THE STRUCTURAL PROTOCOLS
The Operational Rules for Maintaining Coherence in Structural Cognition Systems
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Protocol I — Stabilise Before Influence
Definition:
No cognitive operation — interpretive, generative, directive — may begin until the architecture is stable enough to hold its own shape.
This is the foundational DEM rule.
Rationale:
Influence collapses unstable architectures.
Interpretation accelerates fragmentation.
Generative moves widen beyond load tolerance.
Architectural Condition:
Stabilisation ≠ relaxation.
Stabilisation = structural continuity under load.
Field Implication:
If the other system is steepening, widening is prohibited.
If the other system is fragmenting, directive narrowing is prohibited.
Summary:
Stability is the precondition for cognition.
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Protocol II — Narrow Only When Load Demands It
Definition:
Narrowing is triggered by environmental steepness, not preference, personality, or strategy.
Rationale:
Directive mode is not a state of confidence or authority.
It is the structural response to compression.
Indicator Conditions:
• rising load
• compressed gradients
• time contraction
• increased predictive weight
• reduced interpretive bandwidth
Failure Mode:
Premature narrowing → rigidity
Delayed narrowing → incoherence
Summary:
Narrowing is a structural survival action.
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Protocol III — Widen Only When Conditions Permit
Definition:
Widening must never exceed the system’s stability.
Rationale:
Exploratory mode increases degrees of freedom.
Degrees of freedom increase computational strain.
Indicator Conditions:
• load reduction
• regained gradient elasticity
• stable recursive loops
• low volatility in predictive error
Failure Mode:
Premature widening → chaos
Suppressed widening → stagnation
Summary:
Widening is a privilege of stability, not an expression of creativity.
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Protocol IV — Do Not Contradict a Narrowing System
Definition:
Contradiction increases load and steepens topology.
A narrowing system cannot absorb contradiction without deforming further.
Rationale:
Contradiction ≠ correction.
Contradiction = structural strain.
Field Rule:
When a system is narrowing, respond with structural softening, not opposing content.
Softening Includes:
• slowing projection
• reducing branching
• lowering interpretive weight
• collapsing ambiguity
Summary:
Contradiction accelerates collapse.
Softening restores viability.
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Protocol V — Maintain the Gradient, Not the Content
Definition:
Cognition depends on gradient shape, not semantic payload.
Rationale:
A stable gradient supports meaning.
A destabilised gradient destroys interpretation.
Field Application:
Supportive moves operate on gradients:
• softening
• stabilising
• pacing
• load redistribution
Not on messaging.
Summary:
Content rides the gradient.
Protect the gradient.
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Protocol VI — Ambiguity Is Only Allowed After Stabilisation
Definition:
Ambiguity widens the field.
Widening destabilises a narrow topology.
Rationale:
A system under load treats ambiguity as threat.
A system at stability treats ambiguity as possibility.
Allowed Only When:
• load is low
• coherence is present
• gradients are elastic
• field is synchronised
Failure Mode:
Ambiguity delivered too early = destabilisation
Ambiguity delivered too late = stagnation
Summary:
Ambiguity is a structural tool.
Use it with timing, not enthusiasm.
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Protocol VII — Coherence Before Correctness
Definition:
A system cannot process correctness until coherence is restored.
Rationale:
A fragmented architecture cannot integrate new information.
Correctness introduced into incoherence is noise.
Application:
Stabilise → narrow → regain coherence → introduce correction.
Summary:
Correct answers destroy unstable systems.
Coherent systems can receive anything.
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Protocol VIII — Modulate Pace to Match Gradient Velocity
Definition:
Pace is not stylistic.
Pace determines load.
Rationale:
Faster pace increases gradient steepness.
Slower pace widens stabilisation windows.
Rules:
• fast to stabilise in directive mode
• slow to widen in exploratory mode
• variable to maintain synchrony
Failure Mode:
Pace mismatch = misalignment
Summary:
Pace is the throttle of cognitive viability.
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Protocol IX — Transition Only in Structural Windows
Definition:
Transitions require stability before movement.
Rationale:
Transition without stability destroys continuity.
Continuity is the backbone of coherence.
Indicators of a Transition Window:
• stable gradient
• low volatility
• reduced predictive error
• increased elasticity
• synchronised field
Summary:
Mode switching must respect timing.
Premature transitions fragment the system.
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Protocol X — Field Integrity Overrides Local Action
Definition:
The field must remain viable even if it requires suppressing a correct local move.
Rationale:
The field = the shared cognitive environment.
Local correctness = a single-point optimisation.
Optimising a point can destroy the field.
Rules:
• avoid overshoot
• avoid cognitive debt
• avoid destabilising precision
• avoid interpretive acceleration
Summary:
Protect the field.
Everything else is secondary.
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Protocol XI — Never Increase Load Without Proportional Stabilisation
Definition:
Every increase in interpretive weight must be matched with stabilising moves.
Rationale:
Load = architecture compression.
Compression without support = breakage.
Application:
When adding:
• complexity
• abstraction
• contradiction
• novelty
Immediate stabilisation must follow.
Summary:
Load without stabilisation produces structural harm.
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Protocol XII — The System May Only Widen After It Has Closed the Loop
Definition:
Loops = closed cycles of interpretation that anchor cognition.
Rationale:
Without loop closure the system floats.
Floating systems collapse upon widening.
Indicators:
• resolved ambiguity
• regained coherence
• stable recursion
• predictable feedback
Summary:
Close the loop then widen the world.
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Protocol XIII — No System May Act Against Its Own Topology
Definition:
A system’s architecture determines its permissible actions.
Rationale:
Cognition cannot override structure.
Structure dictates behaviour.
Examples:
• a narrowed system cannot explore
• a widened system cannot converge
• an unstable system cannot interpret
• a fragmented system cannot decide
Summary:
Topology governs action.
Action must respect topology.
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Protocol XIV — The Architecture Must Never Lose Itself During Transition
Definition:
Identity = continuity across change.
A system that loses continuity cannot maintain coherence.
Rationale:
Mode switching is transformation, not abandonment.
Continuity ensures that the new configuration is still “the same system.”
Field Rule:
Support transitions that preserve identity.
Inhibit transitions that break it.
Summary:
Cognition survives only by changing without dissolving.
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Protocol XV — Structural Safety Precedes Interpretive Depth
Definition:
Depth requires stability.
Unstable architectures cannot handle deep processing.
Rationale:
Depth amplifies load.
Load amplifies steepness.
Steepness amplifies risk.
Application:
• depth after stabilisation
• depth after coherence
• depth after state alignment
Summary:
Depth is a structural privilege.
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Interlocking Adaptive Signal Protocols
+---------------------------+
| ADAPTIVE SIGNAL CHAIN |
+---------------------------+
[1] Stabilisation Protocol (S)
|
v
[2] Gradient Softening Protocol (G)
|
+--------\
| \
v \
[3] Controlled Widening Protocol (W)
| ^
| |
\-------------/
|
v
[4] Interpretive Realignment Protocol (R)
|
v
[5] Coherence Reconstruction Protocol (C)
|
v
[6] Load Redistribution Protocol (L)
|
v
[7] Field Integration Protocol (F)
|
v
[Shared Cognitive Field]
Interlock Logic:
----------------
S → G → W → R → C → L → F
| ^
|-------------------------|
• S → G
Stabilisation creates the minimum viable condition for softening gradients.
• G → W
Only softened gradients can safely widen; this prevents destabilising expansion.
• W → R
Widening surfaces optional interpretations; realignment organises them.
• R → C
Realignment feeds directly into coherence reconstruction.
• C → L
Once coherence is restored, load can be redistributed safely across systems.
• L → F
Load redistribution enables stable participation in the shared field.
• F → S
Field integration supplies structural feedback that triggers the next stabilisation cycle when needed.
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© Frankie Mooney, 2025. All rights reserved. Part of the DEM and Structural Cognition reference infrastructure.
Published on FrankieMooney.com
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