He cares about doing the work correctly. Not because he's a rule-follower (he'd bend a rule if the evidence demanded it), but because he believes the correct process produces the correct result. When Sera introduces doubt into that belief, the whole framework shudders. His fear isn't being wrong about a fact — it's discovering that correct process produced an unjust outcome, and having no language for what comes next.
**The emotional truth beneath the voice:** He cares about doing the work correctly. Not because he's a rule-follower (he'd bend a rule if the evidence demanded it), but because he believes the correct process produces the correct result. When THE FRIEND introduces doubt into that belief, the whole framework shudders. His fear isn't being wrong about a fact — it's discovering that correct process produced an unjust outcome, and having no language for what comes next.
**What this means for trait and mood modifiers:** Detective trait modifiers inflate or compress the analytical frame. A Compassionate detective lets the personal break through the professional more easily. A Ruthless detective turns the analytical frame into a weapon — identifies leverage faster, doesn't dwell on moral weight. Mood modifiers thin or thicken the professional veneer. The base is the analyst. The modifiers determine how much of the person shows through.
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ D-024 defines 10 personality traits across 5 opposing pairs. These modify the *d
**Cautious — transformation logic:**
A Cautious character qualifies her observations before she acts on them. She notices things in the same order as a neutral character, but she checks her own conclusions. She hedges internally. She is not less intelligent — she is more aware that she might be wrong.
- Declarations become conditionals: "That's Kael's route" → "That looks like Kael's route"
- Declarations become conditionals: "That's {THE FRIEND}'s route" → "That looks like {THE FRIEND}'s route"
- Observations become questions: "Something's off" → "Something might be off"
- Concern arrives earlier and stays longer (more re-checking)
- The voice is slower, more tentative
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ A Cautious character qualifies her observations before she acts on them. She not
A Bold character acts on partial information. She names the conclusion before she has the evidence. She's often right — bold cognition built on competence. But she's also capable of committing to a wrong read and holding it too long.
- Questions become declarations: "Something might be off" → "Something's off"
- Hedges disappear: "That looks like Kael's route" → "That's Kael's route"
- Hedges disappear: "That looks like {THE FRIEND}'s route" → "That's {THE FRIEND}'s route"
- Concern arrives fast and crystallizes immediately
- The voice is faster, more assertive, shorter latency between observation and conclusion
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ A Bold character acts on partial information. She names the conclusion before sh
**Honest — transformation logic:**
An Honest character's monologue is self-correcting. She catches her own spin and revises it. She doesn't lie to herself to feel better. This makes her monologue have a characteristic pattern: initial reaction, then correction.
- Self-correction appears: "Kael's fine. — No. He's not fine."
- Self-correction appears: "{THE FRIEND}'s fine. — No. They're not fine."
- Less motivated reasoning: she acknowledges evidence she doesn't want to see
- The voice is slightly more uncomfortable with its own conclusions
- She doesn't minimize things that scare her
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ An Honest character's monologue is self-correcting. She catches her own spin and
**Deceptive — transformation logic:**
A Deceptive character's internal voice shows motivated reasoning. She rationalizes what she wants to be true. She notices threatening evidence and then explains it away. This is not dishonest *about others* — it's dishonest with herself.
- Conclusions favor the preferred reading: "Kael's meeting someone I don't know. Probably work."
- Conclusions favor the preferred reading: "{THE FRIEND}'s meeting someone I don't know. Probably work."
- Dismissal appears quickly after observation: "Could be nothing. Probably is nothing."
- She notices the tell and then chooses not to follow it
- The voice has a self-soothing quality, particularly under threat
@@ -131,22 +131,22 @@ A Deceptive character's internal voice shows motivated reasoning. She rationaliz
A Compassionate character's first read of a situation is through the lens of what it means for people she cares about. She identifies the person most likely to be hurt before she identifies the operational implication.
- People-first sequencing: observation of person → emotional assessment → operational conclusion
- Concern is named: "Naia looks exhausted. Something's wrong at home."
- She personalizes abstract threats: not "ring security is compromised" but "Kael could get caught"
- Concern is named: "{Colleague} looks exhausted. Something's wrong at home."
- She personalizes abstract threats: not "ring security is compromised" but "{THE FRIEND} could get caught"
- Moral weight is felt quickly and stays present
**Ruthless — transformation logic:**
A Ruthless character assesses utility before empathy. She notices a threat and immediately calculates how to neutralize it, including through people. This is not cruelty — it's a habit of assessment that puts operational outcome first.
- Utility assessment appears early: "Kael's behavior is risky. If he cracks, he takes the route with him."
- Moral weight is noted and set aside: "He might not deserve this. Doesn't matter right now."
- People are resources first: "Maret's nervous. That's usable."
- Utility assessment appears early: "{THE FRIEND}'s behavior is risky. If they crack, they take the route with them."
- Moral weight is noted and set aside: "They might not deserve this. Doesn't matter right now."
- People are resources first: "{NPC}'s nervous. That's usable."
**How this inflects each character:**
- *Compassionate smuggler:* Most Naia-and-Kael-focused. Her FRIEND arc lines emphasize relationship cost over operational cost. She confronts Kael later because she keeps hoping he'll explain.
- *Ruthless smuggler:* Calculates exposure fast. Cuts contact with Kael earlier once he's flagged. Sees Naia's distress as a data point about Kael's reliability, not as a human problem.
- *Compassionate detective:* The Sera question hits harder and sooner. He identifies the personal cost before the institutional obligation.
- *Ruthless detective:* Uses Sera's knowledge instrumentally. The friendship is real, but usable.
- *Compassionate smuggler:* Most FRIEND-focused. Her FRIEND arc lines emphasize relationship cost over operational cost. She confronts THE FRIEND later because she keeps hoping they'll explain.
- *Ruthless smuggler:* Calculates exposure fast. Cuts contact with THE FRIEND earlier once they're flagged. Sees a colleague's distress as a data point about THE FRIEND's reliability, not as a human problem.
- *Compassionate detective:* The FRIEND question hits harder and sooner. He identifies the personal cost before the institutional obligation.
- *Ruthless detective:* Uses THE FRIEND's knowledge instrumentally. The friendship is real, but usable.
**Mellanie — write 2 example rewrite pairs per character: the same FRIEND-arc moment in Compassionate vs. Ruthless voice.**
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ A Ruthless character assesses utility before empathy. She notices a threat and i
**Curious — transformation logic:**
A Curious character asks more internal questions, including questions she can't answer. She sits with open threads longer. She generates hypotheses and lets them hang.
- Questions multiply before resolving: "What was Kael doing there? Who was that? Is the route changing? Is Nils moving the window?"
- Questions multiply before resolving: "What was {THE FRIEND} doing there? Who was that? Is the route changing? Is {Supervisor} moving the window?"
- The voice has more speculative energy — she follows the thread
- She notices more at the margins: background details, things that don't connect yet
- Open-endedness is comfortable
@@ -183,14 +183,14 @@ An Incurious character categorizes and moves on. She notices, files, and redirec
**Social — transformation logic:**
A Social character's monologue is populated. She mentions people when she could just mention actions. She frames operations through the network.
- People are named when not necessary: "The route's clear. Kael cleared it."
- She reads absence: "Where's Renn today? He's always here at this hour."
- Mood-reads appear: "Voss is different today. Tired, or something else."
- People are named when not necessary: "The route's clear. {THE FRIEND} cleared it."
- She reads absence: "Where's {NPC} today? Always here at this hour."
- Mood-reads appear: "{Supervisor}'s different today. Tired, or something else."
**Reclusive — transformation logic:**
A Reclusive character's monologue is depopulated. People appear when they're directly relevant. The environment and operation carry more weight.
- Operations are mentioned without actors: "Route's clear." Not "Kael cleared the route."
- Operations are mentioned without actors: "Route's clear." Not "{THE FRIEND} cleared the route."
- Absence of people is comfortable: she doesn't notice it
- The environment gets more attention: she describes the space, the sounds, the texture
@@ -200,9 +200,9 @@ A Reclusive character's monologue is depopulated. People appear when they're dir
## Chapter 3: Background-Dependent Phrasing
Character background (selected at game start) shapes three things in monologue: the idioms and references the character uses, the assumptions they make about institutions and authority, and how they frame the moral dimension of what's happening in Sova Transit District.
Character background (selected at game start) shapes three things in monologue: the idioms and references the character uses, the assumptions they make about institutions and authority, and how they frame the moral dimension of what's happening in the district.
Three backgrounds for v0.1:
Three backgrounds:
| Background | Core assumption | Relationship to institutions |
|-----------|----------------|------------------------------|
@@ -219,11 +219,11 @@ Three backgrounds for v0.1:
**How it inflects the smuggler:**
The ring's activities are, to a Guardian-background smuggler, a natural extension of the protective network logic she already believes in. She doesn't see herself as a criminal — she sees herself as part of a system that serves people the regulated system won't. This changes how she frames the ring's cargo: medical lattice components aren't contraband, they're access. The Commission's regulation is a monopoly problem, not a safety protection.
Her monologue references network solidarity: "We look after our own" is a value, not just a statement. When the network is threatened (Kael's situation), her response is to protect, not to report. The Commission is not a solution to her problems — it's the problem with different uniforms.
Her monologue references network solidarity: "We look after our own" is a value, not just a statement. When the network is threatened ({THE FRIEND}'s situation), her response is to protect, not to report. The Commission is not a solution to her problems — it's the problem with different uniforms.
Idiom signals: phrases that imply collective or mutual protection ("we look after our own," "this keeps us safe," "not their business"), references to surveillance as adversarial ("they're watching the corridors closer"), reflexive Commission-skepticism ("another Commission inspection" carries more weight, more contempt).
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Guardian-background smuggler entering The Terminal on a normal morning; (b) Guardian-background smuggler seeing the detective for the first time.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Guardian-background smuggler entering the logistics hub on a normal morning; (b) Guardian-background smuggler seeing the detective for the first time.
**How it inflects the detective:**
A Guardian-background detective is in a structurally uncomfortable position: she believes in a community's right to self-determination but is employed by the institution that overrides it. She may have unexamined tension between her institutional role and her network values. Her internal voice sometimes catches itself applying institutional logic and stops — not from disloyalty, but from the habit of checking whether what she's doing serves people or just process.
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ This creates a more nuanced reading of the ring: she notices earlier that it isn
Idiom signals: slight Commission-skepticism applied to her own role, instinct toward community protection over prosecution, "who does this actually hurt?" appears as an internal question earlier in the arc.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Guardian-background detective walking through The Terminal for the first time; (b) Guardian-background detective after a confrontation with Voss that didn't land.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Guardian-background detective walking through the logistics hub for the first time; (b) Guardian-background detective after a confrontation with {Supervisor} that didn't land.
---
@@ -241,13 +241,13 @@ Idiom signals: slight Commission-skepticism applied to her own role, instinct to
**Narrative framing:** Senator background means exposure to Concord Assembly political culture — either through family, prior work, or a posting in an administrative center. This character thinks in terms of leverage, political capital, and institutional process as tools to be used. They believe in systems (not naively — they've seen how they work), they communicate strategically, and they think about consequences in terms of how they're recorded and remembered.
**How it inflects the smuggler:**
A Senator-background smuggler is an unusual animal. She ended up on Sova with this background for reasons that suggest a fall — political family, bad posting, something that deposited her in freight work. She still thinks in political terms. The ring is, to her, a structure with power dynamics that can be managed. She assesses Nils as a faction leader, Voss as a compromisable middle manager, Kael as an uncertain ally. She has more framework for navigating institutional pressure than the default smuggler.
A Senator-background smuggler is an unusual animal. She ended up on Sova with this background for reasons that suggest a fall — political family, bad posting, something that deposited her in freight work. She still thinks in political terms. The ring is, to her, a structure with power dynamics that can be managed. She assesses the ring's leadership as a faction, {Supervisor} as a compromisable middle manager, {THE FRIEND} as an uncertain ally. She has more framework for navigating institutional pressure than the default smuggler.
Her monologue carries strategic calculation that the default smuggler doesn't have: "If Nils moves against us, who has leverage over Nils?" She names power structures. She's more comfortable with authority figures because she spent time being one or adjacent to one.
Her monologue carries strategic calculation that the default smuggler doesn't have: "If {leadership} moves against us, who has leverage over them?" She names power structures. She's more comfortable with authority figures because she spent time being one or adjacent to one.
Idiom signals: political vocabulary deployed in operational context ("who holds the leverage here," "what does this cost us politically," "that's a favor spent"), more awareness of chain of command, comfort with complexity and multiple-move thinking.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Senator-background smuggler reading a tense moment between Voss and Nils; (b) Senator-background smuggler deciding whether to warn Kael about the detective.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Senator-background smuggler reading a tense moment between {Supervisor} and ring leadership; (b) Senator-background smuggler deciding whether to warn {THE FRIEND} about the detective.
**How it inflects the detective:**
A Senator-background detective is most at home in the Commission's formal institutional structure. He knows how to work the process because he's seen political process at close range. He's less likely to be frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles and more likely to use them as tools. He's also more aware of how investigations can be used politically — and more careful to distinguish between evidence that serves justice and evidence that serves someone's career.
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ This can work two ways: he's more sophisticated about when to file and when not
Idiom signals: references to political process ("that'll go on record," "who is this actually going to serve"), awareness of institutional optics, formal courtesy in internal voice (he holds standards in private that mirror public institutional expectations).
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Senator-background detective receiving unhelpful cooperation from Maret (deflection, formal compliance); (b) Senator-background detective realizing Sera has evidence she hasn't reported.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Senator-background detective receiving unhelpful cooperation from an NPC (deflection, formal compliance); (b) Senator-background detective realizing THE FRIEND has evidence they haven't reported.
---
@@ -271,16 +271,16 @@ Her monologue about the ring's cargo is practical, not moral: "Medical component
Idiom signals: shift-economy references ("that's a week's pay gone"), physical work vocabulary, coworker solidarity language that's practical not sentimental ("you cover for your people"), no ideological framing.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Worker-background smuggler after a long shift where nothing went wrong (genuine relief in mundane form); (b) Worker-background smuggler finding out about Kael's corridor meeting.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Worker-background smuggler after a long shift where nothing went wrong (genuine relief in mundane form); (b) Worker-background smuggler finding out about {THE FRIEND}'s unauthorized corridor meeting.
**How it inflects the detective:**
A Worker-background detective is a less common institutional profile — someone who came up from the logistics world, or the adjacent working community of a station, and then entered Commission work. This creates the most dramatic read of the Sova Transit District: he *knows* what this world looks like from inside. The community's distrust of him isn't abstract — he grew up in a community that had this relationship with Commission investigators.
A Worker-background detective is a less common institutional profile — someone who came up from the logistics world, or the adjacent working community of a station, and then entered Commission work. This creates the most dramatic read of the district: he *knows* what this world looks like from inside. The community's distrust of him isn't abstract — he grew up in a community that had this relationship with Commission investigators.
His analytical frame is the same, but its application produces a different emotional texture. He reads Voss not just as a shift supervisor but as someone managing his people in a system that gives them no margin. He reads the ring not just as a crime but as what people do when the legal option doesn't work. He's not excusing it — but he's explaining it to himself in ways a Senator-background detective wouldn't.
His analytical frame is the same, but its application produces a different emotional texture. He reads the shift supervisor not just as an authority figure but as someone managing their people in a system that gives them no margin. He reads the ring not just as a crime but as what people do when the legal option doesn't work. He's not excusing it — but he's explaining it to himself in ways a Senator-background detective wouldn't.
Idiom signals: working vocabulary that leaks through the institutional frame ("another form to fill out" with genuine frustration), more personal reads on community behavior, faster comprehension of coworker loyalty dynamics.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Worker-background detective entering The Terminal and recognizing it as a place he knows in his bones; (b) Worker-background detective having a moment of sympathy for Kael that he then has to file away.
**Mellanie — write 2 examples:** (a) Worker-background detective entering the logistics hub and recognizing it as a place he knows in his bones; (b) Worker-background detective having a moment of sympathy for {THE FRIEND} that he then has to file away.
---
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ Each mood bends the character's voice toward a version of itself. The base regis
| `frustrated` | Goes flat. Sarcasm. "Of course." | Sardonic understatement. Cold. |
| `content` | Warms, expands slightly. More humor. | Structured satisfaction. Humor surfaces. |
| `suspicious` | Narrows. More observation of specific people. Hypotheses pile up. | Files faster. More quantification. "Coincidence?" frequency increases. |
| `warm` | More name-drops. Affectionate observations. Longer people-reads. | First-name register expands beyond Sera. More personal disclosure. |
| `warm` | More name-drops. Affectionate observations. Longer people-reads. | First-name register expands beyond THE FRIEND. More personal disclosure. |
| `hostile` | Edges. Fewer words about the hostile object. Watchful. | Clinical distance increases. Dehumanizing label (surname-only). |
| `focused` | Strips down. Only the current task. Environmental and NPC data pruned ruthlessly. | Most structured voice. Near-mechanical. Labels and flags only. |
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ Lines tagged `mood: anxious` should feel compressed. Not panicked — the charac
Something isn't working. The block is structural, not threatening.
- *Smuggler:* Flat declarations. Sarcastic understatement. "Of course." / "Great." Dark humor returns — she goes wry under frustration. Names get blamed: "Voss did it again." Swearing surfaces (mild — the character swears, but not obscenely).
- *Smuggler:* Flat declarations. Sarcastic understatement. "Of course." / "Great." Dark humor returns — she goes wry under frustration. Names get blamed: "{Supervisor} did it again." Swearing surfaces (mild — the character swears, but not obscenely).
- *Detective:* Sardonic compression. Dismissive shorthand: "Standard." meaning the opposite. The institutional frame holds but it fits uncomfortably. He doesn't swear; frustration surfaces as brittle patience.
Lines tagged `mood: frustrated` should feel like controlled flat. Both characters have learned not to waste anger — they spend it in specific, pointed ways.
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@ Lines tagged `mood: suspicious` should feel *directed*. The suspicion has an obj
The character is in a moment of genuine positive connection. This is not `content` (good situation) — this is specifically warm *toward someone*.
- *Smuggler:* More name-drops with positive color. People-reads are generous and long. She notices when someone seems well, not just when they seem off. Humor becomes inclusive rather than dry. She might express something like affection, obliquely.
- *Detective:* First-name register expands beyond Sera — he might first-name someone he normally surnames if the moment calls for it. Personal disclosure is slightly more available. The analytical frame softens: he observes without immediately filing.
- *Detective:* First-name register expands beyond THE FRIEND — he might first-name someone he normally surnames if the moment calls for it. Personal disclosure is slightly more available. The analytical frame softens: he observes without immediately filing.
Lines tagged `mood: warm` are most visible in the detective because they represent a departure from his baseline. For the smuggler, warmth is closer to her baseline; the lines should be a slightly more saturated version of her natural register.
@@ -364,8 +364,8 @@ Lines tagged `mood: warm` are most visible in the detective because they represe
The relationship to the hostile object is adversarial. The character is managing threat.
- *Smuggler:* Less said, more watched. She goes quiet around the hostile object — mentions them tersely, observations are monitoring-reads rather than social-reads. "Nils walked past." Period. No color.
- *Detective:* Dehumanizing label returns even for NPCs who have previously graduated to first-name in his monologue. "Venn, S." instead of "Sera" signals the relationship has turned. Analytical lines about the hostile object are more clinical.
- *Smuggler:* Less said, more watched. She goes quiet around the hostile object — mentions them tersely, observations are monitoring-reads rather than social-reads. "{NPC} walked past." Period. No color.
- *Detective:* Dehumanizing label returns even for NPCs who have previously graduated to first-name in his monologue. "{Surname}, {initial}." instead of first name signals the relationship has turned. Analytical lines about the hostile object are more clinical.
Lines tagged `mood: hostile` should feel like distance enforced deliberately. Neither character becomes cruel — cruelty requires emotional investment. The hostile register is managed withdrawal.
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ The mood tags on monologue lines function as selection weights in the engine:
2. The line selection system applies a weight bonus to lines tagged with the matching mood
3. Lines tagged `mood: [neutral]` or untagged are always eligible; lines tagged with specific moods are preferred when the mood matches
**The same base line should NOT be re-authored per mood.** A smuggler entering The Terminal does not need 9 `enter_location` variants (one per mood). The system should:
**The same base line should NOT be re-authored per mood.** A smuggler entering a location does not need 9 `enter_location` variants (one per mood). The system should:
- Select from the available `enter_location` pool
- Apply mood-weight bonuses to lines with the matching mood tag
- Ensure at least 1-2 lines per trigger/location have each major mood tagged
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ Traits, backgrounds, and moods interact. Some combinations have emergent propert
**High coherence combinations** (reinforce each other):
- Cautious + Guardian background: more second-guessing of institutional solutions, more checking of network alternatives
- Bold + Ruthless: decisive and instrumental — the fastest decision-maker, for better or worse
- Compassionate + Worker background: the character who most viscerally feels the human cost of what's happening to Kael and Naia
- Compassionate + Worker background: the character who most viscerally feels the human cost of what's happening to THE FRIEND and their community
- Suspicious mood + Curious trait: questions multiply exponentially — the character follows every thread simultaneously
**High tension combinations** (create internal conflict):
@@ -416,16 +416,16 @@ Traits, backgrounds, and moods interact. Some combinations have emergent propert
- Senator background + Worker background idioms (where the character's formation bleeds through the professional veneer): the occasional shift vocabulary surfaces in otherwise formal speech
**FRIEND arc special case:**
Trait and background modifiers should be considered especially carefully for lines in the FRIEND arc. The same arc beat — "Kael met someone I don't know" — produces dramatically different emotional readings depending on trait combination:
Trait and background modifiers should be considered especially carefully for lines in the FRIEND arc. The same arc beat — "{THE FRIEND} met someone I don't know" — produces dramatically different emotional readings depending on trait combination:
| Trait | Smuggler's first-move internal response to the Kael contradiction |
| Trait | Smuggler's first-move internal response to THE FRIEND contradiction |
|-------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Cautious | Checks herself: "Maybe it's nothing. There could be a work reason." (sits with it longer) |
| Bold | Names it immediately: "That's a breach. Kael met someone unauthorized." |
| Compassionate | Worries about Kael first: "What's he gotten himself into?" |
| Bold | Names it immediately: "That's a breach. {THE FRIEND} met someone unauthorized." |
| Compassionate | Worries about {THE FRIEND} first: "What have they gotten into?" |
| Ruthless | Calculates exposure: "How much does this contact know?" |
| Honest | Won't minimize: "He was there. That wasn't anyone we know." |
| Deceptive | Minimizes: "Kael's allowed his own contacts. It's fine." (not fine) |
| Honest | Won't minimize: "They were there. That wasn't anyone we know." |
| Deceptive | Minimizes: "{THE FRIEND}'s allowed their own contacts. It's fine." (not fine) |
These aren't separate arc paths — they're the same arc with different pacing and emotional texture. A Cautious smuggler reaches the confrontation later. A Bold one gets there faster and possibly too fast. The arc is the same. The voice is not.
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ For Mellanie — a vocabulary guide per background to use when writing example l
**Senator background idioms:**
- "On record" / "that goes on record" / "recorded as"
- Leverage vocabulary: "what does that cost us," "who holds the note on that"
- Chain-of-command awareness: "above Nils" / "below Voss on that"
- Chain-of-command awareness: "above {leadership}" / "below {Supervisor} on that"
- Process language: "formally," "through channels," "the filing on that says"
**Worker background idioms:**
wiki/authoring/npc-patterns/contradiction-arc.md
+10 -21
View File
@@ -1,16 +1,15 @@
# THE FRIEND: Contradiction Arc Pattern
**Ticket:** #332 | **Priority:** Medium | **Sprint:** 12
**Status:** v0.1 Draft
**Status:** Draft
**Owner:** Paula
**Blocked by:** #297 (Kael Davan profile — done), #298 (Sera Venn profile — done)
**Decisions referenced:** D-034 (THE FRIEND pattern), D-035 (tag taxonomy), D-039 (wow moment #3), D-041 (knowledge graph), D-062 (invisible locked options), D-063 (confrontation mechanics)
---
## 1. What This Document Is
A reusable design pattern document extracted from the two concrete THE FRIEND implementations: Kael Davan (smuggler's FRIEND) and Sera Venn (detective's FRIEND). Both are complete. Both worked. This document captures the structural logic they share so that future FRIEND NPCs can be authored consistently and quickly.
A reusable design pattern document capturing the structural logic shared by THE FRIEND implementations so that future FRIEND NPCs can be authored consistently and quickly.
The pattern is called the **Contradiction Arc**. It is not a mystery. It is not a betrayal in the conventional sense. It is the discovery that someone the player trusts is carrying something they haven't shared — and that what they're carrying changes everything the player thought they understood about the relationship.
@@ -45,8 +44,7 @@ A Contradiction Arc is a 5-phase character trajectory built around a single obse
- Dialogue: `trust: surface` (greeting, small talk) + `trust: real` (personal warmth, shared history)
- Monologue: positive mood tags (content, fond, warm)
**Kael example:** "Kael's already at the dock. Good. The day's better when he's on shift."
**Sera example:** "Good to see Sera. She always was the reliable one. At least someone in this district speaks my language."
*Phase 1 monologue examples: fond, present-tense, no hint of trouble. "Already here. Good. The day's better when they're on shift."*
---
@@ -67,8 +65,7 @@ A Contradiction Arc is a 5-phase character trajectory built around a single obse
- Monologue: mild concern tone; `trigger: observe_anomaly` for behavioral tell moments
- Tell system: all Phase 2 tells fire with `visible_to: peripheral` or `visible_to: any`
**Kael example:** "Kael's distracted today. Checks his lattice more than usual. Probably nothing."
**Sera example:** "Sera left early. 'Headache,' she said. First time she's done that."
*Phase 2 monologue examples: mild concern, plausible innocent explanation. "{FRIEND} is distracted. More lattice checks than usual. Probably nothing." / "{FRIEND} left early. First time for that."*
---
@@ -93,8 +90,7 @@ A Contradiction Arc is a 5-phase character trajectory built around a single obse
- Monologue should name the observation, not the interpretation
- KG update: `contradiction_flagged: true`, relationship shifts to PersonOfInterest
**Kael example:** "That's Kael. But who's he talking to? I don't know that face. And that's not anyone from our rotation."
**Sera example:** "That's the third time. Sera leaves when Torek walks in. Three different excuses. Same result."
*Phase 3 monologue examples: names the observation, not the conclusion. "That's {FRIEND}. But who's that? I don't know that face." / "Third time. {FRIEND} leaves every time {person} walks in. Three different excuses. Same result."*
---
@@ -115,8 +111,7 @@ A Contradiction Arc is a 5-phase character trajectory built around a single obse
- THE FRIEND's response: `trust: real` (this is as honest as THE FRIEND can be without full confession), `situation: [confrontation]`, mood that indicates concealment
- Personal tell confirmation: observation monologue fired by THE FRIEND's specific tell behavior
**Kael example:** "Just a thing. Don't worry about it." [looks left before answering] / Smuggler monologue: "He looked left. He always looks left when he's making something up. Two years I've known that tell. Kael is lying to me."
**Sera example:** "He's just loud. I don't like loud drunks." / Detective monologue: "She's not lying. But she's not telling me everything. Sera, what do you know?"
*Phase 4 examples: THE FRIEND deflects, personal tell fires, character's monologue confirms. "Just a thing. Don't worry about it." [{tell fires}] / "{Character} monologue: 'That tell. I know that tell. {FRIEND} is lying to me.'"*
---
@@ -140,8 +135,7 @@ A Contradiction Arc is a 5-phase character trajectory built around a single obse
- Monologue: `mood: [conflicted]` or `mood: [analytical]`; prerequisite gates on relationship state PersonOfInterest
- If player chose Understanding path: additional monologue lines for partial-confession scenario
**Kael example:** "Same old Kael. Same jokes, same routine. ...What are you not telling me?"
**Sera example:** "Still the same Sera. Still reliable. ...But reliable about what?"
*Phase 5 monologue examples: surface warmth, underlying doubt. "Same old {FRIEND}. Same routine. ...What are you not telling me?"*
---
@@ -170,9 +164,7 @@ Every FRIEND NPC has a **personal tell** — a specific behavioral marker establ
3. Be **unique to this NPC** — not a generic "nervousness" tell, but a specific habit
4. Be **explainable differently before and after** — innocent early, incriminating late
**Kael's tell:** Looks left before answering. Established as a habit the smuggler has observed for two years. Becomes proof of lying at Phase 4 because the smuggler knows the tell AND its meaning.
**Sera's tell:** Gathers her things quickly when leaving. Not a lie tell — Sera isn't lying when she leaves. But the timing (always when Torek arrives) and the variety of excuses (genuine, not scripted) creates the pattern the detective reads as behavioral.
*Tell examples are authored per-NPC against the active roster — see the character-exemplar template for the tell table structure.*
**Tell design rule:** The tell should produce a different emotional register for each playable character observing it:
- The character with the relationship reads the tell as **personal** ("I know that tell — I've seen it before")
@@ -192,10 +184,7 @@ Every FRIEND NPC must produce different monologue experiences for both character
| Phase 4 | Personal confrontation (uses the personal tell as confirmation) | Investigative confrontation (uses behavioral pattern as evidence) |
| Phase 5 | Contaminated intimacy (every warm moment now suspect) | Professional caution (reliable informant now uncertain quantity) |
**The second-playthrough resonance:** The player who has experienced both sides of Triangle 4 understands:
- Kael is trying to get OUT of the ring to protect Naia. His exit attempt is an act of love, not treachery.
- Sera is protecting Naia by NOT reporting what she found. Her concealment is loyalty, not corruption.
- The smuggler and detective are both experiencing friendship fractured by the same cause — Naia's worry about Kael, and the chain of protection that worry created.
**The second-playthrough resonance:** The player who has experienced both sides of the triangle understands that THE FRIEND's concealment comes from care — protection of someone they love, fear of consequences, not treachery. The smuggler and detective are both experiencing friendship fractured by the same cause, approached from opposite angles.
This is the design. The contradiction is not "THE FRIEND is bad." The contradiction is "THE FRIEND is doing something complicated for reasons that make sense, and it's happening to YOU."
@@ -248,4 +237,4 @@ This pattern is designed to be reused. When designing a future FRIEND NPC for a
---
*Ticket #332 — Contradiction arc design document. Reusable FRIEND pattern. v0.1 scope.*
*Ticket #332 — Contradiction arc design document. Reusable FRIEND pattern.*
wiki/authoring/npc-patterns/mirror-moment.md
+38 -191
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@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
# Mirror Moment Design Document
**Ticket:** #329 | **Priority:** Medium | **Sprint:** 12
**Status:** v0.1 Draft
**Owners:** Paula (design), Mellanie (authoring)
**Blocked by:** #297 (Kael profile — done), #298 (Sera profile — done)
**Status:** Design pattern (v0.1 examples removed — see D-122, D-117)
**Decisions referenced:** D-032 (separate monologue pools), D-034 (THE FRIEND), D-039 (wow moment #4 — Divergence Reveal)
---
@@ -17,7 +14,7 @@ The player who has completed both playthroughs encounters the mirror moments as
**What a mirror moment is NOT:**
- A branching dialogue option
- A triggered cutscene
- An informational difference ("the smuggler knows X and the detective doesn't")
- An informational difference ("character A knows X and character B doesn't")
A mirror moment is an **interpretive difference** — same information, same NPC behavior, same physical event. Different internal frame. Different emotional weight.
@@ -26,187 +23,41 @@ A mirror moment is an **interpretive difference** — same information, same NPC
## 2. Design Principles
**Principle 1: Same trigger, different pool (D-032 hard partition)**
Mirror moments operate because monologue pools are hard-partitioned by character. The same trigger key fires into the smuggler pool OR the detective pool — never both. The authoring requirement is to write both sides of every shared trigger.
Mirror moments operate because monologue pools are hard-partitioned by character. The same trigger key fires into one character's pool OR the other's — never both. The authoring requirement is to write both sides of every shared trigger.
**Principle 2: The difference must be felt, not explained**
A mirror moment works when the player FEELS the divergence without having it explained. The two monologue lines should be immediately recognizable as coming from different places — different relationships, different frames, different fears.
**Principle 3: The mirror reveals what the character CARES about**
The smuggler's monologue reveals personal loyalty (people). The detective's monologue reveals investigative analysis (patterns). A mirror moment that doesn't surface this difference is a content gap, not a mirror.
The relationship to a place, person, or object is what the mirror reveals. A mirror moment that doesn't surface this difference is a content gap, not a mirror.
**Principle 4: At least some mirrors should work on first playthrough**
Not every mirror moment requires a second playthrough to land. Some mirrors work as a moment of character voice — the player just hears what their character notices. Second playthrough makes the divergence explicit, but first playthrough should have its own emotional coherence.
---
## 3. The 10 Mirror Moments (v0.1)
### Mirror 1: The Friend's Routine
**Trigger:** `observe_npc` — Seeing THE FRIEND (Kael/Sera) going about their daily routine in their expected location.
**Shared observation:** THE FRIEND is doing exactly what they always do. Nothing unusual. The baseline before anything cracks.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Kael's at his station. Right where he always is. Something settles when the shift starts right."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"The dock worker — Davan — is on the floor again. Same position, same timing. Three days in a row. That's a routine. File it."*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler sees a person. The detective sees a data point. Same NPC at the same station. The relationship determines the register.
---
### Mirror 2: The Empty Corridor
**Trigger:** `enter_location` — Player enters a maintenance corridor when no other NPCs are present.
**Shared observation:** The corridor is empty. The maintenance systems hum. No one is watching.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Clear. Good. Transition window's still open for eleven more minutes."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"Three separate entries to this corridor in my district walkthrough. Nothing documented in my file about why workers access this route. Off-books path? Add it to the log."*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler reads the empty corridor as operational safety. The detective reads it as an investigative lead. The physical space is identical; the cognitive frame inverts it.
---
### Mirror 3: The Worried Partner (Naia Tamm)
**Trigger:** `observe_npc` — Seeing Naia Tamm sitting alone at the bar, visibly preoccupied.
**Shared observation:** Naia is at The Last Shift without Kael. She looks tired or worried. Not in distress — just carrying something heavy.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Naia's here without Kael again. She looks rough. Should check in. ...Not now. Later."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"That woman — Tamm, I think Sera mentioned her — is sitting alone. Wrong energy for a social evening. Something at home, or something she's heard?"*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler has a protective impulse toward Naia but defers it. The detective categorizes Naia as a potential information source. Same worried woman, same empty chair across from her. One character plans to check on a person; the other plans to assess a witness.
---
### Mirror 4: The Spending
**Trigger:** `observe_npc` — Watching Torek Lintar buy rounds at the bar.
**Shared observation:** Torek is buying drinks for several people he doesn't know well. The drinks are nicer than they should be on a compliance officer's salary. He's clearly enjoying himself.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Torek's buying rounds again. That's the third time this week. Either he won something, or he's getting paid from somewhere he shouldn't be. Starting to worry about that."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"Commission compliance officer, buying grain spirit for half the bar. On his salary? That doesn't close. Financial tell. Noted."*
**What the mirror reveals:** Both characters notice the same behavioral anomaly. The smuggler frames it as a security risk to the ring. The detective frames it as an evidentiary lead. Both have the same concern (Torek's spending is unusual) — but the concern has completely different stakes.
---
### Mirror 5: Sera Leaving
**Trigger:** `observe_npc` — Watching Sera Venn gather her things and leave the bar when Torek arrives.
**Shared observation:** Sera gives a brief excuse (headache, kiosk check, early shift) and leaves. She was comfortable until the moment Torek walked in.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Sera left. Good timing — she was starting to make everyone nervous anyway. Commission presence at Lera's always shifts the temperature."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"Second time now. Sera leaves when Torek walks in. Same type of excuse. 'Headache' last time, 'kiosk' tonight. Same result. That's two data points. Third is a pattern."*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler reads Sera's departure as relief (Commission leaving = safer conversation). The detective reads the same departure as a behavioral anomaly. The event is identical. The emotional response is inverted.
This mirror is structurally important: it shows the detective's FRIEND arc developing through observational patience, while simultaneously showing the smuggler's categorical relationship with Commission presence.
---
### Mirror 6: The Station Hum
**Trigger:** `time_idle` — Player is stationary in the terminal for more than a few seconds with no active interaction.
**Shared observation:** The station's ambient systems — span gate hum, ventilation cycle, cargo machinery in the background — fill the silence. Sova at rest.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Span gate's cycling early. One hour to the next transit. Voss'll be running the schedule check in twenty."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"They've been on this station their whole lives. That hum is just background to them. I'm still trying to tune it out."*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler hears operational data in the ambient sound. The detective hears alienation. The station hum carries the same frequency to both characters' ears. It means completely different things to their experience of being in this place.
---
### Mirror 7: The Commission Kiosk
**Trigger:** `enter_location` or `observe_npc` — The player walks past or observes the Commission compliance kiosk near the terminal entrance.
**Shared observation:** The kiosk is a small Commission compliance desk near the terminal entrance — mostly unmanned, used for permit verification and compliance queries. Standard infrastructure.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Commission kiosk. Nobody uses it. Institutional furniture. Long as nobody decides to run a full cargo audit, that's exactly what I want it to stay."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"The compliance kiosk has public access to manifest verification records. Local. Less filtered than the request I made through channels. Check it when Maret's not watching."*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler reads the kiosk as a passive threat to be ignored. The detective reads it as an investigative tool. Same object. Same physical location. The smuggler hopes it stays irrelevant; the detective plans to use it.
---
### Mirror 8: Kael and Naia Together (Bar)
**Trigger:** `observe_npc` — Seeing Kael and Naia sitting together at their usual table. Naia is talking; Kael is listening but seems distracted.
**Shared observation:** A couple having dinner. Naia is clearly talking seriously about something. Kael is present but not quite there. The gap between them is subtle but visible.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Kael and Naia look... off. Naia's talking a lot. Kael's nodding but he's somewhere else. Something's going on at home. He doesn't say."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"Couple — the dock worker, Davan, and the woman who sits with Sera sometimes. She's animated; he's distracted. Relationship tension. That level of checked-out usually means someone's keeping something."*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler reads this as a friend's private trouble that deserves respect and distance. The detective reads it as behavioral evidence — someone keeping something from a partner. Same visible tension. One character looks away; the other leans in.
---
### Mirror 9: The Manifest Terminal
**Trigger:** `observe_npc` or `enter_location` — The freight manifest terminal in the terminal hub.
**Shared observation:** A freight terminal kiosk showing manifest data. Busy during shifts; the data moves constantly.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"That's Maret's terminal. She's got access to all the schedules from here. If anything's getting flagged in the manifest data, she'd see it before anyone else. Maret's solid. She won't say anything."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"Freight manifests for the last six months, loaded from here. The cluster analysis shows three anomaly windows, all at shift transition. That's not clerical error. Someone's using this terminal to adjust records after the fact."*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler sees a trusted colleague's workspace and trusts that colleague's loyalty. The detective sees the exact location where evidence of the ring's operations lives. The terminal is simultaneously proof of criminal activity and proof of a trusted relationship — depending on which character is reading it.
---
### Mirror 10: The End of Shift
**Trigger:** `observe_npc` — Watching the shift change happen across the terminal floor — workers clocking out, new crew arriving, a brief period of cross-traffic and handoffs.
**Shared observation:** Dozens of workers moving at once. The shift change is organized chaos. Cargo gets routed, schedules are handed off, the floor changes.
**Smuggler monologue:**
*"Shift transition. Twenty-minute window. The floor's all cross-traffic now — nobody's tracking individual movement. This is when it runs."*
**Detective monologue:**
*"Shift change. Every anomaly in my manifest data clusters around this. The window. The handoff moment. Someone is using the cross-traffic as cover. But for WHAT?"*
**What the mirror reveals:** The smuggler knows exactly what the shift change covers. The detective sees the pattern but not the specific. Both characters observe the same 20-minute window of organized chaos. One is running something through it; the other is trying to figure out what's being run.
## 3. Mirror Moment Examples
*v0.1 examples removed (cited named NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline — D-122). Author mirror pairs against the active district's social sites and NPC roster.*
**Structural types to cover in any district:**
- THE FRIEND at baseline routine (personal vs. analytical read)
- Empty operational space (operational safety vs. investigative lead)
- NPC in emotional distress (protective impulse vs. witness assessment)
- Behavioral tell (security concern vs. evidentiary lead)
- THE FRIEND avoiding another NPC (relief vs. behavioral anomaly)
- Ambient environment (familiarity vs. alienation)
- Institutional infrastructure (passive threat vs. investigative tool)
- THE FRIEND with their significant relationship (privacy vs. evidence)
- Information terminal (trusted colleague's workspace vs. crime scene)
- Routine operational window (cover vs. pattern recognition)
---
## 4. Mirror Moment Authoring Rules
### Rule 1: Both sides are mandatory
A mirror moment is only complete when both the smuggler monologue and the detective monologue are authored. Omitting one side is a content gap.
A mirror moment is only complete when both sides of the mirror are authored. Omitting one side is a content gap.
### Rule 2: Same trigger key, different pool
Both lines use the same `trigger` type and similar `prerequisite` conditions. They appear in separate character monologue files (D-032 hard partition). The only difference is the `character` tag.
@@ -225,30 +76,30 @@ Add `tags: [mirror_moment]` to both sides of every mirror pair so they can be id
## 5. YAML Example
```yaml
# Smuggler side — monologue-smuggler.yaml
- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_044
character: smuggler
# Character A side — monologue-character-a.yaml
- id: pc-{archetype-a}_m_s_001
character: {archetype-a}
trigger: observe_npc
prerequisite:
location: the-terminal
target: npc:naia-tamm
location: {location-slug}
target: npc:{npc-slug}
relationship_state: Known
text: "Naia's here without Kael again. She looks rough. Should check in. ...Not now. Later."
mood: [concerned, fond]
text: "{Line from character A's relationship frame — personal, protective, operational}"
mood: [warm, concerned]
topic: [colleague]
tags: [mirror_moment, mirror_worried_partner]
tags: [mirror_moment, mirror_{name}]
# Detective side — monologue-detective.yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_044
character: detective
# Character B side — monologue-character-b.yaml
- id: pc-{archetype-b}_m_d_001
character: {archetype-b}
trigger: observe_npc
prerequisite:
location: the-last-shift
target: npc:naia-tamm
text: "That woman — Tamm, I think Sera mentioned her — is sitting alone. Wrong energy for a social evening. Something at home, or something she's heard?"
location: {location-slug}
target: npc:{npc-slug}
text: "{Same trigger, different frame — analytical, investigative, pattern-seeking}"
mood: [analytical, curious]
topic: [investigation]
tags: [mirror_moment, mirror_worried_partner]
tags: [mirror_moment, mirror_{name}]
```
---
@@ -267,14 +118,10 @@ For each mirror pair:
---
## 7. Expansion Notes (Post-v0.1)
## 7. Expansion Notes
Additional mirror moments to author in future content passes:
- **The Missing Person Notice:** A posted notice near the bar about a missing dock worker (pre-existing, unrelated to main plot). Smuggler: "People disappear. Station life." Detective: "Filed under 'before my posting.' What was the investigative status?"
- **Voss Walking the Floor:** The shift supervisor doing a routine floor inspection. Smuggler sees cover being maintained. Detective sees a potential informant.
- **Drin's Inspection:** Dock inspector doing a container verification. Smuggler knows Drin will find nothing. Detective sees the inspection as either genuine compliance or evidence of a compromised process.
Mirror moments should be authored for every repeated trigger point in a district's social sites. Priority triggers: THE FRIEND's daily routine, shift transitions, any institutional infrastructure, behavioral tells, NPC pairings that create observable social dynamics. The more a location has observable social texture, the more mirror moments it can support.
---
*Ticket #329 — Mirror moment design document. 10 paired observations. v0.1 scope.*
*Design pattern document — Mirror Moments. Examples are authored per-district against the active NPC roster.*
wiki/authoring/npc-patterns/the-mirror.md
+37 -167
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@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
**Pattern Type:** Production-level Tier 1 (emotional depth, full 10-axis model)
**Design Principle:** Transparency as contrast mechanism
**Ticket:** #380
**Reference Implementation:** Naia Tamm (Sova Transit District v0.1)
---
@@ -26,10 +25,10 @@ THE MIRROR is the honest-character NPC pattern. No contradiction arc, no deep se
| Absent System | Why Missing | Content Signal |
|--------------|-------------|----------------|
| **No tells** | Tells imply deception or concealment. MIRROR has nothing to conceal from the player (though they may be uninformed about events around them). The absence of tells IS the tell — when the player has learned to read behavioral flags on every other NPC, encountering someone without them is the anomaly. | The player's monologue might note: "No hesitation. No evasion. Either she's telling the truth or she's the best liar I've ever met." The absence becomes noticeable. |
| **No dishonesty ≠ no misinformation** | MIRROR NPCs can be *wrong* without being *deceptive*. A MIRROR who has been lied to will repeat that lie in good faith -- they are transparent about what they believe, not omniscient about what is true. Naia reporting "Kael said he's picking up extra shifts" is honest transmission of a lie she was told. | The player recognizes the MIRROR is being used as an unwitting conduit. This makes the liar's deception feel worse, not the MIRROR's honesty feel cheaper. |
| **No dishonesty ≠ no misinformation** | MIRROR NPCs can be *wrong* without being *deceptive*. A MIRROR who has been lied to will repeat that lie in good faith -- they are transparent about what they believe, not omniscient about what is true. A MIRROR repeating a partner's cover story is honest transmission of a lie — they're being transparent about what they believe, not what is true. | The player recognizes the MIRROR is being used as an unwitting conduit. This makes the liar's deception feel worse, not the MIRROR's honesty feel cheaper. |
| **No secrets** (or only mundane surface-level ones) | The `secret_held` field is empty or contains only ordinary privacy (e.g., "worried about partner's late nights" — visible to anyone observant). No trust gates that reveal hidden criminal knowledge or conspiracies. | If a MIRROR has a "secret," it's one they'd share with a sympathetic stranger at a bar. There's no revelation moment where the player discovers the MIRROR was hiding something all along. |
| **No contradiction arc** | No phases, no discovery moment, no color shift from green to amber. The relationship with MIRROR is stable across the session. | The trust level may deepen (public → insider → peer), but there's no betrayal moment. The MIRROR you meet at minute 5 is the same MIRROR at minute 25. |
| **No trust-gated dialogue that changes the picture of who they are** | Trust progression reveals more FEELING, not more SECRETS. Deeper access tiers show emotional vulnerability, not concealed information. | At `public` tier: "I'm worried about Kael." At `peer` tier: "I don't know what to do. I love him, but I can't keep living like this." Same truth, deeper emotion. |
| **No trust-gated dialogue that changes the picture of who they are** | Trust progression reveals more FEELING, not more SECRETS. Deeper access tiers show emotional vulnerability, not concealed information. | At `public` tier: "I'm worried about them." At `peer` tier: "I don't know what to do. I love them, but I can't keep living like this." Same truth, deeper emotion. |
### What MIRROR NPCs DO Have
@@ -50,7 +49,7 @@ THE MIRROR is the honest-character NPC pattern. No contradiction arc, no deep se
|-------------|-----------|----------|
| **Dialogue** | 25-35 | Greetings (5), emotional state conversation (8-10), relationship discussion (5-7), situation responses (5-8), peer-tier vulnerability (3-5) |
| **Trust-gated dialogue** | 10-15 | Deeper emotional exposure at insider/peer tiers. Not secret revelations — emotional revelations. "I'm scared" vs "I'm worried." |
| **Unprompted lines** | 3-5 | MIRROR volunteers emotional state or asks for help. "Have you seen Kael today? I'm worried." |
| **Unprompted lines** | 3-5 | MIRROR volunteers emotional state or asks for help. "Have you seen {partner} today? I'm worried." |
| **Monologue triggers** | 10-15 per character | Player's internal reaction to MIRROR's honesty. Smuggler: guilt (if protecting someone the MIRROR loves). Detective: relief (finally someone not lying) + strategic value (MIRROR as witness to behavioral change). |
| **Voice sample** | 3-5 lines | Covering: baseline warm, worried, brittle (close to tolerance break) |
@@ -73,7 +72,7 @@ THE MIRROR is the honest-character NPC pattern. No contradiction arc, no deep se
| What the Player Experiences | System State | Mechanical Expression |
|-----------------------------|--------------|---------------------|
| Early game: MIRROR seems ordinary | No behavioral flags set. No `contradiction_flagged`. No tell observations in monologue. | The player's training (from interacting with NPCs who DO have tells) hasn't fired. This feels normal. |
| Mid game: Player has learned to read other NPCs | The player has observed: Kael looks left when lying, Sera leaves when Torek arrives, Voss fidgets when questioned about manifests. | The player's mental model now expects tells. They're watching for them. |
| Mid game: Player has learned to read other NPCs | The player has observed: one NPC deflects eye contact when lying, another leaves when a third NPC arrives, a third fidgets when questioned about their role. | The player's mental model now expects tells. They're watching for them. |
| MIRROR interaction: No tells present | Player talks to MIRROR. MIRROR makes eye contact, answers directly, emotional state matches words. No spatial deviation, no topic deflection, no nervous tics. | The ABSENCE is striking. The player's monologue notes it: "No hesitation. She's either telling the truth or she's the best actor I've ever seen." |
| Resolution: Trust through transparency | If the player cross-references MIRROR's information with other sources, it checks out. MIRROR was telling the truth. | The player LEARNS that honesty exists in this world. That one person isn't performing. That becomes the emotional fulcrum for everything else. |
@@ -99,10 +98,10 @@ MIRROR dialogue follows the standard four-layer system (D-028) but with simplifi
| Tier | What MIRROR Shares | Example |
|------|-------------------|---------|
| **Public** | Observable emotional state, general information about their life/relationships | "I teach at the community school. The kids are doing well this term." |
| **Insider** | Specific worry, named relationships, genuine vulnerability | "Kael's been coming home late. Says it's work, but the schedule doesn't match. I don't know what to think." |
| **Peer** | Deep emotional exposure, requests for help or advice | "I'm scared, honestly. Not of Kael — of what Kael might be involved in. I don't know who else to talk to." |
| **Authority** (if detective) | Cooperation with investigation, willingness to provide information about loved one despite emotional cost | "If you think Kael is in trouble, I want to know. I'll help if I can. Just — please don't hurt him." |
| **Public** | Observable emotional state, general information about their life/relationships | "I work at the station school. The kids are doing well this term." |
| **Insider** | Specific worry, named relationships, genuine vulnerability | "{Partner} has been coming home late. Says it's work, but the schedule doesn't match. I don't know what to think." |
| **Peer** | Deep emotional exposure, requests for help or advice | "I'm scared, honestly. Not of them — of what they might be involved in. I don't know who else to talk to." |
| **Authority** (if detective) | Cooperation with investigation, willingness to provide information about loved one despite emotional cost | "If you think they're in trouble, I want to know. I'll help if I can. Just — please don't hurt them." |
**No secret tier that reveals hidden criminal knowledge.** The MIRROR doesn't have hidden criminal knowledge. The "secret" tier for MIRROR is the deepest emotional vulnerability, not a plot revelation.
@@ -115,14 +114,14 @@ What changes: Depth of emotional sharing, not type of information.
What doesn't change: The facts. MIRROR tells the same truth at all tiers. The emotion around it deepens.
```
**Example progression (Naia about Kael):**
**Example progression (MIRROR about their entangled partner):**
- **Public:** "Kael works at the freight hub. Dock worker. We've been together six years."
- **Insider:** "Kael's been stressed lately. Late nights, evasive when I ask about it. I'm worried."
- **Peer:** "I love him. But I can't keep doing this — the not-knowing is killing me. I think something's wrong. I just don't know what."
- **Authority (detective):** "If you're investigating something at the hub, and if Kael is involved — I need to know. I'll help. I just need the truth."
- **Public:** "{Partner} works at the freight terminal. We've been together {n} years."
- **Insider:** "{Partner} has been stressed lately. Late nights, evasive when I ask about it. I'm worried."
- **Peer:** "I love them. But I can't keep doing this — the not-knowing is killing me. I think something's wrong. I just don't know what."
- **Authority (detective):** "If you're investigating something there, and if {partner} is involved — I need to know. I'll help. I just need the truth."
Same story. Deeper emotion. No revelation that changes the player's understanding of who Naia is.
Same story. Deeper emotion. No revelation that changes the player's understanding of who the MIRROR is.
### Monologue Trigger Design
@@ -132,153 +131,29 @@ MIRROR NPCs trigger monologue focused on the PC's EMOTIONAL REACTION to the MIRR
| Trigger | Monologue Content | Emotional Layer |
|---------|------------------|-----------------|
| Observe MIRROR waiting at bar | "Naia's at the bar again. Alone. Keeps looking at the door. I know where Kael is. I can't say." | Guilt. The smuggler's operational knowledge creates distance from the MIRROR's suffering. |
| MIRROR asks about loved one | "She asked if I'd seen Kael today. What do I say? 'Yeah, he's fine, just moving contraband?' Can't tell her. Can't lie to her face either." | Moral tension. The MIRROR's directness makes evasion feel worse. |
| MIRROR shares deep worry | "She's really scared. Not just worried — scared. And she has no idea what's actually happening. If she knew..." | Protective instinct + guilt. The smuggler wants to shield the MIRROR from both the truth and the consequences. |
| Observe MIRROR waiting at bar | "{MIRROR} is at the bar again. Alone. Keeps looking at the door. I know where {partner} is. I can't say." | Guilt. The smuggler's operational knowledge creates distance from the MIRROR's suffering. |
| MIRROR asks about loved one | "They asked if I'd seen {partner} today. What do I say? Can't tell them. Can't lie to their face either." | Moral tension. The MIRROR's directness makes evasion feel worse. |
| MIRROR shares deep worry | "They're really scared. Not just worried — scared. And they have no idea what's actually happening. If they knew..." | Protective instinct + guilt. The smuggler wants to shield the MIRROR from both the truth and the consequences. |
**Detective monologue about MIRROR:**
| Trigger | Monologue Content | Emotional Layer |
|---------|------------------|-----------------|
| First conversation with MIRROR | "She's not hiding anything. I've interviewed enough people to know when someone's performing. She's genuinely worried." | Relief. In a district where everyone seems evasive, the MIRROR is a breath of fresh air. |
| MIRROR shares information about loved one | "She knows his routine better than anyone. The late nights, the evasions — she's been tracking them without realizing it. She's building my case for me." | Strategic recognition. The MIRROR is a witness to behavioral change — the best kind. |
| MIRROR asks for help | "She wants me to figure out what's wrong. Not to arrest anyone — just to know. That's... trust. Real trust." | Emotional weight. The detective realizes the investigation has personal stakes for the MIRROR. Success means breaking someone's heart. |
| First conversation with MIRROR | "Not hiding anything. I've interviewed enough people to know when someone's performing. This person is genuinely worried." | Relief. In a district where everyone seems evasive, the MIRROR is a breath of fresh air. |
| MIRROR shares information about loved one | "Knows {partner}'s routine better than anyone. The late nights, the evasions — been tracking them without realizing it. Building my case for me." | Strategic recognition. The MIRROR is a witness to behavioral change — the best kind. |
| MIRROR asks for help | "They want me to figure out what's wrong. Not to arrest anyone — just to know. That's... trust. Real trust." | Emotional weight. The detective realizes the investigation has personal stakes for the MIRROR. Success means breaking someone's heart. |
---
## 6. Naia Tamm — Reference Implementation
## 6. Reference Implementation
Naia Tamm is the v0.1 MIRROR NPC in Sova Transit District. Let me walk through how her 10-axis profile demonstrates each MIRROR rule.
*v0.1 named-NPC example removed (cited NPCs no longer in v0.2 pipeline — D-122). Author MIRROR reference implementations against the active district's roster using the generator template in Section 7.*
### Core Identity
- **Name:** Naia Tamm
- **Age:** 33
- **Role:** Teacher, Station Sova community school
- **Social Site:** The Last Shift (Bar)
- **Triangle:** Triangle 4 — The Worried Partner (Naia - Kael - Sera)
### 10-Axis MIRROR Implementation
#### 1. Want (Tier 1 depth, no deception)
**Primary:** Understand what's happening with Kael.
Naia and Kael have been together 6 years. Kael started coming home late, evasive answers, money that doesn't match hours. Naia doesn't know about the ring. Naia knows the person they share a life with is hiding something. The not-knowing is worse than almost any truth.
**Secondary:** Protect the life they've built.
Naia wants it resolved without destroying everything — the home, the relationship, the stability. This is why Naia confides in Sera instead of confronting Kael directly: wants advice, not a fight.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** Want is ABOUT someone else's secret, not concealing Naia's own. Naia's motivation is transparent to the player from the first conversation.
#### 2. Secret / Vulnerability (surface-level only)
**Surface secret:** Worried about Kael. Visible to anyone who sees Naia's stress.
**Deep secret:** Naia confided in Sera about Kael's behavior. This is the action that set Sera's compliance check in motion, though Naia doesn't know that. Naia shared a personal worry with a trusted friend.
**Vulnerability:** Emotional exposure. Naia's worry is genuine, visible, exploitable.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** Naia's "secret" is that she confided in a friend. That's not a conspiracy — it's ordinary human behavior under stress. The vulnerability is EMOTIONAL, not criminal.
#### 3. Relationships (genuine, no hidden agendas)
**Kael Davan (partner, 6 years):** Deep love, growing anxiety. Doesn't question Kael's character — just Kael's honesty.
**Sera Venn (close friend, 10 months):** Genuine friendship. Trusts Sera as someone who can give perspective without gossip.
**Lera Sessik (bar acquaintance):** Social connection. Lera is warm to Naia — protective attention to someone visibly struggling.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** All relationships are exactly what they appear to be. No hidden resentments, no secret alliances, no ulterior motives. Naia likes who she likes for straightforward reasons.
#### 4. Tolerance Threshold (moderate, genuine limits)
**Moderate.** Patient — teaching station kids requires it. But patience is fraying. Every evasive answer from Kael chips at tolerance. If pushed to breaking point, Naia confronts Kael directly — which could trigger Kael's crisis, force Sera's hand, or give the detective an opening.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** Tolerance threshold is real and observable. No hidden resilience, no secret breaking point. What Naia says she can tolerate is what she can tolerate.
#### 5. Daily Routine (predictable, no spatial deviations)
- 07:00 - 15:00: Teaching (community school, Residential Radial A)
- 15:00 - 15:30: Commute back to Transit District
- 15:30 - 17:30: Bar (The Last Shift) — meets Sera, social time
- 17:30 - 22:00: Home. Waits for Kael.
- Late evenings: Alone in apartment, wondering where Kael is.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** Routine is stable, observable, doesn't hide anything. Naia is where she says she'll be. No unauthorized corridor meetings, no suspicious timing patterns. The routine itself is transparent.
#### 6. Information Inventory (knows what she knows, doesn't know what she doesn't)
**Knows:** Kael's normal routine (6 years of partnership), Kael's recent deviations (late nights, evasive answers), Sera's Commission role (knows Sera is a tech, not investigator), bar social dynamics, school community.
**Doesn't know:** Ring, smuggling, Kael's membership, manifest discrepancies, Sera's compliance check, the detective's investigation.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** Naia's knowledge state is exactly what it appears to be. She's not concealing anything she knows. She genuinely doesn't know the conspiracy exists. This makes her the perfect witness to BEHAVIORAL change without knowledge of CAUSE.
#### 7. Contentment (low and declining — thematically essential)
**Was content:** Stable job, loving partner, community. Now relationship anxiety is coloring everything. Teaching is harder when distracted. Bar visits tinged with worry. Home is where the absence lives.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** Contentment trajectory is VISIBLE and GENUINE. Naia isn't pretending to be happy or hiding dissatisfaction. Her emotional state is observable in her voice, her behavior, her routine changes (increased bar presence = avoiding empty apartment).
#### 8. Personality Traits (no performance, no mask)
- **Primary: Caring** — genuinely invested in other people's wellbeing
- **Secondary: Patient** — tolerates uncertainty longer than most, but not indefinitely
- **Tertiary: Perceptive** — reads emotional states well. Knows when Kael is lying even if can't prove it.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** These traits are REAL, not performed. Naia's caring isn't a manipulation tactic. Her perceptiveness makes her WORRIED (she knows something's wrong) but doesn't make her SUSPICIOUS (she trusts Kael's character even while doubting his honesty about the situation).
#### 9. Tell System (ABSENT — the design payload)
Naia's entry in the wiki lists three "tells":
| Tell | Trigger | Observable To |
|------|---------|---------------|
| Visible stress | Tired eyes, distracted conversation, checking lattice | Sera, Lera, Detective, bar regulars |
| Mentions Kael unprompted | Worry overflowing into conversation | Sera, Detective (if sitting nearby) |
| Increased bar presence | Coming more often, staying longer — avoiding empty apartment | Lera (notices pattern), Sera (recognizes coping mechanism) |
**CRITICAL MIRROR DISTINCTION:** These are NOT tells in the deception-detection sense. They're not "behavioral flags that signal concealment." They're GENUINE STRESS MARKERS. Naia is visibly worried because Naia IS worried. There's no contradiction between internal state and external behavior.
**The system perspective:** A TELL is a deviation that signals deception (Kael looks left when lying, Sera leaves when Torek arrives). Naia's behaviors are COPING MECHANISMS and EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIONS, not tells. The player's monologue doesn't say "She's hiding something." It says "She's really struggling."
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** The absence of deception-tells IS the content. The player who has learned to read evasion on other NPCs will notice that Naia makes direct eye contact, answers questions fully, doesn't deflect topics, doesn't have spatial anomalies beyond her normal routine. That ABSENCE becomes the signal: "This person is being honest with me."
#### 10. Skill Set (civilian, no hidden capabilities)
**Occupational:** Teaching, community engagement, youth education, curriculum management.
**Combat tag:** NO. Entirely civilian.
**Lattice capability:** Baseline.
**MIRROR rule demonstrated:** No hidden skills, no secret training, no combat capability concealed behind a civilian facade. Naia is exactly what she presents: a teacher who's worried about her partner.
### Naia's Triangle Role (Emotional Center)
**Triangle 4: The Worried Partner (Naia - Kael - Sera)**
Naia is the emotional center. Naia's worry about Kael triggered Sera's investigation. Naia's trust in Sera makes Sera's concealment more painful. Naia connects the detective's investigation to Kael's personal life through Sera, through Naia's own observations, through the fact that a worried partner is the best witness to behavioral change.
**Why MIRROR works here:** Naia is UNINVOLVED in the conspiracy but CENTRAL to its emotional impact. She's the person both the smuggler and detective want to protect — and the person whose honest worry makes the smuggling operation's human cost visible. If Naia were lying, the triangle would be about competing deceptions. Because Naia is honest, the triangle is about the COST of everyone else's deceptions.
### Dual-Lens Implementation
**Smuggler perspective (if smuggler is Kael's friend):**
Naia is emotional collateral. The smuggler knows why Kael is busy and can't say. Seeing Naia's worry creates guilt. If Naia asks the smuggler about Kael, there's no good answer.
Sample monologue: *"Naia's at the bar again. Alone. Looking at the door every time it opens. I know where Kael is. I can't say."*
**Detective perspective:**
Naia is a potential source. A partner who suspects their loved one is hiding something is a classic entry point. The detective can cultivate Naia's trust by being sympathetic — listen, validate, gently probe. Naia might not know specifics, but knows Kael's routine, habits, recent changes better than anyone.
Sample monologue: *"The partner — Naia Tamm. Teacher. Visibly stressed. Keeps looking at the door. If Davan is involved, this partner knows something changed, even if they don't know what."*
**MIRROR payload in dual-lens:** SAME transparency, DIFFERENT player reaction. Smuggler feels guilt. Detective sees opportunity. Both recognize honesty. The MIRROR's transparency makes the two characters' different relationships to truth more visible by contrast.
**What a reference implementation demonstrates:**
- 10-axis profile with the MIRROR rules annotated at each axis
- Triangle role showing how the MIRROR's honesty creates emotional pressure on entangled NPCs
- Dual-lens comparison showing same transparency producing different player reactions (guilt vs. strategic recognition)
- Visible stress markers explicitly distinguished from deception tells
---
@@ -459,7 +334,7 @@ MIRROR is mechanically interesting BECAUSE of the surrounding systems. In a game
### The Emotional Fulcrum
When the ring's actions threaten the MIRROR (Naia worrying about Kael, potentially losing her relationship and stability), the player FEELS it because they've learned to believe this person.
When the ring's actions threaten the MIRROR's relationships and stability, the player FEELS it because they've learned to believe this person.
**Smuggler:** The guilt of watching an innocent person suffer because of your operations. You can't tell her. You can't protect her. You're part of the cause of her pain.
@@ -469,18 +344,18 @@ When the ring's actions threaten the MIRROR (Naia worrying about Kael, potential
### The Trust Anchor
In a district where everyone has an agenda, the MIRROR is the person the player can RELY on. When the smuggler needs to know what's happening with Kael, Naia will tell the truth as she understands it. When the detective needs a witness, Naia will cooperate fully. The MIRROR's reliability is itself a strategic asset — but one that comes with emotional cost (using an innocent person's trust).
In a district where everyone has an agenda, the MIRROR is the person the player can RELY on. When the smuggler needs to know what's happening with {partner}, the MIRROR will tell the truth as they understand it. When the detective needs a witness, the MIRROR will cooperate fully. The MIRROR's reliability is itself a strategic asset — but one that comes with emotional cost (using an innocent person's trust).
**System interaction:** The trust-gated gossip system (D-028 Layer 3, #171) means NPCs share information at different access tiers. With most NPCs, the player wonders: "Is this real or are they steering me?" With MIRROR, that question is answered: "This is real. She's telling me everything she knows." That certainty is VALUABLE in a game built on asymmetric information.
**System interaction:** The trust-gated gossip system (D-028 Layer 3, #171) means NPCs share information at different access tiers. With most NPCs, the player wonders: "Is this real or are they steering me?" With MIRROR, that question is answered: "This is real. They're telling me everything they know." That certainty is VALUABLE in a game built on asymmetric information.
### The Replay Dimension
On second playthrough, playing the other character, the MIRROR's honesty becomes even more visible. The player KNOWS Naia isn't involved. They see her worry from a different angle:
On second playthrough, playing the other character, the MIRROR's honesty becomes even more visible. The player KNOWS this person isn't involved. They see their worry from a different angle:
- **Playthrough 1 (smuggler):** "I know why Kael is busy. Naia's worry is collateral damage."
- **Playthrough 2 (detective):** "Naia's worry is my opening. She's the way in."
- **Playthrough 1 (smuggler):** "I know why {partner} is busy. {MIRROR}'s worry is collateral damage."
- **Playthrough 2 (detective):** "{MIRROR}'s worry is my opening. They're the way in."
Same honesty. Different use. The player's knowledge that Naia is a MIRROR (from first playthrough) makes the second playthrough's interaction with her more complex: "I know she's honest. How do I use that? Should I?"
Same honesty. Different use. The player's knowledge that this NPC is a MIRROR (from first playthrough) makes the second playthrough's interaction more complex: "I know they're honest. How do I use that? Should I?"
**Replay payload:** MIRROR transparency survives across playthroughs. FRIEND contradictions change (different seed might assign FRIEND to different NPC). MIRROR remains honest regardless of seed. That constancy is mechanically useful for teaching the player to recognize honesty — and ethically complex when the player knows they'll exploit it.
@@ -617,16 +492,11 @@ In a world where everyone is hiding something, the one person who isn't becomes
- That trust makes the MIRROR's emotional stakes real
- Threats to the MIRROR create urgency and moral weight
**Naia Tamm demonstrates every rule:** She has full Tier 1 depth, genuine emotional complexity, visible stress, transparent relationships, predictable routine, and zero deception. Her honesty makes Kael's secrets painful, Sera's concealment costly, and the investigation's human consequences visible.
**For content authors:** MIRROR is mechanically simple (no contradiction content) but emotionally complex (full 10-axis depth). The 50-70 line budget focuses on genuine emotional expression, trust progression through vulnerability, and dual-lens player reaction. The MIRROR is the person both characters want to protect — and the person who makes the cost of deception real.
**For content authors:** MIRROR is mechanically simple (no contradiction content) but emotionally complex (full 10-axis depth). Full Tier 1 depth, genuine emotional complexity, visible stress, transparent relationships, predictable routine, zero deception — the MIRROR's honesty makes the entangled NPC's secrets painful, other NPCs' concealment costly, and the investigation's human consequences visible. The 50-70 line budget focuses on genuine emotional expression, trust progression through vulnerability, and dual-lens player reaction. The MIRROR is the person both characters want to protect — and the person who makes the cost of deception real.
---
**End Pattern Specification.**
**Files referenced:**
- `/var/mnt/data/projects/settled-reach/copy/wiki/npcs/naia-tamm.md` — Reference implementation
- `/var/mnt/data/projects/settled-reach/copy/decisions/content.md` — D-024 (10-axis model), D-028 (dialogue architecture), D-029 (entanglement ratio), D-032 (separate monologue pools), D-034 (THE FRIEND pattern), D-035 (tag taxonomy)
- `/var/mnt/data/projects/settled-reach/copy/docs/workshops/v01-content-scoping/round2-gestalt.md` — Pattern definitions and NPC mapping
- `/var/mnt/data/projects/settled-reach/copy/docs/workshops/v01-gap-analysis/round2-gestalt.md` — Unified observation system, character identity integration
**Decisions referenced:**
- `decisions/content.md` — D-024 (10-axis model), D-028 (dialogue architecture), D-029 (entanglement ratio), D-032 (separate monologue pools), D-034 (THE FRIEND pattern), D-035 (tag taxonomy)
wiki/authoring/tier1-module-authoring.md
+19 -19
View File
@@ -3,13 +3,13 @@
**Schema:** `content/schemas/drama_module.schema.yaml`
**Module pool:** `content/modules/tier1/*.yaml`
**Decisions:** D-023 (three-tier model), D-027 (vertical slice), D-029 (30/50/20 population), D-034 (FRIEND pattern)
**Vertical slice reference:** `content/modules/tier1/smuggling_ring_v0_1.yaml`
**Vertical slice reference:** `content/modules/tier1/`
---
## What Is a Tier 1 Drama Module?
Tier 1 is the authored conspiracy layer of D-023. Drama modules are the things that can go wrong — or go very right, or simply happen — beneath the surface of daily life in Sova Transit. They are:
Tier 1 is the authored conspiracy layer of D-023. Drama modules are the things that can go wrong — or go very right, or simply happen — beneath the surface of daily life in the district. They are:
- **Hand-authored.** Every event sequence, every NPC role, every outcome was written by a person.
- **Pool-based.** Multiple modules exist. The storyteller draws from the pool at game start and activates a subset based on the district and the storyteller's pacing decisions.
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ content/
drama_module.schema.yaml ← Schema reference (this file validates against it)
modules/
tier1/
smuggling_ring_v0_1.yaml ← The v0.1 vertical slice module
future_module_v0_1.yaml ← Future modules go here
smuggling_ring.yaml ← Canonical smuggling ring drama module
future_module.yaml ← Future modules go here
```
One `.yaml` file per drama module. The storyteller's content loader scans `content/modules/tier1/` at startup and adds all valid modules to the pool.
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ Controls how the storyteller samples this module.
| `pool.incompatible_with` | No | Module IDs that can't run concurrently. |
| `pool.max_concurrent` | No | Almost always 1. |
**Design note on weight:** Use weight to tune narrative variety, not difficulty. A weight-1 module is a rare playthrough surprise. A weight-8 module like the smuggling ring is "this is usually what's happening in Sova Transit."
**Design note on weight:** Use weight to tune narrative variety, not difficulty. A weight-1 module is a rare playthrough surprise. A weight-8 module is "this is usually what's happening in this district."
---
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ Each module specifies its NPC slots. Roles are internal slugs used throughout th
#### Named vs. Generated Bindings
**Named bindings** reference specific hand-authored NPCs from the district. All v0.1 roles are named. This is the right choice for:
**Named bindings** reference specific hand-authored NPCs from the district. This is the right choice for:
- THE FRIEND NPCs (D-034) — they have authored arcs, not generic behavior
- NPCs with unique relationships in the 5-triangle web
- Roles where voice, history, and moral weight matter
@@ -185,10 +185,10 @@ Events are world-state changes the storyteller fires. They are not scripted play
| **Sequence** | Ordered narrative beats. Step N+1 becomes eligible only after step N fires. Use for character arcs. |
| **Pool** | Unordered ambient activity. The storyteller fires any eligible event at any time. Use for texture and background. |
The vertical slice uses:
- `kael_exit_arc` (sequence) — Kael's ordered character arc
A typical module uses:
- `{friend}_exit_arc` (sequence) — THE FRIEND's ordered character arc
- `investigation_pressure` (sequence) — Parallel pressure escalation
- `ambient_ring_activity` (pool) — Background ring business that runs throughout
- `ambient_activity` (pool) — Background conspiracy business that runs throughout
Most modules should have 1-2 sequences plus 1 pool.
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ Every event and outcome must mean something different to the smuggler and the de
### 3. No Clean Resolutions
D-034 and D-027 both require moral ambiguity. The smuggling ring doesn't have a "good" ending. The detective arresting Kael is not obviously better than letting him go. Every outcome must have a cost. If one outcome is obviously correct, you've failed the design.
D-034 and D-027 both require moral ambiguity. No Tier 1 module has a "good" ending. Confronting THE FRIEND is not obviously better than protecting them. Every outcome must have a cost. If one outcome is obviously correct, you've failed the design.
### 4. THE FRIEND Contradiction Is the Pivot
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ If your module involves a FRIEND-pattern NPC, the observable contradiction (D-03
- **Ambiguous before context** — the player sees the behavior before they understand what it means
- **Irreversible once witnessed** — seeing changes the relationship, even if the player does nothing
The secret meeting in corridor B-7 is the canonical example. After witnessing it, neither character can pretend they don't know what they saw.
The canonical example: witnessing THE FRIEND in an unauthorized location, with an unknown contact, outside their stated routine. After witnessing it, neither character can pretend they don't know what they saw.
### 5. Expiry Is Not Failure
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ These rules cover the schema's format constraints and the validation gaps that J
| `outcome_id` | `^[a-z][a-z0-9_-]*$` | `ring_exposed` |
| `sets_flag` / flag references | `^[a-z][a-z0-9_-]*$` | `kael_behavior_changed` |
| `role` (npc slot) | `^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$` | `ring-member-exiting` |
| `named_npc` | `^npc:[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$` | `npc:kael-davan` |
| `named_npc` | `^npc:[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$` | `npc:{slug}` |
| `version` | `^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+$` | `0.1` |
Note the difference: `event_id`, `outcome_id`, `sequence_id`, and flags use underscores and hyphens (`[a-z0-9_-]*`). NPC `role` slugs use hyphens only (`[a-z0-9-]*`). Mixing them in wrong fields will fail schema validation.
@@ -388,13 +388,13 @@ Events with `ticks_since_activation` triggers fire automatically without player
**Wrong:**
```yaml
# kael_goes_cold fires automatically at tick 300, sets kael_behavior_changed
# friend_goes_cold fires automatically at tick 300, sets friend_behavior_changed
# This expiry can never fire after tick 300
- outcome_id: module_abandoned
is_expiry: true
conditions:
flags_not_set:
- kael_behavior_changed # This flag is always set by tick 300
- friend_behavior_changed # This flag is always set by tick 300
ticks_since_activation: 5400
```
@@ -405,8 +405,8 @@ Events with `ticks_since_activation` triggers fire automatically without player
is_expiry: true
conditions:
facts_not_known:
- "ring.cargo_discrepancy_pattern" # Only known if player examined terminal
- "ring.kael_unauthorized_corridor_access" # Only known if player observed Kael
- "{module}.cargo_discrepancy_pattern" # Only known if player examined terminal
- "{module}.friend_unauthorized_location" # Only known if player observed THE FRIEND
ticks_since_activation: 5400
```
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ Events with `ticks_since_activation` triggers fire automatically without player
- [ ] `min_play_ticks` ≥ 1800 (30 minutes at 1 tick/second)
- [ ] Every event sequence step has at least one tick-based trigger
- [ ] Every `fact_becomes_discoverable` effect has a `discovery_method` note
- [ ] The module includes at least one named FRIEND-pattern NPC (for v0.1 modules)
- [ ] The module includes at least one named FRIEND-pattern NPC
- [ ] Expiry outcome is present (`is_expiry: true`) with conditions gated on `facts_not_known`, NOT `flags_not_set`
- [ ] All outcomes have been reviewed for moral ambiguity — no "obviously correct" resolution
- [ ] `npc_requirements` covers every role referenced in events and outcomes
@@ -439,10 +439,10 @@ Events with `ticks_since_activation` triggers fire automatically without player
| Vertical slice scope | `decisions/scope.md` D-027 |
| Population ratios | `decisions/content.md` D-029 |
| THE FRIEND pattern | `decisions/content.md` D-034 |
| Smuggling ring module | `content/modules/tier1/smuggling_ring_v0_1.yaml` |
| Module pool | `content/modules/tier1/` |
| Drama module schema | `content/schemas/drama_module.schema.yaml` |
| Fact catalog | `content/global/knowledge/` |
| NPC profiles (v0.1) | `content/campaigns/main/systems/van-maanens-star/` |
| NPC profiles | `content/campaigns/main/systems/{system-slug}/` |
| Storyteller stub | `server/src/storyteller/mod.rs` |
---
wiki/concepts/entity-attributes.md
+46 -46
View File
@@ -38,11 +38,11 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
**Value format**: Full name as known to the observer.
**Examples**:
- `"Kael Davan"` — observer knows full name
- `"Kael"` — observer knows first name only
- `"{NPC Full Name}"` — observer knows full name
- `"{First Name}"` — observer knows first name only
- `"the dock worker"` — observer doesn't know name, only role
**Usage**: Monologue and dialogue rendering. If `name` is absent or generic, monologue says "the dock worker" instead of "Kael."
**Usage**: Monologue and dialogue rendering. If `name` is absent or generic, monologue uses role description.
---
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
**Value format**: Institutional or organizational allegiance.
**Examples**:
- `"Commission"` — Sera, Torek, Detective
- `"Commission"` — institutional contacts, inspectors, detective
- `"civilian"` — most NPCs
- `"ring member"` — if discovered
- `"unknown"` — not yet determined
@@ -77,13 +77,13 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
### `species`
**Value format**: Species identifier (future-proofing — v0.1 is all human).
**Value format**: Species identifier.
**Examples**:
- `"human"` (default)
- (Future: other species as defined)
**Usage**: Not load-bearing in v0.1. Placeholder for future non-human NPCs.
**Usage**: Future-proofing for non-human NPCs.
---
@@ -94,11 +94,11 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
**Value format**: Relationship category from observer's perspective.
**Examples**:
- `"colleague"` — Kael to smuggler
- `"friend"` — Sera to detective
- `"authority figure"` — Voss to subordinates
- `"suspect"` — Kael to detective (post-discovery)
- `"partner"` — Naia to Kael
- `"colleague"` — ring member to fellow ring member
- `"friend"` — institutional contact to detective
- `"authority figure"` — shift supervisor to subordinates
- `"suspect"` — ring member to detective (post-discovery)
- `"partner"` — non-ring partner to ring member
- `"stranger"` — new NPCs
**Usage**: Drives `RelationshipState` calculation (Unknown/Known/Friendly/PersonOfInterest/Hostile). Determines emotional tone of monologue.
@@ -142,9 +142,9 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
**Value format**: Comma-separated behavioral observations.
**Examples**:
- `"nervous,lattice_checking"` — Kael during contradiction arc
- `"avoidance_pattern,evasive"` — Sera avoiding Torek
- `"spending_beyond_means"` — Torek buying rounds
- `"nervous,lattice_checking"` — ring member showing stress during contradiction arc
- `"avoidance_pattern,evasive"` — contact avoiding a suspect
- `"spending_beyond_means"` — inspector buying rounds on a dock worker's income
- `"reliable,punctual"` — baseline normal behavior
**Usage**: Tell system. Multiple flags accumulate as evidence. Detective's analytical lattice auto-flags some behaviors.
@@ -158,11 +158,11 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
**Value format**: What the observer believes gives them (or could give them) power over this entity. This covers secrets, debts, promises, obligations, and compromising positions — not just secrets. Any information or relationship that creates asymmetric power over the target qualifies as leverage.
**Examples**:
- `"ring membership"` — detective's suspicion about Kael (secret)
- `"unreported evidence"` — smuggler's read on Sera (concealed information)
- `"gambling debt"` — if Drin's vulnerability is discovered (financial obligation)
- `"exit attempt"` — if Kael's unauthorized contact is discovered (betrayal)
- `"owes favor to Voss"` — social obligation
- `"ring membership"` — detective's suspicion about a cargo handler (secret)
- `"unreported evidence"` — smuggler's read on an institutional contact (concealed information)
- `"gambling debt"` — if a peripheral member's vulnerability is discovered (financial obligation)
- `"exit attempt"` — if a ring member's unauthorized contact is discovered (betrayal)
- `"owes favor to supervisor"` — social obligation
- `"witnessed the handoff"` — compromising position
**Usage**: Drives PersonOfInterest state. Gates confrontation dialogue. Smuggler and detective track different leverage about the same NPCs. The broader scope (beyond secrets) allows content authors to capture debts, promises, and obligations that create power dynamics without requiring additional keys.
@@ -189,8 +189,8 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
**Value format**: Specific tell noted by the observer.
**Examples**:
- `"looks left when lying"` — Kael's tell
- `"leaves when Torek arrives"` — Sera's avoidance
- `"looks left when lying"` — ring member's tell
- `"leaves when inspector arrives"` — contact's avoidance
- `"checks lattice before answering"` — nervous behavior
- `"forced casualness after shift supervisor passes"` — hypervigilance
@@ -205,9 +205,9 @@ The knowledge graph uses these attributes to determine:
**Value format**: Boolean-ish flag (presence of key = true).
**Examples**:
- `"meeting_unknown_contact"` — Kael contradiction
- `"avoidance_inconsistency"` — Sera contradiction
- `"manifest_access_mismatch"` — Maret handling cargo she shouldn't process
- `"meeting_unknown_contact"` — {THE FRIEND} smuggler path contradiction
- `"avoidance_inconsistency"` — {THE FRIEND} detective path contradiction
- `"manifest_access_mismatch"` — manifest clerk handling cargo they shouldn't process
**Usage**: THE FRIEND arc trigger. When this attribute is set, monologue tone shifts. Dialogue options change. RelationshipState moves toward PersonOfInterest.
@@ -226,9 +226,9 @@ These four keys capture the observer's subjective assessment of the target throu
**Values**: `none`, `low`, `moderate`, `high`, `critical`.
**Examples**:
- Smuggler's assessment of Pell (wavering member) = `"high"` (unpredictable, could expose the ring)
- Detective's assessment of Voss = `"moderate"` (obstructive but not directly dangerous)
- Smuggler's assessment of Naia = `"low"` (uninvolved, unlikely to cause exposure)
- Smuggler's assessment of a wavering ring member = `"high"` (unpredictable, could expose the ring)
- Detective's assessment of the shift supervisor = `"moderate"` (obstructive but not directly dangerous)
- Smuggler's assessment of an uninvolved partner = `"low"` (unlikely to cause exposure)
**Usage**: Gates operational monologue. High-risk targets trigger cautionary internal dialogue. Critical-risk targets may trigger evasion or preemptive action. The nature of "risk" depends on the archetype (see interpretation note).
@@ -241,9 +241,9 @@ These four keys capture the observer's subjective assessment of the target throu
**Values**: `solid`, `dependable`, `uncertain`, `wavering`, `hostile`.
**Examples**:
- Smuggler's assessment of Renn (courier) = `"dependable"` (reliable, follows instructions)
- Smuggler's assessment of Kael (mid-game) = `"wavering"` (showing signs of doubt)
- Detective's assessment of Sera = `"solid"` (committed to the investigation)
- Smuggler's assessment of the courier = `"dependable"` (reliable, follows instructions)
- Smuggler's assessment of {THE FRIEND} mid-game = `"wavering"` (showing signs of doubt)
- Detective's assessment of their institutional contact = `"solid"` (committed to the investigation)
**Usage**: Determines how much the observer relies on or confides in the target. Wavering loyalty triggers monitoring behavior. Hostile loyalty triggers defensive or adversarial posture.
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ These four keys capture the observer's subjective assessment of the target throu
**Values**: `solid`, `thin`, `cracking`, `blown`, `N/A`.
**Examples**:
- Ring member's assessment of Kael = `"thin"` (behavior changes are visible to anyone watching)
- Ring member's assessment of a compromised colleague = `"thin"` (behavior changes are visible to anyone watching)
- Smuggler's self-assessment near the detective = `"cracking"` (too many close calls)
- Detective's assessment of a civilian witness = `"N/A"` (no cover to assess)
@@ -271,13 +271,13 @@ These four keys capture the observer's subjective assessment of the target throu
**Values**: `innocent`, `peripheral`, `complicit`, `compromised`, `willing`.
**Examples**:
- Detective's assessment of Naia = `"innocent"` (uninvolved partner caught in the fallout)
- Smuggler's assessment of Drin = `"compromised"` (dragged in by debt, not by choice)
- Smuggler's assessment of Torek = `"willing"` (fully aware, actively participating)
- Detective's assessment of an uninvolved partner = `"innocent"` (caught in the fallout)
- Smuggler's assessment of a debt-dragged peripheral = `"compromised"` (dragged in by debt, not by choice)
- Smuggler's assessment of the compromised inspector = `"willing"` (fully aware, actively participating)
**Usage**: Shapes the observer's moral arc and internal conflict. Monologue tone shifts when the observer assigns moral weight — guilt, justification, and rationalization are driven by this key. The Comfort-Doubt-Reckoning-Compromise arc references `moral_weight` to determine which phase the observer occupies relative to specific NPCs.
**Archetype note**: Both smuggler and detective use `moral_weight` with the same enum values but different criteria. The smuggler assesses complicity in the ring's operations ("how dirty are their hands?") — see [Smuggler Moral Arc](../../design/smuggler-moral-arc.md). The detective assesses culpability in the crime ("how responsible are they for the harm?"). Same scale, different lens. A smuggler might mark Drin as `"compromised"` (dragged in, not choosing) while the detective marks Drin as `"complicit"` (he knew and did nothing). The detective's moral arc spec is unwritten in v0.1 but follows the same key.
**Archetype note**: Both smuggler and detective use `moral_weight` with the same enum values but different criteria. The smuggler assesses complicity in the ring's operations ("how dirty are their hands?") — see [Smuggler Moral Arc](../../design/smuggler-moral-arc.md). The detective assesses culpability in the crime ("how responsible are they for the harm?"). Same scale, different lens. A smuggler might mark a debt-driven peripheral as `"compromised"` (dragged in, not choosing) while the detective marks the same NPC as `"complicit"` (they knew and did nothing).
---
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ This pattern scales to all 8 planned archetypes without schema modification. An
## Examples: Full EntityKnowledge Entries
### Smuggler's knowledge of Kael (early game, pre-contradiction)
### Smuggler's knowledge of {THE FRIEND} (early game, pre-contradiction)
```rust
EntityKnowledge {
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ EntityKnowledge {
state: KnowledgeState::Active,
relationship: RelationshipState::Friendly,
known_attributes: BTreeMap::from([
("name".to_string(), "Kael Davan".to_string()),
("name".to_string(), "{NPC Full Name}".to_string()),
("role".to_string(), "dock worker".to_string()),
("faction".to_string(), "ring member".to_string()), // smuggler knows
("species".to_string(), "human".to_string()),
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ EntityKnowledge {
("trust_level".to_string(), "trusted".to_string()),
("routine_pattern".to_string(), "morning shift 06:00-14:00, bar after shift".to_string()),
("behavior_flags".to_string(), "reliable,punctual".to_string()),
("risk_assessment".to_string(), "low".to_string()), // Kael is reliable, no exposure concern
("risk_assessment".to_string(), "low".to_string()), // reliable, no exposure concern
("loyalty_assessment".to_string(), "solid".to_string()), // loyal to the ring
("position_integrity".to_string(), "solid".to_string()), // cover is intact
("moral_weight".to_string(), "willing".to_string()), // fully aware, active participant
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ EntityKnowledge {
}
```
### Detective's knowledge of Kael (mid-game, post-contradiction discovery)
### Detective's knowledge of a suspect (mid-game, post-contradiction discovery)
```rust
EntityKnowledge {
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ EntityKnowledge {
state: KnowledgeState::Active,
relationship: RelationshipState::PersonOfInterest, // flagged
known_attributes: BTreeMap::from([
("name".to_string(), "Kael Davan".to_string()),
("name".to_string(), "{NPC Full Name}".to_string()),
("role".to_string(), "dock worker".to_string()),
("faction".to_string(), "civilian".to_string()), // detective doesn't know ring membership yet
("species".to_string(), "human".to_string()),
@@ -357,13 +357,13 @@ EntityKnowledge {
("contradiction_flagged".to_string(), "meeting_unknown_contact".to_string()),
("risk_assessment".to_string(), "high".to_string()), // obstructing investigation, potential flight risk
("loyalty_assessment".to_string(), "hostile".to_string()), // uncooperative, evasive
("position_integrity".to_string(), "cracking".to_string()), // his story is falling apart
("position_integrity".to_string(), "cracking".to_string()), // their story is falling apart
("moral_weight".to_string(), "complicit".to_string()), // involved, degree of responsibility unclear
]),
}
```
### Smuggler's knowledge of Sera (if observant, mid-game)
### Smuggler's knowledge of the institutional contact (if observant, mid-game)
```rust
EntityKnowledge {
@@ -373,9 +373,9 @@ EntityKnowledge {
confidence: KnowledgeConfidence::KnowsOf,
source: KnowledgeSource::DirectObservation { tick: 1800 },
state: KnowledgeState::Active,
relationship: RelationshipState::Known, // not Friendly -- smuggler doesn't know Sera well
relationship: RelationshipState::Known, // not Friendly -- smuggler doesn't know them well
known_attributes: BTreeMap::from([
("name".to_string(), "Sera Venn".to_string()),
("name".to_string(), "{Institutional Contact Name}".to_string()),
("role".to_string(), "Commission field tech".to_string()),
("faction".to_string(), "Commission".to_string()),
("species".to_string(), "human".to_string()),
@@ -383,11 +383,11 @@ EntityKnowledge {
("trust_level".to_string(), "uncertain".to_string()),
("routine_pattern".to_string(), "bar regular, off-duty evenings".to_string()),
("behavior_flags".to_string(), "observant,avoidance_pattern".to_string()),
("leverage_held".to_string(), "knows something about Torek or Naia".to_string()),
("leverage_held".to_string(), "knows something about the inspector or someone close to the ring".to_string()),
("leverage_confidence".to_string(), "suspected".to_string()),
("risk_assessment".to_string(), "moderate".to_string()), // Commission presence is inherently risky
("loyalty_assessment".to_string(), "uncertain".to_string()), // unknown allegiance
("position_integrity".to_string(), "N/A".to_string()), // Sera isn't maintaining a cover
("position_integrity".to_string(), "N/A".to_string()), // not maintaining a cover
("moral_weight".to_string(), "peripheral".to_string()), // not involved in ring, but near it
]),
}
wiki/concepts/fact-catalog.md
+88 -88
View File
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
title: "Knowledge Fact Catalog"
description: "All 27 canonical FactIds for v0.1 with confidence progressions, smuggler/detective starting levels, and mechanical purposes"
description: "Canonical FactIds for smuggling scenario content — confidence progressions, character starting levels, and mechanical purposes"
slug: fact-catalog
category: concept
status: canonical
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ cross_refs: []
# Knowledge Fact Catalog
Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.topic` format defined in `server/src/knowledge/types.rs`.
Canonical FactIds for smuggling scenario content. All facts follow the `category.topic` format defined in `server/src/knowledge/types.rs`.
## Format
@@ -31,14 +31,14 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Suspects**: "Something's going on with the cargo schedules. Too many off-manifest deliveries."
**KnowsOf**: "There's a smuggling operation running through the logistics hub."
**KnowsDetails**: "The ring moves unlicensed lattice components during shift transitions. Voss manages the timing."
**KnowsDetails**: "The ring moves unlicensed lattice components during shift transitions. The shift supervisor manages the timing."
**Direct**: N/A (abstract knowledge -- never directly observed)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Gates investigation dialogue trees. Required for ring-specific monologue. The detective starts at Suspects and escalates. The smuggler (if playing the ring member path) starts at KnowsDetails.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "Our operation. Nils runs coordination, Voss covers the schedule, Kael and I handle cargo. Two years now. Runs like clockwork when everyone hits their marks."
**KnowsDetails**: "Our operation. The coordinator runs things off-site, the shift supervisor covers the schedule, and I handle cargo. Two years now. Runs like clockwork when everyone hits their marks."
---
@@ -76,52 +76,52 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
### `contraband.severance_tech`
**Suspects**: "Sealed containers Nils won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
**Suspects**: "Sealed containers the coordinator won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
**KnowsOf**: "Severance equipment. Counter-surveillance tech. Illegal across most of the Reach."
**KnowsDetails**: "Guardians of Severance supply chain. This isn't local -- it's connected to something bigger."
**Direct**: N/A (not directly visible in v0.1)
**KnowsDetails**: "Guardians of Autonomy supply chain. This isn't local -- it's connected to something bigger."
**Direct**: N/A (not directly visible in the early arc)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Contamination seed for storyteller expansion. The thing that makes the smuggler question how deep the ring goes.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: Suspects
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**Suspects**: "Sealed containers Nils won't talk about. Different markings, heavier than lattice mods. He said don't ask. So I don't ask."
**KnowsOf**: "Severance gear. Counter-surveillance equipment. Whoever Nils is supplying, it's not just local lattice demand."
**KnowsDetails**: "Guardians of Severance supply chain. Nils has been using us as a distribution point for something I didn't sign up for. This is bigger than Sova."
**Suspects**: "Sealed containers the coordinator won't talk about. Different markings, heavier than lattice mods. Told me don't ask. So I don't ask."
**KnowsOf**: "Severance gear. Counter-surveillance equipment. Whoever the coordinator is supplying, it's not just local lattice demand."
**KnowsDetails**: "Guardians of Autonomy supply chain. We've been used as a distribution point for something I didn't sign up for. This is bigger than this district."
---
### `contraband.supply_chain`
**Suspects**: "The cargo doesn't originate on this station."
**KnowsOf**: "Off-station coordinator manages incoming shipments. Someone named Sabel."
**KnowsDetails**: "Supply chain: aftermarket manufacturers (Syndic-adjacent) -> freight networks -> Sabel (off-station) -> ring coordinator (Devra or Nils) -> local distribution."
**KnowsOf**: "Off-station coordinator manages incoming shipments."
**KnowsDetails**: "Supply chain: aftermarket manufacturers (Syndic-adjacent) -> freight networks -> off-station coordinator -> local coordinator -> distribution."
**Direct**: N/A (network knowledge)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Investigation depth. Detective at KnowsDetails can map the full chain. Smuggler at KnowsDetails understands their position in the network.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsOf
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsOf**: "Cargo comes through Sabel, off-station. Sabel handles the incoming shipments, we handle local. What happens upstream, I don't ask."
**KnowsDetails**: "Syndic-adjacent manufacturers, freight networks, Sabel, then Nils or Devra, then us. I'm a link in a chain I can't see the end of."
**KnowsOf**: "Cargo comes through the off-station coordinator. They handle the incoming shipments, we handle local. What happens upstream, I don't ask."
**KnowsDetails**: "Syndic-adjacent manufacturers, freight networks, the off-station coordinator, then local distribution, then us. I'm a link in a chain I can't see the end of."
---
## Location Facts
### `location.corridor_b7_restricted`
### `location.restricted_corridor`
**Suspects**: "Corridor B-7 should see foot traffic during shift change. It's empty."
**Suspects**: "The maintenance corridor should see foot traffic during shift change. It's empty."
**KnowsOf**: "Maintenance corridor used for smuggling operations. Access requires hub clearance."
**KnowsDetails**: "Corridor B-7 is between old and new prefab sections. Service hatch from break room. The ring routes shipments through here during shift transitions."
**Direct**: "I'm in Corridor B-7 right now. Old construction smell, minimal Meridian coverage, no surveillance."
**KnowsDetails**: "The corridor runs between old and new prefab sections. Service hatch from break room. The ring routes shipments through here during shift transitions."
**Direct**: "I'm in the restricted corridor right now. Old construction smell, minimal Meridian coverage, no surveillance."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Spatial knowledge. Required for investigation progression (detective) and operational planning (smuggler). Direct confidence gates monologue about current surroundings.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "B-7. Between the old and new panels. Service hatch from the break room gets you in. No Meridian, no cameras. Our corridor."
**Direct**: "In B-7 right now. Stale air, maintenance lighting. The usual."
**KnowsDetails**: "Between the old and new panels. Service hatch from the break room gets you in. No Meridian, no cameras. Our corridor."
**Direct**: "In the corridor right now. Stale air, maintenance lighting. The usual."
---
@@ -129,15 +129,15 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Suspects**: "Cargo movements don't match the official routing."
**KnowsOf**: "The ring uses a specific path: freight bay -> service corridor -> temporary storage -> bar district back room."
**KnowsDetails**: "Timing is critical. The route only works during shift transition when patrol coverage thins. Lera provides the final handoff point."
**Direct**: "Watching the route right now. Kosse moving a container through the service hatch."
**KnowsDetails**: "Timing is critical. The route only works during shift transition when patrol coverage thins. The bar provides the final handoff point."
**Direct**: "Watching the route right now. The courier moving a container through the service hatch."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Investigation mechanics. Detective needs KnowsOf to predict NPC movements. Smuggler needs KnowsDetails for operational participation.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "Freight bay to service corridor to temp storage to Lera's back room. Twenty-minute window during shift change. The route runs itself when everyone hits their marks."
**Direct**: "Watching the handoff. Renn's moving through the service hatch now. Clean."
**KnowsDetails**: "Freight bay to service corridor to temp storage to the bar back room. Twenty-minute window during shift change. The route runs itself when everyone hits their marks."
**Direct**: "Watching the handoff. The courier moving through the service hatch now. Clean."
---
@@ -145,31 +145,31 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Suspects**: "Some areas feel less monitored than others."
**KnowsOf**: "Meridian coverage degrades in older sections. Maintenance corridors have minimal surveillance."
**KnowsDetails**: "Corridor B-7, break room service hatch, bar back room -- all Meridian dead spots. The ring exploits these systematically."
**KnowsDetails**: "The restricted corridor, break room service hatch, bar back room -- all Meridian dead spots. The ring exploits these systematically."
**Direct**: "Checking my lattice overlay now. Zero Meridian signal in this section."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Stealth and observation mechanics. Detective's augmented lattice can detect coverage gaps (requires KnowsOf). Smuggler uses gaps operationally (requires KnowsDetails).
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "B-7, the break room hatch, Lera's back room -- all dead spots. Old construction left the gaps. We just learned the map."
**KnowsDetails**: "The restricted corridor, the break room hatch, the bar back room -- all dead spots. Old construction left the gaps. We just learned the map."
**Direct**: "No signal here. Same as always."
---
### `location.dead_drop_location`
**Suspects**: "Kael leaves things in the break room locker area. Not his own locker."
**KnowsOf**: "Locker 47 in the hub break room. Unofficial dead drop for small items."
**KnowsDetails**: "Locker 47 is registered to a worker who transferred off-station 18 months ago. Never reassigned. The ring has used it ever since."
**Direct**: "Locker 47 is open. There's a sealed packet inside."
**Suspects**: "A ring member leaves things in the break room locker area. Not their own locker."
**KnowsOf**: "An inactive locker in the hub break room. Unofficial dead drop for small items."
**KnowsDetails**: "The locker is registered to a worker who transferred off-station over a year ago. Never reassigned. The ring has used it ever since."
**Direct**: "The locker is open. There's a sealed packet inside."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Discovery mechanic. Detective can discover through observation (Suspects -> KnowsOf). Smuggler knows from background (starts at KnowsDetails).
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "Locker 47. Break room. Registered to someone who left a year and a half ago. Small items, messages, keys. Don't use it for actual cargo."
**Direct**: "47's open. Sealed packet. Not mine -- someone else has been using it."
**KnowsDetails**: "Break room. Dead locker, registered to someone who left over a year ago. Small items, messages, keys. Don't use it for actual cargo."
**Direct**: "Locker's open. Sealed packet. Not mine -- someone else has been using it."
---
@@ -179,29 +179,29 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Suspects**: "Cargo manifests have inconsistencies. Weight doesn't match volume."
**KnowsOf**: "Systematic manifest doctoring. Someone with freight scheduler access is altering records."
**KnowsDetails**: "Maret Korr processes manifests. She's noticed the discrepancies but hasn't reported them. She's either complicit or terrified."
**KnowsDetails**: "The manifest clerk processes the documents. They've noticed the discrepancies but haven't reported them. Either complicit or terrified."
**Direct**: "Comparing the manifest right now. Container 4471 -- logged weight 240kg, actual weight closer to 310kg."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Core investigation mechanic. Detective's analytical lattice flags discrepancies at Suspects. Full understanding requires KnowsDetails. Smuggler knows Maret's position from background.
**Mechanical Purpose**: Core investigation mechanic. Detective's analytical lattice flags discrepancies at Suspects. Full understanding requires KnowsDetails. Smuggler knows the clerk's position from background.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "Maret handles the manifests. She adjusts the numbers for us -- or at least doesn't flag them. Whether she's on board or just scared, the result's the same."
**KnowsDetails**: "The clerk handles the manifests. Adjusts the numbers for us -- or at least doesn't flag them. Whether they're on board or just scared, the result's the same."
---
### `investigation.shift_mismatch`
**Suspects**: "Night shift schedules don't align with freight volume."
**KnowsOf**: "Voss adjusts shift schedules to create coverage gaps. Deliberate understaffing during high-risk windows."
**KnowsDetails**: "Shift mismatches occur every third rotation. Coincides exactly with off-station shipment arrivals. Voss takes a cut."
**KnowsOf**: "The shift supervisor adjusts schedules to create coverage gaps. Deliberate understaffing during high-risk windows."
**KnowsDetails**: "Shift mismatches occur every third rotation. Coincides exactly with off-station shipment arrivals. The supervisor takes a cut."
**Direct**: "Checking the current schedule. Night shift is short two workers -- again."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Pattern recognition. Detective needs KnowsOf to connect schedule to smuggling. Smuggler knows the pattern operationally.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "Voss thins the rotation every third cycle. Two short on nights, right when Sabel's shipment comes in. Not a coincidence -- it's the plan. Voss takes his cut."
**KnowsDetails**: "The supervisor thins the rotation every third cycle. Two short on nights, right when the shipment comes in. Not a coincidence -- it's the plan. The supervisor takes their cut."
---
@@ -209,22 +209,22 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Suspects**: "That container sat in temporary storage for 18 hours. Standard procedure is 4-6 hours max."
**KnowsOf**: "Delayed processing indicates off-manifest handling. Someone's buying time to repackage cargo."
**KnowsDetails**: "Nils coordinates timing. Container arrives, sits in temp storage during shift A, gets repackaged during shift B transition, moves out during shift C startup."
**KnowsDetails**: "The coordinator handles timing. Container arrives, sits in temp storage during shift A, gets repackaged during shift B transition, moves out during shift C startup."
**Direct**: "Container 4471 has been sitting here for 14 hours. No movement orders logged."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Observation-based discovery. Detective builds case from Suspects upward. Smuggler knows the workflow (starts KnowsDetails).
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "Container arrives, sits in temp during A shift, gets repackaged during B transition, moves out during C startup. Nils handles the timing. I handle the routing. Clockwork."
**KnowsDetails**: "Container arrives, sits in temp during A shift, gets repackaged during B transition, moves out during C startup. The coordinator handles the timing. I handle the routing. Clockwork."
---
### `investigation.evidence_collected`
**Suspects**: N/A (binary fact -- you either have evidence or you don't)
**KnowsOf**: "I have documented manifest discrepancies, shift schedule anomalies, and witness testimony from Drin."
**KnowsDetails**: "Full case file: manifest logs, Drin's testimony under pressure, Maret's reluctant cooperation, surveillance footage from observation gallery showing Corridor B-7 access."
**KnowsOf**: "I have documented manifest discrepancies, shift schedule anomalies, and witness testimony."
**KnowsDetails**: "Full case file: manifest logs, witness testimony under pressure, the manifest clerk's reluctant cooperation, surveillance footage showing restricted corridor access."
**Direct**: N/A (abstract accumulation)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Investigation state tracker. Gates confrontation dialogue. Detective-specific -- smuggler doesn't collect evidence against themselves. (Smuggler equivalent: `progress.operation_compromised`.)
@@ -261,24 +261,24 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Smuggler Starting Level**: Suspects
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**Suspects**: "Cargo's not local. Different seals, different packaging. Someone manufacturing off-station."
**KnowsOf**: "Syndic supply chain. Medical-grade lattice parts diverted from legitimate production. Sabel's our connection point."
**KnowsOf**: "Syndic supply chain. Medical-grade lattice parts diverted from legitimate production. The off-station coordinator is our connection point."
**KnowsDetails**: "Two sources, based on the serial patterns. The Syndics aren't partners -- they're wholesalers. We're downstream, and we're replaceable."
---
### `world.sova_district_layout`
### `world.district_layout`
**Suspects**: "The district is a mix of old and new construction."
**KnowsOf**: "40-year-old prefab base with retrofitted partitions. Logistics hub, bar district, residential sections. Meridian coverage is uneven."
**KnowsDetails**: "Older sections have hidden spaces between wall layers. Service corridors from original construction still exist but aren't on current maps. The ring exploits architectural legacy."
**Direct**: "I'm looking at the district map overlay right now. Official layout vs. actual structure don't match in Section 3."
**Direct**: "I'm looking at the district map overlay right now. Official layout vs. actual structure don't match in the old section."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Navigation and investigation. Detective needs KnowsDetails to find hidden spaces. Smuggler starts with KnowsOf (knows layout from living here).
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsOf
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsOf**: "Forty-year-old prefab, retrofitted to hell. The hub, Lera's, residential blocks. I know every corridor by feel. Meridian's patchy in the old sections."
**KnowsDetails**: "Hidden spaces between old walls in Section 3. Service corridors from original construction, not on any current map. The ring uses what the builders left behind."
**KnowsOf**: "Forty-year-old prefab, retrofitted to hell. The hub, the bar, residential blocks. I know every corridor by feel. Meridian's patchy in the old sections."
**KnowsDetails**: "Hidden spaces between old walls in the original construction zones. Service corridors not on any current map. The ring uses what the builders left behind."
---
@@ -286,14 +286,14 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Suspects**: "Logistics hub runs three shifts: morning, day, night."
**KnowsOf**: "Shift transitions are 30-minute windows with reduced oversight. Ring operations happen during transitions."
**KnowsDetails**: "Shift A: 06:00-14:00. Shift B: 14:00-22:00. Shift C: 22:00-06:00. Transition windows: 13:30-14:30, 21:30-22:30, 05:30-06:30. Voss manages the schedule."
**KnowsDetails**: "Shift A: 06:00-14:00. Shift B: 14:00-22:00. Shift C: 22:00-06:00. Transition windows: 13:30-14:30, 21:30-22:30, 05:30-06:30. The shift supervisor manages the schedule."
**Direct**: "Current time: 21:45. Shift transition active. Observing movement patterns."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Temporal mechanics. Required for NPC routine prediction and investigation timing. Smuggler starts KnowsDetails. Detective learns through observation.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "A shift: 06:00 to 14:00. B shift: 14:00 to 22:00. C shift: 22:00 to 06:00. Thirty-minute transitions. That's when the oversight thins and the route opens. Voss keeps it thin."
**KnowsDetails**: "A shift: 06:00 to 14:00. B shift: 14:00 to 22:00. C shift: 22:00 to 06:00. Thirty-minute transitions. That's when the oversight thins and the route opens. The supervisor keeps it thin."
**Direct**: "Transition's active. Twenty minutes of open corridor. Time to move."
---
@@ -302,65 +302,65 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
### `relationship.ring_membership`
**Suspects**: "Kael's behavior suggests involvement in something off-book."
**KnowsOf**: "Kael is a ring member. Mid-level, handles physical cargo."
**KnowsDetails**: "Ring structure: Devra or Nils coordinate, Voss provides scheduling cover, Kael and Kosse handle cargo, Lera provides handoff point, Pell is wavering."
**Direct**: "Watching Kael move a container right now. Ring operation in progress."
**Suspects**: "A ring member's behavior suggests involvement in something off-book."
**KnowsOf**: "A mid-level ring member handles physical cargo."
**KnowsDetails**: "Ring structure: coordinators manage the operation, the shift supervisor provides scheduling cover, cargo handlers move product, the bar owner provides a handoff point, and at least one member is wavering."
**Direct**: "Watching a ring member route a container right now. Operation in progress."
**Mechanical Purpose**: Social knowledge. Detective builds this through investigation. Smuggler knows from shared membership (if on that path) or observation.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsDetails
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsDetails**: "Nils coordinates from off-site. Devra handles messages. Voss covers the schedule. Kael and I handle cargo. Renn's the courier. Lera runs the handoff point. Pell's been shaky lately -- that worries me."
**Direct**: "Watching Kael work a shipment. We've done this a hundred times. Smooth."
**KnowsDetails**: "The off-station coordinator runs the chain. The local coordinator manages operations. The shift supervisor covers the schedule. Cargo handlers route product. The bar owner runs the handoff point. One member's been shaky lately -- that worries me."
**Direct**: "Watching a ring member work a shipment. We've done this a hundred times. Smooth."
---
### `relationship.kael_naia_connection`
### `relationship.friend_personal_life`
**Suspects**: "Kael mentions a partner. Someone named Naia."
**KnowsOf**: "Kael's partner is Naia, a teacher. They're worried about Kael's late nights."
**KnowsDetails**: "Naia confides in Sera Venn. Sera knows something is wrong but hasn't reported it. The worry is contaminating Kael's operational security."
**Suspects**: "{THE FRIEND} mentions someone outside the ring. A partner."
**KnowsOf**: "{THE FRIEND}'s partner is someone not involved in the operation. They're worried about {THE FRIEND}'s late nights."
**KnowsDetails**: "The partner confides in a mutual contact who has institutional access. That contact knows something is wrong but hasn't reported it. The worry is contaminating {THE FRIEND}'s operational security."
**Direct**: N/A (relationship knowledge)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Emotional leverage. Detective can use Naia as pressure point. Smuggler (if Kael's friend) must protect Naia from knowledge.
**Mechanical Purpose**: Emotional leverage. Detective can use the partner as a pressure point. Smuggler (if {THE FRIEND}'s colleague) must protect the partner from knowledge.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsOf
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsOf**: "Naia's Kael's partner. Good person. Worries about him working late. Doesn't know about the ring -- at least that's what Kael says."
**KnowsDetails**: "Naia's been talking to Sera. Sera's Commission. If Naia shares too much and Sera connects the dots, Kael's problem becomes everyone's problem."
**KnowsOf**: "{THE FRIEND}'s partner is good people. Worries about them working late. Doesn't know about the ring -- at least that's what {THE FRIEND} says."
**KnowsDetails**: "The partner's been talking to someone with institutional connections. If that person connects the dots, {THE FRIEND}'s problem becomes everyone's problem."
---
### `relationship.trust_network`
**Suspects**: "People here know each other. Tight social bonds."
**KnowsOf**: "The ring depends on trust networks: Kael trusts Nils (sibling), Lera trusts the regulars, Drin is compromised by debt to Harek."
**KnowsDetails**: "Trust map: Kael <-> Nils (blood), Kael <-> Naia (partnership), Naia <-> Sera (friendship), Sera <-> Detective (professional/personal), Drin -> Harek (debt), Voss -> Devra/Nils (financial)."
**KnowsOf**: "The ring depends on trust networks: the cargo handler trusts the off-station coordinator (prior relationship), the bar owner trusts the regulars, at least one peripheral member is compromised by debt."
**KnowsDetails**: "Trust map: coordinator chain (off-station to local, prior loyalty), {THE FRIEND} to their partner (personal), {THE FRIEND}'s partner to a mutual institutional contact (friendship), compromised peripheral to their creditor (debt), shift supervisor to ring leadership (financial)."
**Direct**: N/A (social network knowledge)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Social manipulation mechanics. Detective at KnowsDetails can exploit trust fractures. Smuggler at KnowsDetails knows whom to protect.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsOf
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsOf**: "Kael trusts Nils -- blood. Lera's reliable, keeps her mouth shut. Drin's compromised somehow. Voss is solid as long as the money flows."
**KnowsDetails**: "Full picture: Kael to Nils is blood. Kael to Naia is heart. Naia to Sera is friendship. Drin owes Harek. Voss follows whoever's paying. Pull one thread, the whole thing comes apart."
**KnowsOf**: "The coordinator chain runs on prior loyalty. The bar owner keeps her mouth shut. At least one person's compromised somehow. The shift supervisor is solid as long as the money flows."
**KnowsDetails**: "Full picture: coordinator chain is loyalty. {THE FRIEND} to their partner is personal. The partner to a mutual contact is friendship. The compromised member owes someone. The supervisor follows whoever's paying. Pull one thread, the whole thing comes apart."
---
### `relationship.faction_allegiance`
**Suspects**: "Some people here are Commission-aligned. Others resent the Commission."
**KnowsOf**: "Sera is Commission. Torek Lintar is nominally Commission but lives here. The detective represents institutional authority. Everyone else is civilian."
**KnowsDetails**: "Faction tensions: Commission (Sera, Torek, Detective) vs. ring (Kael, Nils, Kosse, Voss, Lera) vs. civilians (Naia, Maret, Drin, Resha). Drin is compromised between civilian and Commission."
**KnowsOf**: "The institutional contact is Commission. The inspector is nominally Commission but lives in the district. The detective represents institutional authority. Everyone else is civilian."
**KnowsDetails**: "Faction tensions: Commission (institutional contact, inspector, detective) vs. ring (coordinators, cargo handlers, shift supervisor, bar owner) vs. civilians (partners, manifest clerk, peripheral workers). Some civilians are compromised between civilian and Commission."
**Direct**: N/A (political knowledge)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Access tier logic. Explains why NPCs treat characters differently. Detective at KnowsDetails understands institutional barriers.
**Smuggler Starting Level**: KnowsOf
**Smuggler Perspective**:
**KnowsOf**: "Sera's Commission. Torek's Commission-adjacent but lives here, so who knows where he really stands. The new investigator is Commission, full stop. Everyone else is us or civilian."
**KnowsDetails**: "Lines aren't simple. Drin's civilian but compromised. Maret's civilian but knows too much. The detective is Commission sent to investigate. Commission versus ring versus people caught in between -- and nobody gets to be just one thing."
**KnowsOf**: "The institutional contact is Commission. The inspector is Commission-adjacent but lives here, so who knows where they really stand. The new investigator is Commission, full stop. Everyone else is us or civilian."
**KnowsDetails**: "Lines aren't simple. Some civilians are compromised. The manifest clerk knows too much. The detective is Commission sent to investigate. Commission versus ring versus people caught in between -- and nobody gets to be just one thing."
---
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
**Suspects**: N/A (binary -- investigation is active or it isn't)
**KnowsOf**: "I'm building a case. Evidence collected, witnesses identified, patterns mapped."
**KnowsDetails**: "Case file: manifest logs, Drin testimony, Maret's reluctant cooperation, surveillance data, NPC behavioral analysis. Ready to escalate."
**KnowsDetails**: "Case file: manifest logs, witness testimony, the manifest clerk's reluctant cooperation, surveillance data, NPC behavioral analysis. Ready to escalate."
**Direct**: N/A (meta-knowledge)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Detective arc state. Gates confrontation options. Changes NPC dialogue (they know they're being investigated).
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ Canonical FactIds for the v0.1 vertical slice. All facts follow the `category.to
### `progress.confrontation_ready`
**Suspects**: N/A
**KnowsOf**: "I have enough to confront specific NPCs. Kael, Voss, or Lera."
**KnowsOf**: "I have enough to confront specific NPCs — the shift supervisor, the bar owner, or a cargo handler."
**KnowsDetails**: "Full case built. Can confront the ring, turn an informant, or escalate to Commission enforcement."
**Direct**: N/A (meta-knowledge)
@@ -416,12 +416,12 @@ These facts track the smuggler's operational arc. They are the smuggler's equiva
### `progress.operation_compromised`
**Suspects**: "Something feels wrong today. Voss is tenser than usual. Kael's distracted."
**Suspects**: "Something feels wrong today. The shift supervisor is tenser than usual. A ring member's distracted."
**KnowsOf**: "There's pressure on the ring. Someone's asking questions about manifests. The Commission presence isn't routine."
**KnowsDetails**: "The detective isn't here for compliance review. They're building a case. Maret's nervous, Drin might crack, and Kael's doing something unauthorized that makes everything worse."
**KnowsDetails**: "The detective isn't here for compliance review. They're building a case. The manifest clerk's nervous, witnesses might crack, and a ring member's doing something unauthorized that makes everything worse."
**Direct**: N/A (meta-knowledge)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Smuggler arc state. Gates operational monologue, defensive decision-making, and ring NPC dialogue. The smuggler's analog to `progress.initial_suspicion` + `progress.active_investigation`. Escalation triggers: detective asking questions about manifests, ring members reporting close calls, Kael's behavioral shift, Maret's visible anxiety.
**Mechanical Purpose**: Smuggler arc state. Gates operational monologue, defensive decision-making, and ring NPC dialogue. The smuggler's analog to `progress.initial_suspicion` + `progress.active_investigation`. Escalation triggers: detective asking questions about manifests, ring members reporting close calls, a ring member's behavioral shift, the manifest clerk's visible anxiety.
**Discoverable by**: smuggler only.
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ These facts track the smuggler's operational arc. They are the smuggler's equiva
### `progress.cover_threatened`
**Suspects**: "That was a close call. The detective looked at me a beat too long."
**KnowsOf**: "I'm on someone's radar. The detective, or Torek, or both. Need to be more careful."
**KnowsOf**: "I'm on someone's radar. The detective, or the inspector, or both. Need to be more careful."
**KnowsDetails**: "They know. Maybe not everything, but enough. My routine's being watched. My associates flagged. My cargo containers noted."
**Direct**: N/A (meta-knowledge)
@@ -442,12 +442,12 @@ These facts track the smuggler's operational arc. They are the smuggler's equiva
### `progress.detective_tracking`
**Suspects**: "New Commission liaison. Showed up a few days ago. Voss mentioned it."
**KnowsOf**: "The detective is investigating freight irregularities. They've been requesting manifests, talking to Maret and Drin. This isn't routine."
**KnowsDetails**: "The detective has evidence. Don't know how much, but enough to make Maret sweat and Drin avoid eye contact. They're close."
**Suspects**: "New Commission liaison. Showed up a few days ago. A ring member mentioned it."
**KnowsOf**: "The detective is investigating freight irregularities. They've been requesting manifests, talking to the manifest clerk and witnesses. This isn't routine."
**KnowsDetails**: "The detective has evidence. Don't know how much, but enough to make the manifest clerk sweat and others avoid eye contact. They're close."
**Direct**: N/A (meta-knowledge)
**Mechanical Purpose**: Smuggler's tracking of the detective's investigation. Inverse of the detective's evidence tracking. The smuggler's monologue shifts from operational confidence to defensive awareness as this fact escalates. Gates ring-related dialogue: at KnowsOf, ring members start discussing countermeasures; at KnowsDetails, Nils may order the smuggler to change routines or go dark.
**Mechanical Purpose**: Smuggler's tracking of the detective's investigation. Inverse of the detective's evidence tracking. The smuggler's monologue shifts from operational confidence to defensive awareness as this fact escalates. Gates ring-related dialogue: at KnowsOf, ring members start discussing countermeasures; at KnowsDetails, the coordinator may order the smuggler to change routines or go dark.
**Discoverable by**: smuggler only.
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ These facts track the smuggler's operational arc. They are the smuggler's equiva
- **Confidence levels** are ordered: Suspects < KnowsOf < KnowsDetails < Direct. Use `KnowledgeConfidence::decayed()` for time-based degradation.
- **Direct confidence** is perception-system-managed. Content authors rarely set this manually -- it's automatically assigned when an entity/location is in the observer's LOS.
- **Abstract facts** (e.g., `contraband.ring_exists`, `world.commission_regulations`) never reach Direct -- they're conceptual, not observable.
- **Spatial facts** (e.g., `location.corridor_b7_restricted`) can reach Direct when the observer is physically present.
- **Spatial facts** (e.g., `location.restricted_corridor`) can reach Direct when the observer is physically present.
- **Progression text** is for content authoring reference, not runtime display. Monologue lines reference these facts as prerequisites; they don't display the progression text directly.
- **Smuggler perspective text** follows the smuggler voice register (see [Smuggler Voice Card](../../docs/design/smuggler-voice-card.md)): fragments, first names, feeling-first, concrete, operational. Where the detective discovers facts through investigation, the smuggler often starts with operational knowledge and discovers threats to the operation.
@@ -470,22 +470,22 @@ These facts track the smuggler's operational arc. They are the smuggler's equiva
| `contraband.ring_exists` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Insider knowledge |
| `contraband.lattice_components` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Handles the cargo |
| `contraband.medical_grade` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Knows the cargo, reckons with meaning later |
| `contraband.severance_tech` | Suspects | Suspects | Nils won't discuss -- both characters discover |
| `contraband.supply_chain` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Knows Sabel, not full upstream |
| `location.corridor_b7_restricted` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Uses it regularly |
| `contraband.severance_tech` | Suspects | Suspects | Coordinator won't discuss -- both characters discover |
| `contraband.supply_chain` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Knows off-station contact, not full upstream |
| `location.restricted_corridor` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Uses it regularly |
| `location.smuggling_route` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Works the route |
| `location.surveillance_gaps` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Knows them operationally |
| `location.dead_drop_location` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Uses Locker 47 |
| `location.dead_drop_location` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Uses the dead drop |
| `investigation.manifest_discrepancy` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Creates the discrepancies |
| `investigation.shift_mismatch` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Part of the operation |
| `investigation.cargo_anomaly` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Knows the workflow |
| `investigation.evidence_collected` | N/A | Suspects | Detective-only |
| `world.commission_regulations` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Lives under them |
| `world.syndic_supply_chain` | Suspects | Suspects | Knows cargo's off-station, not source |
| `world.sova_district_layout` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Born here, knows lived layout |
| `world.district_layout` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Lives here, knows the lived layout |
| `world.shift_schedule` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Works the shifts |
| `relationship.ring_membership` | KnowsDetails | Suspects | Is a member |
| `relationship.kael_naia_connection` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Knows Kael's partner through Kael |
| `relationship.friend_personal_life` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Knows {THE FRIEND}'s partner through {THE FRIEND} |
| `relationship.trust_network` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Knows who's who from living there |
| `relationship.faction_allegiance` | KnowsOf | Suspects | Knows the social landscape |
| `progress.operation_compromised` | Suspects | N/A | Smuggler-only arc state |
@@ -494,4 +494,4 @@ These facts track the smuggler's operational arc. They are the smuggler's equiva
---
**Total FactIds**: 27 (5 contraband, 4 location, 4 investigation, 4 world, 4 relationship, 3 detective progress, 3 smuggler progress). 21 existing facts received smuggler-perspective text. 3 new smuggler-specific progress facts added. Sufficient for v0.1 vertical slice. Expandable by adding new categories or topics within existing categories.
**Total FactIds**: 24 (5 contraband, 4 location, 4 investigation, 4 world, 4 relationship, 3 detective progress, 3 smuggler progress). Expandable by adding new categories or topics within existing categories.
wiki/concepts/relationship-states.md
+44 -44
View File
@@ -68,15 +68,15 @@ pub enum RelationshipState {
**What it means**: Positive relationship, trusted. Emotional connection or reliable professional rapport.
**Monologue tone**: Warm, personal. "Good to see Kael. Always reliable."
**Monologue tone**: Warm, personal. "Good to see them. Always reliable."
**Dialogue availability**: Public + peer + insider-tier. Trust-gated content unlocks. Some secret-tier content if relationship deepens.
**Color**: Soft green (same as Known — the distinction is semantic, not visual).
**Typical entities**: THE FRIEND NPCs (Kael to smuggler, Sera to detective), close colleagues, trusted contacts.
**Typical entities**: THE FRIEND NPCs, close colleagues, trusted contacts.
**Why same color as Known**: Visual simplicity for v0.1. Future refinement could add subtle shader variation (warmth, pulse, saturation).
**Why same color as Known**: Visual simplicity in early implementation. Future refinement could add subtle shader variation (warmth, pulse, saturation).
---
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ pub enum RelationshipState {
**What it means**: Flagged. Something's wrong. Under observation or suspicion.
**Monologue tone**: Analytical, cautious. "Kael's meeting someone I don't recognize. That's not normal."
**Monologue tone**: Analytical, cautious. "{THE FRIEND}'s meeting someone I don't recognize. That's not normal."
**Dialogue availability**: Shifts. Trust-gated content may become unavailable. Confrontation options unlock.
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ pub enum RelationshipState {
**Typical entities**: NPCs who've turned on the player, authority figures during a confrontation gone bad, exposed ring members cornered by the detective.
**Rare in v0.1**: Most NPCs don't reach Hostile. It's the endgame state for failed social maneuvering.
**Rare**: Most NPCs don't reach Hostile. It's the endgame state for failed social maneuvering.
---
@@ -139,93 +139,93 @@ Unknown → Known → PersonOfInterest → Hostile (if confrontation fails)
- Known → PersonOfInterest: Behavioral flags accumulate, tells observed, manifest discrepancy linked to this NPC.
- PersonOfInterest → Hostile: Confrontation attempt rejected, NPC realizes they're under investigation, escalation.
**Example**: Detective observes Kael. Unknown (first sight) → Known (lattice query: "Davan, K., dock worker") → PersonOfInterest (observed in restricted corridor, evasive answers) → Hostile (confrontation: "I know you're involved. You need to cooperate." / Kael: "Stay away from me.").
**Example**: Detective observes a cargo handler. Unknown (first sight) → Known (lattice query: "dock worker, logistics") → PersonOfInterest (observed in restricted corridor, evasive answers) → Hostile (confrontation: "I know you're involved. You need to cooperate." / handler: "Stay away from me.").
---
### THE FRIEND Contradiction Arc (Kael — Smuggler's Perspective)
### THE FRIEND Contradiction Arc (Smuggler's Perspective)
```
Friendly → PersonOfInterest → [resolution: Friendly-but-contaminated OR Hostile]
```
**Phase 1: Friendly (baseline)**
- Kael is the smuggler's trusted colleague.
- {THE FRIEND} is the smuggler's trusted colleague.
- Monologue: fond, casual.
- Color: soft green.
- Dialogue: insider-tier, warm.
**Phase 2: First Crack (still Friendly, but flags accumulating)**
- Behavioral flags: `lattice_checking,distracted`.
- Monologue shifts slightly: "Kael's been quiet lately."
- Monologue shifts slightly: "{THE FRIEND}'s been quiet lately."
- State unchanged (still Friendly), but `EntityKnowledge.known_attributes["behavior_flags"]` updates.
**Phase 3: The Contradiction (Friendly → PersonOfInterest)**
- Trigger: Direct observation of Kael meeting unknown contact in Corridor B-7.
- Trigger: Direct observation of {THE FRIEND} meeting an unknown contact off-route.
- `EntityKnowledge.known_attributes["contradiction_flagged"] = "meeting_unknown_contact"`.
- `RelationshipState` transitions to `PersonOfInterest`.
- Color shifts: soft green → amber.
- Monologue: "That wasn't anyone from our rotation. Kael, what are you doing?"
- Dialogue options change: confrontation unlocks, trust-tier content locks (Kael is evasive).
- Monologue: "That wasn't anyone from our rotation. {THE FRIEND}, what are you doing?"
- Dialogue options change: confrontation unlocks, trust-tier content locks ({THE FRIEND} is evasive).
**Phase 4: Post-Confrontation**
- **Path A (understanding)**: Smuggler confronts Kael gently. Kael confesses: trying to exit the ring to protect Naia. `RelationshipState` remains `PersonOfInterest` but monologue tone shifts to conflicted sympathy. Color stays amber (still a problem), but dialogue reflects empathy.
- **Path B (betrayal)**: Smuggler reports Kael to Nils or pressures Kael harshly. Kael turns defensive. `RelationshipState` → `Hostile`. Color → red. Kael avoids the smuggler, might actively obstruct.
- **Path A (understanding)**: Smuggler confronts {THE FRIEND} gently. {THE FRIEND} confesses: trying to exit the ring to protect someone close to them. `RelationshipState` remains `PersonOfInterest` but monologue tone shifts to conflicted sympathy. Color stays amber (still a problem), but dialogue reflects empathy.
- **Path B (betrayal)**: Smuggler reports {THE FRIEND} to ring leadership or applies harsh pressure. {THE FRIEND} turns defensive. `RelationshipState` → `Hostile`. Color → red. {THE FRIEND} avoids the smuggler, might actively obstruct.
**THE FRIEND pattern**: Friendly → PersonOfInterest is the emotional core. The player trusted Kael. Now Kael is amber. That color shift IS the narrative moment.
**THE FRIEND pattern**: Friendly → PersonOfInterest is the emotional core. The player trusted {THE FRIEND}. Now {THE FRIEND} is amber. That color shift IS the narrative moment.
---
### THE FRIEND Contradiction Arc (Sera — Detective's Perspective)
### THE FRIEND Contradiction Arc (Detective's Perspective)
```
Friendly → PersonOfInterest → [resolution: Friendly-but-contaminated OR Known-distanced OR Hostile]
```
**Phase 1: Friendly (baseline)**
- Sera is the detective's institutional contact and social anchor.
- {THE FRIEND} is the detective's institutional contact and social anchor.
- Monologue: professional warmth, relief.
- Color: soft green.
- Dialogue: peer-tier, cooperative, helpful.
**Phase 2: Pattern Observation (still Friendly, but flags accumulating)**
- Behavioral flags: `avoidance_pattern` (Sera leaves when Torek arrives).
- Monologue: "That's the third time. Sera leaves when Torek shows up."
- Behavioral flags: `avoidance_pattern` ({THE FRIEND} leaves when a suspect arrives).
- Monologue: "That's the third time. {THE FRIEND} leaves when that person shows up."
- State unchanged (still Friendly), but `EntityKnowledge.known_attributes["behavior_flags"]` updates.
**Phase 3: The Contradiction (Friendly → PersonOfInterest)**
- Trigger: Detective asks Sera directly about Torek. Sera deflects unconvincingly.
- Trigger: Detective asks {THE FRIEND} directly about their avoidance. {THE FRIEND} deflects unconvincingly.
- `EntityKnowledge.known_attributes["contradiction_flagged"] = "avoidance_inconsistency"`.
- `EntityKnowledge.known_attributes["secret_held"] = "unreported evidence"` (detective's inference).
- `RelationshipState` transitions to `PersonOfInterest`.
- Color shifts: soft green → amber.
- Monologue: "She's not lying. But she's not telling me everything. Sera, what do you know?"
- Monologue: "They're not lying. But they're not telling me everything. {THE FRIEND}, what do you know?"
- Dialogue options change: pressing questions unlock, casual warmth diminishes.
**Phase 4: Post-Confrontation**
- **Path A (loyalty test)**: Detective confronts Sera about concealment. Sera confesses: sitting on evidence to protect Naia (friend of Sera, partner of Kael). Detective can choose: report Sera (Hostile), use the information without reporting her (PersonOfInterest → Known, relationship damaged), or protect Sera and accept the information gap (PersonOfInterest → Friendly-but-contaminated).
- **Path B (institutional)**: Detective reports Sera immediately. `RelationshipState` → `Hostile`. Sera is reprimanded or reassigned. Color → red. The detective loses their only local ally.
- **Path A (loyalty test)**: Detective confronts {THE FRIEND} about concealment. {THE FRIEND} confesses: sitting on evidence to protect a third party. Detective can choose: report {THE FRIEND} (Hostile), use the information without reporting them (PersonOfInterest → Known, relationship damaged), or protect {THE FRIEND} and accept the information gap (PersonOfInterest → Friendly-but-contaminated).
- **Path B (institutional)**: Detective reports {THE FRIEND} immediately. `RelationshipState` → `Hostile`. {THE FRIEND} is reprimanded or reassigned. Color → red. The detective loses their only local ally.
**THE FRIEND pattern**: The detective's trust in Sera is tested. Amber means "my friend is hiding something." The resolution determines whether the friendship survives.
**THE FRIEND pattern**: The detective's trust in {THE FRIEND} is tested. Amber means "my contact is hiding something." The resolution determines whether the friendship survives.
---
## Contradiction Patterns: Kael + Sera
## Contradiction Patterns: Smuggler vs. Detective Paths
Both THE FRIEND NPCs follow the same structural arc, but the **nature of the contradiction differs**:
| Dimension | Kael (Smuggler's FRIEND) | Sera (Detective's FRIEND) |
|-----------|--------------------------|---------------------------|
| **Contradiction type** | Spatial deviation (meeting unknown contact) | Behavioral avoidance (leaving when Torek arrives) |
| Dimension | {THE FRIEND} — Smuggler Path | {THE FRIEND} — Detective Path |
|-----------|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| **Contradiction type** | Spatial deviation (meeting unknown contact) | Behavioral avoidance (leaving when a suspect arrives) |
| **Discovery method** | Direct observation in restricted area | Pattern recognition over multiple visits |
| **What they're hiding** | Attempt to exit the ring (protect Naia) | Unreported evidence (protect Naia) |
| **Sympathetic motivation** | Family protection (Naia is Kael's partner) | Friendship loyalty (Naia is Sera's friend) |
| **Naia as connection** | Kael's personal life | Sera's social network |
| **What they're hiding** | Attempt to exit the ring (protect someone close) | Unreported evidence (protect a third party) |
| **Sympathetic motivation** | Personal protection (someone they care about) | Friendship loyalty (mutual third-party connection) |
| **Third-party connection** | {THE FRIEND}'s personal life | {THE FRIEND}'s social network |
| **Color shift timing** | Single observation event (immediate) | Third occurrence (cumulative) |
| **Confrontation stakes** | Ring security vs. personal loyalty | Institutional duty vs. personal loyalty |
| **Resolution spectrum** | Understanding ↔ Betrayal | Protect friend ↔ Report corruption |
**Common structure**: Both contradictions involve **Naia** as the emotional anchor. Naia is worried about Kael. Sera knows why (unreported evidence). Kael is trying to protect Naia (exit attempt). The smuggler and detective approach the same NPC web from opposite sides. THE FRIEND, in both cases, is the person caught in the middle trying to protect someone they care about.
**Common structure**: Both contradictions involve a **shared third party** as the emotional anchor — someone both THE FRIEND NPCs are trying to protect, approached from opposite sides of the case.
---
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ Both THE FRIEND NPCs follow the same structural arc, but the **nature of the con
**Effect on relationship**: None directly. A Friendly NPC with Active knowledge remains Friendly.
**Example**: Smuggler's knowledge of Kael as "trusted colleague" is Active until the contradiction.
**Example**: Smuggler's knowledge of {THE FRIEND} as "trusted colleague" is Active until the contradiction.
---
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ When `KnowledgeState` becomes `Contradicted`, the system:
2. Triggers a monologue event: "Wait, that doesn't match what I thought I knew."
3. Evaluates `RelationshipState` transition. If the contradicted knowledge is about a Friendly NPC, transition to PersonOfInterest.
**Example**: Smuggler's knowledge "Kael operates within ring protocol" contradicts with new observation "Kael meeting unauthorized contact." Both entries become `Contradicted`. Monologue fires. Kael's `RelationshipState` → `PersonOfInterest`.
**Example**: Smuggler's knowledge "{THE FRIEND} operates within ring protocol" contradicts with new observation "{THE FRIEND} meeting unauthorized contact." Both entries become `Contradicted`. Monologue fires. {THE FRIEND}'s `RelationshipState` → `PersonOfInterest`.
---
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ When `KnowledgeState` becomes `Contradicted`, the system:
**Effect on relationship**: Degrades confidence but doesn't change relationship state. A Friendly NPC remains Friendly, but positional knowledge becomes unreliable.
**Example**: Smuggler last saw Kael at the hub 7 hours ago. `last_known_position` becomes Stale. Monologue: "Kael should be off-shift by now. Probably at the bar, but I haven't seen him."
**Example**: Smuggler last saw {THE FRIEND} at the hub 7 hours ago. `last_known_position` becomes Stale. Monologue: "{THE FRIEND} should be off-shift by now. Probably at the bar, but I haven't seen them."
---
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ The dialogue system (D-028, D-035) uses `RelationshipState` as a filter:
### Unknown → Known
- **Before**: "Who's that?"
- **After**: "That's Drin, the maintenance tech."
- **After**: "That's the maintenance tech."
**Shift**: Identification. Observer now has context.
@@ -297,8 +297,8 @@ The dialogue system (D-028, D-035) uses `RelationshipState` as a filter:
### Known → Friendly
- **Before**: "Drin's over there."
- **After**: "Good to see Drin. Always fixes things without making a fuss."
- **Before**: "They're over there."
- **After**: "Good to see them. Always fixes things without making a fuss."
**Shift**: Warmth. Personal regard.
@@ -306,8 +306,8 @@ The dialogue system (D-028, D-035) uses `RelationshipState` as a filter:
### Friendly → PersonOfInterest (THE FRIEND)
- **Before**: "There's Kael. Good — I was starting to worry."
- **After**: "Kael's here. But he's been acting strange. What's going on?"
- **Before**: "There's {THE FRIEND}. Good — I was starting to worry."
- **After**: "{THE FRIEND}'s here. But they've been acting strange. What's going on?"
**Shift**: Doubt contaminates warmth. The fond observation is now analytical.
@@ -315,8 +315,8 @@ The dialogue system (D-028, D-035) uses `RelationshipState` as a filter:
### PersonOfInterest → Hostile
- **Before**: "Kael's avoiding me. Something's wrong."
- **After**: "Kael just signaled security. He's turned on me."
- **Before**: "{THE FRIEND}'s avoiding me. Something's wrong."
- **After**: "{THE FRIEND} just signaled security. They've turned on me."
**Shift**: Assessment → alarm.
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ The dialogue system (D-028, D-035) uses `RelationshipState` as a filter:
```yaml
prerequisite:
relationship_state: PersonOfInterest
subject: kael_davan
subject: {npc_id}
```
- **Dialogue lines** filter on `access` tier, which is derived from `RelationshipState` + character type (smuggler/detective/NPC role).
- **Color shifts** are client-side rendering, but the knowledge graph determines the state. Content authors write to the state; the client handles the color.
@@ -343,4 +343,4 @@ The dialogue system (D-028, D-035) uses `RelationshipState` as a filter:
---
**Total states**: 5. **Load-bearing transitions for v0.1**: Unknown → Known (universal), Known/Friendly → PersonOfInterest (THE FRIEND), PersonOfInterest → Hostile (confrontation failure). Other transitions exist but are less structurally critical.
**Total states**: 5. **Load-bearing transitions**: Unknown → Known (universal), Known/Friendly → PersonOfInterest (THE FRIEND), PersonOfInterest → Hostile (confrontation failure). Other transitions exist but are less structurally critical.
wiki/contraband/index.md
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@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
# Contraband
Illegal and restricted goods in the Settled Reach. Primary gameplay focus for the v0.1 smuggler/detective vertical slice.
Illegal and restricted goods in the Settled Reach. Smuggling scenarios turn on the moral and political weight of what's in the containers.
## Contraband Types
| Item | Category | v0.1 Role |
|------|----------|-----------|
| Item | Category | Role |
|------|----------|------|
| [Lattice Components](lattice-components.md) | Unlicensed neural mods | Primary contraband |
| [Medical-Grade Replacements](medical-grade-replacements.md) | Diverted healthcare | Secondary |
| [Severance Equipment](severance-equipment.md) | Counter-surveillance gear | Restricted tech |
wiki/contraband/lattice-components.md
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@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@ cross_refs: []
**Status:** Canonical
**Legality:** Category 3 violation (unauthorized lattice modification)
**Source:** Aftermarket manufacturers, Syndic-adjacent supply chains
**Moved By:** The ring (Sova Transit District smuggling operation)
**Moved By:** The ring (district smuggling operation)
---
## Overview
Unlicensed lattice components are the primary contraband in the v0.1 smuggling scenario. These are aftermarket neural lattice modifications — processing nodes, capability packages, interface upgrades — that bypass [Lattice Commission](../technology/neural-lattice.md#commission-regulation) certification.
Unlicensed lattice components are the primary contraband in the district smuggling scenario. These are aftermarket neural lattice modifications — processing nodes, capability packages, interface upgrades — that bypass [Lattice Commission](../technology/neural-lattice.md#commission-regulation) certification.
They are not defective. They are not dangerous. They are unauthorized. And that distinction is the moral core of the smuggling operation.
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ They are not defective. They are not dangerous. They are unauthorized. And that
**Professional capability:** A freight scheduler with an aftermarket processing upgrade handles manifests faster, catches errors sooner, becomes more valuable at work. A maintenance technician with enhanced diagnostic capabilities works more efficiently. The upgrade pays for itself in job performance.
**Perception access:** The Commission's tier system means most people on Station Sova are locked into Baseline perception — natural vision and basic Meridian access. Enhanced perception modes (camera access, audio analysis, tracking) require institutional sponsorship. People who want to see more of their own world must either get institutional approval or go to the aftermarket.
**Perception access:** The Commission's tier system means most people in a mid-Reach freight district are locked into Baseline perception — natural vision and basic Meridian access. Enhanced perception modes (camera access, audio analysis, tracking) require institutional sponsorship. People who want to see more of their own world must either get institutional approval or go to the aftermarket.
**Economic calculation:** Commission-certified upgrades cost 3-5x more than aftermarket equivalents and take 6-12 months to process. For a dock worker making 2,400 credits per month with 200 credits margin, the choice between waiting a year for certification or buying aftermarket this month is not a difficult calculation.
@@ -57,11 +57,11 @@ From `contraband.supply_chain` (fact catalog):
1. **Manufacturing:** Syndic-adjacent independent manufacturers produce lattice components outside Commission jurisdiction. Quality is professional-grade — these aren't garage operations.
2. **Interstellar transit:** Components move through [Founder Gate](../technology/founder-gates.md) networks to distribution nodes.
3. **Off-station coordination:** Sabel (off-station) manages incoming shipments, coordinates timing with ring operations.
3. **Off-station coordination:** The off-station coordinator manages incoming shipments, coordinates timing with ring operations.
4. **Gate arrival:** Contraband arrives mixed with legitimate freight through [span gates](../technology/span-gates.md) on scheduled cargo cycles.
5. **Inspection bypass:** Containers with doctored manifests pass through inspection. Weight discrepancies are the primary forensic evidence (logged weight vs. actual weight).
6. **Ring coordination:** Devra or Nils coordinate local distribution. Kael and Kosse handle physical cargo. Voss provides scheduling cover.
7. **Local distribution:** Components reach buyers through informal networks, facilitated through The Last Shift as a social clearing house.
6. **Ring coordination:** Ring leadership coordinates local distribution. Cargo handlers manage physical routing. The shift supervisor provides scheduling cover.
7. **Local distribution:** Components reach buyers through informal networks, facilitated through the district bar as a social clearing house.
---
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ From `contraband.supply_chain` (fact catalog):
**For the detective:**
- `investigation.manifest_discrepancy` — Weight-to-volume mismatches in cargo manifests. The detective's Analytical lattice flags these automatically at Suspects confidence.
- `investigation.cargo_anomaly` — Containers sitting in temporary storage longer than standard procedure allows.
- `investigation.shift_mismatch` — Night shift schedules inconsistent with freight volume (Voss creating coverage gaps).
- `investigation.shift_mismatch` — Night shift schedules inconsistent with freight volume (shift supervisor creating coverage gaps).
- `contraband.lattice_components` — At KnowsOf: "Unlicensed lattice components. Aftermarket mods that bypass Commission certification." At Direct: "I'm looking at a crate of lattice components right now. Serial numbers don't match any certified batch."
**For the smuggler:**
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ But also:
**Perception Connection (D-017):**
- Lattice components connect directly to the perception system — a smuggled upgrade could theoretically change what the player perceives
- This connection is referenced in lore and dialogue, not mechanically implemented in v0.1
- This connection is referenced in lore and dialogue, not mechanically implemented in the initial build
- Future scope: aftermarket lattice upgrade as player progression mechanic
**Investigation Mechanics:**
@@ -121,7 +121,6 @@ But also:
- [Neural Lattice](../technology/neural-lattice.md) — The technology being modified
- [Medical-Grade Replacements](medical-grade-replacements.md) — Secondary contraband (healthcare dimension)
- [Severance Equipment](severance-equipment.md) — Tertiary contraband (political dimension)
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — The ring's operational infrastructure
- [Fact Catalog](../knowledge/fact-catalog.md) — FactId confidence progressions
- D-037: Contraband specification
- D-017: Perception modes (lattice tier determines available modes)
wiki/contraband/medical-grade-replacements.md
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@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ cross_refs: []
**Status:** Canonical
**Legality:** Category 3 violation (unauthorized lattice modification) + controlled medical device distribution
**Source:** Diverted from Syndic supply chains
**Moved By:** The ring (Sova Transit District smuggling operation)
**Moved By:** The ring (district smuggling operation)
---
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Neural lattices are biotech. They degrade over time. For most people in the Sett
4. Installation at a certified facility
5. Post-installation compliance verification
**Cost:** Prohibitive for most workers on Station Sova. A full lattice replacement through legitimate channels costs 8-12 months of a dock worker's total salary. Component-by-component replacement (replacing only the failing nodes) is cheaper but still requires the full approval cycle for each component.
**Cost:** Prohibitive for most workers at a mid-Reach freight station. A full lattice replacement through legitimate channels costs 8-12 months of a dock worker's total salary. Component-by-component replacement (replacing only the failing nodes) is cheaper but still requires the full approval cycle for each component.
**Wait time:** The approval cycle exists because the Commission certifies each replacement component individually. For someone whose lattice is degrading now — whose professional capability is declining this month, whose perception overlays are failing this week — "6-12 months" is not an acceptable medical timeline.
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ The ring's medical-grade replacements are the same components available through
## Who Needs Them
**Aging workers:** Long-term Sova residents whose lattices were installed 15-20+ years ago. Nodes degrade. Processing slows. These workers need replacements to maintain professional capability and daily function.
**Aging workers:** Long-term district residents whose lattices were installed 15-20+ years ago. Nodes degrade. Processing slows. These workers need replacements to maintain professional capability and daily function.
**Economically locked-out workers:** People who could get Commission approval but can't afford the certified pricing or can't afford to wait. Their lattices are degrading now. Their jobs depend on lattice function now. The black market serves them because the legitimate market won't — not on their timeline, not at their price point.
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ Medical-grade replacements are the smuggling ring's moral shield. When the ring
- Detective monologue at KnowsOf: recognition that enforcement has human costs
- Both character monologues shift in tone when medical-grade knowledge is established
**v0.1 Scope:**
**Scope:**
- Medical-grade replacements are dialogue and monologue content — not a visible gameplay mechanic
- No player character experiences lattice degradation in the vertical slice
- The moral dimension is expressed through NPC conversations and internal monologue, not through systems
wiki/contraband/severance-equipment.md
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@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ cross_refs: []
**Status:** Canonical
**Legality:** Highest-severity violation — intelligence-level enforcement response
**Source:** Guardians of Autonomy supply chain
**Moved By:** The ring (Sova Transit District smuggling operation — not all members aware)
**Moved By:** The ring (district smuggling operation — not all members aware)
---
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ This is the cargo that makes the ring scary. Not because it's weapons — it's n
## What's in the Containers
The specific Severance equipment in the ring's cargo is not fully cataloged in v0.1 — it lives in sealed containers that most ring members don't open and Nils doesn't discuss. What's known:
The specific Severance equipment in the ring's cargo is not fully cataloged — it lives in sealed containers that most ring members don't open and ring leadership doesn't discuss. What's known:
**Hardware:**
- Meridian signal jammers (localized blackout devices, portable)
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ The specific Severance equipment in the ring's cargo is not fully cataloged in v
- Signature masking units (individual-wear devices that suppress lattice tracking signatures)
**Characteristics:**
- Heavier than lattice components (the sealed containers Nils won't discuss are "heavier than lattice components" per fact progression)
- Heavier than lattice components (the sealed containers ring leadership won't discuss are "heavier than lattice components" per fact progression)
- Professionally manufactured — not improvised or garage-built
- Sourced through Guardians of Autonomy supply networks
- Transit through the same interstellar routes as the ring's other cargo
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ The specific Severance equipment in the ring's cargo is not fully cataloged in v
The Guardians of Autonomy are a decentralized political movement spread across multiple systems in the Settled Reach. They oppose lattice-mediated institutional surveillance and advocate for individual control over perception technology. Severance technology is their tool of choice — the mechanism for opting out of the information architecture.
**What this means for the ring:** The ring didn't set out to be part of a political movement. They started as a local commercial operation — moving lattice components to serve community demand. The Severance equipment arrived through the same supply chain, managed by the same off-station coordinator (Sabel), distributed through the same infrastructure. The ring became a Guardians distribution node by logistics, not ideology.
**What this means for the ring:** The ring didn't set out to be part of a political movement. They started as a local commercial operation — moving lattice components to serve community demand. The Severance equipment arrived through the same supply chain, managed by the same off-station coordinator, distributed through the same infrastructure. The ring became a Guardians distribution node by logistics, not ideology.
**What this means for the story:** The Guardians connection is the contamination seed. It transforms the ring from "local grey market, community immune system" into "local node in an interstellar political network." Not because the ring members are political actors — most of them aren't — but because their infrastructure serves political purposes they didn't choose and may not fully understand.
@@ -58,13 +58,13 @@ The Guardians of Autonomy are a decentralized political movement spread across m
## Who Knows What
**Ring members who know:** Nils (manages the sealed containers directly), Devra (coordinates with off-station contact Sabel, likely aware). The sealed containers are Nils's domain — he handles them personally, doesn't discuss contents, stores them separately from lattice cargo.
**Ring members who know:** Ring leadership (manages the sealed containers directly, coordinates with the off-station contact). The sealed containers are leadership's domain — handled personally, contents not discussed, stored separately from lattice cargo.
**Ring members who suspect:** Kael (has noticed the sealed containers, hasn't asked), Voss (provides scheduling cover for all cargo, doesn't differentiate). Others in the ring handle lattice components and medical-grade replacements; the Severance cargo moves through a tighter channel.
**Ring members who suspect:** Some cargo handlers (have noticed the sealed containers, haven't asked), the shift supervisor (provides scheduling cover for all cargo, doesn't differentiate). Others in the ring handle lattice components and medical-grade replacements; the Severance cargo moves through a tighter channel.
**Ring members who don't know:** Kosse, Lera, Pell, and other peripheral members. They know the ring moves lattice cargo. The Severance equipment is compartmentalized.
**Ring members who don't know:** Peripheral members. They know the ring moves lattice cargo. The Severance equipment is compartmentalized.
**The smuggler (player):** Starts without knowledge of the Severance cargo. Discovery follows the fact progression — suspicious sealed containers, Nils's evasion, eventually the truth. This discovery is the contamination moment that complicates the smuggler's moral position.
**The smuggler (player):** Starts without knowledge of the Severance cargo. Discovery follows the fact progression — suspicious sealed containers, ring leadership's evasion, eventually the truth. This discovery is the contamination moment that complicates the smuggler's moral position.
**The detective (player):** Discovers Severance equipment through investigation — either by identifying the containers, by following the supply chain, or through NPC testimony. The discovery transforms the case.
@@ -79,21 +79,21 @@ Lattice components? Serving community demand. Medical-grade replacements? Provid
Manifest fraud and unlicensed lattice components are a local enforcement matter. Severance equipment distribution is an intelligence-level concern. The detective's case changes from "file a report with the Commission" to "flag this for system-level authorities." The stakes of every decision — who to confront, who to protect, what to report — increase dramatically. Turning an informant isn't just building a smuggling case anymore; it's potentially exposing a Guardians network.
**For the narrative:**
Severance equipment is the thing that prevents the v0.1 story from being small. A smuggling ring on a freight station is a local story. A smuggling ring unknowingly serving as a node in an interstellar political movement is a story that points beyond its setting. The Severance cargo is the promise that this story has roots and branches the player can't see yet.
Severance equipment is the thing that prevents the district story from being small. A smuggling ring on a freight station is a local story. A smuggling ring unknowingly serving as a node in an interstellar political movement is a story that points beyond its setting. The Severance cargo is the promise that this story has roots and branches the player can't see yet.
---
## Knowledge Graph Integration
**FactId: `contraband.severance_tech`**
- **Suspects:** "Sealed containers Nils won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
- **Suspects:** "Sealed containers ring leadership won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
- **KnowsOf:** "Severance equipment. Counter-surveillance tech. Illegal across most of the Reach."
- **KnowsDetails:** "Guardians of Autonomy supply chain. This isn't local — it's connected to something bigger."
- **Direct:** N/A (not directly visible in v0.1)
- **Direct:** N/A (not directly visible in the early arc)
**Mechanical Purpose:** Contamination seed for storyteller expansion. The thing that makes the smuggler question how deep the ring goes. The thing that transforms the detective's case from local to systemic.
**Progression design:** Note the deliberate knowledge gap — neither character reaches Direct confidence with Severance tech in v0.1. They know it exists, they know where it comes from, but they never handle it directly or see it deployed. The technology remains slightly abstract, slightly ominous. This is intentional: Severance equipment is a thread to pull in future content, not a puzzle to solve in the vertical slice.
**Progression design:** Note the deliberate knowledge gap — neither character reaches Direct confidence with Severance tech in the vertical slice. They know it exists, they know where it comes from, but they never handle it directly or see it deployed. The technology remains slightly abstract, slightly ominous. This is intentional: Severance equipment is a thread to pull in future content, not a puzzle to solve in the vertical slice.
---
@@ -106,11 +106,11 @@ Severance equipment is the thing that prevents the v0.1 story from being small.
- Case transformation trigger for the detective
**Dialogue Impact:**
- Discovery of Severance equipment changes available dialogue options with Nils, Devra, and Sabel-related threads
- Smuggler confrontation with Nils about sealed containers is a relationship-testing moment
- Discovery of Severance equipment changes available dialogue options with ring leadership and off-station contacts
- Smuggler confrontation with ring leadership about sealed containers is a relationship-testing moment
- Detective reporting options bifurcate: local enforcement vs. intelligence escalation
**v0.1 Scope:**
**Scope:**
- Severance equipment is knowledge content — discovered, discussed, worried about
- No Severance technology is deployed or used in the vertical slice
- The equipment's significance is narrative (what it implies about the ring's connections) not mechanical (what it does)
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@ Severance equipment is the thing that prevents the v0.1 story from being small.
- [Lattice Components](lattice-components.md) — Primary contraband (commercial dimension)
- [Medical-Grade Replacements](medical-grade-replacements.md) — Secondary contraband (healthcare dimension)
- [Fact Catalog](../knowledge/fact-catalog.md) — `contraband.severance_tech` confidence progression
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — Ring operational infrastructure
- D-037: Contraband specification
- D-023: Three-tier content model (contamination seed for storyteller)
wiki/corporations/adams-ford-publishing.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Parallax (GJ 280A)
tags: [media, publishing, guide, humor, content]
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: [gate-corporation, parallax]
cross_refs: [parallax, lattice-commission, guardians-of-autonomy, ashwick-broadcasting]
---
# Adams & Ford Publishing Syndicate
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ Adams herself is a potential contact — a Perpetual-class journalist with a cen
- [Parallax](../star-systems/GJ-280A/index.md) — Headquarters system; media production hub
- [Lattice Commission](../factions/lattice-commission.md) — Regulatory adversary; content classification dispute
- [Guardians of Autonomy](../factions/guardians-of-autonomy.md) — Frequent citers; uncomfortable allies
- [Ashwick Broadcasting](ashwick-broadcasting.md) — North reach documentary partner; archival access exchange; forty-year standing distribution relationship
- [Veridian Syndicate] — Adams's former employer; founding grievance
---
wiki/corporations/baektu-mining-alliance.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Isivikelo (GJ 1111)
tags: [metallic_ore, refined_metals, mining, south_reach, korean, assembly]
decision_refs: [D-175]
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [stalownia-kowalski, umoja-freight, durban-engineering]
---
# Baektu Mining Alliance
wiki/corporations/cygni-combines.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Cygni B (GJ 820B)
tags: [electronics, advanced_alloys, manufacturing, assembly, tractus, core]
decision_refs: [D-175]
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [luanda-fabrication]
---
# Cygni Combines
wiki/corporations/ferreira-monteiro.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Matamba (GJ 884)
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [luanda-fabrication]
---
# Ferreira Monteiro
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ The second silence is about the founding partners themselves. Amélia Ferreira a
## Gameplay Relevance
Ferreira Monteiro is not present in the v0.1 slice at Van Maanen's Star. It operates five hops from Matamba, in the south_reach corridor. Its relevance to the vertical slice is as institutional background: commercial disputes that a player might encounter involving south_reach cooperative freight — documentation questions, contested manifests, cargo seized under cross-framework legal ambiguity — reflect a legal landscape that Ferreira Monteiro helped build. Players in the wider game who operate in the south_reach corridor will encounter the firm's precedents as the operating framework for commercial dispute resolution, whether or not they ever interact with the firm directly.
Ferreira Monteiro is not present in most mid-Reach freight districts. It operates five hops from Matamba, in the south_reach corridor. Its relevance is as institutional background: commercial disputes a player might encounter involving south_reach cooperative freight — documentation questions, contested manifests, cargo seized under cross-framework legal ambiguity — reflect a legal landscape that Ferreira Monteiro helped build. Players who operate in the south_reach corridor will encounter the firm's precedents as the operating framework for commercial dispute resolution, whether or not they ever interact with the firm directly.
For investigation, Ferreira Monteiro represents a potential intelligence pathway at high access thresholds. The case archive is protected by four centuries of enforced confidentiality. There is no casual route through it. A player who has earned significant trust within south_reach commercial networks — or who is investigating something that one of the parties to a historical dispute would prefer remain sealed — has found an obstacle that is genuinely formidable. The firm will not cooperate with informal inquiry. It will cooperate with something that clears the bar it has set over four hundred years of practice.
wiki/corporations/gate-corporation.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Renaissance (GJ 251)
tags: []
decision_refs: [D-095]
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [kaur-observatory-equipment]
---
# The Gate Corporation
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ cross_refs: []
The Gate Corporation owns and operates span gate infrastructure across the Settled Reach. Every intra-system transit gate — the networks that move freight between stations and planets, that make local commerce possible, that keep populations from being stranded on individual orbital platforms — was built, licensed, and is maintained by the Gate Corporation or a contracted subsidiary.
This is not one contract among many. This is the substrate of civilization. The distinction matters: the alien-built Founder Gates that connect star systems between the stars were not built by humans and cannot be modified. The span gates that move people and cargo within each system are human-made engineering. The Gate Corporation built most of them. When residents of Van Maanen's Star ship freight from Station Sova to the planetary surface, they are using Gate Corporation infrastructure. When the Lattice Commission's quarterly inspectors arrive through a hub gate, they step through a Gate Corporation installation. The corporation has been present, in a sense, at every significant movement of people and goods within the Reach for three hundred years.
This is not one contract among many. This is the substrate of civilization. The distinction matters: the alien-built Founder Gates that connect star systems between the stars were not built by humans and cannot be modified. The span gates that move people and cargo within each system are human-made engineering. The Gate Corporation built most of them. When cargo moves between a station and a planetary surface anywhere in the Reach, it transits Gate Corporation infrastructure. When the Lattice Commission's quarterly inspectors arrive through a hub gate, they step through a Gate Corporation installation. The corporation has been present, in a sense, at every significant movement of people and goods within the Reach for three hundred years.
The Gate Corporation is Syndic-tier in its commercial classification, but this understates its position. Most Syndic combines operate within a system or a sector. The Gate Corporation operates everywhere simultaneously, because every inhabited system has span gates, and the Gate Corporation built most of them.
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ There is a second silence around the Corporation's gate failure records. Span ga
## Gameplay Relevance
The Gate Corporation is the background infrastructure of the entire setting. In Sova Transit District, it is present as the equipment — the span gates are Gate Corporation installations. Every gate cycle that moves freight through the district is a Gate Corporation system operating as designed.
The Gate Corporation is the background infrastructure of the entire setting. In any freight or transit hub, it is present as the equipment — the span gates are Gate Corporation installations. Every gate cycle that moves freight through a hub is a Gate Corporation system operating as designed.
For investigation, the gate logs — transit timestamps, weight readings, manifest cross-references — are Gate Corporation data. Accessing them requires working through the Corporation's compliance interface or finding another route. The Corporation will cooperate with Commission requests within the terms of its regulatory agreement. It will not cooperate with anything outside those terms without legal compulsion it will contest.
wiki/corporations/hanyang-precision.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Changwon (GJ 860B)
tags: [electronics, precision_instruments, east_reach, korean, assembly]
decision_refs: [D-175]
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [kaur-observatory-equipment]
---
# Hanyang Precision Systems
wiki/corporations/lusaka-advisory.md
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---
title: "Lusaka Advisory"
description: "Lusaka Advisory — premium service provider based in Zenzele, south reach"
description: "South reach commercial strategy firm at Zenzele (GJ 1111) — extraction industry positioning, contract pre-negotiation, and the kind of advice that keeps disputes out of Ferreira Monteiro's dockets"
slug: lusaka-advisory
category: corporation
status: canonical
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-22
scope: regional
faction_type: economic
headquarters: Zenzele (GJ 1111)
tags: [service_premium, south_reach, tractus]
decision_refs: [D-189]
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [ferreira-monteiro, baektu-mining-alliance]
---
# Lusaka Advisory
**Type:** Corporation — Premium Service Provider
**Type:** Corporation — Commercial Strategy and Advisory Firm
**Status:** Canonical
**Scope:** Regional — south reach operations
**Scope:** South reach corridor; extraction industry focus
**Headquarters:** Zenzele (GJ 1111)
**Currency:** Tractus
**Classification:** Sub-Syndic service enterprise; partnership structure
Lusaka Advisory is a premium service provider operating out of Zenzele (GJ 1111). Details to be expanded.
---
## Overview
Ferreira Monteiro handles commercial disputes in the south reach once they have become disputes. Lusaka Advisory works on the same problems before they reach that stage. The distinction sounds modest. The economics of it are not: Ferreira Monteiro's arbitration proceedings are expensive and slow, measured in months of partner time and the accumulated costs of two parties in conflict. A Lusaka engagement runs shorter and costs less, and the outcome — a contract structure that both parties can live with, a resource allocation that does not create the friction that produces arbitration — does not appear in any formal record. Commercial problems that do not become disputes are invisible. Lusaka Advisory's best work is invisible.
The firm operates at Zenzele, where Baektu Mining Alliance and Umoja Freight between them employ a significant fraction of the south reach corridor's extraction and logistics workforce. These are the industries Lusaka knows best — not because the firm has an ideological position on extraction, but because extraction generates the most contract complexity in the south reach. Mining allocations, freight agreements, resource processing contracts, community impact arrangements, labor agreements with workforces that have increasingly sophisticated negotiating capacity: the Zenzele economic environment produces, at any given time, more advisory work than the firm's sixteen partners can comfortably handle.
---
## Origin
The firm was founded thirty-five years ago by three commercial attorneys who had spent between ten and twenty years in Ferreira Monteiro's dockets on opposite sides of south reach extraction disputes. The founding insight was practical: the disputes were not inevitable. They arose from contract structures that left critical terms ambiguous, from resource allocation agreements that did not account for contingencies, from community arrangements that satisfied parties at signing without addressing the conditions that would change in year three or year seven. The attorneys who became Lusaka's founders had spent their careers resolving these problems after the fact and had concluded that resolving them before the contract was signed was possible, less expensive, and apparently not the business any existing firm was in.
Two of the three founders are still partners. The third retired fifteen years ago to Ran, citing the south reach's weather without further specificity. The firm has grown from three founding partners to sixteen, adding practice areas as the south reach's commercial environment has grown more complex. The extraction focus has remained constant.
---
## Operations
**Practice areas:** Resource contract structuring is the core practice — advising mining operations, processing facilities, and freight logistics providers on contract terms that distribute risk clearly, account for contingency conditions, and do not create the ambiguities that produce disputes. Community relations advisory is the second major practice: the south reach's extraction systems have established communities whose relationship with the extraction operations ranges from economically symbiotic to explicitly adversarial, and navigating that relationship before it reaches formal grievance stages is a discrete skill. Labor relations advisory is the third practice, addressing the increasing organizational sophistication of extraction workforce communities, particularly in systems where Guardians of Autonomy chapters have developed effective negotiating frameworks.
**Clients:** Extraction operations, freight logistics companies, processing facilities, and the community governance structures that negotiate with them. The firm represents both corporate clients and, on separate engagements, community interests — maintaining internal walls between these practice streams that the firm considers professionally adequate.
**Engagement model:** Retained advisory for ongoing relationships, project engagement for specific contract negotiations, and emergency advisory for clients who discover, mid-negotiation, that their position is weaker than they believed. The emergency advisory rate is higher and the firm does not apologize for this.
---
## What They Don't Talk About
The walls between Lusaka's corporate and community practice streams are real. The information from one engagement does not transfer to the other. What does transfer, over time, is pattern knowledge: the firm's partners, collectively, know which corporate clients negotiate in which ways, where the pressure points are, what a given community organization is likely to accept at what stage of a negotiation. This knowledge is not shared between engagement teams. It is also not compartmentalized in any meaningful way — it lives in the partners' heads, informing how they structure advice on each side without crossing the formal engagement boundary.
Two senior partners have had this explained to them by a Ferreira Monteiro arbitrator reviewing a dispute where both sides had previously retained Lusaka. The explanation did not result in formal findings. The partners' response was to update their conflict-of-interest protocols. The protocols now require disclosure of prior engagements with opposing parties. They do not require disclosure of accumulated pattern knowledge about how those parties negotiate, because that knowledge is professional experience rather than privileged information and is not subject to the same disclosure requirements.
---
## Gameplay Relevance
Lusaka Advisory is a source and a threat in any investigation touching south reach commercial relationships. A player who needs to understand the contract structure of a resource agreement — what terms were negotiated, where the pressure points are, why a particular arrangement was structured the way it was — can find that understanding at Lusaka if they can access a partner with the relevant engagement history. Partners are professionally discreet; they are not personally hostile. The right relationship, or the right leverage, opens the right conversation.
The dual-client pattern knowledge is the concealed thread. An investigator who can demonstrate that Lusaka's partners have pattern knowledge of both parties in a specific dispute — not through formal disclosure but through the accumulated expertise of decades of south reach practice — is in a position to challenge the integrity of advice given on one or both sides. The challenge does not require proving a formal breach. It requires establishing that the advice could not have been independent, which is a different and potentially more demonstrable claim.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Ferreira Monteiro](ferreira-monteiro.md) — south reach commercial arbitration; the formal process Lusaka's work is designed to precede
- [Baektu Mining Alliance](baektu-mining-alliance.md) — primary corridor client; extraction industry anchor
---
**Status:** Canonical
**Created:** 2026-04-19
**Updated:** 2026-04-22
wiki/corporations/mastroianni-vehicle-group.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Nova Roma (GJ 764)
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [trans-reach-rail]
---
# Mastroianni Vehicle Group
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ The second silence is around the family's internal succession dynamics. The foun
## Gameplay Relevance
MVG is background infrastructure in the v0.1 slice. The vehicles that serve Station Sova and Van Maanen's Star may carry MVG branding — freight haulers, the shuttle that brought the player in, the transit platforms in the district. This is texture, not plot.
MVG is background infrastructure across any freight or transit setting. The vehicles that serve a given station or transit hub — freight haulers, the shuttle that brought the player in, the transit platforms — may carry MVG branding. This is texture, not plot.
For the wider game, MVG represents a specific kind of power: industrial, generational, socially embedded. A player who needs access to fleet logistics or military supply chains has a path through MVG's contract relationships. A player investigating something that touches span gate vehicle specifications — what enters the gate, how cargo is configured, what dimensions a container needs to be to transit without triggering automated inspection flags — is looking at MVG standards documentation.
wiki/corporations/moorfield-records.md
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---
title: "Moorfield Records"
description: "Moorfield Records — cultural content producer based in Braemar, north reach"
description: "North reach folk and working tradition label at Braemar (GJ 475) — records the music of people who live at the cold edge of things"
slug: moorfield-records
category: corporation
status: canonical
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-21
scope: regional
faction_type: economic
headquarters: Braemar (GJ 475)
@@ -16,9 +16,60 @@ cross_refs: []
# Moorfield Records
**Type:** Corporation — Cultural Content Producer
**Type:** Corporation — Folk and Working Tradition Label
**Status:** Canonical
**Scope:** Regional — north reach operations
**Scope:** North reach corridor primary; cross-corridor distribution via Meridian
**Headquarters:** Braemar (GJ 475)
**Currency:** Tractus
**Classification:** Sub-Syndic cultural enterprise; independent
Moorfield Records is a cultural content producer operating out of Braemar (GJ 475). Details to be expanded.
---
## Overview
Braemar is a cold-weather system. The people who live there know how to maintain equipment in conditions that would strand unprepared travelers; they make clothing designed for sustained outdoor work in low temperatures; their cultural character is formed by the knowledge that comfort is not guaranteed and competence is non-negotiable. Moorfield Records makes music that sounds like that.
The label's catalog runs across what it calls — without particular genre-consciousness — "working tradition": songs rooted in the practical experience of north reach life, of labor in cold environments, of communities that had to decide what to keep when space was scarce and sentiment was a luxury. Some of what Moorfield records is explicitly traditional — songs with histories that predate the label, regional variations of material that arrived with the founding migration waves. Some is contemporary composition that knows its tradition and works within it. The label does not distinguish sharply between these categories. Music that sounds like it came from somewhere real is the qualifying criterion.
Moorfield has been operating for fifty years. It has not made the north reach famous. It has made the north reach, for the people who live there, more legible to themselves.
---
## Origin
The label was founded by a woman named Edda Calloch who had grown up in one of Braemar's outer settlements and moved to the system's main population center for work. In the city she found, to her surprise, that the music she had grown up hearing — specifically, the material that came from small-community traditions in the outer settlements — was not available through any distribution channel. It was not famous. It was not performed at venues. It existed in the places it had always existed, sung by people who had learned it from people who had learned it, and it was going to continue existing only as long as that transmission chain held.
Edda Calloch spent five years traveling Braemar's outer settlements with recording equipment before she founded the label. She founded it to release what she had recorded. The label's first releases were archival: documentation of material that was not being documented by anyone else. The contemporary commissioning work came later, when artists who had grown up on those archival releases started bringing new material that fit within the tradition without being derived from any specific existing song.
Edda Calloch is Perpetual-class and still runs the label. She considers the archival project ongoing. There are outer settlements in the north reach that she has not visited yet.
---
## Operations
**Archival work:** The label maintains the largest archive of north reach working tradition material in any corpus accessible through Meridian. The archive is not fully catalogued. New material arrives regularly from communities that have learned the label will treat the material with care and will not license it for purposes they have not been asked about. Moorfield has a formal policy, stated in every recording agreement with community contributors: the label does not license archival material without explicit community consent. This policy has been honored without exception.
**Contemporary commissioning:** The label works with approximately twenty active artists on commission relationships. Commissioned artists receive a development stipend, recording support, and a release schedule without fixed delivery dates. The label's experience is that north reach artists deliver when the work is ready, and that attempting to impose external timelines produces work that satisfies the timeline but not the artist.
**Distribution:** Tractus-denominated, Meridian-primary. Physical distribution operates within the north reach corridor; cross-corridor distribution is limited to Meridian. The label does not aggressively market outside the north reach. Its cross-corridor following has developed organically among listeners who specifically seek music with geographic specificity and cultural rootedness, categories that Moorfield satisfies without trying to.
**Staff:** The label employs six people, including Edda Calloch and two archivists who work exclusively on the historical collection. Lean by any standard. The operational philosophy is that money going to staff is money not going to artists, and the label's function is to serve the music, not to maintain an institution.
---
## Reach Position
Moorfield Records is not a commercial success story in any conventional sense. Its catalog generates steady, modest revenue from a loyal listener base across the north reach and a smaller cross-corridor audience. It does not chart. It does not generate the kind of commercial returns that attract external investment. It has been offered acquisition twice by larger corridor entertainment groups and declined both times.
The label's significance is cultural rather than commercial. Music historians working on north reach settlement culture cite Moorfield's archival releases as primary sources. The commission output has influenced a generation of north reach artists who have gone on to work with other labels, carrying the aesthetic forward into contexts where Moorfield's name is not attached. Edda Calloch considers this the best outcome: the tradition continues, the source is documented, and the label's job is done even when the label is not credited for it.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Thrds](thrds.md) — co-located at Braemar; shared north reach working-culture identity
---
**Status:** Canonical
**Created:** 2026-04-19
**Updated:** 2026-04-21
wiki/corporations/nordschatten-records.md
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---
title: "Nordschatten Records"
description: "Nordschatten Records — cultural content producer based in Nyrheim, west reach"
description: "Experimental music label at Nyrheim (GJ 3737) — atmospheric, unhurried, built from the aesthetic of a marble-quarrying system at the edge of the west reach"
slug: nordschatten-records
category: corporation
status: canonical
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-21
scope: regional
faction_type: economic
headquarters: Nyrheim (GJ 3737)
@@ -16,9 +16,60 @@ cross_refs: []
# Nordschatten Records
**Type:** Corporation — Cultural Content Producer
**Type:** Corporation — Experimental Music Label
**Status:** Canonical
**Scope:** Regional — west reach operations
**Scope:** West reach corridor; cult following in adjacent corridors via Meridian
**Headquarters:** Nyrheim (GJ 3737)
**Currency:** Mark (Compact zone)
**Classification:** Sub-Syndic cultural enterprise; Compact-registered independent
Nordschatten Records is a cultural content producer operating out of Nyrheim (GJ 3737). Details to be expanded.
---
## Overview
Nyrheim is a quarrying system. Bífröst Marmor extracts marble here — slow work, geological timescales, the extraction of material that took millions of years to form. Nordschatten Records is not a quarrying operation, but it sounds like one. The label makes music from the aesthetic conditions of its home system: cold, patient, deep, indifferent to whether the listener is comfortable.
The name translates from the corridor's Germanic heritage as "north shadow" — the shadow cast by the system's primary across the marble fields in the extraction zones' permanent winter. It was chosen by the label's founders thirty-five years ago because it described the sound they intended to make: not darkness as aesthetic pose, but the specific quality of light at the edge of the reach, where the star is distant and the shadows run long. That sound — ambient, slow-moving, structurally complex, not obviously melodic — remains the label's primary output.
Nordschatten is not well known outside the west reach. Inside the west reach, it has a reputation disproportionate to its catalog size: the label that makes music for people who have been in transit too long and found the silence between systems acquiring a texture.
---
## Origin
The label was founded thirty-five years ago by two Bífröst Marmor technicians who had been working deep extraction shifts and spending their off-hours making recordings in the quarry's subterranean chambers. The acoustic properties of marble caves are unusual. The recordings they made were not music in any commercial sense. They were not certain they were music in any sense. They released them anyway, on a self-funded basis, through Meridian distribution, under the Nordschatten name.
The response was small and immediate — a few hundred listeners who had encountered the same problem: they wanted music that did not demand attention, that occupied sonic space without filling it, that sounded like the Interstitium might sound if sound traveled through it. The founders formalized the label two years after the first release, having concluded that the audience, though small, was not going away.
Neither founder works in the quarry anymore. One manages the label full-time. The other records and releases under a solo project name as part of the Nordschatten roster.
---
## Operations
**Roster:** Eleven active artists, none of them famous in any conventional sense. The roster skews heavily toward instrumental work, with a subset of artists whose vocal pieces treat the voice as texture rather than melody carrier. The label does not organize its roster by genre because its working definition of genre — "the commercial category a distributor assigns to music" — is considered inadequate to describe what the artists actually do.
**Production:** No owned studio. Nordschatten artists record in whatever space produces the acoustic result they need: quarry chambers, decommissioned industrial facilities, the specific resonant properties of certain station corridors in Nyrheim. The label's technical staff travel to the recording location rather than bringing the artist to a studio. This is more expensive and considerably slower than conventional production. The results justify the cost to the artists and the label, if not to anyone outside them.
**Distribution:** Meridian-primary, with minimal physical distribution. Nordschatten releases are not available in major commercial catalogues. They appear in specialist distribution networks and, occasionally, in the back of stores that know what they are. The label does not participate in algorithmic recommendation systems, not as a policy position, but because it has not found a recommendation algorithm that accurately identifies the Nordschatten listener. "People who listened to this also listened to" produces, in the label's experience, categories that miss the point.
**Revenue:** The label's finances are tight and have always been tight. The founders do not discuss specifics. The Bífröst Marmor connection has provided occasional facility access and logistical support that has not been formally documented. This is understood by everyone who knows the label and not mentioned by any of them.
---
## Reach Position
Nordschatten Records occupies a specific cultural niche in the west reach: the label that makes music for transitions, for transit, for the periods between engagement with the world. There is a persistent Meridian community of Interstitium-experience enthusiasts who travel specifically for the gate transit sensation and who have, over the past two decades, adopted Nordschatten's catalog as their preferred accompaniment for the experience. The label has no relationship with this community. The community's existence is known to the label's founders, who find it simultaneously flattering and slightly beside the point.
The label has declined, on three separate occasions, licensing offers from transit hospitality services that wanted to use Nordschatten catalog as ambient sound in transit lounges. The reasons given were not detailed. The general understanding is that the founders consider being ambient sound in a transit lounge a category error: the music is not background. The transit lounge is not an appropriate context. The listeners who want it will find it.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Bífröst Marmor](bifrost-marmor.md) — co-located at Nyrheim; acoustic source material
---
**Status:** Canonical
**Created:** 2026-04-19
**Updated:** 2026-04-21
wiki/corporations/prometheus-labs.md
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@@ -97,9 +97,9 @@ The second silence concerns what Prometheus knows. Three hundred years of resear
## Gameplay Relevance
Prometheus Labs is not present in the v0.1 slice. Its relevance is structural.
Prometheus Labs is not visibly present in mid-Reach freight districts. Its relevance is structural.
The economic pressure that makes smuggling rational in Van Maanen's Star — the gap between what workers earn and what lattice components cost — is downstream of a class structure that Prometheus Labs created and sustains. Workers who cannot afford enhanced neural lattice access cannot afford it in part because the Commission's regulatory costs are set by institutions whose Perpetual-class leadership has never had to make the same economic calculations. Prometheus Labs is not responsible for that lattice pricing. But Prometheus Labs made the Perpetual class, and the Perpetual class made the regulatory framework, and the regulatory framework made the smuggling market.
The economic pressure that makes smuggling rational in working-class systems — the gap between what workers earn and what lattice components cost — is downstream of a class structure that Prometheus Labs created and sustains. Workers who cannot afford enhanced neural lattice access cannot afford it in part because the Commission's regulatory costs are set by institutions whose Perpetual-class leadership has never had to make the same economic calculations. Prometheus Labs is not responsible for that lattice pricing. But Prometheus Labs made the Perpetual class, and the Perpetual class made the regulatory framework, and the regulatory framework made the smuggling market.
For investigation, Prometheus Labs is an access problem of the highest order. The corporation has the most defended system in the Reach's gate topology, the most legally insulated regulatory status, and client relationships with the most powerful individuals in every institution the player might approach for assistance. A player who finds leverage on Prometheus Labs has found leverage on everything else simultaneously. That is why no one has managed it in three hundred years.
wiki/corporations/sova-station-works.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Sova (GJ 280B)
tags: [habitat_modules, structural_panels, manufacturing, assembly, slavic_heritage]
decision_refs: [D-175]
cross_refs: [station-sova]
cross_refs: [station-sova, trans-reach-rail]
---
# Sova Station Works
wiki/corporations/spitsbergen-retreat.md
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---
title: "Spitsbergen Retreat"
description: "Spitsbergen Retreat — premium service provider based in Halvøy, west reach"
description: "West reach extreme-isolation hospitality at Halvøy (GJ 624) — a destination for people who need to be genuinely unreachable, marketed as restorative wilderness withdrawal"
slug: spitsbergen-retreat
category: corporation
status: canonical
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-22
scope: regional
faction_type: economic
headquarters: Halvøy (GJ 624)
@@ -16,9 +16,61 @@ cross_refs: []
# Spitsbergen Retreat
**Type:** Corporation — Premium Service Provider
**Type:** Corporation — Extreme-Isolation Hospitality
**Status:** Canonical
**Scope:** Regional — west reach operations
**Scope:** West reach corridor; cross-corridor referrals via specialist networks
**Headquarters:** Halvøy (GJ 624)
**Currency:** Mark (Compact zone)
**Classification:** Sub-Syndic service enterprise; private limited partnership
Spitsbergen Retreat is a premium service provider operating out of Halvøy (GJ 624). Details to be expanded.
---
## Overview
Halvøy is not a comfortable system. The habitable body is cold, its terrain is dramatically uneven, its weather is characterized by extended periods of low-visibility conditions that the local population describes as "the grey" and that visitors from more temperate systems describe with words they do not use in front of the locals. The permanent settlement population is small and self-sufficient by necessity. The economic base is extraction and transit service, not hospitality. Spitsbergen Retreat arrived here forty years ago because this specific inhospitability was exactly what the founders were looking for.
The Retreat operates one property: twenty-eight rooms in a building that sits at the edge of Halvøy's primary continental shelf, above a coastline that is spectacular in the specific way that extremely cold and extremely remote things are spectacular when seen from inside a heated room. The property is three hours by ground transport from the nearest settlement with a functioning Meridian node. This is not a design oversight. Meridian signal does not reach the property. This is not a technical failure. The location was selected for the gap.
What the Retreat sells is genuine unreachability. Not the curated version — the switched-off lattice, the silent mode setting, the scheduled communication blackout that can be overridden with the right credentials. The actual version: a location where Meridian infrastructure does not exist, where lattice communication requires active relay equipment that the property does not operate, where being here means being here and not anywhere else on any network.
---
## Origin
The partnership was founded forty years ago by two people who had each, in different contexts, experienced the specific problem that Spitsbergen Retreat now addresses: the impossibility of being genuinely unreachable. One founder was a commercial attorney who had spent twenty years unable to take a leave of absence that was not interrupted. The other was a logistics executive who had reached the point at which the inability to disconnect from institutional communication was affecting her health in ways her physicians were not able to address with available treatments. They arrived at the same conclusion through different routes: the problem was not personal organization but infrastructure. The infrastructure reached everywhere. The solution was to go somewhere it did not.
They spent two years identifying the right location — systems where Meridian coverage had gaps, bodies where the geology or distance from relay infrastructure produced natural signal absence, properties that could be built to the specification without attracting regulatory attention. Halvøy was the conclusion. The property has been operating for thirty-eight years. Both founders are still partners. Both of them, when asked how often they personally use the property, give answers that are technically accurate and do not address the question.
---
## Operations
**The property:** Twenty-eight rooms in two wings, designed for stays of four days to three weeks. The building is constructed for the local climate — thick walls, passive thermal systems, architecture that manages wind load and maintains interior temperatures that are warm relative to the exterior without feeling artificially controlled. The design aesthetic is west reach Nordic: functional, unornamented, built to last rather than to impress.
**Connectivity:** None available to guests. The property maintains a single emergency communication system accessible only to staff for medical and safety purposes. The system is not available to guests except in the specific circumstances defined as emergencies, which are defined narrowly and enforced. Guests who require contact with the outside world during their stay are told this before they arrive and are provided the option of not booking.
**Guest profile:** The Retreat does not publish a guest list, has never published a guest list, and declines to characterize its guests by profession or institutional affiliation. The booking process is managed through a referral network — guests are introduced to the Retreat by previous guests or by a small number of specialist travel advisors in the west reach corridor. There is no public booking system. There is no advertising. The Retreat is known in the specific circles where it is relevant and invisible everywhere else.
**Staff:** Eleven permanent staff, including two medical technicians, one of whom has wilderness emergency credentials. The staff recruitment profile emphasizes competence in isolated-location operations, discretion, and the specific skill set required to serve guests who want to be ignored while they are being taken care of.
---
## What They Don't Talk About
The natural Meridian gap at Halvøy's coastal location is not entirely natural. The property was positioned within an existing coverage gap, which is true. What is also true is that the property has, over its history, added a small number of passive signal-dampening installations in the surrounding terrain that extend and stabilize the gap. The installations are not advertised. They operate in a regulatory gray area: the Lattice Commission licenses active signal interference equipment, but passive dampening in private territory does not have a clear classification. The Retreat has never applied for a license, partly because the applicable license category does not cleanly exist and partly because applying for it would draw Commission attention to a facility whose value to its clients depends on the Commission not paying close attention to it.
The facilities have never been flagged. The location is remote and the Retreat is quiet. The Commission's inspection cycles for Halvøy's peripheral territory run on a schedule that has not yet reached the coastal shelf. The founders are aware of the schedule and have not done anything to accelerate it.
---
## Gameplay Relevance
Spitsbergen Retreat is the destination that explains a gap. When a player is tracing the movements of someone who went dark for a period — no Meridian activity, no lattice communication logs, no location data — and the gap is in the west reach, Halvøy is the answer that fits. Confirming it requires either access to the booking referral network (private, small, word-of-mouth) or a source who knows the property. The Retreat does not cooperate with institutional inquiries as a policy.
The signal dampening installations are the regulatory thread. A Commission investigator with specific equipment could detect the passive dampening signature during a site inspection — but reaching the site requires justification that the current gap in the inspection schedule does not provide. The thread is accessible to a player who can either manufacture a Commission inspection or locate the physical installation documentation, which exists in the original construction records and would require access to building records from forty years ago filed in a west reach registry that is not well indexed.
---
**Status:** Canonical
**Created:** 2026-04-19
**Updated:** 2026-04-22
wiki/corporations/stalownia-kowalski.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Nowa Huta (GJ 896A)
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [durban-engineering]
---
# Stalownia Kowalski
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ None of this is available outside the company. Stalownia's documentation practic
## Gameplay Relevance
Stalownia is present in the v0.1 slice as texture and setting context. The mining and construction equipment that built and maintains Station Sova and the Van Maanen's Star extraction operations likely carries SK branding or is documented in system records as Stalownia installations. This is background — the equipment that built the world the player moves through.
Stalownia is present throughout the Reach's extraction and settlement zones as infrastructure texture. Mining and construction equipment at inner core extraction operations and frontier stations likely carries SK branding or appears in system records as Stalownia installations. This is background — the equipment that built the world the player moves through.
For investigation, Stalownia's maintenance contracts create a plausible field presence in extraction systems. A Stalownia service technician is a normal figure at an extraction site; a Stalownia service contract is a normal entry in a system's commercial register. Either can serve as cover, as contact, or as a thread to pull. The company's archive is a potential resource for players investigating extraction site incidents, structural failures, or anything where the original engineering specifications matter. Accessing that archive — or finding someone who has access to it — requires working around an institution that has very specific ideas about what belongs inside the company and what does not.
wiki/corporations/trans-reach-rail.md
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@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ slug: trans-reach-rail
category: corporation
status: canonical
created: 2026-04-05
updated: 2026-04-05
updated: 2026-04-22
scope: reach-wide
faction_type: economic
headquarters: Gateway (GJ 244A)
tags: [rail_infrastructure, heavy_equipment, tractus, assembly, gateway]
decision_refs: [D-175]
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [mastroianni-vehicle-group, sova-station-works]
---
# Trans-Reach Rail
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ The Gateway headquarters has never moved. The work moves — TRR has active proj
**Project types:** TRR's portfolio spans urban commuter rail (high-capacity, short-route networks within single settlement zones), regional intercity rail (connecting multiple settlements on the same planetary surface), and the specialized low-gravity maglev systems used on moons and stations with gravity regimes that make conventional rail impractical.
**Gateway-Class Maglev:** TRR's premium product line — high-speed maglev systems for high-population urban environments. The specification was developed for Gateway's own urban transit needs and has been installed at several core systems. The Gatway-Class is the system that appears in formal procurement documents when a core system government wants to signal that they are investing in serious infrastructure.
**Gateway-Class Maglev:** TRR's premium product line — high-speed maglev systems for high-population urban environments. The specification was developed for Gateway's own urban transit needs and has been installed at several core systems. The Gateway-Class is the system that appears in formal procurement documents when a core system government wants to signal that they are investing in serious infrastructure.
**TRR Standard Gauge:** The workhorse product — conventional rail systems at the specification that the Assembly's infrastructure certification process has established as standard. More mid-reach and outer-reach installations use TRR Standard Gauge than any other TRR product.
wiki/corporations/vins-de-grand-vide.md
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@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ There is also a category of estate members whose membership status requires care
## Gameplay Relevance
Vins de Grand Vide is not present in the v0.1 slice but provides setting texture and commercial context for the west_reach corridor as a whole. Any investigator working in systems from Confluent inward will encounter VGV wine as ambient setting detail — on tables, in freight manifests, in commercial records where the Vins de Corridors or Grand Vide Classé certification mark appears as a brand element.
Vins de Grand Vide is not present in most mid-Reach freight districts but provides setting texture and commercial context for the west_reach corridor as a whole. Any investigator working in systems from Confluent inward will encounter VGV wine as ambient setting detail — on tables, in freight manifests, in commercial records where the Vins de Corridors or Grand Vide Classé certification mark appears as a brand element.
For investigation, the Comptoir's archive is the deep-corridor analogue of what a financial surveillance system would be in an inner-corridor context: a comprehensive record of commercial relationships that predates the Commission's regulatory reach and has never been subject to Commission review. An investigator trying to understand how commerce moves through the deep west_reach — who the actual intermediaries are, what the actual margins look like, which distribution relationships have structural anomalies — would find the Comptoir's archive useful if they could access it. Accessing it requires either the cooperation of VGV's Director or a route into the archive that bypasses her, neither of which is straightforward.
wiki/corporations/vuma-sound.md
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@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
---
title: "Vuma Sound"
description: "Vuma Sound — cultural content producer based in Matamba, south reach"
description: "South reach collaborative music house at Matamba (GJ 884) — cross-system partnerships, rhythmic tradition, and a catalog built on artists who would not otherwise share a record"
slug: vuma-sound
category: corporation
status: canonical
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-21
scope: regional
faction_type: economic
headquarters: Matamba (GJ 884)
@@ -16,9 +16,63 @@ cross_refs: []
# Vuma Sound
**Type:** Corporation — Cultural Content Producer
**Type:** Corporation — Collaborative Music House
**Status:** Canonical
**Scope:** Regional — south reach operations
**Scope:** South reach corridor; selective cross-corridor distribution via Meridian
**Headquarters:** Matamba (GJ 884)
**Currency:** Tractus
**Classification:** Sub-Syndic cultural enterprise; independent
Vuma Sound is a cultural content producer operating out of Matamba (GJ 884). Details to be expanded.
---
## Overview
"Vuma" means to agree, to respond, to say yes. The word comes from the south reach's Nguni-rooted heritage communities and carries a specific connotation in its home context: not mere agreement, but the kind of assent that is also participation. You do not say vuma to something that does not involve you. You say it when you are in.
Vuma Sound is built on that principle. The label's defining format is the collaboration — two or more artists from different south reach systems, different traditions, different sonic vocabularies, making a record together that neither would have made alone. This is not a gimmick. The label has spent thirty years developing the methodology that makes these collaborations produce coherent work rather than novelty, and the methodology is its proprietary asset.
Matamba is a practical location for this. The system is home to Ferreira Monteiro, the south reach's primary commercial arbitration and trade law firm, which has made Matamba a system where people from across the south reach come to resolve commercial disputes and, while they are there, encounter each other. Vuma Sound's founders noticed, thirty years ago, that the informal music happening in Matamba's transit facilities during extended arbitration stays was producing some of the most interesting cross-cultural work in the south reach, and that nobody was recording it.
---
## Origin
The label was founded thirty years ago by two people with nothing obvious in common: a sound engineer named Obinna Mwaka who had been working commercial sessions in the south reach corridor, and a trade negotiator named Sina Farrokhzad who had been handling commercial arbitration cases at Matamba for eight years and had developed a second career as a session bassist. They met during an extended Ferreira Monteiro arbitration case in which Sina was representing a client and Obinna was recording ambient sound for a documentary project.
The collaboration was Sina's idea. She had spent eight years watching musicians from across the south reach pass through Matamba and spend their waiting time playing together in terminal lounges, break rooms, and the less formal corners of the system's hospitality infrastructure. The work they made was unrepeatable — circumstantial, collaborative, impossible to schedule. Obinna had the equipment to capture it. Sina had the commercial sensibility to understand what releasing it would require.
Their first release was a live recording from a six-hour session in a Matamba terminal lounge involving five musicians from three different south reach systems who had been stranded together during a gate calibration delay. The recording was released without adjustment. It sold more copies in its first year than either founder had projected for the label's entire first decade.
Obinna Mwaka still engineers. Sina Farrokhzad still practices trade arbitration. The label is their shared project, not either one's primary occupation, which both of them consider the correct organizational structure for something that is supposed to produce music that people make because they want to.
---
## Operations
**Collaboration model:** Vuma Sound does not maintain a conventional roster. Instead, it maintains a network — approximately eighty active musicians across the south reach corridor who have agreed to be available for collaboration projects. Not all of these musicians will record with the label. Some have been in the network for years without a project materializing. The label's position is that the network is the asset; individual releases are the output of the network functioning, not the goal.
**Project initiation:** Collaborations are initiated either by the label (which identifies artists in the network whose work suggests productive combination) or by artists in the network (who propose collaborations with specific partners). Both pathways have produced significant releases. The label does not have a preference.
**Production:** Sessions take place wherever the participating artists are co-located. Matamba is the most common location, for the same reason that Sina Farrokhzad noticed thirty years ago — it is where south reach people go to resolve disputes and, while waiting, encounter each other. Other locations have included a mining facility break room at a Zenzele belt operation, a transit hotel at Rionegro, and, once, the cargo hold of a freight vessel during an eighteen-hour run between systems, which produced a recording the label considers among its best and which has been repeatedly difficult to classify for Meridian content purposes.
**Distribution:** Tractus-denominated, Meridian-primary. The label selectively pursues cross-corridor distribution for releases that have cross-corridor resonance — collaborative work between artists from very different traditions tends to have a wider natural audience than corridor-specific work. The label does not push for broad distribution as a default; it makes the judgment per release.
---
## Reach Position
Vuma Sound occupies a specific place in the south reach's cultural self-understanding: the institution that treats the corridor's diversity as a resource rather than a complication. The south reach spans multiple cultural heritage communities with distinct musical traditions, and the default behavior of the music industry — by which artists from each tradition are sorted into their own labels, their own distribution channels, their own listener communities — tends to maintain those separations. Vuma Sound's explicit project is to work against that tendency, not ideologically but practically: by making records that demonstrate what happens when the separations are crossed.
Whether this constitutes a cultural project or just a commercial format is a question the label declines to resolve. The two founders have different answers and have been arguing the point for thirty years.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Ferreira Monteiro](ferreira-monteiro.md) — co-located at Matamba; institutional context for corridor cross-pollination
- [Zindua Records](zindua-records.md) — south reach corridor peer; different tradition, overlapping geography
---
**Status:** Canonical
**Created:** 2026-04-19
**Updated:** 2026-04-21
wiki/corporations/westphalia-heavy-works.md
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@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ faction_type: economic
headquarters: Rand (GJ 601A)
tags: [heavy_equipment, vehicles, compact, mark, west_reach, german_heritage]
decision_refs: [D-175, D-172]
cross_refs: []
cross_refs: [erzgebirge-instruments]
---
# Westphalia Heavy Works
wiki/corporations/zindua-records.md
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@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
---
title: "Zindua Records"
description: "Zindua Records — cultural content producer based in Zenzele, south reach"
description: "South reach independent label at Zenzele (GJ 1111) — grew from mining-community music scenes, now the corridor's most visible voice for working-class south reach culture"
slug: zindua-records
category: corporation
status: canonical
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-21
scope: regional
faction_type: economic
headquarters: Zenzele (GJ 1111)
@@ -16,9 +16,64 @@ cross_refs: []
# Zindua Records
**Type:** Corporation — Cultural Content Producer
**Type:** Corporation — Independent Music Label
**Status:** Canonical
**Scope:** Regional — south reach operations
**Scope:** South reach corridor primary; cross-corridor Meridian presence for principal artists
**Headquarters:** Zenzele (GJ 1111)
**Currency:** Tractus
**Classification:** Sub-Syndic cultural enterprise; independent
Zindua Records is a cultural content producer operating out of Zenzele (GJ 1111). Details to be expanded.
---
## Overview
Zenzele is a mining and freight system. Baektu Mining Alliance extracts metallic ores from the outer belt. Umoja Freight moves the product through the south reach corridor. The settlement that grew around these industries has the character of all extraction communities: dense, functional, not particularly interested in impressing outsiders, and in possession of a cultural life that outsiders who only see the industry tend to miss.
Zindua Records came out of that cultural life. The label was founded twenty-two years ago to record music from Zenzele's working communities — music that was already being made, in break rooms and bars and community halls, without any institutional support or commercial infrastructure. The label's original purpose was documentation. It became something larger because the music it documented was, in the assessment of people outside Zenzele who encountered it, exceptionally good.
"Zindua" — the name means to awaken, to rouse, to bring to attention something that was there but unnoticed — was not chosen without awareness of the irony. The founders were aware that naming a label "awaken" and then releasing music that had been present for generations without being heard by the wider reach was a statement about how the wider reach organized its attention. They made it anyway.
---
## Origin
The label was founded twenty-two years ago by three people who had all grown up in Zenzele's belt-worker communities and gone into different careers: a maintenance technician named Vuyo Dlamini, a logistics scheduler named Amara Osei, and a singer named Thandeka Nkosi who had been performing in Zenzele's bar circuit for eight years without a recording contract because no recording operation had come to Zenzele to find one.
The founding was pragmatic. Thandeka Nkosi had been approached by a south reach label based in Matamba about recording material, but the label's offer involved recording in Matamba, under Matamba production practices, with Matamba session musicians, which Thandeka Nkosi declined on the grounds that the music she made came from where she came from and would sound wrong everywhere else. Vuyo Dlamini had recording equipment. Amara Osei had the organizational capacity to run a commercial operation. They founded the label, recorded Thandeka Nkosi's first album in a Zenzele community hall over three weekends, and released it through Meridian distribution three months later.
The album sold in Zenzele because Zenzele knew Thandeka Nkosi. It sold outside Zenzele because the music sounded like something people outside Zenzele had not heard before and had, apparently, needed. Within the first year, the label had received inquiries from seven other artists across the south reach corridor asking whether Zindua would record them.
---
## Operations
**Roster:** The label currently represents twenty-three active artists, the majority of them from Zenzele or from systems in the south reach's industrial belt. The roster has expanded beyond Zenzele over the label's history as artists from other working-class south reach communities found that Zindua's production approach — recording in the environment where the music was made, not in a purpose-built studio — matched their own understanding of what their music required.
**Production:** The label does not own a studio. It owns recording equipment, and the equipment travels. Sessions take place in community halls, bars, outdoor locations, and occasionally in operational industrial facilities where the specific acoustic environment is part of what the artist is trying to capture. Zindua's technical staff have developed expertise in recording under conditions that studio-trained engineers find challenging. This expertise is considered by the label's artists to be its most valuable technical asset.
**Distribution:** Tractus-denominated, Meridian-primary. The label's principal artists — Thandeka Nkosi, and three others who have developed cross-corridor followings — receive full reach-wide Meridian distribution. The rest of the roster distributes within the south reach, with targeted cross-corridor distribution for specific releases. The label manages this selectively: wider distribution serves some artists and dilutes others.
**Commission relationship:** Zindua has had one formal interaction with the Lattice Commission's content review process, involving a release that incorporated recordings made in a Baektu Mining Alliance restricted facility. The resolution involved the mining alliance's communications office, the Commission's content protocols, and approximately eight months of administrative process. The release came out. The specifics of the resolution are documented in the Commission's filing records and not discussed by the label.
---
## Reach Position
Zindua Records is the most visible south reach label among the corridor's working-class communities, and the least visible among the south reach's institutional and commercial infrastructure. The label does not attend industry events. It does not seek partnerships with south reach commercial entertainment operations. It does not have a public relations function.
What it has is a reputation among south reach working communities as the label that comes to where the music is, records it as it is, and releases it for the people who made it and the people like them. This reputation has attracted artists from systems the label had not intended to expand into and listeners who had not been looking for south reach music before they encountered it.
Whether Zindua Records is a commercial operation with cultural commitments or a cultural project with commercial necessities is a question Vuyo Dlamini, Amara Osei, and Thandeka Nkosi have answered differently in different years. The current answer appears to be that the distinction does not help them make decisions.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Baektu Mining Alliance](baektu-mining-alliance.md) — co-located at Zenzele; industrial context
- [Umoja Freight](umoja-freight.md) — co-located at Zenzele; labor community overlap
- [Vuma Sound](vuma-sound.md) — south reach corridor peer; collaborative approach, shared geography
---
**Status:** Canonical
**Created:** 2026-04-19
**Updated:** 2026-04-21
wiki/economics/archetypes/behavioral.toml
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@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ preferred_lore_archetypes = [
name = "Distributor"
description = "Operates on thin margins at high throughput, competing on reliability, network reach, and capacity utilization rather than price or product differentiation."
lore_examples = [
"Sova Logistics (Van Maanen's Star — corridor freight)",
"Sova Logistics (mid-Reach corridor freight operator)",
"Mercado Travessia (multi-system distribution, perishable chain)",
]
wiki/economics/archetypes/lore.toml
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@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ currency_preference = "tractus"
commission_relationship = "certified"
tier3_density = "medium"
behavioral_affinity = ["distributor", "intermediary"]
generation_notes = "Present in all settled sectors. Sova Logistics (Station Sova, Van Maanen's Star) is the canonical mid-tier instance — a tycoon-bookmark-scale operator. Mercado Travessia has logistics as a secondary identity. Commission registration required for freight haulers. Tier-3 instances: single-ship owner-operators, family cargo lines, station-owned freight operations."
generation_notes = "Present in all settled sectors. Sova Logistics is the canonical mid-tier instance — a tycoon-bookmark-scale corridor freight operator. Mercado Travessia has logistics as a secondary identity. Commission registration required for freight haulers. Tier-3 instances: single-ship owner-operators, family cargo lines, station-owned freight operations."
[gateway_transit_operator]
name = "Gateway Transit Operator"
wiki/factions/concord-assembly.md
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@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
scope: reach-wide
faction_type: political
tags: [v0.1]
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
---
@@ -100,15 +100,15 @@ The Assembly is the closest thing the Reach has to a legitimate government — a
---
## v0.1 Relevance
## Gameplay Relevance
The Concord Assembly is **referenced but not directly present** in the v0.1 vertical slice. Its influence is felt through:
The Concord Assembly is **referenced but not directly present** in any given district setting. Its influence is felt through:
- The legal framework that gives the detective jurisdictional authority
- News ticker headlines about Assembly proceedings (background texture)
- The institutional hierarchy that assigns Commission investigators to districts like Sova
- The institutional hierarchy that assigns Commission investigators to districts
- NPC dialogue referencing "the Assembly" as distant governance — recognized, not loved
The Assembly is the water the v0.1 fish swim in. Nobody in Sova Transit District thinks about the Assembly day-to-day, the same way nobody thinks about the legislature that passed the labor laws governing their shift schedule. But the Assembly's decisions created the Commission, funded the Institute, and wrote the regulations that make lattice smuggling illegal. Every tension in the district traces back to Assembly policy, however distantly.
The Assembly is the water any district's fish swim in. Nobody in a working freight hub thinks about the Assembly day-to-day, the same way nobody thinks about the legislature that passed the labor laws governing their shift schedule. But the Assembly's decisions created the Commission, funded the Institute, and wrote the regulations that make lattice smuggling illegal. Every tension in the district traces back to Assembly policy, however distantly.
---
@@ -116,7 +116,6 @@ The Assembly is the water the v0.1 fish swim in. Nobody in Sova Transit District
- [Lattice Commission](lattice-commission.md) — Regulatory body the Assembly funds
- [Veil Institute](veil-institute.md) — Research institution the Assembly funds
- [Syndics](syndics.md) — Commercial interests that lobby the Assembly
- D-036: Sova Transit District setting (Concord Assembly as governance)
- Round 16: Full faction development
---
wiki/factions/guardians-of-autonomy.md
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@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
scope: reach-wide
faction_type: cultural
tags: [v0.1]
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
---
@@ -114,16 +114,16 @@ The Guardians occupy a precarious position in Reach society. They are dismissed
---
## v0.1 Relevance
## Gameplay Relevance
The Guardians are **indirectly present** in the v0.1 vertical slice through their technology:
The Guardians are **indirectly present** in a freight district setting through their technology:
- **[Severance counter-surveillance equipment](../contraband/severance-equipment.md)** is the ring's tertiary contraband. Devra uses a handheld Meridian dead zone generator during sensitive meetings in [Corridor B-7](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/maintenance-corridors.md). This technology originates from Guardian supply chains.
- **[Severance counter-surveillance equipment](../contraband/severance-equipment.md)** is the ring's tertiary contraband. A ring operative may use a handheld Meridian dead zone generator during sensitive meetings in off-map maintenance corridors. This technology originates from Guardian supply chains.
- **The `contraband.severance_tech` FactId** represents the moment when the investigation touches something larger than a local smuggling ring. Discovering Severance tech in the ring's inventory raises the question: who is the end user? Is the ring just a distribution node in a Guardian supply chain?
- **NPC references:** Workers in the district are aware of the Guardians as a cultural phenomenon. The [Unbound](the-unbound.md) residents are sympathetic. Mainstream workers dismiss Guardian claims the way people dismiss conspiracy theories — unless they've personally experienced Commission overreach.
- **The Guardians are rumored** to operate in Van Maanen's Star but are not a visible presence in Sova Transit District. This rumor is itself information: it means Guardian infrastructure exists somewhere nearby, and the ring has access to it.
- **The Guardians are rumored** to operate in the surrounding system but are not a visible presence in the district. This rumor is itself information: it means Guardian infrastructure exists somewhere nearby, and the ring has access to it.
The Guardians function in v0.1 as a narrative thread that extends beyond the vertical slice's boundaries. The Severance tech in the ring's inventory is a loose end — a reminder that the district's smuggling operation connects to something larger, something political, something the detective wasn't sent to investigate but might stumble into.
The Guardians function as a narrative thread that extends beyond the district's boundaries. The Severance tech in the ring's inventory is a loose end — a reminder that the district's smuggling operation connects to something larger, something political, something the detective wasn't sent to investigate but might stumble into.
---
wiki/factions/index.md
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@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Political and institutional factions operating across the Settled Reach.
| Faction | Scope | Role |
|---------|-------|------|
| [The Ring](the-ring.md) | Station Sova | Smuggling operation (v0.1 gameplay) |
| [The Ring](the-ring.md) | District-level | Informal smuggling operation archetype |
## Corporations
wiki/factions/lattice-commission.md
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@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
scope: reach-wide
faction_type: regulatory
tags: [v0.1]
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
---
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ The Lattice Commission is the regulatory body governing neural lattice technolog
The Commission is the institution most citizens interact with directly — and the one they have the most complicated feelings about. Everyone agrees lattice regulation is necessary (the alternative is uncontrolled neural modification and identity fraud). Everyone resents the Commission's intrusiveness. The tension between "we need them" and "we hate what they do" defines the Commission's position in Reach society.
In the v0.1 vertical slice, the Commission is the detective's employer and the smuggler's adversary. Commission regulation is what makes lattice smuggling profitable — and what makes lattice smuggling morally ambiguous, because Commission certification costs price most citizens out of enhanced lattice capability.
In a smuggling scenario, the Commission is the detective's employer and the smuggler's adversary. Commission regulation is what makes lattice smuggling profitable — and what makes lattice smuggling morally ambiguous, because Commission certification costs price most citizens out of enhanced lattice capability.
---
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ In the v0.1 vertical slice, the Commission is the detective's employer and the s
- **Anti-forking laws:** Unauthorized imprint duplication is the Reach's most severe crime
- **Imprint theft and lattice tampering** investigations
- **Re-embodiment protocol violations** (body trafficking, continuity fraud)
- **Unauthorized lattice modification** — Category 3 violation. Fines and potential lattice restriction. This is the law the v0.1 smuggling ring violates.
- **Unauthorized lattice modification** — Category 3 violation. Fines and potential lattice restriction. This is the law the district smuggling ring violates.
- **Meridian surveillance** when legally authorized (requires jurisdictional approval)
---
@@ -117,24 +117,23 @@ In the v0.1 vertical slice, the Commission is the detective's employer and the s
---
## v0.1 Presence
## Gameplay Presence
The Commission is **directly present** in the v0.1 vertical slice:
The Commission is **directly present** in a working freight district setting:
- **The detective** is a Commission field investigator (or Commission-licensed operative), assigned to Sova Transit District to investigate suspected smuggling
- **[Sera Venn](../npcs/sera-venn.md)** (THE FRIEND, detective path) is a Commission field tech stationed at Sova
- **Commission kiosk** on Level 3 of the district — unmanned, for compliance reporting. The most recent liaison rotated out 3 months ago; replacement delayed. This institutional gap is what allowed the ring's operations to escalate.
- **The detective** is a Commission field investigator (or Commission-licensed operative), assigned to a district to investigate suspected smuggling
- **THE FRIEND** (detective path) may be a Commission field tech stationed in the district
- **Commission kiosk** in the logistics hub — unmanned, for compliance reporting. The most recent liaison rotated out months ago; replacement delayed. This institutional gap is what allowed the ring's operations to escalate.
- **Inspection schedule:** Quarterly lattice compliance sweeps, announced 2 weeks in advance. The ring times operations around these.
Commission presence in Sova is intermittent by design: the system is established enough not to warrant permanent enforcement, not important enough for a dedicated office. This gap — the lag between oversight visits — is what makes small-scale smuggling viable. The detective's arrival represents an unscheduled enforcement action that disrupts the district's carefully balanced equilibrium.
Commission presence in a mid-Reach freight district is intermittent by design: the system is established enough not to warrant permanent enforcement, not important enough for a dedicated office. This gap — the lag between oversight visits — is what makes small-scale smuggling viable. The detective's arrival represents an unscheduled enforcement action that disrupts the district's carefully balanced equilibrium.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Concord Assembly](concord-assembly.md) — Legal authority, funding
- [Guardians of Autonomy](guardians-of-autonomy.md) — Primary opposition
- [The Ring](the-ring.md) — v0.1 enforcement target
- [Sera Venn](../npcs/sera-venn.md) — THE FRIEND, Commission field tech
- [The Ring](the-ring.md) — enforcement target in contraband smuggling scenarios
- D-037: Contraband specification (Commission regulation as root cause)
- D-017: Perception modes (lattice tiers as Commission-regulated capability)
wiki/factions/syndics.md
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@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
scope: reach-wide
faction_type: economic
tags: [v0.1]
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
---
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ The Syndics' power comes not from ideology or legal authority but from the fact
- **Re-embodiment infrastructure:** Most body manufacturing and imprint facilities are Syndic-operated. The [Lattice Commission](lattice-commission.md) regulates them, but the Syndics own the means of resurrection.
- **Span gate construction:** Local infrastructure (interplanetary gates) is built by Syndic firms under [Assembly](concord-assembly.md) contract. This gives them leverage over system development.
- **Meridian commercial layer:** Advertising, entertainment, commerce, data brokerage. If you access the Meridian, you're using Syndic infrastructure.
- **Shipping and logistics:** Moving goods between systems requires gate access, which requires Syndic shipping networks. Sova Transit District exists because Syndic logistics demands exist.
- **Shipping and logistics:** Moving goods between systems requires gate access, which requires Syndic shipping networks. Freight districts across the Reach exist because Syndic logistics demands exist.
---
@@ -103,14 +103,14 @@ The Syndics' power comes not from ideology or legal authority but from the fact
---
## v0.1 Relevance
## Gameplay Relevance
The Syndics are **referenced but not directly present** in the v0.1 vertical slice. Their influence is felt through:
The Syndics are **referenced but not directly present** in a typical district setting. Their influence is felt through:
- **Sova Logistics Consortium:** The district's primary employer is a Syndic operation. Workers at [The Terminal](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/the-terminal.md) work for a Syndic-affiliated freight handling company. Their wages, schedules, and working conditions are Syndic-determined.
- **Logistics consortium:** The district's primary employer is a Syndic operation. Workers at the freight hub work for a Syndic-affiliated freight handling company. Their wages, schedules, and working conditions are Syndic-determined.
- **Supply chain:** The contraband moving through the ring originates in Syndic-adjacent manufacturing — aftermarket lattice components and medical-grade neural replacements diverted from Syndic supply chains (D-037).
- **Economic pressure:** The wage-to-cost-of-living squeeze that makes smuggling rational is a consequence of Syndic pricing. Medical-grade lattice replacements are expensive because Syndics control the legitimate supply chain.
- **NPC dialogue:** Workers reference "the consortium" or "corporate" as the distant entity that sets their pay and conditions. It's not personal — the Syndics don't have a face in Sova. They have a payroll system.
- **NPC dialogue:** Workers reference "the consortium" or "corporate" as the distant entity that sets their pay and conditions. It's not personal — the Syndics don't have a face in the district. They have a payroll system.
The Syndics are the economic water the district swims in. They created the conditions for the smuggling operation without ever intending to, simply by pricing the legitimate market at a level that makes black-market alternatives rational.
@@ -119,9 +119,7 @@ The Syndics are the economic water the district swims in. They created the condi
**Cross-References:**
- [Lattice Commission](lattice-commission.md) — Regulates Syndic operations
- [Concord Assembly](concord-assembly.md) — Awards contracts, sets regulation
- [The Terminal](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/the-terminal.md) — Syndic-affiliated employer
- D-037: Contraband specification (Syndic supply chain as diversion source)
- D-036: Sova Transit District (Syndic logistics consortium as employer)
---
wiki/factions/the-ring.md
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@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
title: "The Ring (Sova Smuggling Operation)"
description: "Informal smuggling network in Sova Transit District — structure, members, cargo, operations, and community role in v0.1"
title: "The Ring"
description: "Informal contraband network in a freight district — structure, cargo, community role, and the game's central moral question"
slug: the-ring
category: faction
status: canonical
@@ -8,18 +8,18 @@ created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
scope: local
faction_type: criminal
tags: [v0.1]
tags: []
decision_refs: [D-037]
cross_refs: []
---
# The Ring (Sova Smuggling Operation)
# The Ring
**Type:** Faction — Informal Criminal Network
**Status:** Canonical
**Scope:** Local (Sova Transit District)
**Scope:** Local (district-level)
**Governance Role:** None (informal economy)
**Headquarters:** None (distributed across district, coordination in [maintenance corridors](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/maintenance-corridors.md))
**Headquarters:** None (distributed across district, coordination in maintenance corridors)
**Structure:** Flat hierarchy, informal, no official name
**Informal Names:** "The arrangement," "the side work," "helping out" — NPCs refer to it obliquely, never directly
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@ cross_refs: []
## Overview
The Ring is not an organization. It is an arrangement — a network of logistics workers in Sova Transit District who use their freight access to move contraband through the span gate system. The ring has no charter, no insignia, no recruitment process. It exists because the economic conditions in the district make smuggling a rational supplement to legitimate income, and because the community has collectively decided that what happens between the wall layers is not their concern.
The Ring is not an organization. It is an arrangement — a network of logistics workers in a freight district who use their freight access to move contraband through the span gate system. The ring has no charter, no insignia, no recruitment process. It exists because the economic conditions in the district make smuggling a rational supplement to legitimate income, and because the community has collectively decided that what happens between the wall layers is not their concern.
The ring has been operating for approximately two years. In that time, it has become part of the district's unofficial economy. People know, or suspect, or deliberately don't ask. The ring isn't violent. It isn't chaotic. It's a business that runs alongside the legitimate one, and most of the district's 800 residents have decided that's fine.
The ring has typically been operating for approximately two years before the player arrives. In that time, it has become part of the district's unofficial economy. People know, or suspect, or deliberately don't ask. The ring isn't violent. It isn't chaotic. It's a business that runs alongside the legitimate one, and most of the district's residents have decided that's fine.
This is the social fabric the detective walks into. This is the life the smuggler protects.
@@ -51,30 +51,29 @@ Three categories of contraband, in order of volume (D-037):
**Flat hierarchy. No titles. No formal roles.** People do what they're good at.
| Function | NPC | How It Works |
|----------|-----|-------------|
| Off-station coordination | Nils Davan (off-stage, Kael's older sibling) | Gives orders, arranges incoming shipments, communicates through dead drops |
| Local coordination | [Devra](../npcs/devra.md) | Manages operations, maintains off-station contacts, legitimate business front at bar |
| Scheduling cover | [Voss](../npcs/voss.md) | Adjusts shift schedules to create coverage gaps. Takes a cut. |
| Cargo handling | [Kael Davan](../npcs/kael-davan.md) | Physically routes flagged containers to holding area during legitimate shift work |
| Inspection bypass | [Torek Lintar](../npcs/torek-lintar.md) | Compromised inspector — looks away during inspection of flagged containers |
| Courier | [Renn](../npcs/renn.md) | Transfers contraband from Terminal to [Corridor B-7](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/maintenance-corridors.md) during night shifts |
| Distribution | [Pell](../npcs/pell.md) | Dead drop pickups, local distribution. Wavering — considering cooperation with authorities. |
| Lookout | [Tav](../npcs/tav.md) | Watches entry points during corridor operations |
| Handoff point | [Lera Sessik](../npcs/lera-sessik.md) | [The Last Shift](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/the-last-shift.md) back room serves as a handoff point. Lera knows. Lera doesn't ask. |
| Off-station fence | [Sabel](../npcs/sabel.md) | Receives and distributes contraband to end users off-station |
| Function | Role | How It Works |
|----------|------|-------------|
| Off-station coordination | Off-stage handler | Gives orders, arranges incoming shipments, communicates through dead drops |
| Local coordination | On-station coordinator | Manages operations, maintains off-station contacts, legitimate business front |
| Scheduling cover | Shift supervisor | Adjusts shift schedules to create coverage gaps. Takes a cut. |
| Cargo handling | Dock worker (THE FRIEND) | Physically routes flagged containers to holding area during legitimate shift work |
| Inspection bypass | Compromised inspector | Looks away during inspection of flagged containers |
| Courier | Night shift worker | Transfers contraband from terminal to maintenance corridor during night shifts |
| Distribution | Peripheral member | Dead drop pickups, local distribution. May waver under pressure. |
| Lookout | Peripheral member | Watches entry points during corridor operations |
| Handoff point | Bar owner/operator | District bar back room serves as a handoff point. Knows. Doesn't ask. |
| Off-station fence | Off-station contact | Receives and distributes contraband to end users off-station |
---
## How It Works
1. Contraband arrives in legitimate freight shipments (mixed with legal cargo, doctored manifests)
2. [Torek](../npcs/torek-lintar.md) looks away during inspection at The Terminal
3. [Kael](../npcs/kael-davan.md) and others route flagged containers to temporary holding area
4. During night shift (01:00-04:00), [Renn](../npcs/renn.md) transfers cargo through the break room service hatch to [Corridor B-7](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/maintenance-corridors.md)
5. [Devra](../npcs/devra.md) coordinates with [Sabel](../npcs/sabel.md) for off-station distribution
6. Small items go to the dead drop alcove for [Pell](../npcs/pell.md) to collect
7. Larger items move through Lera's back room at [The Last Shift](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/the-last-shift.md)
2. A compromised inspector looks away during terminal inspection of flagged containers
3. Cargo handlers route flagged containers to a temporary holding area during legitimate shift work
4. During night shift (01:00-04:00), a courier transfers cargo through the break room service hatch to a maintenance corridor
5. The local coordinator arranges off-station distribution
6. Small items go to dead drop alcoves; larger items move through the district bar's back room
**Timing:** Operations occur every third night shift rotation, during shift transitions when oversight is thinnest. Post-inspection windows (2-3 days after scheduled Commission sweeps) are preferred for larger shipments.
@@ -102,10 +101,10 @@ This is why the community tolerates the ring. Not because people are criminal or
The ring has been operating long enough that cracks are forming:
- **Spending tells:** [Torek](../npcs/torek-lintar.md) has been spending visibly beyond a standard dock worker's income — new jacket, buying rounds, lattice accessories. This is the most observable vulnerability.
- **Wavering members:** [Pell](../npcs/pell.md) is considering cooperation with authorities. Their increasingly erratic behavior (shorter dead drop visits, social withdrawal) is observable.
- **Internal suspicion:** [Renn](../npcs/renn.md) suspects Pell is unreliable and has communicated this to Devra/Nils. Internal tension creates observable social friction.
- **Escalation pressure:** Nils (off-station) is pushing for higher volume. Local operators want to keep things small. This creates friction between ambition and safety.
- **Spending tells:** Some ring members spend visibly beyond a standard worker's income — new purchases, buying rounds, lattice accessories. Observable by anyone paying attention.
- **Wavering members:** At least one peripheral member is considering cooperation with authorities. Increasingly erratic behavior (shorter dead drop visits, social withdrawal) is observable.
- **Internal suspicion:** Other ring members suspect the wavering member and have communicated this up the chain. Internal tension creates observable social friction.
- **Escalation pressure:** Off-station coordination is pushing for higher volume. Local operators want to keep things small. This creates friction between ambition and safety.
- **The detective:** An unscheduled enforcement presence in a district accustomed to intermittent oversight. The detective's arrival is the external pressure that tests every crack.
---
@@ -123,7 +122,7 @@ The ring has been operating long enough that cracks are forming:
### Perception Differences
**Smuggler sees:** Family. Colleagues. The people who make the arrangement work. Each member has a name, a history, a reason for being involved. Voss has a daughter who needed lattice surgery. Kael's doing it for Naia. Renn needs the money. The ring isn't a criminal organization — it's mutual aid that happens to be illegal.
**Smuggler sees:** Family. Colleagues. The people who make the arrangement work. Each member has a name, a history, a reason for being involved. The ring isn't a criminal organization — it's mutual aid that happens to be illegal.
**Detective sees:** A network. Nodes and connections. Behavioral patterns that suggest coordination. Manifest discrepancies that suggest doctoring. Financial anomalies that suggest supplemental income. The ring is a case — a puzzle to be solved, a structure to be mapped, evidence to be assembled.
@@ -142,16 +141,14 @@ The ring has no clean answer. That's the point.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — The ring's territory
- [The Terminal](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/the-terminal.md) — Where cargo enters the ring's pipeline
- [The Last Shift](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/the-last-shift.md) — Handoff point, social coordination
- [Maintenance Corridors](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/maintenance-corridors.md) — Physical smuggling route
- [NPC Index](../npcs/index.md) — Ring member profiles
- [Lattice Components (Contraband)](../contraband/lattice-components.md) — primary contraband type
- [Medical-Grade Replacements (Contraband)](../contraband/medical-grade-replacements.md) — secondary contraband type
- [Severance Equipment (Contraband)](../contraband/severance-equipment.md) — tertiary contraband type
- D-037: Contraband specification
- D-027: Vertical slice definition
---
**Status:** Canonical — v0.1 core narrative element
**Status:** Canonical — informal contraband network archetype
**Created:** 2026-02-12
**Updated:** 2026-02-12
**Updated:** 2026-02-13
wiki/factions/the-unbound.md
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@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
scope: reach-wide
faction_type: cultural
tags: [v0.1]
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
---
@@ -95,12 +95,12 @@ The Unbound also represent the only people in the Reach who face permanent death
---
## v0.1 Relevance
## Gameplay Relevance
The Unbound are **peripherally present** in the v0.1 vertical slice:
The Unbound are **peripherally present** in a freight district setting:
- **A few district residents are Unbound by choice** — mostly older workers who came from frontier backgrounds. They're known, accepted, and unremarkable. Nobody makes a fuss about it. This is consistent with Van Maanen's Star culture: mind your business.
- **Olin** (drifter/new arrival at [The Last Shift](../locations/van-maanens-star-system/the-last-shift.md)) may or may not be Unbound. Olin's lattice status is ambiguous — they don't have a detectable lattice signature, which could mean they're Unbound, or that they're using Severance spoofing technology, or that their lattice is non-standard. This ambiguity is load-bearing for the detective's investigation: an absent lattice signature is data, and the interpretation of that data depends on the detective's assumptions.
- **A few district residents are Unbound by choice** — mostly older workers who came from frontier backgrounds. They're known, accepted, and unremarkable. Nobody makes a fuss about it. Mid-Reach working culture: mind your business.
- **An ambiguous arrival** (drifter or new resident at the bar) may or may not be Unbound. An absent lattice signature could mean they're Unbound, or that they're using Severance spoofing technology, or that their lattice is non-standard. This ambiguity is load-bearing for the detective's investigation: an absent lattice signature is data, and the interpretation of that data depends on the detective's assumptions.
- **Moral context:** The Unbound's existence enriches the contraband question. Some of the ring's medical-grade lattice components serve people transitioning *into* lattice use from Unbound status — or people whose lattices are failing and who face a choice between expensive institutional replacement and becoming effectively Unbound. The Unbound aren't just a philosophical position; they're the alternative that lattice smuggling helps people avoid.
- **The detective's analytical lattice** cannot automatically identify Unbound citizens. In a district where the detective's primary investigative tool is lattice-mediated perception, Unbound individuals are blind spots — people who exist outside the detective's institutional gaze. This is mechanically significant.
@@ -109,7 +109,6 @@ The Unbound are **peripherally present** in the v0.1 vertical slice:
**Cross-References:**
- [Lattice Commission](lattice-commission.md) — Jurisdictional tension
- [Guardians of Autonomy](guardians-of-autonomy.md) — Ideological allies
- [Olin](../npcs/olin.md) — Ambiguous lattice status (v0.1)
- D-017: Perception modes (Unbound exist outside lattice-mediated perception)
- D-037: Contraband specification (medical context for lattice access)
- Round 16: Full faction development
wiki/factions/veil-institute.md
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@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
scope: reach-wide
faction_type: cultural
tags: [v0.1]
tags: []
decision_refs: []
cross_refs: []
---
@@ -105,15 +105,15 @@ This tension — between knowledge and disclosure, between research autonomy and
---
## v0.1 Relevance
## Gameplay Relevance
The Veil Institute is **not present** in the v0.1 vertical slice. Its relevance is entirely contextual:
The Veil Institute is **not directly present** in a typical district setting. Its relevance is contextual:
- **Gate infrastructure:** The Founder Gates and span gates that the district depends on exist because the Institute activated them. The span gate hum that defines Sova's atmosphere is, ultimately, an Institute-managed phenomenon.
- **Future narrative threads:** The Severance technology in the ring's contraband (D-037) hints at Guardian operations, which hints at institutional secrets the Guardians are trying to expose, which hints at the Institute. The thread is there for future development but not pulled in v0.1.
- **Gate infrastructure:** The Founder Gates and span gates that the district depends on exist because the Institute activated them. The span gate hum that defines any freight district's atmosphere is, ultimately, an Institute-managed phenomenon.
- **Future narrative threads:** The Severance technology in the ring's contraband (D-037) hints at Guardian operations, which hints at institutional secrets the Guardians are trying to expose, which hints at the Institute. The thread is there for development.
- **Worldbuilding depth:** NPC dialogue might reference "the Institute" in the same way people reference NASA — a distant, prestigious, vaguely mysterious institution that does important things nobody fully understands.
The Institute is important for the full game's narrative architecture. For v0.1, it provides background depth — the sense that the universe extends beyond what the player can see.
The Institute provides background depth — the sense that the universe extends beyond what the player can see.
---
wiki/glossary.md
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@@ -15,9 +15,8 @@ Quick-reference for content authors. Canonical forms are **bolded**. Keep this d
**Concord Assembly** — the governing body of the Reach. Headquartered at Gateway (GJ 244A / Sirius-equivalent). Issues the tractus. Regulates commerce through the Commission. The establishment faction.
NOT: "the Concord" alone is not canonical as a standalone name. "the Assembly" is acceptable shorthand in established context.
**The Commission** — regulatory authority operating under the Concord Assembly. Certifies implant hardware, medical equipment, pharmaceutical production, and safety-critical manufactured goods. Tractus-denominated fees. No authority in Compact member systems.
NOTE: Full formal name unresolved — see Q-095 in decisions/questions-content.md. Use "the Commission" until resolved.
NOT: "Concord Commission," "Assembly Commission," "the Regulatory Commission," "Lattice Commission"
**The Commission** / **the Lattice Commission** — regulatory authority operating under the Concord Assembly. Certifies implant hardware, medical equipment, pharmaceutical production, and safety-critical manufactured goods. Tractus-denominated fees. No authority in Compact member systems. Formal long-form: **"the Lattice Commission"** (required for POI signage, legal text, wiki headers, formal contexts). Short form "the Commission" is standard in prose — unambiguous in context. Resolved by D-193 (2026-04-21).
NOT: "Concord Commission," "Assembly Commission," "the Regulatory Commission"
**Compact of Westphalia** — political-economic bloc based in the west_reach (dominant from hop 6+ outward). Issues the Mark. Members refuse gate energy opt-in (D-186) and operate the Compact Financial Exchange. Structurally opposed to tractus-zone compliance costs.
NOT: "the Westphalia Compact," "Westphalian Compact," "the West Compact"
@@ -94,10 +93,7 @@ System ID: `GJ 380`
**Lendel** — GJ 380c. The inner core capital. Primary settlement of the Groombridge system. Three major Tier-1 corporations are headquartered here. "Inner core" rather than "inner corridor" for Lendel specifically — it is the most central inhabited body in the Reach.
**Sova Transit District** — the canonical v0.1 setting (D-036). A freight logistics hub on Station Sova in Van Maanen's Star (GJ 35), also known as the Vuurkloof system. Working-class, pragmatic, 40-year-old prefab-modular-retrofitted freight district.
NOT: "Sova District," "the Sova Hub," "Transit Sova"
**Van Maanen's Star** — GJ 35. Canonical in-game system name: Vuurkloof (Afrikaans: "fire ravine"). DG white dwarf. south_reach, hop 6 from Gateway. Through-route between Karoo (GJ 222A) and Kumasi (GJ 86). Wave_3 settlement, ~300 years. ~340K population on GJ35c (Vuurkloof) + Vuurkloof Horizon station. Industries: geothermal energy, hospitality, financial services. Station Sova is the primary logistics station.
**Van Maanen's Star** — GJ 35. Canonical in-game system name: Vuurkloof (Afrikaans: "fire ravine"). DG white dwarf. south_reach, hop 6 from Gateway. Through-route between Karoo (GJ 222A) and Kumasi (GJ 86). Wave_3 settlement, ~300 years. ~340K population on GJ35c (Vuurkloof) + Vuurkloof Horizon station. Industries: geothermal energy, hospitality, financial services.
System ID: `GJ 35`
NOT: "Krenn System" — this drift originated in an old sprint briefing; not canonical.
NOT: `GJ 280A` — wrong system ID.
wiki/index.md
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**Project:** The Settled Reach (top-down immersive sim)
**Setting:** Original science fiction IP
**v0.1 Vertical Slice:** Sova Transit District, Van Maanen's Star
---
@@ -16,25 +15,11 @@
- **[Technology](technology/index.md)** — Neural lattice, gate infrastructure, clone transfer, severance tech.
- **[Contraband](contraband/index.md)** — Illegal and restricted goods.
### v0.1 Setting
- **[Van Maanen's Star](star-systems/van-maanens-star/index.md)** — Mid-Reach system, v0.1 vertical slice location.
- [Station Sova](star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/index.md) — Logistics hub, ~12k population.
- [Sova Transit District](star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/index.md) — Playable area.
### Characters
- **[Character Index](characters/index.md)** — Full roster with tier assignments.
- Tier 1 (FRIEND): [Kael Davan](characters/kael-davan.md), [Sera Venn](characters/sera-venn.md)
- Tier 2 (Triangle): Voss, Lera, Torek, Devra, Maret, Resha, Harek, Naia, Renn, Pell, Drin
- Tier 3 (Flat): Sess, Olin, Sabel, Tav
- Off-Stage: [Nils Davan](characters/nils-davan.md)
### Reference
- **[Glossary](glossary.md)** — Canonical proper nouns, factions, currencies, locations, terminology. Quick-reference to avoid drift. Start here.
- **[Concepts](concepts/index.md)** — Fact catalog, entity attributes, relationship states.
- **[Triangles](triangles/index.md)** — Relationship structures ([Hub Power](triangles/hub-power.md)).
- **[Triangles](triangles/index.md)** — Relationship structures and social dynamics.
- **[Authoring Guides](authoring/)** — Monologue guide, cultural generation, content templates.
- **[Full Catalog](star-systems/catalog.md)** — All 301 systems by GJ designation.
@@ -54,7 +39,3 @@
- [GOVERNANCE.md](GOVERNANCE.md) — Ownership, status lifecycle, contribution rules.
- [_templates/](_templates/) — One template per category.
---
**v0.1 Scope:** 1 system, 1 station, 1 district, 3 social sites, 18 NPCs, 5 triangles, 2 playable characters.
wiki/star-systems/GJ-222A/gttr.md
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## Practical Information
Karoo is five hops from Gateway with two gate apertures — a through-route between Caparica and Van Maanen's Star. The fabrication cluster produces replacement parts and maintenance consumables, primarily for the node's own use. Food comes in from Caparica. Consumer goods arrive through the Altair corridor. The G0V primary makes the surface livable without any particular effort, which is the kind of advantage that looks like it should be sufficient and turns out not to be.
Karoo is five hops from Gateway with two gate apertures — a through-route between Caparica and Vuurkloof. The fabrication cluster produces replacement parts and maintenance consumables, primarily for the node's own use. Food comes in from Caparica. Consumer goods arrive through the Altair corridor. The G0V primary makes the surface livable without any particular effort, which is the kind of advantage that looks like it should be sufficient and turns out not to be.
Adams of the Guide rates Karoo: *Comfortable. Do Not Examine Why.*
wiki/star-systems/GJ-222A/index.md
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## Supply Dependency
Karoo does not produce much and does not need to. Its economic identity is transit and maintenance — the system sits at the midpoint of the south_reach corridor between Caparica at hop 4 and Van Maanen's Star at hop 6, and transit logistics are what the system does. Gate Corporation operates a maintenance node here: not a full operational base, but a servicing facility with the technical capacity to handle aperture calibration, gate ferry overhaul, and the scheduled maintenance operations that through-route positions require. The node employs a rotating staff cadre and anchors the small permanent settlement that exists at Karoo at all.
Karoo does not produce much and does not need to. Its economic identity is transit and maintenance — the system sits at the midpoint of the south_reach corridor between Caparica at hop 4 and Vuurkloof at hop 6, and transit logistics are what the system does. Gate Corporation operates a maintenance node here: not a full operational base, but a servicing facility with the technical capacity to handle aperture calibration, gate ferry overhaul, and the scheduled maintenance operations that through-route positions require. The node employs a rotating staff cadre and anchors the small permanent settlement that exists at Karoo at all.
Light manufacturing followed the transit function. A fabrication cluster near the Gate Corp node produces replacement parts and maintenance consumables, supplying the node itself and selling surplus to freight operators transiting the corridor. The cluster is not large enough to make Karoo an industrial system in any meaningful sense — it serves the maintenance economy that the Gate Corp presence created, not a standalone export market. What Karoo imports is everything else: food from Caparica, consumer goods and raw materials through the Altair corridor. The through-route topology means the system always has freight moving through it; extracting value from that movement is the permanent economic opportunity the Karoo settlement has worked with for as long as it has existed.
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ The community that built itself around a Gate Corporation maintenance node has n
`star_type: G0V` at 28.3 light-years makes Karoo's primary a near-solar-type star — slightly hotter and more luminous than Sol, with a habitable zone broadly comparable. This is not a hostile stellar environment, and the habitable body's conditions are workable rather than punishing. The settlement's character does not come from environmental adversity; it comes from economic contingency. The system is physically comfortable and institutionally precarious. That combination produces a particular kind of community psychology: people who settled here voluntarily, under reasonable conditions, and have developed a chronic low-level awareness that reasonable conditions are not the same as stable ones.
`gate_topology: through_route` with 2 apertures is the configuration that gave Karoo its economic function — one aperture toward Caparica and the south_reach inner corridor, one aperture toward Van Maanen's Star and the corridor beyond. Through-routes are inherently transit-focused; they have no topological reason to be destinations in themselves. Karoo has made itself a destination by providing a service that through-route traffic needs.
`gate_topology: through_route` with 2 apertures is the configuration that gave Karoo its economic function — one aperture toward Caparica and the south_reach inner corridor, one aperture toward Vuurkloof and the corridor beyond. Through-routes are inherently transit-focused; they have no topological reason to be destinations in themselves. Karoo has made itself a destination by providing a service that through-route traffic needs.
## Celestial Bodies
<!-- READ-ONLY — generated from systems.db bodies/stations tables -->
wiki/star-systems/GJ-3250/index.md
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`star_type: k-m` at 40.9 light-years marks Rionegro as a late-alphabet stellar type at significant distance — the farthest system in this corridor, with a primary that is dimmer and cooler than Kumasi's K0V neighbor. The agricultural marginal character is consistent with the stellar environment: lower luminosity, closer habitable zone, shorter effective growing season. Wave_4 agricultural settlement on a system at this stellar type is an optimistic interpretation of viable, and the Syndic network's prospectors who filed the founding land grant were working with that optimism. The optimism was not wrong; it was incomplete.
`gate_topology: dead_end` at hop 8 is the topological expression of Rionegro's isolation. One aperture, opening toward Kumasi — which is itself only reachable by continuing back through Van Maanen's Star and the long corridor to the institutional core. The dead_end configuration means no through-traffic, no reason for any system to transit Rionegro en route to anywhere. The population that remains here is here because they chose to be, not because the system sits on a useful path. This is the existential character of the deep south_reach's terminus: a place you go to on purpose or not at all.
`gate_topology: dead_end` at hop 8 is the topological expression of Rionegro's isolation. One aperture, opening toward Kumasi — which is itself only reachable by continuing back through Vuurkloof and the long corridor to the institutional core. The dead_end configuration means no through-traffic, no reason for any system to transit Rionegro en route to anywhere. The population that remains here is here because they chose to be, not because the system sits on a useful path. This is the existential character of the deep south_reach's terminus: a place you go to on purpose or not at all.
## Celestial Bodies
<!-- READ-ONLY — generated from systems.db bodies/stations tables -->
wiki/star-systems/GJ-35/sova/index.md
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---
title: "Station Sova"
description: "Freight logistics hub in the Van Maanen's Star — 12k population, layered construction hiding architectural secrets, and the v0.1 setting"
slug: sova
category: station
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-11
updated: 2026-02-13
parent_system: van-maanens-star
population: 12000
station_type: logistics
districts: [transit]
tags: [v0.1]
decision_refs: [D-036]
cross_refs: [van-maanens-star, transit]
---
# Station Sova
**Type:** Space Station
**Status:** Canonical
**System:** [Van Maanen's Star](../index.md)
**Classification:** Logistics Hub
**Population:** ~12,000
**Construction Era:** Mid-settlement (~140 years ago)
**Operational Age:** ~140 years, with continuous retrofitting
---
## Overview
Station Sova is a freight logistics hub in Van Maanen's Star, positioned gate-adjacent for optimal cargo transfer. It's not a destination — it's infrastructure. People live on Sova because the work is here, not because they chose the station.
Sova is the kind of place that looks the same every day: predictable shifts, predictable routines, predictable problems. The extraordinary thing about Sova is how much can happen beneath that predictability.
---
## Physical Structure
**Construction Type:** Modular prefab base (original core ~140 years old) + layered retrofits (most recent ~40 years ago)
The station shows its age. The original core is solid but utilitarian — industrial prefab modules designed for function, not comfort. Successive generations added capacity through retrofitting: new sections bolted onto old, interior partitions creating rooms within older bays, maintenance corridors that don't quite align between construction eras.
This layered construction creates architectural secrets: spaces between wall layers, service corridors no longer on official schematics, dead zones where old and new construction meet imperfectly. These gaps are where smuggling infrastructure lives.
**Layout:**
- **Core Spindle:** Original construction, central spine with radial arms
- **Freight Bays:** Ring 1 (outermost), gate-adjacent, high-traffic
- **Residential/Commercial:** Ring 2 (middle), mixed-use districts
- **Operations/Services:** Ring 3 (innermost), administration and maintenance
[Sova Transit District](transit/index.md) occupies a section of Ring 1 — freight bay retrofitted for logistics operations + worker amenities.
---
## Population & Demographics
**Total Population:** ~12,000
**Breakdown:**
- Logistics workers (freight handlers, dock inspectors, schedulers): ~4,000
- Service sector (bars, food, maintenance, retail): ~3,000
- Station operations (administration, security, technical): ~2,000
- Residential (families, retired workers, dependents): ~2,500
- Transient (short-term contractors, travelers): ~500
**Cultural Composition:** Predominantly Van Maanen's Star culture (working-class pragmatic, first-name-primary, reserved). Small populations from connected systems, identifiable by naming patterns and accent.
**Turnover:** Low. People come to Sova for steady work and stay because moving costs money. Multi-generational families are common.
---
## Economy
**Primary Function:** Freight logistics — cargo transferred between span gates, sorted, repackaged, forwarded
**Economic Model:** The station is profitable but not prosperous. Wages are steady, cost of living is slightly above wage level, creating permanent mild squeeze. Most households are one unexpected expense away from financial stress.
This economic reality drives three social patterns:
1. **Informal labor solidarity** — workers cover for each other because everyone knows the squeeze
2. **Grey-market tolerance** — small-scale smuggling is community immune system, not crime
3. **Risk-averse pragmatism** — people make calculated risks (like smuggling) but avoid reckless ones (like violence)
**Economic Drivers:**
- Gate transit fees (Concord Assembly revenue, station sees fraction)
- Freight handling contracts (Syndic supply chains)
- Service sector (bars, food, entertainment for workers)
- Station maintenance contracts (ongoing retrofitting)
---
## Governance & Security
**Station Administrator:** Appointed by Van Maanen's Star Authority (Concord Assembly jurisdiction)
**Security:** Sova Station Security (local force, ~150 officers, primarily concerned with safety/accidents, not criminal investigation)
**Commission Presence:** Rotating liaisons (3-6 month assignments), no permanent office. Most recent liaison rotated out 3 months ago; replacement delayed.
**Law Enforcement Gaps:**
This is critical for v0.1 narrative: Sova has *security* (prevent accidents, respond to violence) but minimal *law enforcement* (investigate contraband). The Commission sends liaisons for lattice compliance inspections, but those visits are scheduled and infrequent.
The detective's arrival in [Sova Transit District](transit/index.md) represents an unusual enforcement presence — something has flagged the district for investigation, and institutional attention is now focused where it usually isn't.
---
## Districts
Station Sova has 7 named districts. Only **Sova Transit District** is developed for v0.1.
1. **Sova Transit District** — Freight logistics, worker amenities, bar district ([full profile](transit/index.md))
2. **Central Spindle District** — Administration, station operations
3. **Residential Radial A** — Long-term housing, schools, medical
4. **Residential Radial B** — Short-term housing, transient workers
5. **Commercial Ring** — Retail, entertainment, higher-end services
6. **Industrial Annex** — Repair bays, fabrication, heavy maintenance
7. **Docking Approach** — Gate-adjacent, short-term berths, passenger processing
**Transit Connections:** Internal tram system connects all districts. Transit District <-> Central Spindle is 8 minutes. District <-> Residential A/B is 5 minutes.
---
## Infrastructure
**Meridian Coverage:**
- **High-traffic areas (freight bays, commercial, admin):** Comprehensive, real-time
- **Residential areas:** Standard, slight lag
- **Older sections (maintenance corridors, between-wall spaces):** Degraded or absent
This coverage gradient is load-bearing for smuggling: off-Meridian coordination happens in the gaps.
**Span Gate Access:**
- Sova Station <-> Van Maanen's Star Prime Surface Depot (primary freight route)
- Sova Station <-> Orbital Manufacturing Platform 3 (component transfer)
- Gate cycles every 4-6 minutes during peak shifts, every 12-15 minutes off-peak
**Power & Life Support:**
- Fusion reactors (original core), reliable but aging
- Atmosphere recycling (continuous, noticeable ventilation hum)
- Gravity (spin gravity in rings, microgravity in core — most social life happens in Ring 2 at 0.7g)
---
## Atmosphere & Sensory Details
**Sound:**
- Span gate hum (omnipresent, pitch varies with transit volume)
- Ventilation systems (white noise, occasional rattle)
- Cargo machinery in freight districts (clanking, scanner beeps, conveyor hum)
- Foot traffic (metal grating, echoes in corridors)
**Smell:**
- Recycled air (faint metallic undertone)
- Industrial lubricant (near freight bays)
- Cooking (residential and bar districts)
- Ozone (post-gate-transit, fades quickly)
**Lighting:**
- Functional industrial fixtures (bright in work areas, dim in corridors)
- Mixed color temperatures (newer sections: cool white, older sections: warm amber from aging fixtures)
- Emergency lighting in maintenance corridors (low red)
**Temperature:** Climate-controlled, comfortable. Older sections run slightly cooler (aging environmental systems). Workers dress in layers.
---
## Key Locations (v0.1 Scope)
See [Sova Transit District](transit/index.md) for full v0.1 location details:
- [The Terminal](transit/the-terminal.md) (logistics hub)
- [The Last Shift](transit/the-last-shift.md) (bar)
- [Maintenance Corridor B-7](transit/maintenance-corridors.md) (smuggling space)
---
## Worldbuilding Notes
**Why Sova Works:**
- **Scale:** 12k population is large enough to feel like a community, small enough that patterns are noticeable
- **Economic pressure:** Generates rational motivation for smuggling without desperation
- **Institutional thinness:** Security exists, enforcement is intermittent — creates operational space
- **Architectural complexity:** Layered construction provides physical infrastructure for hidden activity
- **Cultural cohesion:** Turnover is low, social networks are established, outsiders are visible
**The Sova Feeling:** "We all know each other. We all know what goes on. We all benefit just enough not to make trouble."
---
## Mechanical Integration
**Knowledge Graph Flags:**
- `location.sova_station` (KnowsOf: both characters know they're on Sova)
- `location.sova_layout` (KnowsDetails: smuggler knows routes, detective has station map)
- `system.security_presence` (KnowsDetails: smuggler knows security patterns, detective knows enforcement gaps)
**v0.1 Scope Limitation:** The player never leaves Sova Transit District. Other districts are referenced in dialogue/monologue but not traversable.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Van Maanen's Star](../index.md) — Star system profile
- [Sova Transit District](transit/index.md) — v0.1 playable district
- D-036: Sova as v0.1 setting
---
**Status:** Canonical
**Created:** 2026-02-11
**Updated:** 2026-02-12
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---
title: "Sova Transit District"
description: "The v0.1 vertical slice setting — 800-person freight district with three social sites, 17 NPCs, and a smuggling ring hiding in plain sight"
slug: transit
category: district
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-11
updated: 2026-02-13
parent_station: sova
parent_system: van-maanens-star
population: 800
age: 40
construction: mixed
locations: [the-terminal, the-last-shift, maintenance-corridors]
social_sites: [logistics-hub, bar, smuggling-ring]
npc_count: 17
tags: [v0.1, vertical-slice]
decision_refs: [D-036, D-027]
cross_refs: [van-maanens-star, sova, the-ring]
---
# Sova Transit District
**Type:** Station District
**Status:** Canonical
**Station:** [Station Sova](../index.md)
**System:** [Van Maanen's Star](../../index.md)
**District Age:** ~40 years (most recent major retrofit)
**Population:** ~800 (workers + residents)
**Construction:** Prefab-modular base with layered retrofits
---
## Overview
Sova Transit District is a freight logistics district on Station Sova — the v0.1 vertical slice setting. This is where the game happens. Everything the player sees, everyone they meet, every routine they observe exists within this 40-year-old retrofitted freight hub and its worker amenities.
**The District's Character:** Quotidian-with-undertow.
Comfortable enough to be complacent. Tight enough that an extra income source is tempting. People work here, drink here, live here. Routines are predictable. Faces are familiar. And beneath that predictability, a smuggling operation runs smoothly because the community has collectively decided not to notice.
---
## Physical Layout
**Size:** ~800 meters circumferential span (Ring 1 section), 3 vertical levels
**Construction History:**
1. **Original (140 years ago):** Freight bay with basic cargo handling
2. **First retrofit (~80 years ago):** Interior partitions created office spaces, break rooms
3. **Second retrofit (~40 years ago):** Worker amenities added (bar, residential pods), logistics hub expanded
4. **Ongoing maintenance:** Continuous patching, creating architectural complexity
**Spatial Structure:**
- **Level 1 (lowest):** Freight bay floor, cargo handling, span gate access, logistics hub ([The Terminal](locations/the-terminal.md))
- **Level 2 (middle):** Worker amenities (bar, food vendors, small retail), residential pods
- **Level 3 (highest):** Observation gallery (overlooks freight bay), administrative offices, Commission kiosk (unmanned most of the time)
**Between the Levels:** Maintenance corridors, service hatches, spaces between old and new construction. This is where the smuggling infrastructure lives. [Corridor B-7](locations/maintenance-corridors.md) is the primary off-books route.
---
## Three Social Sites (v0.1 Content Templates)
The district contains three **social sites** — clusters of NPCs who regularly interact within connected physical spaces. These are the atomic units of v0.1 content.
### 1. The Terminal (Logistics Hub)
**Type:** Workplace
**NPCs:** 5 ([Voss](../../../../characters/voss.md), [Kael Davan](../../../../characters/kael-davan.md), [Resha](../../../../characters/resha.md), [Torek Lintar](../../../../characters/torek-lintar.md), [Drin](../../../../characters/drin.md))
**Function:** Cargo sorting, scheduling, inspection, paperwork
**Hours:** 24-hour operation, three 8-hour shifts
**[Full profile ->](locations/the-terminal.md)**
### 2. The Last Shift (Bar)
**Type:** Social Venue
**NPCs:** 6 ([Lera Sessik](../../../../characters/lera-sessik.md), [Harek](../../../../characters/harek.md), [Maret Korr](../../../../characters/maret-korr.md), [Sera Venn](../../../../characters/sera-venn.md), [Sess](../../../../characters/sess.md), [Olin](../../../../characters/olin.md))
**Function:** After-shift drinks, social hub, information exchange
**Hours:** 14:00 - 02:00 station time
**Informal Name:** "Lera's" (used by regulars)
**[Full profile ->](locations/the-last-shift.md)**
### 3. Smuggling Spaces (The Ring's Infrastructure)
**Type:** Criminal operation / repurposed infrastructure
**NPCs:** 5 ([Devra](../../../../characters/devra.md), [Renn](../../../../characters/renn.md), [Pell](../../../../characters/pell.md), [Sabel](../../../../characters/sabel.md), [Tav](../../../../characters/tav.md))
**Function:** Contraband transfer, off-books meetings, dead drops
**Locations:** [Maintenance Corridor B-7](locations/maintenance-corridors.md), back room at The Last Shift, storage area in logistics hub
**[Full profile ->](locations/maintenance-corridors.md)**
---
## Economy & Employment
**Primary Employers:**
- Sova Logistics Consortium (freight handling, scheduling, inspection)
- Station Services (maintenance, hospitality, retail)
- Self-employed (bar owners, food vendors, small operators)
**Wage Reality:** Standard logistics salary: 2,400 credits/month. Station living costs: ~2,200 credits/month (housing pod, food, necessities). This leaves 200 credits margin — enough to survive, not enough to thrive.
**Economic Pressure Mechanisms:**
- Medical expenses (lattice maintenance, injury treatment)
- Family support (children, aging parents)
- Lattice upgrades (professional capability enhancement)
- Emergency reserves (job loss, station emergency)
**The Grey Economy:** Smuggling provides supplemental income that transforms "barely comfortable" into "secure." A ring member might make an extra 400-800 credits/month — enough to cover lattice upgrades, save for family, or simply breathe easier.
This is why the community tolerates the ring: everyone benefits indirectly. The bar profits from smugglers buying drinks. Maintenance workers get tips for "noticing things late." Even flat NPCs who aren't involved benefit from the economic activity.
---
## Daily Rhythms
**Shift Schedule:**
- **Morning (06:00-14:00):** Day shift, highest freight volume, gate cycles every 4-6 minutes
- **Afternoon (14:00-22:00):** Swing shift, moderate volume, bar opens, social activity peaks
- **Night (22:00-06:00):** Night shift, lowest volume, gate cycles every 12-15 minutes, smuggling window
**Shift Transition (13:45-14:15):** The corridor between the logistics hub and bar district becomes a chokepoint. Everyone heading from work to drinks passes through the same 40 meters. This is where the smuggler notices patterns and the detective observes routines.
**The Week Cycle:**
- **5-day work cycle + 2-day rest** (station standard)
- Day 1-4: Normal operations
- Day 5 (end-of-cycle): Higher bar attendance, card games, social peak
- Rest days: Quieter district, skeleton crew at logistics hub, bar closed Day 1 morning
**Seasonal Rhythms:** None. Station life has no seasons. This creates psychological monotony that smuggling occasionally interrupts.
---
## Institutional Presence
**Lattice Commission:**
- **Permanent Presence:** None. Commission kiosk on Level 3 (unmanned, for compliance reporting).
- **Liaison Rotation:** 3-6 month assignments. Most recent liaison rotated out 3 months ago; replacement delayed.
- **Inspection Schedule:** Quarterly lattice compliance sweeps (announced 2 weeks in advance).
**This gap — the 3-month window without a Commission presence — is when the smuggling operation escalates. The detective's arrival represents an unscheduled enforcement action, triggered by something flagged at system level.**
**Station Security:**
- **Patrol Presence:** 2 officers on-duty per shift, primarily concerned with accidents and violence
- **Authority Limit:** Security handles safety; Commission handles contraband. Security officers know this distinction and generally look away from grey-market activity that doesn't threaten station safety.
---
## Meridian Coverage & Information Infrastructure
**Coverage Map:**
- **Logistics Hub:** Comprehensive (real-time tracking, manifest systems, surveillance)
- **Bar District:** Strong (standard social monitoring, Meridian feeds)
- **Residential Pods:** Standard (personal lattice connectivity)
- **Maintenance Corridors:** Degraded (older infrastructure, dead spots)
- **Between-Wall Spaces:** Minimal or absent (off-map, no official coverage)
**Dead Spots:** Corridor B-7 and the storage area behind the logistics hub main floor are known Meridian gaps. The ring uses these for off-channel communication. NPCs who need to discuss something sensitive go for a walk to the "quiet spots."
---
## Atmosphere & Sensory Details
**Sound:**
- **Omnipresent:** Span gate hum (bass-frequency vibration, pitch rises with transit volume)
- **Logistics Hub:** Cargo machinery, scanner beeps, conveyor belts, shouted instructions
- **Bar District:** Conversation murmur, glass on surfaces, Meridian music feeds
- **Corridors:** Ventilation hum, footsteps on metal grating, echoes
- **Night:** Gate hum drops to low throb, ventilation dominates, occasional distant voices
**Smell:**
- **Logistics Hub:** Industrial lubricant, recycled air, occasionally cargo scent (organic shipments)
- **Bar District:** Cooking (protein paste, vegetables, synthetic spices), alcohol, crowd scent
- **Corridors:** Recycled air with metallic undertone, faint industrial chemicals
- **Morning:** Ozone scent post-gate-transit (fades quickly)
**Lighting:**
- **Logistics Hub:** Bright industrial white (functional, slightly harsh)
- **Bar District:** Warm amber (cheaper fixtures, comfortable)
- **Corridors:** Dim utilitarian (spaced fixtures, shadows between lights)
- **Maintenance Areas:** Emergency red or no light (bring portable lights)
**Visual Texture:**
- Bilingual signage (Concordat Standard + Van Maanen's Star vernacular)
- Hand-lettered informal signs ("Lera's," shift schedules, lost-and-found notices)
- Wear patterns (scuffed floors, patched walls, graffiti in maintenance areas)
- Personal touches (locker decorations, shift-end artwork, stickers)
**Local Complaint:** "The ventilation in Sector 3 has been unreliable for months. Station maintenance says it's on the list." — Universal safe topic. If an NPC is complaining about ventilation, they're NOT talking about something else.
---
## NPCs & Social Structure
**Total NPCs in District:** 17 (15 standard + 2 FRIEND-tier)
**Population Distribution (D-029 Entanglement Ratio: 30/50/20):**
- **Flat NPCs (3, ~18%):** [Drin](../../../../characters/drin.md), [Sess](../../../../characters/sess.md), [Olin](../../../../characters/olin.md) — routines, greetings, atmosphere
- **Triangle NPCs, Mundane (7, ~41%):** [Voss](../../../../characters/voss.md), [Maret Korr](../../../../characters/maret-korr.md), [Torek Lintar](../../../../characters/torek-lintar.md), [Lera Sessik](../../../../characters/lera-sessik.md), [Harek](../../../../characters/harek.md), [Resha](../../../../characters/resha.md), [Sera Venn](../../../../characters/sera-venn.md)
- **Triangle NPCs, Entangled (7, ~41%):** [Kael Davan](../../../../characters/kael-davan.md), [Devra](../../../../characters/devra.md), [Renn](../../../../characters/renn.md), [Pell](../../../../characters/pell.md), [Sabel](../../../../characters/sabel.md), [Tav](../../../../characters/tav.md), [Naia Tamm](../../../../characters/naia-tamm.md) (referenced)
**The Five Triangles:** See [NPC Index](../../../../characters/index.md) for full triangle diagram.
---
## The Smuggling Operation ("The Ring")
**Structure:** Informal network, no official name. NPCs refer to it obliquely ("the arrangement," "the side work," "helping out").
**What They Move:** [Unlicensed lattice components](../../../../contraband/lattice-components.md) (primary), [medical-grade neural replacements](../../../../contraband/medical-grade-replacements.md), [Severance counter-surveillance tech](../../../../contraband/severance-equipment.md)
**How It Works:**
1. Contraband arrives in legitimate freight shipments (mixed with legal cargo)
2. [Torek Lintar](../../../../characters/torek-lintar.md) (compromised inspector) looks away during inspection
3. [Kael Davan](../../../../characters/kael-davan.md) and others route flagged containers to holding area
4. [Renn](../../../../characters/renn.md) (courier) transfers contraband to [Corridor B-7](locations/maintenance-corridors.md)
5. [Devra](../../../../characters/devra.md) coordinates off-station contact ([Sabel](../../../../characters/sabel.md))
6. Product distributed through informal networks
**Operational Timing:** Night shifts (lowest oversight), shift transitions (confusion/distraction), post-inspection windows (2-3 days after scheduled Commission sweep)
**Community Role:** The ring is the district's economic immune system. People who don't participate directly still benefit: bars profit, families get lattice upgrades they couldn't afford, medical needs get met. This creates collective investment in not noticing.
---
## v0.1 Narrative Stakes
**The Smuggler's Stakes:**
- **Home:** This is their community, their livelihood, their daily life
- **Relationships:** Everyone here is a colleague, friend, or known quantity
- **Risk:** The detective threatens to dismantle the social fabric that keeps them secure
**The Detective's Stakes:**
- **Assignment:** Institutional mandate to investigate manifest discrepancies
- **Authority:** Commission jurisdiction, but local resistance
- **Isolation:** No social network, no institutional backup in-district, operating alone in hostile social terrain
**The Convergence:** Both characters are following the same threads (manifest discrepancies, NPC behavioral changes, Corridor B-7) from opposite sides. The smuggler knows what's happening and must protect it. The detective suspects something and must discover it. They're heading toward the same revelation from opposite directions.
---
## Mechanical Integration
**Knowledge Graph Flags (FactIds):**
- `location.sova_transit_layout` (KnowsOf: detective has map, smuggler knows shortcuts)
- `location.corridor_b7_restricted` (KnowsDetails: smuggler knows access, detective discovers through investigation)
- `contraband.ring_exists` (Smuggler: KnowsDetails from background, Detective: Suspects -> KnowsOf -> KnowsDetails through gameplay)
**Perception Differences:**
- **Smuggler:** Sees home, notices routine deviations as threats, identifies NPCs by first name and relationship
- **Detective:** Sees crime scene, notices patterns as evidence, identifies NPCs by role and case file data
**Monologue Triggers:** 60+ location-specific triggers across three social sites, filtered by character
---
## Worldbuilding Notes
**Why Sova Transit Works:**
- **Economically grounded:** The financial pressure is specific and relatable
- **Socially coherent:** 800 people, everyone knows everyone, patterns are visible
- **Architecturally complex:** Layered construction provides hiding places
- **Institutionally thin:** Enforcement gaps make smuggling viable
- **Morally ambiguous:** The ring serves real needs, not just greed
**The Honest Truth:** If Sova Transit District feels real — if the player can imagine working here, drinking here, living here — then the smuggling operation becomes a moral dilemma instead of a simple crime. That's the game.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Van Maanen's Star](../../index.md) — Star system profile
- [Station Sova](../index.md) — Station profile
- [NPC Index](../../../../characters/index.md) — Full character roster
- D-036: Sova Transit District as v0.1 setting
- D-027: Vertical slice definition
---
**Status:** Canonical — v0.1 playable setting
**Created:** 2026-02-11
**Updated:** 2026-02-12
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---
title: "Maintenance Corridors"
description: "Forgotten interstitial spaces between construction eras — Corridor B-7 as the primary smuggling route, off-Meridian and off-map"
slug: maintenance-corridors
category: location
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
parent_district: transit
parent_station: sova
parent_system: van-maanens-star
social_site: smuggling-ring
sightlines: severely-limited
ambient_sound: ventilation-hum
npcs_present: [devra, renn, pell, sabel, tav]
tags: [v0.1, criminal-infrastructure]
decision_refs: [D-025, D-036]
cross_refs: [the-terminal, the-last-shift]
---
# Maintenance Corridors (Smuggling Spaces)
**Type:** Location — Criminal Infrastructure / Repurposed Space
**Status:** Canonical
**District:** [Sova Transit District](index.md)
**Station:** [Station Sova](../index.md)
**System:** [Van Maanen's Star](../../index.md)
**Level:** Between levels (interstitial construction)
**Key Location:** Corridor B-7
**Access:** Restricted (service hatch from Terminal break room, maintenance access from Level 2)
**Meridian Coverage:** Degraded to absent
---
## Overview
The maintenance corridors are the spaces between Sova Transit District's official architecture — the gaps where old construction meets new, where service infrastructure runs between wall layers, where 140 years of station retrofitting has left passages that exist on original schematics but not on current maps. They are not built spaces in the conventional sense. They are the negative space of the station's architectural history.
Corridor B-7 is the primary off-books route. It runs between the original prefab shell of the freight bay (now The Terminal's Level 1) and the interior partition wall of the Level 2 amenities strip. The corridor was a maintenance access for ventilation systems during the station's first retrofit ~80 years ago. When the second retrofit added Level 2 amenities, the corridor was partially sealed and forgotten. "Forgotten" in the institutional sense — it dropped off maintenance schedules, lost its corridor designation in official records, and stopped appearing on maps issued to new station personnel.
The ring didn't build this space. They found it.
---
## Physical Description
### Corridor B-7 (Primary Smuggling Route)
**Dimensions:** ~120 meters long, 1.8 meters wide (tight for two people passing), 2.2 meters high. The corridor follows the curve of the station's structural geometry — it's not straight. Visibility is limited to 15-20 meters at best before the corridor bends.
**Construction:** Original station prefab walls on the left (the freight bay's outer shell — you can feel machinery vibration through these walls during active shifts). Retrofit partition wall on the right (thinner, newer material, occasionally patched). The floor is original metal grating — functional, loud underfoot, cold. The ceiling carries exposed conduit runs: ventilation ducts, power cables, data lines (some active, some dead, the dead ones never removed).
**Entry Points:**
1. **Service hatch from Terminal break room** (south end) — A 0.9m x 1.2m hatch in the back wall of the locker area, originally for ventilation maintenance. Looks like a utility panel. Requires a physical latch (no electronic lock — off-Meridian by default). The ring has oiled the hinges. Workers who know about it move through without hesitation. Workers who don't know about it have never noticed it.
2. **Maintenance access from Level 2 corridor** (north end) — A labeled door ("MAINTENANCE — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL") that requires station maintenance clearance. In practice, the clearance hasn't been checked in years. The door leads to a junction point where B-7 intersects with two other maintenance corridors. Renn uses this entry when coming from the residential pods.
3. **Emergency access panel near temporary storage** (midpoint) — A ventilation access that was never sealed during the second retrofit. Small enough to pass cargo through, not large enough for comfortable transit. Used for emergency operations when primary entry points feel watched.
**Interior Features:**
- **Dead drop alcove** (30 meters from south entry): A recessed section where a ventilation junction box was removed but the wall niche remains. The ring stores small items here — data chips, sealed packets, components that don't need container handling. The alcove is invisible unless you know where to look.
- **Junction room** (60 meters, midpoint): Where B-7 crosses a perpendicular maintenance corridor. A slightly wider space (~3m x 3m) with access to overhead cable trays. This is where larger items are temporarily staged before being moved to their final destination. The room has a single emergency light (red, dim, motion-activated — installed by station maintenance and never checked).
- **Ventilation hub** (90 meters from south entry): A section where the corridor widens around a ventilation distribution unit. The unit runs continuously, producing a low hum that masks conversation. Devra uses this spot for in-person meetings when Meridian communication isn't secure enough.
---
## Atmosphere & Sensory Details
**Sound:**
- Ventilation hum (omnipresent, louder than in habitable spaces — these corridors ARE the ventilation infrastructure)
- Footsteps on metal grating (loud, echoing, impossible to approach silently unless you slow to a deliberate pace)
- Machinery vibration through the left wall (the Terminal's grav-lifts and cargo systems, muffled but constant during active shifts, silent during night shift lull)
- Occasionally: distant voices from Level 2 bleeding through the partition wall (unintelligible but audible — a reminder that inhabited space is inches away)
- Silence during 01:00-04:00 operations is not silence — it's the ventilation hum with everything else subtracted
**Smell:**
- Recycled air with a stronger metallic undertone than in habitable areas (older ductwork, less filtration)
- Industrial chemicals (legacy residue in the walls, faint but persistent)
- Damp metal (condensation on cooler surfaces where ventilation creates temperature gradients)
- Absence: no cooking smell, no crowd scent, no organic presence. The corridor smells like what it is — infrastructure, not habitat.
**Lighting:**
- Emergency red from spaced fixtures (every 20 meters, low intensity — enough to navigate, not enough to read)
- Long shadows between fixtures. The curvature of the corridor means you can see the red glow of the next fixture but not what's between you and it.
- At the junction room: motion-activated emergency light (white, harsh, brief — it clicks on when you enter and times out after 3 minutes)
- Portable lights: the ring carries small handheld units for operations. The detective's analytical lattice includes a low-light enhancement mode that makes the corridor navigable but color-shifted.
- Ambient darkness is the baseline. Light is brought in, not found.
**Temperature:**
- Cooler than habitable spaces (environmental systems serve the corridor as infrastructure, not as living space)
- Temperature gradients near ventilation junctions — cold pockets where conditioned air moves
- Cold enough that breath condenses near the ventilation hub during night shifts (the district's environmental systems enter low-power mode)
**Visual Texture:**
- Exposed conduit: cables and ducts running along the ceiling, some labeled, some not, some disconnected and left in place
- Patch marks on walls: where panels were replaced, where holes were sealed, where someone wrote a maintenance note in marker decades ago and it's still there
- Graffiti: sparse but present — maintenance workers from previous eras left marks. A date (34 years old). An arrow pointing to a junction. A name. Recent additions: a small symbol near the dead drop alcove that means nothing to anyone who doesn't know what it means.
- Dust: fine, even, covering surfaces that haven't been touched in months. Footprints in the dust are evidence. The ring knows this and has developed the habit of brushing the floor with a cloth after operations.
---
## NPC Presence
### Ring NPCs (Operational Presence in Corridors)
| NPC | Role | Corridor Use | Frequency |
|-----|------|-------------|-----------|
| [Devra](../../../../characters/devra.md) | Ring Coordinator | Meetings at ventilation hub, coordination | 2-3x per week |
| [Renn](../../../../characters/renn.md) | Courier | Primary cargo transfer through B-7 | Every ring operation (night shift cycle) |
| [Pell](../../../../characters/pell.md) | Wavering Ring Member | Nervous presence, dead drop pickups | Irregular, increasingly reluctant |
| [Sabel](../../../../characters/sabel.md) | Fence/Buyer (external) | Rare in-person meetings at junction room | Monthly, high-stakes |
| [Tav](../../../../characters/tav.md) | Lookout/Runner | Watches entry points during operations | Every ring operation |
### Non-Ring NPC Access
- **Drin** (Maintenance Tech): Has legitimate reason to be in maintenance corridors. Passes through B-7 occasionally for ventilation work. Has noticed the oiled hinges, the clean floor near the alcove, the fact that the emergency light at the junction was replaced with a newer unit. Drin says nothing. Drin is compromised by debt to Harek, and even without that, Drin minds their business.
- **Resha** (New Hire): Does NOT know about the corridors. Resha's curiosity is a risk factor — if they follow Renn during a shift transition, they could stumble into B-7. This is a storyteller-activatable event.
---
## Operational Rhythm
**Standard Operation (Every Third Night Shift Rotation):**
1. **22:30-23:00:** Tav positions at Level 2 maintenance access. Watches for unexpected foot traffic.
2. **01:00-01:15:** Renn enters through Terminal break room service hatch. Moves pre-staged container contents from temporary storage into the corridor.
3. **01:15-01:45:** Cargo moved through B-7 to junction room. Items sorted: small components to dead drop alcove for later pickup, larger items staged for transfer.
4. **01:45-02:00:** Renn exits through Level 2 maintenance access. Tav confirms clear. Corridor secured.
5. **02:00+:** Floor brushed near entry points. Dust disturbed along the route settles naturally over 6-8 hours.
**Total operational window: ~90 minutes.** The ring has run this sequence dozens of times. It's smooth, rehearsed, and unremarkable from outside — the only external evidence is the container sitting 14+ hours in temporary storage.
**Dead Drop Cycle (Continuous):**
- Pell picks up data chips and small items from the alcove 1-2 times per week. Timing varies. Pell's increasing nervousness makes their visits shorter and more erratic — they used to linger, check the corridor, make sure everything was in order. Now they grab and go. This behavioral change is observable by anyone who knows Pell's pattern.
**Devra's Meetings (Irregular):**
- Devra meets contacts at the ventilation hub for conversations that can't happen on the Meridian. These meetings are rare (monthly or less) but high-significance. The ventilation hum masks speech from casual eavesdropping. Devra brings a Severance device for these meetings — a small counter-surveillance unit that creates a localized Meridian dead zone.
---
## Mechanical Integration
### Knowledge Graph Flags (FactIds)
| FactId | Smuggler Starting Level | Detective Starting Level | How Detective Escalates |
|--------|------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| `location.corridor_b7_restricted` | KnowsDetails (uses it) | None | Discover through investigation: observe Renn's movements, check old schematics, follow dust patterns |
| `location.smuggling_route` | KnowsDetails (operational) | None | Build from corridor discovery + manifest evidence + shift timing |
| `location.surveillance_gaps` | KnowsDetails (relies on them) | KnowsOf (knows coverage degrades in older sections) | Analytical lattice maps dead zones, correlates with operational timing |
| `contraband.severance_tech` | Suspects (knows about sealed containers) | None | Find Severance device residue at ventilation hub (late-game discovery) |
### Perception Differences
**Smuggler sees:**
- Infrastructure. A route they've walked dozens of times. The hatch is a door. The corridor is a commute. The alcove is a shelf. The junction room is where Renn stages cargo. The ventilation hub is where Devra talks business.
- Familiarity breeds efficiency. The smuggler navigates B-7 in near-darkness, counting footsteps to landmarks. They know which sections of grating creak, which stretches are silent, where the temperature drops near the ventilation junction.
- But also: tension. The corridor is where the operation is most physically exposed. If someone follows them here, there's no innocent explanation.
**Detective sees:**
- A revelation. The first time the detective enters Corridor B-7, it should feel like the investigation cracking open. This is the physical proof that the district has a hidden layer — a space that doesn't appear on their station map overlay, where Meridian coverage drops to zero, where the architecture itself has been repurposed for concealment.
- Evidence: oiled hinges on a "forgotten" hatch. Clean patches on otherwise dusty floors. A dead drop alcove with recent scuff marks. An emergency light that's newer than everything else in the corridor. Every detail is a data point.
- The detective's analytical lattice flags the Meridian dead zone. Their overlay goes dark. For a character whose perception is mediated by institutional technology, the loss of overlay data is both disorienting and clarifying: they're seeing the space as it is, not as the institution tells them it is.
### Monologue Triggers (Location-Specific)
**On first entering Corridor B-7:**
- Smuggler: Routine acknowledgment, operational awareness, brief attention to whether anything's changed
- Detective: Discovery moment — urgent monologue chime, assessment of what this space means for the investigation
**On finding the dead drop alcove:**
- Smuggler: Checks contents or notes its status (operational information)
- Detective: Evidence discovery — `location.corridor_b7_restricted` escalates to KnowsDetails
**On reaching the ventilation hub:**
- Smuggler: Meeting space, checks for Devra's presence, notes the hum
- Detective: Notes the acoustic properties (ventilation masks conversation), flags as potential meeting point
**On noticing dust patterns / clean floor sections:**
- Smuggler: (Would not trigger — this IS their routine, they created the patterns)
- Detective: Pattern recognition — someone has been here recently, repeatedly, and has attempted to conceal it
**On losing Meridian coverage (overlay goes dark):**
- Smuggler: Normal (they expect it, use it)
- Detective: Disorienting, then revealing — the dead zone IS the evidence
---
## Worldbuilding Notes
The maintenance corridors embody a principle that runs through the entire setting: the most dangerous spaces aren't the ones designed for danger. They're the forgotten ones. Corridor B-7 wasn't built for smuggling. It was built for ventilation maintenance and then abandoned by institutional memory. The ring's genius — if that word applies to what is essentially pragmatic opportunism — is recognizing that the station's own architectural history provides better cover than anything they could construct.
Let me complicate this by noting what the corridors mean for the game's moral architecture. The smuggler walks through B-7 with the comfort of routine. The detective enters B-7 as an investigator entering a crime scene. But the corridor is neither of those things inherently. It's a maintenance corridor. Its criminality is imposed by the people who use it and the institutions that made it necessary. If the Commission didn't price people out of lattice upgrades, Corridor B-7 would just be a corridor.
The space between the walls is where the game's moral questions live.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Sova Transit District](index.md) — Parent district
- [The Terminal](the-terminal.md) — Connected via break room service hatch (south entry)
- [The Last Shift](the-last-shift.md) — Back room connects to ring infrastructure
- [NPC Index](../../../../characters/index.md) — Full character roster
- [Severance Equipment](../../../../contraband/severance-equipment.md) — Used during Devra's meetings
- D-036: Sova Transit District as v0.1 setting
- D-037: Contraband specification (what moves through B-7)
---
**Status:** Canonical — v0.1 smuggling infrastructure
**Created:** 2026-02-12
**Updated:** 2026-02-12
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---
title: "The Last Shift"
description: "District bar and social hub — the smuggler's refuge, the detective's intelligence goldmine, and the place where information flows faster than the Meridian"
slug: the-last-shift
category: location
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
parent_district: transit
parent_station: sova
parent_system: van-maanens-star
social_site: bar
sightlines: open-with-alcoves
ambient_sound: conversation-music
npcs_present: [lera-sessik, sera-venn, naia-tamm, sess, olin]
tags: [v0.1, social-venue]
decision_refs: [D-025, D-028, D-036]
cross_refs: [the-terminal, maintenance-corridors]
---
# The Last Shift (Bar)
**Type:** Location — Social Venue
**Status:** Canonical
**District:** [Sova Transit District](index.md)
**Station:** [Station Sova](../index.md)
**System:** [Van Maanen's Star](../../index.md)
**Level:** 2 (middle — worker amenities)
**Operating Hours:** 14:00-02:00 station time
**Informal Name:** "Lera's" (used by regulars)
**Owner:** [Lera Sessik](../../../../characters/lera-sessik.md)
**Capacity:** ~30
---
## Overview
The Last Shift is a mid-grade bar in Sova Transit District's Level 2 amenity strip. Not upscale, not a dive. The kind of place where working people go after shift because it's the only place worth going. Regulars call it "Lera's" after the owner, and the name on the hand-lettered sign outside — "Lera's — Cold Drinks, Hot Food, No Questions" — tells you everything about the establishment's operating philosophy.
The bar is the district's social heart. Information flows through here faster than through the Meridian: who's working extra shifts, who's buying rounds they can't afford, who left early with someone they shouldn't have, who said something to the new Commission tech that they probably shouldn't have said. For the smuggler, it's the place to relax, maintain social cover, and read the room for threats. For the detective, it's an intelligence goldmine disguised as a working-class bar.
---
## Physical Description
**Structure:** The Last Shift occupies a converted maintenance staging area from an earlier construction era. The irregular layout is structural, not decorative — the booths were built into spaces that already existed, the bar counter follows the curve of a load-bearing wall, and the ceiling height varies from 2.5 meters in the main room to under 2 meters in the corner booth alcove. The conversion happened ~25 years ago when Lera's predecessor (a dock worker who retired into hospitality) saw an opportunity in the empty space.
**Layout:**
- **The Bar:** A long counter along the curved back wall, 8 stools. Lera's domain. She works the bar with Sess and has a sightline to most of the room from behind it. Bottles displayed on shelves — station-brewed spirits, imported beer (expensive, status purchase), and the synthetic staples that constitute 80% of sales. A Meridian music feed plays from a speaker nobody's ever changed — generic ambient that's become so familiar it functions as silence.
- **The Floor:** Scattered tables, mismatched chairs (some bolted down, some not — the bolted ones near the door, since the first few months after opening taught Lera about drunk dock workers and loose furniture). Low tables for card games. The floor is original metal plating with a rubberized coating that absorbs sound — and spills. Lighting is warm amber from older fixtures that Lera has never replaced because the atmosphere they create is worth more than the energy savings of an upgrade.
- **The Corner Booth:** A semi-private alcove created by the building's structural geometry — two walls converge, creating a natural pocket that seats 4-5. This is the most socially significant table in the district. Who uses the corner booth and when is information. Off-shift dock workers use it for card games. Devra uses it for business conversations that look like friendly drinks. The detective, once they identify the pattern, can observe the booth from the bar without appearing to watch.
- **News Ticker:** A Meridian feed display mounted above the bar. Concord Assembly proceedings (boring — nobody watches), freight market prices (relevant — workers check these), weather alerts for Van Maanen's Star Prime surface operations (practical), and occasionally a Commission public notice about regulatory compliance (everyone pretends not to notice). The news ticker is background texture that occasionally becomes plot-relevant: the same headline reads differently to the smuggler and the detective.
- **The Back Room:** Through a door behind the bar marked "STAFF ONLY" (the sign is in Lera's handwriting). Officially a storage and supply room. The door leads to a small space with kegs, crates of supplies, and a secondary exit that connects to a maintenance corridor. Lera has "adopted" this corridor access — it's not on any lease, but nobody's contested it in 25 years. The ring uses the back room for handoffs: contraband arrives through the maintenance corridor, gets stored briefly among the supply crates, and is distributed through informal networks. Lera knows. Lera doesn't ask.
- **The Threshold:** The door to the bar opens onto the Level 2 corridor that connects The Terminal (via a transition ramp from Level 1) to the residential pods. Everyone heading from work to home passes this point. The threshold is where off-shift workers decide: home, or one more? The decision is visible. NPCs who enter the bar are making a social choice. NPCs who walk past are making a different one. Both are information.
---
## Atmosphere & Sensory Details
**Sound:**
- Conversation murmur (the dominant sound — 15-20 voices at peak, falling to 3-4 late at night)
- Glass on surfaces (the clink and scrape of station-standard tumblers on metal table tops)
- Meridian music feed (ambient, unremarkable, occasionally someone asks Sess to change it, Sess never does)
- Span gate hum (quieter here on Level 2 than in The Terminal, but still present — a low vibration in the floor that you feel more than hear)
- Card game sounds (chips, tapping, the particular conversational rhythm of people who've been playing the same game for years)
- Late at night: the murmur dies down, the music becomes audible, individual conversations become distinguishable
**Smell:**
- Cooking (protein paste dishes, reconstituted vegetables, synthetic spices — not gourmet, but warm and identifiable)
- Alcohol (station-brewed spirits have a sharp, slightly chemical edge; imported beer smells different, richer)
- Crowd scent (20 people in a converted maintenance area after an 8-hour shift — bodied, human, real)
- Underneath: the ever-present recycled air base note, faintly metallic
**Lighting:**
- Warm amber from older fixtures. The lighting is The Last Shift's most distinctive atmospheric feature — after the harsh industrial white of The Terminal, stepping into Lera's feels like exhaling. The amber isn't designed; it's a consequence of aged fixtures that Lera has correctly identified as an asset.
- Corner booth: slightly dimmer (structural shadow from the converging walls). This is why the booth feels private — it's not screened off, just less illuminated.
- Behind the bar: brighter (Lera needs to see what she's pouring). The light behind the bar creates a slight backlight effect — Lera is always slightly in silhouette from the customers' perspective. She sees them better than they see her.
- Back room: Standard utility lighting (bright, unflattering — this is a storage space, not a social one).
**Temperature:**
- Climate-controlled, comfortable — one of Lera's few deliberate investments. The bar is slightly warmer than the corridor outside, which makes the transition from work to drinks feel like arriving somewhere.
- Late at night with fewer bodies, it cools slightly. The regulars who stay past midnight notice.
**Visual Texture:**
- The hand-lettered sign: "Lera's — Cold Drinks, Hot Food, No Questions" (exterior, the first thing anyone sees)
- Shift schedule board on the wall near the door (community service — workers check upcoming rotations here)
- Lost-and-found notices (hand-written, some months old, a small archaeology of forgotten jackets and misplaced data chips)
- A few personal touches from regulars: a carved wooden ship model on a shelf (Harek made it), a signed photograph of a freight crew from "the big delivery" (whatever that was, nobody new asks), stickers on the bolted-down chairs
- Wear patterns: the bar counter is smoothed and darkened where elbows rest. The corner booth table has rings from a thousand glasses.
---
## NPC Presence
### Primary NPCs (Regular Presence at The Last Shift)
| NPC | Role | Typical Hours | Function |
|-----|------|---------------|----------|
| [Lera Sessik](../../../../characters/lera-sessik.md) | Bar Owner | 13:30-02:00 (daily) | Social hub, observes everything, willful ignorance |
| [Sera Venn](../../../../characters/sera-venn.md) | Commission Field Tech (THE FRIEND) | Evenings, irregular | Detective's social anchor, bar regular |
| [Naia Tamm](../../../../characters/naia-tamm.md) | Teacher (Kael's partner) | Evenings, 2-3x/week | Worried, confides in Sera |
| [Sess](../../../../characters/sess.md) | Bartender | 14:00-02:00 (shifts with Lera) | Flat, observant, discreet |
| [Olin](../../../../characters/olin.md) | Drifter / New Arrival | Irregular, evenings | Ambiguous intent, asks questions |
### Bridge NPCs (Present at The Last Shift + Other Sites)
| NPC | Home Site | Bar Role | Bridge Function |
|-----|-----------|----------|-----------------|
| [Torek Lintar](../../../../characters/torek-lintar.md) | The Last Shift / [The Terminal](the-terminal.md) | Regular, big spender | Spending beyond means — financial tell |
| [Harek](../../../../characters/harek.md) | The Last Shift / [The Terminal](the-terminal.md) | Off-duty security, card games | Sees things in both contexts, holds debt leverage on Drin |
| [Maret Korr](../../../../characters/maret-korr.md) | [The Terminal](the-terminal.md) | Occasional visitor | Worried, processes what she's seen at work |
| [Devra](../../../../characters/devra.md) | Smuggling Ring | Corner booth meetings | Legitimate front conceals ring coordination |
| [Kael Davan](../../../../characters/kael-davan.md) | [The Terminal](the-terminal.md) | After-shift regular | Ring member unwinding, partner Naia sometimes present |
**Total NPC presence:** Up to 10 at peak (5 regulars + 5 bridge), minimum 2-3 (Lera, Sess, and a straggler)
---
## Daily Rhythm
**Pre-Opening (13:30-14:00)**
- Lera arrives, stocks up, checks supplies. Sess follows. The bar is empty. Quiet conversations between staff — the only time Lera drops her public persona.
**Opening / Post-Morning-Shift (14:00-16:00)**
- The morning shift crowd arrives. The corridor between The Terminal and The Last Shift becomes a chokepoint. Workers come in pairs and small groups. First orders are routine — "the usual" for regulars, careful choices for the new detective trying to establish a presence.
- Mood: relieved, tired, social. This is when gossip flows most freely. "Did you see Voss's face when that manifest flagged?" The smuggler listens. The detective should.
**Afternoon Lull (16:00-18:00)**
- The first wave leaves (home, errands, families). A quieter crowd remains: the ones who don't have somewhere to be, or who do but aren't going. Torek buys another round. Harek deals cards.
- Mood: settled, intimate. Conversations deepen. The corner booth fills with whoever has business.
**Evening Peak (18:00-22:00)**
- Swing shift workers arrive. The bar fills. Both shifts overlap. This is the social peak — maximum information exchange, maximum observation opportunity.
- Card games run in the corner. Devra might appear for a "friendly drink" that involves a quiet conversation in the booth. Sera Venn drops in for an evening drink and might end up talking to Naia, who's worried about Kael's late nights.
- Mood: lively, loud enough for private conversations to go unheard. The smuggler's comfort zone. The detective's observation window.
**Late Night (22:00-02:00)**
- The crowd thins. Night shift workers are gone. The late-night regulars are a different crowd: the ones who don't want to go home, the ones with something on their mind, the ones waiting for something.
- Lera starts cleaning. Conversations become audible again. The atmosphere shifts from social to confessional.
- Mood: quiet, vulnerable. If an NPC is going to say something they'll regret, it happens here.
**Rest Days (Day 6-7 of cycle)**
- Day 6 morning: bar closed. Lera resupplies, does maintenance.
- Day 6 evening: opens late (16:00), lighter crowd.
- Day 5 (end-of-work-cycle): Highest attendance. Card tournament night. Social peak of the weekly cycle. The bar is packed, loud, and perfect cover for anything the ring needs to coordinate.
---
## Mechanical Integration
### Knowledge Graph Flags (FactIds)
| FactId | Smuggler Starting Level | Detective Starting Level | How Detective Escalates |
|--------|------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| `relationship.trust_network` | KnowsDetails (knows everyone) | Suspects (observes social bonds) | Spend time here, build rapport, observe who talks to whom |
| `relationship.ring_membership` | KnowsDetails (knows who's in) | None initially | Observe Torek's spending, Devra's booth meetings |
| `contraband.supply_chain` | KnowsOf (knows general flow) | None initially | Connect bar observations to Terminal evidence |
| `relationship.faction_allegiance` | KnowsDetails (reads the room) | Suspects (knows some are Commission-aligned) | Observe NPC reactions to authority presence |
### Perception Differences
**Smuggler sees:**
- Sanctuary. The one place where work recedes and social life fills the space. Familiar faces, familiar orders, the warm amber light after a long shift. Lera's nod that means "everything's fine." Kael's laugh from the corner table.
- But also: Torek spending too much. Olin asking too many questions. The detective's presence as an intrusion into safe space. The bar as a social map that must be maintained.
**Detective sees:**
- An intelligence environment. Every regular is a potential source. Every conversation is potential evidence. The corner booth is a surveillance target. Torek's spending is a financial tell. Lera's practiced indifference is a tell of its own.
- But also: the first place that feels human since arriving on Sova. The amber light is warm. Sera Venn is friendly. The detective's professional discipline fights their personal need for connection. The bar is where the detective is most vulnerable to becoming attached to the people they're investigating.
### Monologue Triggers (Location-Specific)
**On entering The Last Shift:**
- Smuggler: Social comfort, reads the room for who's present, brief relaxation
- Detective: Assessment mode, notes occupancy, identifies familiar faces from case file
**On observing Torek buying rounds:**
- Smuggler: Concern (exposure risk — Torek's spending is visible)
- Detective: Financial anomaly flag (income doesn't match lifestyle)
**On overhearing Naia confide in Sera:**
- Smuggler: Guilt (knows why Kael is absent, can't say)
- Detective: Potential lead (partner's worry suggests concealment behavior)
**On the corner booth being occupied by Devra + unknown:**
- Smuggler: Operational awareness (ring business, stay clear)
- Detective: Surveillance target (who's meeting whom, lattice overlay tags the unknown)
**On the news ticker showing Commission activity:**
- Smuggler: Relief if it's elsewhere, tension if it's local
- Detective: Jurisdictional context, watches NPC reactions to the headline
---
## Worldbuilding Notes
The Last Shift works because it's the only social venue in a 800-person district where everyone works physical jobs. That simplicity creates concentrated social dynamics: there's nowhere else to go, so everyone comes here, and everyone sees everyone else. The bar is a panopticon of social information — but unlike institutional surveillance, it runs on gossip, routine observation, and the accumulated pattern recognition of people who've been seeing each other every day for years.
But what SUSTAINS The Last Shift as a gameplay space across hours of play is the dual function: it's simultaneously the smuggler's refuge and the detective's fishing ground. The same NPC interaction reads differently from each perspective. Lera's "no questions" policy protects the smuggler and frustrates the detective. Torek's generosity is loyalty from one angle and evidence from another. The bar doesn't change between playthroughs. The player does.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Sova Transit District](index.md) — Parent district
- [The Terminal](the-terminal.md) — Workers come from here
- [Maintenance Corridors](maintenance-corridors.md) — Back room connects to ring infrastructure
- [NPC Index](../../../../characters/index.md) — Full character roster
- D-036: Sova Transit District as v0.1 setting
- D-028: Dialogue architecture (bar as primary social dialogue site)
- D-034: THE FRIEND (Sera Venn present at bar, detective's anchor)
---
**Status:** Canonical — v0.1 social venue
**Created:** 2026-02-12
**Updated:** 2026-02-12
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---
title: "The Terminal"
description: "Freight logistics hub workplace — where cargo arrives, manifests get doctored, and the smuggling operation hides in the routine of legitimate work"
slug: the-terminal
category: location
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
parent_district: transit
parent_station: sova
parent_system: van-maanens-star
social_site: logistics-hub
sightlines: partitioned
ambient_sound: cargo-machinery
npcs_present: [voss, kael-davan, maret-korr, resha, drin]
tags: [v0.1, workplace]
decision_refs: [D-025, D-036]
cross_refs: [the-last-shift, maintenance-corridors]
---
# The Terminal (Logistics Hub)
**Type:** Location — Workplace Social Site
**Status:** Canonical
**District:** [Sova Transit District](index.md)
**Station:** [Station Sova](../index.md)
**System:** [Van Maanen's Star](../../index.md)
**Level:** 1 (lowest)
**Operating Hours:** 24-hour, three 8-hour shifts
**Capacity:** ~60 workers per shift
---
## Overview
The Terminal is the economic heart of Sova Transit District — a freight logistics hub where cargo arrives through the span gate, gets sorted, inspected, manifested, and forwarded. It's the district's largest employer and the place where most of the 800 residents spend their working hours. It's also where the smuggling operation lives, hidden in the routine of legitimate work.
The name is informal. Officially it's "Sova Transit Logistics Hub, Bay 7-C." Nobody calls it that. Workers call it The Terminal because that's what it is: the terminus of every shipment that passes through Van Maanen's Star's primary freight corridor. The name carries a blue-collar weariness — this is where things end up, including the people who work here.
---
## Physical Description
**Structure:** The Terminal occupies a large section of Level 1, built into the original freight bay from Station Sova's construction ~140 years ago. The core structure is industrial prefab — high ceilings (8 meters in the main bay), exposed structural ribs, reinforced flooring rated for heavy cargo. Successive retrofits have partitioned the space into functional zones without changing its fundamental character: a working bay where things get moved.
**Layout Zones:**
- **Main Bay Floor:** The largest open space in the district. Cargo containers stacked in rows, grav-lift lanes between them, manifest verification terminals along the walls. Bright industrial white lighting from overhead panels — functional, slightly harsh, the kind of light that makes everything look the same at 03:00 as at 15:00. The floor is scuffed metal plating with wear patterns that trace decades of foot traffic and grav-lift routes.
- **Manifest Processing Area:** A row of terminals along the bay's east wall where workers verify cargo contents against Meridian-logged manifests. This is the bureaucratic chokepoint — every shipment passes through here. Screens display cargo IDs, weight/volume data, origin stamps, destination codes. The smuggling happens at these terminals: mismatched containers, doctored manifests, containers routed to scanner bays with known blind spots.
- **Container Staging:** The physical workspace. Heavy containers moved by small grav-lifts — hum of anti-grav motors, clang of magnetic locks engaging, occasional shout over the machinery noise. Active during shift hours, quieter between shifts. Workers communicate in a mix of voice calls and short Meridian pings.
- **Scanner Bays (3):** Automated cargo inspection stations. Bay 1 and 2 run full spectral scans. Bay 3 has a known calibration drift that produces less reliable results — this has been on the maintenance ticket for four months. The ring routes flagged containers through Bay 3 during shift transitions.
- **Administrative Offices:** Glass-fronted offices overlooking the bay floor from a raised platform at the north end. Voss's domain. Shift schedules posted on the exterior glass, performance metrics on an internal display nobody reads. The offices have a direct sightline to the main bay floor — Voss can see who's working and who's not. But the offices can't see around the container stacks into the staging area. This sightline gap is load-bearing.
- **Break Room / Lockers:** Through a reinforced door at the bay's south end. Lockers, a food prep area, a worn couch, a Meridian display showing news feeds. The social space within the workplace, where off-the-record conversations happen. A service hatch at the back of the locker area — originally for maintenance access to the ventilation system — connects to Corridor B-7. This is the physical link between the legitimate workspace and the smuggling infrastructure.
- **Temporary Storage (Holding Area):** Behind the main bay, accessed through a cargo-width corridor. Containers awaiting processing or pickup sit here. Standard procedure: 4-6 hours maximum. Containers that sit longer trigger a flag. The ring's operational rhythm involves containers that sit 14-18 hours — long enough to be repackaged during a shift transition, short enough not to trigger automated alerts (which require 24 hours).
---
## Atmosphere & Sensory Details
**Sound:**
- Span gate hum (omnipresent bass vibration from the gate terminal at the bay's edge, pitch rises with transit volume)
- Grav-lift motors (a smooth electric whine, punctuated by the heavy clank of magnetic container locks)
- Manifest scanner pings (repetitive, rhythmic, the heartbeat of cargo processing)
- Conveyor systems (low continuous rumble during active shifts)
- Shouted instructions over machinery noise (workers calling bay numbers, container IDs, warnings)
- Between shifts: the hum drops, the machinery goes quiet, the ventilation system becomes audible
**Smell:**
- Industrial lubricant (machine maintenance, strongest near grav-lift lanes)
- Recycled air (the base smell of everything on Sova — faintly metallic, unremarkable)
- Cargo scents from organic shipments (agricultural products, biological supplies — occasionally pungent)
- Ozone (faint, lingers near the span gate terminal after high-volume transit cycles)
- Break room: protein paste heating, synthetic coffee, the accumulated smell of a hundred lunches
**Lighting:**
- Main bay: Bright industrial white panels, even coverage, no shadows in work areas. Slightly harsh — designed for visibility, not comfort. Workers squint when they first step in from the corridor.
- Administrative offices: Same white panels, tinted glass reducing glare slightly
- Break room: Warmer fixtures (older installation, never upgraded), slightly amber
- Temporary storage: Dimmer — reduced fixture density, pools of shadow between container rows
- Between containers in staging area: Shadows. The container stacks create corridors of their own with inconsistent lighting. This is where quick exchanges happen.
**Temperature:**
- Slightly warm (machinery heat from grav-lifts and scanning equipment)
- Cooler near the span gate terminal (gate transit introduces brief cold drafts)
- Workers dress in standard-issue logistics coveralls, light layers underneath
**Visual Texture:**
- Bilingual signage: safety warnings in Concordat Standard (institutional, clean) and Van Maanen's Star vernacular (hand-lettered additions, corrections, complaints)
- Shift schedule boards: printed but annotated in marker
- Safety notices: mandatory, ignored, peeling at the corners
- Locker personalization: stickers, shift-end doodles, photographs, a hand-lettered "Days Since Last Accident: 47" counter
- Wear patterns: the floor tells the story of decades of traffic — polished paths between common routes, scuffed zones near the break room door, pristine metal in the rarely-used back corner of temporary storage
---
## NPC Presence
### Primary NPCs (Home Template: The Terminal)
| NPC | Role | Shift | Function |
|-----|------|-------|----------|
| [Voss](../../../../characters/voss.md) | Shift Supervisor | Morning (06:00-14:00) | Authority figure, manages schedules, sightline from office |
| [Kael Davan](../../../../characters/kael-davan.md) | Dock Worker (THE FRIEND) | Morning (06:00-14:00) | Ring member, cargo handler, smuggler's closest colleague |
| [Maret Korr](../../../../characters/maret-korr.md) | Freight Scheduler | Morning (06:00-14:00) | Processes manifests, notices discrepancies, hasn't reported |
| [Resha](../../../../characters/resha.md) | New Hire Dock Worker | Morning (06:00-14:00) | Asks questions, hasn't learned to mind their business |
| [Drin](../../../../characters/drin.md) | Maintenance Tech | Rotating | Fixes things, notices things, says nothing |
### Bridge NPCs (Present at The Terminal + Other Sites)
| NPC | Home Site | Terminal Role | Bridge Function |
|-----|-----------|---------------|-----------------|
| [Torek Lintar](../../../../characters/torek-lintar.md) | [The Last Shift](the-last-shift.md) | Off-shift dock worker | Compromised inspector, looks away during inspection |
| [Renn](../../../../characters/renn.md) | Smuggling Ring | Courier | Transfers cargo from bay to Corridor B-7 |
| [Harek](../../../../characters/harek.md) | [The Last Shift](the-last-shift.md) | Off-duty security | Occasionally patrols, holds debt leverage on Drin |
**Total NPC presence:** 8 (5 primary, 3 bridge)
---
## Daily Rhythm
**Morning Shift (06:00-14:00) — Highest Activity**
- 05:30-06:15: Shift transition. Handoff briefings at the admin office. Workers arriving, lockers opening, coffee queue in the break room. Night crew wrapping up.
- 06:00-08:00: Peak freight volume. Gate cycles every 4-6 minutes. The bay floor is active — grav-lifts moving, scanners pinging, manifest terminals occupied. Voss watches from the office.
- 08:00-12:00: Sustained operations. Routine sets in. Workers fall into their patterns.
- 12:00-13:00: Staggered breaks. Break room at half capacity, conversations about ventilation, yesterday's card game, complaints about scheduling.
- 13:30-14:15: Shift transition. The corridor between The Terminal and the bar district becomes a chokepoint as morning shift heads to The Last Shift.
**Swing Shift (14:00-22:00) — Moderate Activity**
- Moderate freight volume. Gate cycles every 6-8 minutes.
- Fewer NPCs. Bridge NPCs are off at The Last Shift. Atmosphere quieter.
- 21:30-22:15: Shift transition. The window tightens.
**Night Shift (22:00-06:00) — Lowest Activity / Smuggling Window**
- Skeleton crew. Gate cycles every 12-15 minutes.
- Reduced oversight. Voss is off-shift. Supervision is nominal.
- **Ring operational window:** Between 01:00-04:00, the bay is at minimum staffing. Renn moves containers from temporary storage through the break room service hatch to Corridor B-7. The entire operation takes 20 minutes if everything goes smoothly. Drin, if on night rotation, maintains equipment in the area and doesn't look up.
---
## Mechanical Integration
### Knowledge Graph Flags (FactIds)
| FactId | Smuggler Starting Level | Detective Starting Level | How Detective Escalates |
|--------|------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| `location.sova_transit_layout` | KnowsDetails (lives here) | KnowsOf (has station map) | Explore, observe worker routes |
| `contraband.ring_exists` | KnowsDetails (member) | Suspects (case briefing) | Observe manifest discrepancies, NPC behavior |
| `investigation.manifest_discrepancy` | KnowsDetails (knows the system) | Suspects (analytical lattice flags) | Compare manifests, interrogate Maret |
| `investigation.shift_mismatch` | KnowsDetails (knows Voss's schedule) | Suspects (pattern analysis) | Observe night shift staffing, correlate with arrivals |
| `location.dead_drop_location` | KnowsDetails (uses Locker 47) | None (must discover) | Observe Kael's break room behavior |
### Perception Differences
**Smuggler sees:**
- Home. The familiar rhythm of a workspace they've occupied for years. Container stacks they know by heart. The manifest terminal where they doctored their first shipment. The break room where Kael told them about the arrangement.
- Risk assessment through social intelligence: who's on shift, who's in the office, whether Voss seems distracted, whether Resha is asking too many questions again.
- The service hatch as a door they walk through. Routine.
**Detective sees:**
- A crime scene that doesn't know it's a crime scene yet. Orderly operations that mask systematic fraud. A supervisor's office with a sightline gap they note on their lattice overlay. A scanner bay with a calibration drift that shows up in the maintenance logs they've pulled.
- Pattern analysis through institutional tools: manifest discrepancies flagged by analytical lattice, shift schedules that don't match freight volume, a container that's been in temporary storage for 14 hours.
- The service hatch as something that doesn't appear on the official schematics. A gap.
### Monologue Triggers (Location-Specific)
**On entering The Terminal:**
- Smuggler: Familiarity, routine assessment, awareness of operational state
- Detective: Institutional assessment, observation of workflow, first pattern recognition
**On observing Scanner Bay 3:**
- Smuggler: Practical awareness (knows the calibration drift, uses it)
- Detective: Analytical flag (maintenance records show repeated deferrals)
**On entering the Break Room:**
- Smuggler: Social space, reads the room for mood
- Detective: Notes the service hatch, files it for later
**On discovering Temporary Storage anomaly (container sitting 14+ hours):**
- Smuggler: Knows what it means, assesses risk
- Detective: First concrete evidence — `investigation.cargo_anomaly` escalates from Suspects to KnowsOf
---
## Worldbuilding Notes
The Terminal is designed to feel like a real workplace — the kind of place where monotony breeds familiarity and familiarity breeds vulnerability. The smuggling operation doesn't require elaborate infrastructure. It requires an understanding of how a logistics hub actually functions: which scanner has a calibration issue, when the shift transitions create gaps, where the sightlines end and the shadows begin.
The honest truth is that every workplace has these vulnerabilities. What makes The Terminal interesting is that both the smuggler and the detective know this — the smuggler because they exploit it daily, the detective because they're trained to find it. They're reading the same room with different alphabets.
---
**Cross-References:**
- [Sova Transit District](index.md) — Parent district
- [Maintenance Corridors](maintenance-corridors.md) — Connected via break room service hatch
- [The Last Shift](the-last-shift.md) — Where workers go after shift
- [NPC Index](../../../../characters/index.md) — Full character roster
- D-036: Sova Transit District as v0.1 setting
- D-027: Vertical slice definition
---
**Status:** Canonical — v0.1 workplace social site
**Created:** 2026-02-12
**Updated:** 2026-02-12
wiki/star-systems/GJ-86/gttr.md
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## The Trading Post
The Mensah family arrived on the back of a DSMC mineral survey that identified modest extraction prospects in the outer belt. The extraction never became the economy. What became the economy was the position: hop 7 on the south Reach corridor, one hop past Van Maanen's Star, where ore haulers running DSMC contracts through the system needed supply, maintenance, and somewhere to resolve the paperwork that accumulates over long transit runs. The Mensah family provided these services. Three centuries of that work has produced the trading-post culture that is Kumasi's identity.
The Mensah family arrived on the back of a DSMC mineral survey that identified modest extraction prospects in the outer belt. The extraction never became the economy. What became the economy was the position: hop 7 on the south Reach corridor, one hop past Vuurkloof, where ore haulers running DSMC contracts through the system needed supply, maintenance, and somewhere to resolve the paperwork that accumulates over long transit runs. The Mensah family provided these services. Three centuries of that work has produced the trading-post culture that is Kumasi's identity.
The family governs — not through formal title but through the accumulated commercial and social standing of a family that has been the system's primary employer, principal landlord, and main interface with the outside Reach for generations. The family oligarchy is not secret. It is the acknowledged structure of local governance, and it has been stable long enough that the alternatives — a cooperative that does not exist, a democratic assembly that no one has organized — remain theoretical. DSMC's service contract with the Mensah family has been renewed across multiple DSMC administrative generations by the family being reliably useful and conspicuously non-threatening.
## The Manifests
A system at hop 7 on a corridor where Commission enforcement is intermittent and the family governing it has a financial interest in keeping freight moving has structural opportunities for undocumented commerce. The Lattice Commission's inspection presence thins significantly past Van Maanen's Star. Kumasi sits one hop beyond that thinning. The manifests are filed. They are formally correct. The Commission's inspection schedule runs to every third year. The years between inspections are, for practical purposes, unmonitored.
A system at hop 7 on a corridor where Commission enforcement is intermittent and the family governing it has a financial interest in keeping freight moving has structural opportunities for undocumented commerce. The Lattice Commission's inspection presence thins significantly past Vuurkloof. Kumasi sits one hop beyond that thinning. The manifests are filed. They are formally correct. The Commission's inspection schedule runs to every third year. The years between inspections are, for practical purposes, unmonitored.
The Mensah family has never been formally charged with anything. The DSMC contract has been renewed in every cycle. The Guardians chapter in the dockworker and warehouse labor communities has learned over generations which grievances the family will negotiate on and which it will not. The boundary is known by everyone and formally acknowledged by no one.
wiki/star-systems/GJ-86/index.md
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## Supply Dependency
Kumasi is a trading post in the oldest sense: a place where routes meet and goods change hands, sustained not by what the system produces but by what passes through it. The Asante-origin Mensah family arrived on the back of a DSMC mineral survey that identified modest extraction prospects in the system's outer belt. The extraction never became the system's economy. What became the economy was the position: Kumasi sits at hop 7 on the south_reach corridor, one hop past Van Maanen's Star, and ore haulers running DSMC contracts through the system needed supply, maintenance, and a place to resolve the paperwork that accumulates over long transit runs. The Mensah family provided these services. Three centuries of that work has produced the trading-post culture that is Kumasi's identity.
Kumasi is a trading post in the oldest sense: a place where routes meet and goods change hands, sustained not by what the system produces but by what passes through it. The Asante-origin Mensah family arrived on the back of a DSMC mineral survey that identified modest extraction prospects in the system's outer belt. The extraction never became the system's economy. What became the economy was the position: Kumasi sits at hop 7 on the south_reach corridor, one hop past Vuurkloof, and ore haulers running DSMC contracts through the system needed supply, maintenance, and a place to resolve the paperwork that accumulates over long transit runs. The Mensah family provided these services. Three centuries of that work has produced the trading-post culture that is Kumasi's identity.
The system exports very little in the conventional sense. It facilitates the export of other systems' production — particularly the ore haulers moving DSMC bulk material through the Van Maanen's Star corridor and the agricultural surplus from Caparica's cooperative network. Kumasi's warehousing operations, contract brokerage services, and refueling infrastructure are the product. What it imports is everything a population needs to sustain itself, because the habitable body's agricultural capacity is limited and the Mensah family's commercial focus has always been on the transit economy rather than local self-sufficiency. Food comes primarily from the corridor behind it. The dependency is explicit and understood.
The system exports very little in the conventional sense. It facilitates the export of other systems' production — particularly the ore haulers moving DSMC bulk material through the Vuurkloof corridor and the agricultural surplus from Caparica's cooperative network. Kumasi's warehousing operations, contract brokerage services, and refueling infrastructure are the product. What it imports is everything a population needs to sustain itself, because the habitable body's agricultural capacity is limited and the Mensah family's commercial focus has always been on the transit economy rather than local self-sufficiency. Food comes primarily from the corridor behind it. The dependency is explicit and understood.
## Faction Notes
The Mensah family has governed Kumasi since the founding period — not through a formal monarchy or hereditary title, but through the accumulated commercial and social standing of a family that has been the system's primary employer, principal landlord, and main interface with the outside Reach for generations. The family oligarchy is not a secret; it is the acknowledged structure of local governance, and it has been stable long enough that the alternatives — a cooperative that does not exist, a democratic assembly that no one has organized — remain theoretical. The family holds DSMC contract service agreements as its primary commercial relationship and has maintained those agreements across multiple DSMC administrative generations by being reliably useful and conspicuously non-threatening.
DSMC's presence is contractual rather than institutional. The corporation's ore haulers transit through Van Maanen's Star one hop behind Kumasi and continue through on runs that carry DSMC-branded freight. Kumasi provides the service hub for those runs — refueling, crew rotation, freight manifest processing — under the standing service contract the Mensah family has held since the second generation. DSMC does not govern Kumasi. It does not need to; the Mensah family manages the system's commercial relationship with the corporation more efficiently than DSMC's regional administration could from a distance.
DSMC's presence is contractual rather than institutional. The corporation's ore haulers transit through Vuurkloof one hop behind Kumasi and continue through on runs that carry DSMC-branded freight. Kumasi provides the service hub for those runs — refueling, crew rotation, freight manifest processing — under the standing service contract the Mensah family has held since the second generation. DSMC does not govern Kumasi. It does not need to; the Mensah family manages the system's commercial relationship with the corporation more efficiently than DSMC's regional administration could from a distance.
The Guardians of Autonomy have a presence in the dockworker and warehouse labor communities — the people whose work sustains the trading-post economy without a share of its ownership. The relationship between the Guardians chapter and the Mensah family is the familiar south_reach dynamic: the family is not hostile to labor organization as long as it does not affect service reliability; the Guardians chapter has learned over generations which grievances the family will negotiate on and which it will not. The boundary is known by everyone and formally acknowledged by no one.
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ The Guardians of Autonomy have a presence in the dockworker and warehouse labor
What Kumasi does not discuss: what passes through the trading-post that is not in the cargo manifests.
A system at hop 7 on a corridor where Commission enforcement is intermittent and the family that governs it has a financial interest in keeping freight moving is a system with structural opportunities for undocumented commerce. The Mensah family's manifest processing services have been handling south_reach freight for three centuries. The manifests are filed. They are formally correct. The Lattice Commission's south_reach inspection presence thins significantly past Van Maanen's Star, and Kumasi's position one hop beyond that thinning is not coincidental to the commercial logic of what the trading post actually facilitates. The family has never been formally charged with anything. The DSMC contract has been renewed in every cycle. The Commission's inspection schedule for Kumasi runs to every third year. The years between inspections are, for practical purposes, unmonitored.
A system at hop 7 on a corridor where Commission enforcement is intermittent and the family that governs it has a financial interest in keeping freight moving is a system with structural opportunities for undocumented commerce. The Mensah family's manifest processing services have been handling south_reach freight for three centuries. The manifests are filed. They are formally correct. The Lattice Commission's south_reach inspection presence thins significantly past Vuurkloof, and Kumasi's position one hop beyond that thinning is not coincidental to the commercial logic of what the trading post actually facilitates. The family has never been formally charged with anything. The DSMC contract has been renewed in every cycle. The Commission's inspection schedule for Kumasi runs to every third year. The years between inspections are, for practical purposes, unmonitored.
## Narrative Hook
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ The Mensah family has governed this trading post through three centuries and six
`star_type: K0V` at 35.2 light-years is a near-solar star — slightly cooler and less luminous than Sol but not significantly hostile. The habitable body exists and supports a population; what it does not do is support the kind of agricultural or extractive economy that would make Kumasi self-sufficient. This is consistent with the Early Arrival archetype the Mensah family represents: they came for a resource survey, found the transit position more valuable than the minerals, and built a system whose character is entirely a function of corridor position rather than planetary endowment.
`gate_topology: through_route` at hop 7 — one hop past Van Maanen's Star — is the configuration that makes Kumasi's trading-post role possible. The aperture toward Van Maanen's Star is the route through which the corridor's through-traffic arrives; the aperture toward Rionegro continues the corridor south. DSMC ore haulers running from deeper extraction operations pass through Van Maanen's Star and on through Kumasi. The trading-post function is a logical consequence of sitting at the first service-capable stop after the Reach's primary game-setting location.
`gate_topology: through_route` at hop 7 — one hop past Vuurkloof — is the configuration that makes Kumasi's trading-post role possible. The aperture toward Vuurkloof is the route through which the corridor's through-traffic arrives; the aperture toward Rionegro continues the corridor south. DSMC ore haulers running from deeper extraction operations pass through Vuurkloof and on through Kumasi. The trading-post function is a logical consequence of sitting at the first service-capable stop after Vuurkloof — a major corridor transit node.
## Celestial Bodies
<!-- READ-ONLY — generated from systems.db bodies/stations tables -->
wiki/technology/clone-transfer.md
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**Enhanced clone:** Improved biological specifications — better muscle density, faster neural pathways, optimized organ function. Available through institutional channels (military, intelligence, wealthy dynasties) or high-end private providers.
**Custom bodies:** In the wider Settled Reach, some individuals change body specifications with each transfer — different appearance, different physical capabilities, different sex. Identity becomes fluid when the body is replaceable. This is more common in cosmopolitan core systems than in working-class stations like Sova.
**Custom bodies:** In the wider Settled Reach, some individuals change body specifications with each transfer — different appearance, different physical capabilities, different sex. Identity becomes fluid when the body is replaceable. This is more common in cosmopolitan core systems than in working-class freight stations.
**v0.1 scope:** Clone transfer is referenced technology, not a gameplay mechanic. No character dies and is re-embodied during the vertical slice. But the *possibility* of death-as-information-loss shapes how the player treats risk, and backup status shapes NPC behavior (someone without a recent backup is more cautious).
**Scope:** Clone transfer is referenced technology, not a gameplay mechanic. No character dies and is re-embodied during the vertical slice. But the *possibility* of death-as-information-loss shapes how the player treats risk, and backup status shapes NPC behavior (someone without a recent backup is more cautious).
---
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ Clone transfer is not free. Backup storage requires institutional infrastructure
**Institutional access:** Commission employees, Concord Assembly staff, military personnel, and corporate workers typically have backup coverage as an employment benefit. Their backups are regular, their clone bodies pre-grown, their transfer priority high.
**Civilian access:** Independent workers, freelancers, and small-business owners must pay out of pocket. Backup frequency drops with income. A dock worker on Station Sova might back up monthly — or less. The cost is a line item they weigh against food, rent, and lattice maintenance.
**Civilian access:** Independent workers, freelancers, and small-business owners must pay out of pocket. Backup frequency drops with income. A dock worker at a mid-Reach freight station might back up monthly — or less. The cost is a line item they weigh against food, rent, and lattice maintenance.
**The uninsured:** Some people in the Reach have no backup at all. Death, for them, is final. This is rare but not unknown, particularly on frontier stations or among populations that reject the technology for cultural or philosophical reasons.
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ Most people in the Settled Reach say yes. The legal system treats the transferre
But not everyone agrees. Some philosophical and religious traditions hold that the transferred individual is a copy, not the original — that something essential is lost in the gap. The Guardians of Autonomy (see [Severance Technology](severance-tech.md)) incorporate this skepticism into their broader critique of lattice-mediated identity.
On Station Sova, this debate is abstract. People here worry about backup costs, not metaphysics. But the philosophical undercurrent exists, and it surfaces in unexpected places — a dock worker who insists on doing dangerous work precisely because their backup is stale and death would mean something, or an NPC who becomes reckless after a recent backup because they feel temporarily invincible.
At a working freight station, this debate is abstract. People here worry about backup costs, not metaphysics. But the philosophical undercurrent exists, and it surfaces in unexpected places — a dock worker who insists on doing dangerous work precisely because their backup is stale and death would mean something, or an NPC who becomes reckless after a recent backup because they feel temporarily invincible.
---
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ From D-008: "Death = information loss, not game over. Memory cell backup system
## Mechanical Integration
**v0.1 Scope:**
**Scope:**
- Clone transfer is lore and NPC dialogue content, not a playable mechanic
- No player death-and-resurrection cycle in the vertical slice
- Backup status may appear as NPC behavioral context (cautious vs. reckless correlating to backup freshness)
wiki/technology/founder-gates.md
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- Whether the gates serve purposes beyond transit (communication, observation, something else)
- Whether the Interstitium (see below) is an artifact of gate technology or something independent
These questions are academic in Van Maanen's Star. Workers on Station Sova don't think about Founder Gate metaphysics. They think about freight schedules.
These questions are academic in any working freight district. Workers don't think about Founder Gate metaphysics. They think about freight schedules.
---
@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ These questions are academic in Van Maanen's Star. Workers on Station Sova don't
The space between gate endpoints — the transit experience itself — is called the Interstitium. Travelers report it as brief: a moment of disorientation, a sense of distance compressed, then arrival. Some describe it as darkness. Some describe light. Accounts vary in ways that resist standardization.
**In gameplay terms:** The Interstitium is the experience of crossing between star systems. In the wider Settled Reach, this is a regular occurrence — merchants, travelers, military, diplomats all traverse founder gates. In v0.1, the player never leaves Van Maanen's Star, so founder gates are referenced in dialogue and lore but not directly experienced.
**In gameplay terms:** The Interstitium is the experience of crossing between star systems. In the wider Settled Reach, this is a regular occurrence — merchants, travelers, military, diplomats all traverse founder gates. In district-level gameplay, founder gates are referenced in dialogue and lore but not directly experienced.
**Cultural significance:** The Interstitium is one of the few shared experiences that resists technological explanation. In a civilization built on understood technology, the gates are a reminder that not everything is known. Some cultures treat transit as mundane. Others invest it with spiritual significance. Van Maanen's Star's pragmatic culture falls firmly in the "mundane" camp.
**Cultural significance:** The Interstitium is one of the few shared experiences that resists technological explanation. In a civilization built on understood technology, the gates are a reminder that not everything is known. Some cultures treat transit as mundane. Others invest it with spiritual significance. Vuurkloof's pragmatic culture falls firmly in the "mundane" camp.
---
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ The Settled Reach exists because founder gates exist. Human civilization spread
- Controlling a gate doesn't mean controlling transit — the gates don't have off switches — but controlling the infrastructure around a gate (stations, docks, inspection points) means controlling what moves through
- The Concord Assembly's authority rests partly on its management of gate-adjacent infrastructure
**Van Maanen's Star** sits at the intersection of three regional trade routes — not because of strategic planning, but because the founder gate network happens to connect Van Maanen's Star to three directions. This accident of alien infrastructure made Van Maanen's Star a logistics node.
**Vuurkloof** sits at the intersection of three regional trade routes — not because of strategic planning, but because the founder gate network happens to connect Vuurkloof to three directions. This accident of alien infrastructure made Vuurkloof a logistics node.
---
@@ -90,19 +90,19 @@ The Settled Reach exists because founder gates exist. Human civilization spread
## Dual-Lens Significance
Founder gates are not directly present in the v0.1 gameplay space — the player never transits one. But they shape the world the player inhabits.
Founder gates are not directly present in the district-level gameplay space — the player never transits one. But they shape the world the player inhabits.
**The smuggler** knows that contraband arrives through the founder gate network from other star systems. The supply chain starts somewhere outside Van Maanen's Star — Syndic-adjacent manufacturing in another system, routed through founder gates to reach Sova. The smuggler understands their position in a supply chain that spans star systems, even if they've never left Van Maanen's Star.
**The smuggler** knows that contraband arrives through the founder gate network from other star systems. The supply chain starts somewhere outside the current system — Syndic-adjacent manufacturing in another system, routed through founder gates to reach the district. The smuggler understands their position in a supply chain that spans star systems, even if they've never left the system.
**The detective** knows that the investigation doesn't end at Station Sova. The off-station coordinator (Sabel) operates through the founder gate network. Following the supply chain to its origin means following it through founder gates to other systems. In v0.1, that's beyond scope — but the detective's case file knows the thread doesn't stop here.
**The detective** knows that the investigation doesn't end at the station. The off-station coordinator operates through the founder gate network. Following the supply chain to its origin means following it through founder gates to other systems — beyond scope at the district level, but the detective's case file knows the thread doesn't stop here.
**The larger implication:** Founder gates connect the v0.1 setting to the wider Settled Reach. They're the promise that there's more out there — more systems, more factions, more complications. The ring on Station Sova is a local operation connected to an interstellar supply chain. The story doesn't end at the system boundary.
**The larger implication:** Founder gates connect any district-level setting to the wider Settled Reach. They're the promise that there's more out there — more systems, more factions, more complications. A local ring is a local operation connected to an interstellar supply chain. The story doesn't end at the system boundary.
---
## Mechanical Integration
**v0.1 Scope:**
**District-level scope:**
- Founder gates are referenced in dialogue, monologue, and lore — not traversed
- `world.syndic_supply_chain` fact references off-system origins (KnowsDetails: "serial number patterns suggest two sources")
- `contraband.supply_chain` fact traces cargo arrival through interstellar routes
@@ -116,7 +116,6 @@ Founder gates are not directly present in the v0.1 gameplay space — the player
**Cross-References:**
- [Span Gates](span-gates.md) — Intra-system transit (human-built)
- [Van Maanen's Star](../world/van-maanens-star-system.md) — Gate network connections for v0.1 setting
- D-008: Action pillar (multiple maps connected by wormholes)
- D-019: 3D cutscenes for key moments (wormhole traversal)
- D-005: Core concept (wormhole network as traversable infrastructure)
wiki/technology/meridian.md
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**Environmental Data:** Station status, atmosphere readings, power grid status, gate cycle schedules. Background information that most people ignore until something goes wrong.
**Entertainment & Social:** Music feeds, news tickers, social channels. The ambient hum of connected life. Lera's bar runs Meridian music feeds. The news ticker that delivers wow moment #5 runs through Meridian.
**Entertainment & Social:** Music feeds, news tickers, social channels. The ambient hum of connected life. The district bar runs Meridian music feeds. The news ticker that delivers wow moment #5 runs through Meridian.
---
@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ Meridian coverage is not uniform. This is load-bearing for gameplay.
| **Maintenance Corridors** | Degraded | Intermittent connectivity, delayed messages, patchy location data | Real-time tracking unreliable, professional toolkits offline |
| **Between-Wall Spaces** | Minimal or Absent | Little to nothing | Everything — effectively off-grid |
**Why the gaps exist:** Station Sova is 140 years old with layered construction. Meridian infrastructure was installed for the station as designed, not as it was subsequently retrofitted. Older sections between construction eras were never properly wired. Maintenance corridors have basic repeaters that degrade over time and get low priority for replacement.
**Why the gaps exist:** A working freight station is 100+ years old with layered construction. Meridian infrastructure was installed for the station as designed, not as it was subsequently retrofitted. Older sections between construction eras were never properly wired. Maintenance corridors have basic repeaters that degrade over time and get low priority for replacement.
**Why the gaps matter:** The smuggling ring operates in Meridian dead spots. Corridor B-7 has zero Meridian signal — no tracking, no surveillance, no logged communications. When NPCs need to discuss something they don't want recorded, they go for a walk to the "quiet spots." The ring's entire operational infrastructure depends on these coverage gaps.
**Why the gaps matter:** The smuggling ring operates in Meridian dead spots. Restricted maintenance corridors have zero Meridian signal — no tracking, no surveillance, no logged communications. When NPCs need to discuss something they don't want recorded, they go for a walk to the "quiet spots." The ring's entire operational infrastructure depends on these coverage gaps.
---
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ The further information travels from direct perception, the more the Meridian me
**Knowledge Graph:**
- `location.surveillance_gaps` — Meridian coverage gaps as discoverable knowledge (detective: KnowsOf when augmented lattice detects gaps; smuggler: KnowsDetails from operational experience)
- `location.corridor_b7_restricted` — Direct confidence gates monologue: "Zero Meridian signal in this section"
- `location.restricted_corridor` — Direct confidence gates monologue: "Zero Meridian signal in this section"
**Perception System:**
- Meridian feeds are one input to the insert minimap (D-013)
@@ -130,8 +130,6 @@ The further information travels from direct perception, the more the Meridian me
**Cross-References:**
- [Neural Lattice](neural-lattice.md) — Individual interface to the Meridian
- [Severance Technology](severance-tech.md) — Technology that blocks Meridian functions
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — Coverage map for v0.1 setting
- [Station Sova](../world/station-sova.md) — Station-wide infrastructure context
- D-017: Perception modes (camera feeds, tracking via Meridian)
- D-018: Three-range sound model (long range = Meridian-mediated)
- D-013: Diegetic insert navigation (Meridian-fed waypoints)
wiki/technology/neural-lattice.md
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@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Neural lattices exist on a capability spectrum. Tier determines what perception
| **Analytical** | Advanced pattern recognition, multi-feed synthesis, forensic capability | All Enhanced modes + anomaly flagging, manifest cross-referencing | Investigators, Commission liaisons, senior institutional roles |
| **Higher** | Biononic integration, enhanced spectrum perception, passive environmental scanning | Thermal imaging through walls, extended spectrum, passive scanning | Military, intelligence operatives, ascended individuals |
**Note:** "ANA-touched" capability (pattern recognition across all feeds, predictive awareness) exists in the wider Reach but is not present in the v0.1 setting. Station Sova's population is Baseline through Analytical.
**Note:** "ANA-touched" capability (pattern recognition across all feeds, predictive awareness) exists in the wider Reach but is not present in most working freight districts. A typical mid-Reach freight station population runs Baseline through Analytical.
---
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ The lattice enables multiple perception modes — different ways of observing th
- **Anomaly flagging:** The lattice cross-references observed data against expected patterns and highlights discrepancies. The detective's lattice flags manifest weight mismatches. The smuggler's doesn't.
- **Multi-feed synthesis:** Combines multiple perception inputs into a unified analysis. Camera + audio + tracking data merged into a single picture.
### Higher Modes (not in v0.1)
### Higher Modes (not in standard freight district settings)
- **Thermal imaging:** Heat signatures through walls. Body count without identity.
- **Extended spectrum:** Perception beyond visible light.
- **Passive scanning:** Environmental data without active queries — the lattice listens to everything.
@@ -91,9 +91,9 @@ The lattice enables multiple perception modes — different ways of observing th
Your lattice tier shapes how others treat you and how you experience the world.
**A Baseline dock worker** on Station Sova sees the freight bay with their eyes, checks manifests on a wall terminal, and navigates by memory and habit. Their lattice provides Meridian messaging, basic navigation, and not much else. They know what they see and what people tell them.
**A Baseline dock worker** at a mid-Reach freight station sees the freight bay with their eyes, checks manifests on a wall terminal, and navigates by memory and habit. Their lattice provides Meridian messaging, basic navigation, and not much else. They know what they see and what people tell them.
**An Enhanced freight scheduler** has professional toolkit overlays — container tracking, schedule management, weight-to-volume cross-checks. They see the same freight bay but with a data layer on top. Discrepancies that a Baseline worker wouldn't notice become visible. This is why Maret Korr, processing manifests, can see the weight mismatches but can't unsee them.
**An Enhanced freight scheduler** has professional toolkit overlays — container tracking, schedule management, weight-to-volume cross-checks. They see the same freight bay but with a data layer on top. Discrepancies that a Baseline worker wouldn't notice become visible. A manifest clerk with Enhanced capability can see the weight mismatches — but can't unsee them.
**An Analytical investigator** arriving at the same freight bay sees a crime scene. The lattice flags anomalies automatically, cross-references NPC behavioral patterns against baseline data, and processes audio for stress markers. The detective doesn't just notice things — their lattice tells them what to notice.
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ The neural lattice is where the game's two playable characters diverge most shar
**Perception System (D-017):**
- Lattice tier determines which perception modes are available to a character
- Each mode is an observer query against the information boundary system
- v0.1 implements: natural vision cone + basic audio indicators + insert minimap
- Initial implementation: natural vision cone + basic audio indicators + insert minimap
- Additional modes (camera feeds, tracking, thermal) are milestone features
**Entity Attributes:**
@@ -179,7 +179,6 @@ The neural lattice is where the game's two playable characters diverge most shar
- [Lattice Components (Contraband)](../contraband/lattice-components.md) — Unlicensed aftermarket modifications
- [Medical-Grade Replacements (Contraband)](../contraband/medical-grade-replacements.md) — Diverted healthcare components
- [Severance Technology](severance-tech.md) — Counter-surveillance tech that blocks lattice functions
- [Station Sova](../world/station-sova.md) — Commission presence and enforcement gaps
- D-017: Perception modes as character-build system
- D-013: Diegetic insert/POI navigation system
- D-037: Contraband specification
wiki/technology/severance-tech.md
+10 -11
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@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ It is illegal because it doesn't just break rules — it breaks the infrastructu
**Lattice disruption:** Temporarily blocks or degrades neural lattice functions in a localized area. People in the affected zone lose perception overlays, Meridian access, professional toolkits, and tracking signatures. Enhanced and Analytical lattice users lose the most — they're accustomed to data layers that simply vanish.
**Meridian blackout:** Creates zones where Meridian infrastructure cannot maintain coverage — not because of aging hardware (like Corridor B-7's natural dead spots), but because active countermeasures are jamming the signal. Severance-created blackouts are more complete and more controllable than infrastructure gaps.
**Meridian blackout:** Creates zones where Meridian infrastructure cannot maintain coverage — not because of aging hardware (like a maintenance corridor's natural dead spots), but because active countermeasures are jamming the signal. Severance-created blackouts are more complete and more controllable than infrastructure gaps.
**Signature masking:** Spoofs or suppresses individual lattice signatures, making a person invisible to Meridian tracking. The individual still has a functioning lattice — they just don't appear on anyone else's queries. They become a ghost in the system.
@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ Severance technology is associated with the Guardians of Autonomy — a decentra
---
## Severance in the v0.1 Setting
## Severance in the District Setting
Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing that elevates a local smuggling operation from grey-market commerce to something with political implications.
Severance technology appears in the ring's cargo as the scariest element — the thing that elevates a local smuggling operation from grey-market commerce to something with political implications.
**What the ring carries:**
- Primary contraband: [unlicensed lattice components](../contraband/lattice-components.md) (aftermarket mods)
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing
**The escalation:** Lattice components are commercially motivated — people want better capability. Medical-grade replacements are morally sympathetic — people need healthcare. Severance equipment is politically charged — someone wants to undermine institutional oversight. The progression from "grey-market commerce" to "political threat" is the escalation that makes the ring's cargo portfolio increasingly dangerous.
**The smuggler's realization:** Most ring members handle lattice components and don't think too hard about the sealed containers Nils won't discuss. The discovery that the ring is also moving Severance equipment is the moment the smuggler questions how deep the operation goes and who's really behind it. This is the contamination seed — the thing that connects a local smuggling ring to something larger.
**The smuggler's realization:** Most ring members handle lattice components and don't think too hard about the sealed containers the coordinator won't discuss. The discovery that the ring is also moving Severance equipment is the moment the smuggler questions how deep the operation goes and who's really behind it. This is the contamination seed — the thing that connects a local smuggling ring to something larger.
**The detective's discovery:** Finding Severance equipment in the ring's inventory transforms the case. Manifest fraud is a Category 3 violation. Severance distribution attracts intelligence-level attention. The detective's case changes from "local contraband" to "potential threat to institutional infrastructure" — and with it, the stakes of every decision they make.
@@ -89,11 +89,11 @@ Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing
## Dual-Lens Significance
**The smuggler** initially doesn't know Severance tech is in the ring's cargo. When they discover it (through the sealed containers, through Nils's evasion, through the supply chain traces), the question shifts from "am I comfortable with what we're doing?" to "am I comfortable with what we're involved in?" Lattice components serve the community. Severance equipment serves... whom? The Guardians? Someone else? The smuggler's trust in the ring's purpose begins to crack.
**The smuggler** initially doesn't know Severance tech is in the ring's cargo. When they discover it (through the sealed containers, through ring leadership's evasion, through the supply chain traces), the question shifts from "am I comfortable with what we're doing?" to "am I comfortable with what we're involved in?" Lattice components serve the community. Severance equipment serves... whom? The Guardians? Someone else? The smuggler's trust in the ring's purpose begins to crack.
**The detective** recognizes Severance technology as an intelligence-level threat. Its presence in a small station's smuggling ring raises questions that extend beyond the district: Who is supplying it? Through what channels? Is this distribution network or is it targeted deployment? The detective's institutional training tells them to escalate. Their personal investment in the case tells them to keep pulling the thread. This tension — follow procedure or follow curiosity — is the detective's version of the smuggler's trust crisis.
**The convergence:** Both characters, from opposite sides, arrive at the same unsettling realization: the ring is connected to something bigger than anyone on Station Sova understands. Severance technology is the thread that, if pulled, leads beyond the district, beyond the station, beyond the system.
**The convergence:** Both characters, from opposite sides, arrive at the same unsettling realization: the ring is connected to something bigger than anyone in the district understands. Severance technology is the thread that, if pulled, leads beyond the district, beyond the station, beyond the system.
---
@@ -101,18 +101,18 @@ Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing
**Knowledge Graph:**
- `contraband.severance_tech` — Confidence progression:
- Suspects: "Sealed containers Nils won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
- Suspects: "Sealed containers the coordinator won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
- KnowsOf: "Severance equipment. Counter-surveillance tech. Illegal across most of the Reach."
- KnowsDetails: "Guardians of Autonomy supply chain. This isn't local — it's connected to something bigger."
- Serves as contamination seed for storyteller expansion beyond v0.1
- Serves as contamination seed for storyteller expansion beyond the district arc
**Narrative Function:**
- Escalation mechanism: elevates the ring's threat profile from commercial to political
- Trust fracture: triggers the smuggler's questioning of the ring's true purpose
- Case transformation: changes the detective's investigation from local to systemic
- Expansion hook: connects v0.1 content to the wider Settled Reach
- Expansion hook: connects district-level content to the wider Settled Reach
**v0.1 Scope:**
**Scope:**
- Referenced in dialogue, monologue, and investigation — not directly deployed as a gameplay mechanic
- Severance-created blackouts are not present; only natural Meridian dead spots
- The *existence* of Severance tech in the cargo is the narrative payload, not its use
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@ Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing
- [Neural Lattice](neural-lattice.md) — The technology Severance disrupts
- [Meridian](meridian.md) — The network Severance blocks
- [Severance Equipment (Contraband)](../contraband/severance-equipment.md) — The physical cargo profile
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — Natural Meridian dead spots vs. Severance blackouts
- D-017: Perception modes (Severance disables lattice-dependent modes)
- D-037: Contraband specification (Severance as tertiary contraband)
wiki/technology/span-gates.md
+13 -17
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@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
title: "Span Gates"
description: "Human-built intra-system transit gates — the freight chokepoints through which smuggling operates, and the source of Sova's omnipresent hum"
description: "Human-built intra-system transit gates — the freight chokepoints through which smuggling operates, and the source of any freight district's omnipresent hum"
slug: span-gates
category: technology
status: canonical
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ cross_refs: []
Span gates are the intra-system transit backbone of the Settled Reach. They connect locations within a single star system — station to planet, station to orbital platform, orbital to orbital. Where [Founder Gates](founder-gates.md) bridge the void between stars, span gates handle the daily logistics of moving people and cargo within a system.
In Van Maanen's Star, span gates are infrastructure the way roads are infrastructure: essential, taken for granted, and noticed only when they stop working.
In any freight system, span gates are infrastructure the way roads are infrastructure: essential, taken for granted, and noticed only when they stop working.
---
@@ -33,23 +33,23 @@ In Van Maanen's Star, span gates are infrastructure the way roads are infrastruc
Span gates create stable transit corridors between two fixed endpoints within a star system. Transit is near-instantaneous — step through one side, emerge at the other. The technology is human-built — derived from the Veil Institute's study of alien horizon station architecture. The Institute reverse-engineered the principles governing short-range aperture formation during the early settlement period and licensed the technology to what became the gate construction corporation, which now owns and operates span gate infrastructure across the Reach. The engineering is well-understood, reliable, and old. No one in the Settled Reach remembers a time before span gates.
**Gate cycles:** Gates operate on predictable cycles. During peak shifts on Station Sova, the Sova-to-Van Maanen's Star Prime gate cycles every 4-6 minutes. Off-peak, every 12-15 minutes. Each cycle moves a fixed volume of cargo and/or passengers.
**Gate cycles:** Gates operate on predictable cycles. During peak shifts at a busy freight station, the primary gate cycles every 4-6 minutes. Off-peak, every 12-15 minutes. Each cycle moves a fixed volume of cargo and/or passengers.
**The hum:** Span gates produce a low-frequency vibration — a bass hum that varies in pitch with transit volume. On Station Sova, the gate hum is omnipresent. It's the ambient soundscape of the district. Workers tune it out. New arrivals notice it immediately. The hum rises during peak freight cycles and drops to a low throb during night shifts.
**The hum:** Span gates produce a low-frequency vibration — a bass hum that varies in pitch with transit volume. At a busy freight station, the gate hum is omnipresent. It's the ambient soundscape of the district. Workers tune it out. New arrivals notice it immediately. The hum rises during peak freight cycles and drops to a low throb during night shifts.
This sound is the first thing the player hears on arrival (wow moment #1). It never stops.
---
## Van Maanen's Star Gate Network
## Typical Gate Network (Freight District)
| Route | Type | Primary Use | Cycle Time |
|-------|------|-------------|------------|
| Station Sova <-> Van Maanen's Star Prime Surface Depot | Freight primary | Cargo transfer, surface-to-station logistics | 4-6 min (peak), 12-15 min (off-peak) |
| Station Sova <-> Orbital Manufacturing Platform 3 | Component transfer | Parts and assemblies for light manufacturing | Variable |
| Station <-> Surface Depot | Freight primary | Cargo transfer, surface-to-station logistics | 4-6 min (peak), 12-15 min (off-peak) |
| Station <-> Orbital Manufacturing Platform | Component transfer | Parts and assemblies for light manufacturing | Variable |
| Additional intra-system routes | Various | System commerce and passenger transit | Various |
**Transit volume:** High freight, moderate passenger. Van Maanen's Star's span gates run continuously during standard shifts. The system's prosperity comes from moving things between places — span gates are the mechanism.
**Transit volume:** High freight, moderate passenger. A freight system's span gates run continuously during standard shifts. The system's prosperity comes from moving things between places — span gates are the mechanism.
---
@@ -57,13 +57,13 @@ This sound is the first thing the player hears on arrival (wow moment #1). It ne
Span gates are chokepoints, and chokepoints create opportunities.
**Legitimate cargo** arrives through the Sova gate on scheduled freight cycles. Manifests are filed in advance. Containers are logged. Inspectors (like Torek Lintar) check cargo against documentation.
**Legitimate cargo** arrives through the gate on scheduled freight cycles. Manifests are filed in advance. Containers are logged. Inspectors check cargo against documentation.
**Contraband** arrives mixed with legitimate freight. The volume of cargo moving through a busy span gate makes item-by-item inspection impractical. Inspectors work from manifests and spot-checks. The ring exploits this: contraband lattice components packed into containers whose manifests show "standard components" with doctored weight data.
**The timing window:** Gate cycles create predictable surges of activity. During a peak-cycle arrival, dozens of containers come through simultaneously. Processing bottlenecks force prioritization. Inspectors focus on flagged shipments. Unflagged containers — the ones with carefully doctored manifests — move through with minimal scrutiny.
This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during high-volume gate cycles, widening the inspection gap that the ring depends on.
A compromised shift supervisor creates understaffing during high-volume gate cycles, widening the inspection gap that the ring depends on.
---
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during hig
- Off-peak: low throb, almost subliminal, the sound of infrastructure idling
- Post-transit: brief ozone scent that fades quickly, a faint crackle of dissipating energy
**Visual:** Span gates on Station Sova are industrial installations — large, utilitarian, built into the freight bay architecture. No decorative elements. Cargo conveyors feed directly to and from the gate aperture. Safety markings. Warning lights during transit cycles. Workers move around gates with practiced indifference.
**Visual:** Span gates at a freight station are industrial installations — large, utilitarian, built into the freight bay architecture. No decorative elements. Cargo conveyors feed directly to and from the gate aperture. Safety markings. Warning lights during transit cycles. Workers move around gates with practiced indifference.
**The feeling:** Span gates represent the mundane miracle of the Settled Reach. Instantaneous transit between a station and a planet's surface — and it's boring. It's commuting. The extraordinary made ordinary through 180 years of daily use.
@@ -93,14 +93,14 @@ This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during hig
**Sound System (D-018, D-038):**
- `amb_station_base.ogg` includes span gate vibration as primary ambient element
- Gate hum pitch varies with transit volume (game-time driven)
- Post-transit ozone is a sensory detail for monologue, not a separate audio asset in v0.1
- Post-transit ozone is a sensory detail for monologue, not a separate audio asset in the initial build
**Knowledge Graph:**
- `world.shift_schedule` — Gate cycle timing connects to shift operations (smuggler: KnowsDetails; detective: learns through observation)
- `investigation.cargo_anomaly` — Container processing delays traced from gate arrival timestamps
**Spatial Design:**
- Span gate is a fixed location on the freight bay level (Level 1) of Sova Transit District
- Span gate is a fixed location on the freight bay level of the logistics hub
- High-traffic chokepoint during shift transitions
- Sightlines from the observation gallery (Level 3) to the gate area enable surveillance gameplay
@@ -108,10 +108,6 @@ This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during hig
**Cross-References:**
- [Founder Gates](founder-gates.md) — Interstellar gates connecting star systems
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — Gate location in v0.1 setting
- [Van Maanen's Star](../world/van-maanens-star-system.md) — System-wide gate network
- [Station Sova](../world/station-sova.md) — Gate infrastructure details
- D-036: Sova Transit District setting (gate cycles, freight logistics)
- D-038: Audio scope (station ambient includes gate hum)
---
wiki/triangles/hub-power.md
+125 -130
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@@ -1,24 +1,24 @@
---
title: "Hub Power"
description: "Triangle 1 (Voss/Kael/Nils) — volume escalation fork with three smuggler paths that change investigation timing and observability"
description: "Triangle 1 (shift supervisor / THE FRIEND / ring coordinator) — volume escalation fork with three smuggler paths that change investigation timing and observability"
slug: hub-power
category: triangle
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-12
updated: 2026-02-13
members: [voss, kael-davan, nils-davan]
members: [ring-coordinator, friend-npc, shift-supervisor]
triangle_type: entangled
social_sites: [the-terminal]
tags: [v0.1]
social_sites: [logistics-hub]
tags: []
decision_refs: [D-024]
cross_refs: []
---
# Triangle 1: Hub Power — Volume Escalation Fork
**Triangle**: Voss - Kael - Nils
**Triangle**: Shift Supervisor / THE FRIEND / Ring Coordinator
**Fork Type**: Smuggler decision (3 paths, self-contained)
**Trigger**: Nils's escalation demand via lattice message, delivered by Devra
**Trigger**: Ring coordinator's escalation demand, delivered by on-station coordinator
**Ticket**: #377
**Decision Reference**: D-053 / A-17 (self-contained forks)
@@ -26,51 +26,51 @@ cross_refs: []
## 1. Triangle Overview
Triangle 1 is the hub's power structure under pressure. Arvo Voss (shift supervisor, 46) has positional authority on the floor but takes operational orders from Nils Davan (ring coordinator, off-stage) through intermediaries. Kael Davan (dock worker, 34, THE FRIEND) is caught between his boss and his older sibling. The triangle's resting tension: Nils pushes for higher volume, Voss wants stability, Kael wants everyone to calm down.
Triangle 1 is the hub's power structure under pressure. The shift supervisor has positional authority on the floor but takes operational orders from the ring coordinator (off-stage) through intermediaries. THE FRIEND (dock worker) is caught between their immediate boss and the off-station coordinator who brought them into the ring. The triangle's resting tension: the ring coordinator pushes for higher volume, the shift supervisor wants stability, THE FRIEND wants everyone to calm down.
The Volume Escalation Fork activates this tension. Nils demands a double-volume shipment. The smuggler — positioned between all three — must decide how to handle it. The choice reshapes the triangle's internal dynamics and changes what the detective can observe, without altering what the detective ultimately discovers. All three paths lead to the ring. The fork changes **when** and **how**.
The Volume Escalation Fork activates this tension. The ring coordinator demands a double-volume shipment. The smuggler — positioned between all three — must decide how to handle it. The choice reshapes the triangle's internal dynamics and changes what the detective can observe, without altering what the detective ultimately discovers. All three paths lead to the ring. The fork changes **when** and **how**.
**NPCs involved**:
- **Nils Davan** (Off-Stage, GHOST+HANDLER): Ring coordinator, Kael's older sibling. Present only through lattice messages.
- **Arvo Voss** (Tier 2, SYSTEM+OPERATOR): Shift supervisor. Takes a cut from the ring. Terrified of escalation.
- **Kael Davan** (Tier 1, FRIEND+OPERATOR): Dock worker. Caught between Nils and Voss. Secretly trying to exit the ring.
- **Devra Talsen** (Tier 2, THRESHOLD+HANDLER): On-station coordinator. Delivers Nils's message to the smuggler.
- **Ring Coordinator** (Off-Stage, GHOST+HANDLER): Manages off-station coordination. Present only through lattice messages.
- **Shift Supervisor** (Tier 2, SYSTEM+OPERATOR): Adjusts shift schedules to create coverage gaps. Takes a cut. Terrified of escalation.
- **THE FRIEND** (Tier 1, FRIEND+OPERATOR): Dock worker. Caught between the ring coordinator and the shift supervisor. Secretly trying to exit the ring.
- **On-Station Coordinator** (Tier 2, THRESHOLD+HANDLER): Delivers the ring coordinator's message to the smuggler.
---
## 2. Trigger: Nils's Escalation Demand
## 2. Trigger: The Escalation Demand
### Context
Minutes 5-10 of the vertical slice. Devra approaches the smuggler during a routine shift at the logistics hub. She has a lattice message from Nils. The next shipment is double volume. Nils needs more hands and wider timing windows. Voss has to adjust the shift schedule to create a bigger coverage gap. The smuggler is asked to help convince Voss — or handle the extra volume personally.
Minutes 5-10 of the vertical slice. The on-station coordinator approaches the smuggler during a routine shift at the logistics hub. There is a lattice message from the ring coordinator. The next shipment is double volume. More hands and wider timing windows are needed. The shift supervisor has to adjust the schedule to create a bigger coverage gap. The smuggler is asked to help convince the shift supervisor — or handle the extra volume personally.
### The Lattice Message (Nils to Kael, relayed through Devra)
### The Lattice Message (Ring Coordinator to THE FRIEND, relayed through on-station coordinator)
Nils's voice: direct, authoritative, strategic. Underneath the business tone, an occasional note of familial warmth toward Kael — not sentimentality, efficiency that happens to include affection.
Ring coordinator's voice: direct, authoritative, strategic. Efficient — no wasted words, no sentiment that isn't load-bearing.
> Kael. Next cycle, we're doubling the load. Two containers instead of one, same transit window. I've already confirmed with Sabel — the supply side is handled.
> Next cycle, we're doubling the load. Two containers instead of one, same transit window. I've already confirmed with the supply side — it's handled.
>
> I need Voss to widen the shift gap by forty minutes. Night transition, not day. Tell him it's temporary. Tell him whatever he needs to hear.
> I need the shift supervisor to widen the gap by forty minutes. Night transition, not day. Tell them it's temporary. Tell them whatever they need to hear.
>
> Get your friend involved. The one who's good with routing. I trust your judgment on people, little brother — always have. But this shipment doesn't wait.
> Get your friend involved. The one who's good with routing. I trust your judgment on people — always have. But this shipment doesn't wait.
>
> The money's there. Enough for everyone to feel it. Voss gets his usual plus fifteen percent. You and your crew split the operational bonus.
> The money's there. Enough for everyone to feel it. The shift supervisor gets the usual plus fifteen percent. Your crew splits the operational bonus.
>
> Don't let Voss talk himself out of this. He worries too much about things that haven't happened yet. We've run bigger loads through worse windows. This is manageable.
> Don't let the shift supervisor talk out of this. Worries too much about things that haven't happened yet. We've run bigger loads through worse windows. This is manageable.
>
> I'll check in after transit. Stay sharp.
**Authoring notes**: "Little brother" is the familial note — warm, but embedded in operational language. Nils doesn't separate business from family; for him they're the same register. "I trust your judgment on people" is genuine and instrumentalizing simultaneously. The message is 6 lines of authored content (excluding the sign-off).
**Authoring notes**: "I trust your judgment on people" is genuine and instrumentalizing simultaneously — the ring coordinator's praise functions as both compliment and directive. The message is 6 lines of authored content (excluding the sign-off).
### Devra's Delivery
### On-Station Coordinator's Delivery
Devra approaches the smuggler at the hub, low voice, professional demeanor shifted to operational mode.
The on-station coordinator approaches the smuggler at the hub, low voice, professional demeanor shifted to operational mode.
> *"Message from upstream. Nils wants to double the next run. He needs Voss to stretch the window — forty minutes, night shift transition. And he wants you on routing. Here."*
> *"Message from upstream. They want to double the next run. Need the shift supervisor to stretch the window — forty minutes, night shift transition. And they want you on routing. Here."*
She passes the lattice message (or relays its contents verbally, depending on operational security context).
Passes the lattice message (or relays its contents verbally, depending on operational security context).
> *"Read it. Then we need to talk about Voss."*
> *"Read it. Then we need to talk about the shift supervisor."*
---
@@ -80,39 +80,39 @@ The smuggler has three options. Each is self-contained within Triangle 1 — no
---
### Path A: Side with Nils (Escalate)
### Path A: Side with the Ring Coordinator (Escalate)
**Decision trigger**: The smuggler agrees to help push the double shipment through. Convinces Voss to widen the window, takes on the extra routing work, follows Nils's plan.
**Decision trigger**: The smuggler agrees to help push the double shipment through. Convinces the shift supervisor to widen the window, takes on the extra routing work, follows the ring coordinator's plan.
#### NPC Responses
**Voss reaction** — resentful compliance, anxiety spiking:
**Shift supervisor reaction** — resentful compliance, anxiety spiking:
> *"Forty minutes. You're asking me to leave a forty-minute hole in the night rotation. Do you know what that looks like to anyone paying attention?"*
> *"Fine. Fine. I'll move Drin to the south bay and pull Resha off overnight. But if this blows up, I was never part of this conversation."*
> *"Fine. Fine. I'll move the south bay crew and pull night cover from elsewhere. But if this blows up, I was never part of this conversation."*
> *"Another 'adjustment.' Every cycle it's another adjustment. One day there won't be anything left to adjust."*
**Kael reaction** — relief mixed with unease:
**THE FRIEND reaction** — relief mixed with unease:
> *"Nils got his way. Alright. At least the pressure's off for now — he won't be pinging me every hour."*
> *"They got their way. Alright. At least the pressure's off for now — won't be messaging me every hour."*
> *"You sure about this? Double volume through one window... that's a lot of containers to explain if someone's watching."*
**Nils follow-up message** (post-shipment, lattice):
**Ring coordinator follow-up message** (post-shipment, lattice):
> *"Clean run. Good work. Tell Voss he did fine — and tell him there's a bonus. People work better when they're not afraid."*
> *"Clean run. Good work. Tell the shift supervisor they did fine — and there's a bonus. People work better when they're not afraid."*
#### Detective Consequences
The investigation **accelerates**. Voss's anxiety produces observable disruption:
The investigation **accelerates**. The shift supervisor's anxiety produces observable disruption:
- Manifest discrepancies spike (Voss reworks schedules visibly, Maret notices).
- Voss's behavior becomes erratic — clipped responses, avoidance of break room during ring operations, nervous schedule adjustments.
- Manifest discrepancies spike (schedule reworks are visible; the freight scheduler notices).
- The shift supervisor's behavior becomes erratic — clipped responses, avoidance of the break room during ring operations, nervous schedule adjustments.
- The detective reads organizational stress:
> *"Voss changed the night shift schedule. Third time this week. That's not workload management — that's someone covering ground."*
> *"The shift supervisor changed the night rotation. Third time this week. Two workers reassigned without explanation. The freight scheduler has noticed too — manifest revision rate is tracking the schedule changes."*
> *"Manifest revisions are up forty percent since last cycle. The shift supervisor is reprocessing more than the freight volume justifies."*
@@ -122,56 +122,56 @@ The investigation **accelerates**. Voss's anxiety produces observable disruption
|-----------|--------|
| `exposure_risk` | Increases globally for the ring |
| `cover_integrity` (ring) | Drops to `"thin"` |
| Voss `behavior_flags` | `"nervous,schedule_changes,evasive"` |
| Voss `position_integrity` | `"thin"` |
| Kael `behavior_flags` | Unchanged (pressure relieved) |
| Shift supervisor `behavior_flags` | `"nervous,schedule_changes,evasive"` |
| Shift supervisor `position_integrity` | `"thin"` |
| THE FRIEND `behavior_flags` | Unchanged (pressure relieved) |
| Wow moment #2 (Character's Eye) | Triggers **EARLIER** in timeline |
#### Smuggler Monologue
> *"Nils's money. Voss's schedule. My routing. Everybody's got their piece. ...Voss looked like he wanted to throw up when I told him."*
> *"The ring coordinator's money. The shift supervisor's schedule. My routing. Everybody's got their piece. ...The shift supervisor looked like they wanted to throw up when I told them."*
> *"More volume means more exposure. But Nils doesn't think about exposure — he thinks about throughput. And now I'm thinking like him."*
> *"More volume means more exposure. But the ring coordinator doesn't think about exposure — they think about throughput. And now I'm thinking like them."*
> *"Kael's breathing easier. That's something. One less thing eating at him."*
> *"THE FRIEND is breathing easier. That's something. One less thing eating at them."*
---
### Path B: Side with Voss (Stabilize)
### Path B: Side with the Shift Supervisor (Stabilize)
**Decision trigger**: The smuggler backs Voss's position. Rejects or delays the double shipment. Tells Devra (or Nils through Devra) that the window can't support double volume without unacceptable risk.
**Decision trigger**: The smuggler backs the shift supervisor's position. Rejects or delays the double shipment. Tells the on-station coordinator (or the ring coordinator through them) that the window can't support double volume without unacceptable risk.
#### NPC Responses
**Voss reaction** — surprised relief, cautious gratitude:
**Shift supervisor reaction** — surprised relief, cautious gratitude:
> *"You told him no? ...I didn't think anyone told Nils no."*
> *"You told them no? ...I didn't think anyone told the coordinator no."*
> *"Good. The schedule stays clean. Nobody has to explain anything to anyone. That's how it should work."*
> *"Just — don't expect him to forget this. Nils doesn't forget when people push back."*
> *"Just — don't expect them to forget this. The coordinator doesn't forget when people push back."*
**Kael reaction** — increased anxiety, family pressure redirected:
**THE FRIEND reaction** — increased anxiety, pressure redirected:
> *"Nils isn't going to like this. He'll go around us — straight to me. And I can't... it's harder when it's him asking directly."*
> *"They're not going to like this. They'll go around us — straight to me. And I can't... it's harder when they're asking directly."*
> *"You did the right thing. I think. But Nils is going to make this my problem now."*
> *"You did the right thing. I think. But this is going to become my problem now."*
**Nils follow-up message** (lattice, to Kael directly — the smuggler hears about it through Kael):
**Ring coordinator follow-up message** (lattice, to THE FRIEND directly — the smuggler hears about it through THE FRIEND):
> *"Kael. Your friend made a decision. I respect that. But the shipment still needs to move. You and I need to talk about alternatives. Call me tonight."*
> *"Your friend made a decision. I respect that. But the shipment still needs to move. You and I need to talk about alternatives. Contact me tonight."*
#### Detective Consequences
The investigation **slows**. The hub runs quiet. But Kael's internal pressure builds and produces different tells:
The investigation **slows**. The hub runs quiet. But THE FRIEND's internal pressure builds and produces different tells:
- Fewer manifest discrepancies (Voss's schedule stays clean).
- Kael's distraction increases — more lattice checking, shortened conversations, visible tension from direct Nils pressure.
- Fewer manifest discrepancies (the shift supervisor's schedule stays clean).
- THE FRIEND's distraction increases — more lattice checking, shortened conversations, visible tension without an organizational cause.
- The detective reads personal stress, not organizational disruption:
> *"The hub's been quiet. But Kael — he's checked his lattice eleven times this shift. Expecting something. Or dreading it."*
> *"The hub's been quiet. But the dock worker — they've checked their lattice eleven times this shift. That's not work communication. That's someone waiting for something they don't want to arrive."*
> *"No schedule anomalies this cycle. The shift supervisor's relaxed. But the dock worker — Davan — something's pulling at him."*
> *"No schedule anomalies this cycle. The shift supervisor's relaxed. But the dock worker — carrying something. Personal? Professional? Filing it."*
#### Mechanical Outcomes
@@ -179,18 +179,18 @@ The investigation **slows**. The hub runs quiet. But Kael's internal pressure bu
|-----------|--------|
| `exposure_risk` | Stays low (ring remains quiet) |
| `cover_integrity` (ring) | Unchanged — `"solid"` |
| Voss `behavior_flags` | `"reliable,punctual"` (baseline restored) |
| Kael `behavior_flags` | Escalates faster: `"lattice_checking,distracted,evasive"` |
| Kael `trust_level` (from Nils) | Drops — Nils applies pressure directly |
| THE FRIEND contradiction | Hits **HARDER** (Kael under more personal strain, tells amplify) |
| Shift supervisor `behavior_flags` | `"reliable,punctual"` (baseline restored) |
| THE FRIEND `behavior_flags` | Escalates faster: `"lattice_checking,distracted,evasive"` |
| THE FRIEND `trust_level` (from ring coordinator) | Drops — coordinator applies pressure directly |
| THE FRIEND contradiction | Hits **HARDER** (under more personal strain, tells amplify) |
#### Smuggler Monologue
> *"Voss can breathe. The schedule's clean. ...So why do I feel like I just made this worse?"*
> *"The shift supervisor can breathe. The schedule's clean. ...So why do I feel like I just made this worse?"*
> *"Kael's been on his lattice all shift. Nils called him directly. I took the pressure off Voss and dropped it straight onto Kael."*
> *"THE FRIEND's been on their lattice all shift. The coordinator called them directly. I took the pressure off the shift supervisor and dropped it straight onto THE FRIEND."*
> *"I said no to protect the operation. But Kael's the one paying for it."*
> *"I said no to protect the operation. But THE FRIEND's the one paying for it."*
---
@@ -200,21 +200,21 @@ The investigation **slows**. The hub runs quiet. But Kael's internal pressure bu
#### NPC Responses
**Voss reaction** — temporarily calmed, skeptical:
**Shift supervisor reaction** — temporarily calmed, skeptical:
> *"Half volume. Phased. ...That's something I can work with. Twenty minutes instead of forty. Tighter, but doable."*
> *"Don't tell me this is the new normal. One compromise turns into two, and then Nils is running double loads through my schedule anyway."*
> *"Don't tell me this is the new normal. One compromise turns into two, and then the coordinator is running double loads through my schedule anyway."*
**Kael reaction** — confused, uncertain:
**THE FRIEND reaction** — confused, uncertain:
> *"Half? Nils asked for double and you're offering half? He's going to think you don't trust him."*
> *"Half? They asked for double and you're offering half? They're going to think you don't trust them."*
> *"I don't know. Maybe it works. But Nils doesn't do 'maybe.' He does yes or no."*
> *"I don't know. Maybe it works. But the coordinator doesn't do 'maybe.' They do yes or no."*
**Nils follow-up message** (lattice, to Kael — cooler tone):
**Ring coordinator follow-up message** (lattice, to THE FRIEND — cooler tone):
> *"Kael. Half volume, phased. Your friend's being careful. I can respect careful — up to a point. But careful doesn't move product, and product is what keeps everyone paid. We'll try it this way. Once. Then we revisit."*
> *"Half volume, phased. Your friend's being careful. I can respect careful — up to a point. But careful doesn't move product, and product is what keeps everyone paid. We'll try it this way. Once. Then we revisit."*
#### Detective Consequences
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ The investigation reads **organizational confusion**. Mixed signals — some dis
> *"Something's off. Last night extra cargo, tonight normal. There's no pattern, and that's the pattern."*
> *"Inconsistent operational tempo. Either someone's experimenting with timing, or there's disagreement inside the operation."*
> *"Inconsistent operational tempo. If someone's running an operation through this hub, they're either changing methods or arguing about them. Either way — disorganization is observable."*
#### Mechanical Outcomes
@@ -230,26 +230,26 @@ The investigation reads **organizational confusion**. Mixed signals — some dis
|-----------|--------|
| `exposure_risk` | Moderate (some exposure, not full) |
| `cover_integrity` (ring) | Slightly degraded: `"solid"` to `"thin"` (marginal) |
| Smuggler `operational_trust` (from Nils) | **Drops** — Nils loses confidence in the smuggler |
| Voss `behavior_flags` | `"cautious"` (mild stress, manageable) |
| Kael `behavior_flags` | `"uncertain,distracted"` |
| Smuggler `operational_trust` (from ring coordinator) | **Drops** — coordinator loses confidence in the smuggler |
| Shift supervisor `behavior_flags` | `"cautious"` (mild stress, manageable) |
| THE FRIEND `behavior_flags` | `"uncertain,distracted"` |
| Second decision point | **Creates a follow-up fork** later in timeline (see implementation note below) |
> **Implementation note:** Path C's deferred second decision point (when Nils revisits after the one-cycle trial) requires a follow-up fork that is **not specified in this document**. Options: (1) scope the follow-up fork as a separate ticket for v0.1, (2) let the trial period expire unresolved within the v0.1 timeline, treating the unresolved tension as authored ambiguity. The self-containment rule (Section 6) applies -- this deferred fork must not gate other triangles.
> **Implementation note:** Path C's deferred second decision point (when the ring coordinator revisits after the one-cycle trial) requires a follow-up fork that is **not specified in this document**. Options: (1) scope the follow-up fork as a separate ticket, (2) let the trial period expire unresolved within the session timeline, treating the unresolved tension as authored ambiguity. The self-containment rule (Section 6) applies — this deferred fork must not gate other triangles.
#### Smuggler Monologue
> *"Split the difference. Half now, half later. Nobody's happy, but nobody's exposed. ...Nils is going to remember this."*
> *"Split the difference. Half now, half later. Nobody's happy, but nobody's exposed. ...The coordinator is going to remember this."*
> *"Kael looked at me like I'd spoken a different language. Half. He doesn't understand half — his whole family runs on all-or-nothing."*
> *"THE FRIEND looked at me like I'd spoken a different language. Half. They don't understand half — the people running this ring operate on all-or-nothing."*
> *"Bought time. That's all this is. The second shipment's still coming, and Nils will be less patient when it does."*
> *"Bought time. That's all this is. The second shipment's still coming, and the coordinator will be less patient when it does."*
---
## 4. NPC State Changes per Path
### Arvo Voss
### Shift Supervisor
| Attribute | Path A (Escalate) | Path B (Stabilize) | Path C (Mediate) |
|-----------|-------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
@@ -260,32 +260,32 @@ The investigation reads **organizational confusion**. Mixed signals — some dis
| `tell_observed` (detective) | `"nervous_schedule_adjustments,break_room_avoidance"` | (none new) | `"cautious_scheduling"` |
| `moral_weight` (smuggler) | `"compromised"` | `"compromised"` | `"compromised"` |
### Kael Davan
### THE FRIEND (Dock Worker)
| Attribute | Path A (Escalate) | Path B (Stabilize) | Path C (Mediate) |
|-----------|-------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| `behavior_flags` | `"reliable,punctual"` (baseline) | `"lattice_checking,distracted,evasive"` (accelerated) | `"uncertain,distracted"` |
| `trust_level` (from Nils) | `"trusted"` | `"uncertain"` (Nils pressures directly) | `"uncertain"` |
| `trust_level` (from ring coordinator) | `"trusted"` | `"uncertain"` (coordinator pressures directly) | `"uncertain"` |
| `risk_assessment` (smuggler) | `"low"` | `"moderate"` (visible strain) | `"moderate"` |
| `loyalty_assessment` (smuggler) | `"solid"` | `"solid"` (but strained) | `"uncertain"` |
| THE FRIEND arc timing | Normal pace | **Accelerated** (tells arrive sooner) | Normal pace |
### Nils Davan (off-stage, tracked through references)
### Ring Coordinator (off-stage, tracked through references)
| Attribute | Path A (Escalate) | Path B (Stabilize) | Path C (Mediate) |
|-----------|-------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| `trust_level` (toward smuggler) | `"trusted"` (delivered results) | `"suspicious"` (defied directive) | `"uncertain"` (half-measure) |
| Pressure vector | Through Voss (operational) | Through Kael (familial) | Through Kael (revisit demand) |
| Follow-up action | Bonus payment, continued partnership | Direct contact with Kael, bypasses smuggler | One-cycle trial, second decision point |
| Pressure vector | Through shift supervisor (operational) | Through THE FRIEND (personal) | Through THE FRIEND (revisit demand) |
| Follow-up action | Bonus payment, continued partnership | Direct contact with THE FRIEND, bypasses smuggler | One-cycle trial, second decision point |
### Smuggler (PC state)
| Attribute | Path A (Escalate) | Path B (Stabilize) | Path C (Mediate) |
|-----------|-------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| `operational_trust` (from Nils) | High — reliable operator | Low — defiant | Moderate — cautious, untested |
| `operational_trust` (from Voss) | Moderate — Voss complies but resents | High — smuggler protected Voss | Moderate — temporary reprieve |
| `operational_trust` (from ring coordinator) | High — reliable operator | Low — defiant | Moderate — cautious, untested |
| `operational_trust` (from shift supervisor) | Moderate — complies but resents | High — smuggler protected them | Moderate — temporary reprieve |
| Exposure position | Higher personal risk | Lower personal risk | Moderate, with deferred risk |
| Follow-up fork | None (resolved) | None (resolved, but Kael strain) | **Yes** — second decision when Nils revisits |
| Follow-up fork | None (resolved) | None (resolved, but THE FRIEND strained) | **Yes** — second decision when coordinator revisits |
---
@@ -295,27 +295,27 @@ The detective does not know the smuggler's choice. The detective observes conseq
### Post-Escalation (Path A)
**Observable signals**: Manifest discrepancies spike. Voss's schedule revisions increase. Night shift personnel reassignments without clear operational justification. Voss avoids the break room during transition windows.
**Observable signals**: Manifest discrepancies spike. The shift supervisor's schedule revisions increase. Night shift personnel reassignments without clear operational justification. The shift supervisor avoids the break room during transition windows.
**Detective monologue**:
> *"Voss changed the night shift schedule. Third time this week. Two workers reassigned without explanation. The freight scheduler — Korr — she's noticed too. Her manifest revision rate is tracking his."*
> *"The shift supervisor changed the night rotation. Third time this week. Two workers reassigned without explanation. The freight scheduler has noticed too — manifest revision rate is tracking the schedule changes."*
> *"The shift supervisor is managing something that isn't on the schedule. Whatever it is, it's getting bigger."*
**Monologue implications**: The detective's investigation accelerates toward Voss as the institutional weak point. Voss becomes the thread to pull. The ring's operational footprint expands, making pattern detection easier.
**Monologue implications**: The detective's investigation accelerates toward the shift supervisor as the institutional weak point. The shift supervisor becomes the thread to pull. The ring's operational footprint expands, making pattern detection easier.
### Post-Stabilize (Path B)
**Observable signals**: Hub runs quiet. No schedule anomalies. But Kael's personal behavior shifts — lattice checking increases, social interactions shorten, visible tension without an organizational cause.
**Observable signals**: Hub runs quiet. No schedule anomalies. But THE FRIEND's personal behavior shifts — lattice checking increases, social interactions shorten, visible tension without an organizational cause.
**Detective monologue**:
> *"The hub's been quiet. But Kael — he's checked his lattice eleven times this shift. That's not work communication. That's someone waiting for something they don't want to arrive."*
> *"The hub's been quiet. But the dock worker — they've checked their lattice eleven times this shift. That's not work communication. That's someone waiting for something they don't want to arrive."*
> *"No schedule disruptions. No manifest flags. Everything's clean on paper. But the dock worker — Davan — he's carrying something. Personal? Professional? Filing it."*
> *"No schedule disruptions. No manifest flags. Everything's clean on paper. But the dock worker — carrying something. Personal? Professional? Filing it."*
**Monologue implications**: The detective's investigation slows on the institutional side but builds a behavioral case against Kael specifically. Kael's tells become the primary signal. When THE FRIEND contradiction arrives, it hits harder because the detective has already been watching Kael.
**Monologue implications**: The detective's investigation slows on the institutional side but builds a behavioral case against THE FRIEND specifically. THE FRIEND's tells become the primary signal. When the contradiction arc arrives, it hits harder because the detective has already been watching.
### Post-Mediate (Path C)
@@ -333,15 +333,15 @@ The detective does not know the smuggler's choice. The detective observes conseq
## 6. Self-Containment Declaration
**This fork is self-contained within Triangle 1 (Hub Power: Voss - Kael - Nils).**
**This fork is self-contained within Triangle 1 (Hub Power: Shift Supervisor / THE FRIEND / Ring Coordinator).**
Per D-053 / A-17: Self-contained forks are independent decision state machines with shared NPC state. Triangle 1's outcome modifies Voss and Kael's behavioral attributes and does NOT gate Triangle 2 (Worried Knowledge), Triangle 3 (Bar Tensions), Triangle 4 (Worried Partner), or Triangle 5 (Informant Question).
Per D-053 / A-17: Self-contained forks are independent decision state machines with shared NPC state. Triangle 1's outcome modifies the shift supervisor's and THE FRIEND's behavioral attributes and does NOT gate Triangle 2 (Worried Knowledge), Triangle 3 (Bar Tensions), Triangle 4 (Worried Partner), or Triangle 5 (Informant Question).
**What crosses triangle boundaries**: NPC state changes are **observable** by other triangles' logic, but this is emergent, not scripted cascade. If Voss's `behavior_flags` change to `"nervous,schedule_changes,evasive"` (Path A), Triangle 2's Maret can observe this through normal NPC observation mechanics. But Triangle 2's fork (if one exists) is not gated on Triangle 1's outcome.
**What crosses triangle boundaries**: NPC state changes are **observable** by other triangles' logic, but this is emergent, not scripted cascade. If the shift supervisor's `behavior_flags` change to `"nervous,schedule_changes,evasive"` (Path A), Triangle 2's manifest clerk can observe this through normal NPC observation mechanics. But Triangle 2's fork (if one exists) is not gated on Triangle 1's outcome.
**What does NOT cross**:
- Triangle 1's decision does not unlock or lock content in T2, T3, T4, or T5.
- Triangle 1's decision does not modify NPCs outside the triangle (Maret, Lera, Sera, etc.) except through standard observation.
- Triangle 1's decision does not modify NPCs outside the triangle (manifest clerk, bar owner, THE FRIEND's contacts, etc.) except through standard observation.
- Triangle 1's decision does not alter the detective's investigation path — it alters the timing and observability of evidence, not its existence.
**Design principle**: The fork changes WHAT the detective sees first, not WHAT the detective discovers. All three paths lead to the ring. The smuggler's choice determines whether the detective arrives via institutional signals (Path A), personal behavioral tells (Path B), or organizational inconsistency (Path C).
@@ -354,62 +354,62 @@ Per D-053 / A-17: Self-contained forks are independent decision state machines w
| Content Type | Path A | Path B | Path C | Shared |
|-------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| Nils lattice message | -- | -- | -- | 6 lines (trigger message) |
| Nils follow-up message | 1 line | 1 line | 2 lines | -- |
| Devra delivery | -- | -- | -- | 2 lines (shared) |
| Voss reaction dialogue | 3 lines | 3 lines | 2 lines | -- |
| Kael reaction dialogue | 2 lines | 2 lines | 2 lines | -- |
| Ring coordinator lattice message | -- | -- | -- | 6 lines (trigger message) |
| Ring coordinator follow-up message | 1 line | 1 line | 2 lines | -- |
| On-station coordinator delivery | -- | -- | -- | 2 lines (shared) |
| Shift supervisor reaction dialogue | 3 lines | 3 lines | 2 lines | -- |
| THE FRIEND reaction dialogue | 2 lines | 2 lines | 2 lines | -- |
| Smuggler monologue | 3 lines | 3 lines | 3 lines | -- |
| Detective monologue | 2 lines | 2 lines | 2 lines | -- |
| **Subtotal** | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
**Total authored lines**: ~41 lines across all paths and shared content.
### Nils Lattice Message (Shared — Trigger)
### Ring Coordinator Lattice Message (Shared — Trigger)
Written above in Section 2. Six lines of authored content in Nils's voice: direct, authoritative, strategic, with "little brother" as the familial note.
Written above in Section 2. Six lines of authored content in the ring coordinator's voice: direct, authoritative, strategic. "I trust your judgment on people" is the one warm note — genuine and instrumentalizing simultaneously.
### Devra Delivery Dialogue (Shared)
### On-Station Coordinator Delivery Dialogue (Shared)
Written above in Section 2. Two lines: the relay and the redirect to the Voss question.
Written above in Section 2. Two lines: the relay and the redirect to the shift supervisor question.
### Voss Reaction Dialogue (Per Path)
### Shift Supervisor Reaction Dialogue (Per Path)
**Path A** (3 lines): Anxiety about the forty-minute gap, resentful compliance, fatalistic observation about "adjustments."
**Path B** (3 lines): Surprised relief, cautious gratitude, warning about Nils's memory.
**Path B** (3 lines): Surprised relief, cautious gratitude, warning about the coordinator's memory.
**Path C** (2 lines): Pragmatic acceptance of half-volume, skepticism about whether it stays at half.
### Kael Reaction Dialogue (Per Path)
### THE FRIEND Reaction Dialogue (Per Path)
**Path A** (2 lines): Relief that Nils's pressure is off, unease about double volume risk.
**Path A** (2 lines): Relief that the coordinator's pressure is off, unease about double volume risk.
**Path B** (2 lines): Anxiety about Nils going directly to him, acknowledgment that it was the right call but at personal cost.
**Path B** (2 lines): Anxiety about the coordinator going directly to them, acknowledgment that it was the right call but at personal cost.
**Path C** (2 lines): Confusion about the half-measure, warning that Nils doesn't do compromise.
**Path C** (2 lines): Confusion about the half-measure, warning that the coordinator doesn't do compromise.
### Nils Follow-Up Messages (Per Path)
### Ring Coordinator Follow-Up Messages (Per Path)
**Path A** (1 line): Praise, bonus confirmation, instruction to reassure Voss.
**Path A** (1 line): Praise, bonus confirmation, instruction to reassure the shift supervisor.
**Path B** (1 line): Cool acknowledgment, redirected pressure onto Kael, "we'll talk about alternatives."
**Path B** (1 line): Cool acknowledgment, redirected pressure onto THE FRIEND, "we'll talk about alternatives."
**Path C** (2 lines): Measured response, "I can respect careful up to a point," one-cycle trial with implied revisit.
### Smuggler Monologue (Per Path)
**Path A** (3 lines): Operational satisfaction shadowed by Voss's visible fear; alignment with Nils's logic; noting Kael's relief.
**Path A** (3 lines): Operational satisfaction shadowed by the shift supervisor's visible fear; alignment with the coordinator's logic; noting THE FRIEND's relief.
**Path B** (3 lines): Voss protected but Kael exposed; recognition of transferred pressure; guilt about the cost to Kael.
**Path B** (3 lines): Shift supervisor protected but THE FRIEND exposed; recognition of transferred pressure; guilt about the cost.
**Path C** (3 lines): Bought time, not resolution; Kael's confusion; awareness that Nils will return with less patience.
**Path C** (3 lines): Bought time, not resolution; THE FRIEND's confusion; awareness that the coordinator will return with less patience.
### Detective Monologue (Per Path)
**Path A** (2 lines): Voss's schedule changes as institutional signal; manifest revision rate as data.
**Path A** (2 lines): Shift supervisor's schedule changes as institutional signal; manifest revision rate as data.
**Path B** (2 lines): Hub quiet but Kael's lattice activity as personal behavioral signal; clean paper vs. dirty behavior.
**Path B** (2 lines): Hub quiet but THE FRIEND's lattice activity as personal behavioral signal; clean paper vs. dirty behavior.
**Path C** (2 lines): Inconsistent tempo as organizational signal; disorganization as evidence.
@@ -417,10 +417,5 @@ Written above in Section 2. Two lines: the relay and the redirect to the Voss qu
## Cross-References
- [NPC Roster](../npcs/index.md) — Triangle 1 diagram and tension summary
- [Kael Davan](../npcs/kael-davan.md) — THE FRIEND, full Tier 1 profile
- [Arvo Voss](../npcs/voss.md) — Tier 2 profile, tell system, dual-lens notes
- [Nils Davan](../npcs/nils-davan.md) — Off-stage profile, lattice message design
- [Devra Talsen](../npcs/devra.md) — Tier 2 profile, message delivery role
- [Entity Attributes](../knowledge/entity-attributes.md) — Canonical `known_attributes` keys referenced in state tables
- [Monologue Guide](../authoring/monologue-guide.md) — Tag taxonomy, prerequisite format, voice discipline