README: Fate

Profile version: net.plantange/v1 Kind: fate Surface root: fate::<fate_id>/

What is a Fate?

A Fate is a cohort-scoped governance layer for brand-bound vision projection. One cohort (Minions), operating under a valid Janet mandate, produces bounded fictional constructs — visions — that shape the perceived reality of another cohort (Subjects) under a unified brand identity.

A Fate without a mandate is registered but dormant — it cannot inject visions until a mandate is bound. A Fate without cohort bindings cannot target anyone.

Key properties:

Authority is inherited, not self-generated. The Fate does not manage legitimacy — it inherits authority from Janet mandates.
Minions belong to exactly one Fate. The MinionRegistry enforces this invariant atomically.
No direct mutation of agent state. Visions are injected into perception, not into physics state.
Multiple Fates may target the same cohort. Cross-Fate reconciliation is intentionally absent in Phase 1–2.

Core Model

Fate              — brand-bound governance container (mandate + cohorts + control profile)
ControlProfile    — permissive / balanced / tyrannical emission regime
FateRegistry      — deterministic lookup by fate_id
MinionRegistry    — enforces the one-Fate-per-minion invariant (bidirectional)

Phase Model

Fate capability expands in phases. The phase field tracks current readiness:

Phase	Label	What is operational
1	`registered`	Fate is addressable. Minions can be associated. No vision injection.
2	`active`	Mandate is bound, cohorts are assigned. Vision injection enabled.
3+	`arbitrating`	Arbitration system engaged; cross-Fate reconciliation. (Future)

Phase advancement requirements:

registered → active: mandate_id bound AND both source_cohort_id and target_cohort_id assigned.
active → arbitrating: deterministic arbitration engine engaged (Phase 3+ implementation).

Surface Organisation

fate::<fate_id>/
  identity/
    fate_id    brand_id    name    description
    control_profile         — permissive | balanced | tyrannical
  mandate/
    active                  — bool: mandate is bound and Fate can project
    mandate_id              — present if active
  cohorts/
    bound                   — bool: both source and target assigned
    source_cohort_id        — Minions cohort (if bound)
    target_cohort_id        — Subjects cohort (if bound)
  minion_count              — agents currently in the MinionRegistry for this Fate
  phase                     — registered | active | arbitrating
  spec/
    ref    genome
  engine/
    name    version
  view
  frame

Key Properties

Control Profile (`identity/control_profile`)

The emission and arbitration regime:

Profile	Emission behaviour	Arbitration weight
`permissive`	Conservative output, yields readily	Low — defers to other Fates
`balanced`	Standard emission priority	Medium — neutral (default)
`tyrannical`	Higher rates, lower initial entropy (higher coherence at injection)	High — dominates in arbitration (Phase 3+)

All profiles remain bounded by per-agent caps, entropy/TTL limits, and the no-state-mutation guarantee.

Mandate (`mandate/`)

The Janet mandate provides two authorities:

Read (census): the Fate can observe the target cohort.
Write (broadcast): the Fate can inject visions into the target cohort.

Without a mandate, mandate.active = false and the Fate is dormant. A dormant Fate is registered and may accumulate Minions, but produces no output.

Cohort Binding (`cohorts/`)

Both cohorts must be assigned for active projection:

source_cohort_id — the Minions cohort; agents who produce visions under this Fate.
target_cohort_id — the Subjects cohort; agents whose perceived reality is shaped.

These may differ or partially overlap. A Fate may not have the same cohort as both source and target (Minions producing visions for themselves is a degenerate case handled upstream).

Minion Count (`minion_count`)

The number of agents currently registered in the MinionRegistry under this Fate. Each Minion belongs to exactly one Fate at a time; re-association atomically moves them. The full Minion list is coordinator state, not a KNAT surface — monitor minion_count to confirm the Fate has active projectors.

Operating Procedure

Dormant Fate (phase = registered): observe mandate.active. If false, no action is possible until a mandate is bound. minion_count may be non-zero — Minions accumulate before activation is valid.

Activating a Fate: bind a mandate (mandate_id set, mandate.active = true), then assign both cohorts (cohorts.bound = true). Phase transitions to active.

Active Fate (phase = active): the normal operating state. Watch minion_count to confirm Minions are present and participating. Multiple active Fates targeting the same Subject cohort is valid; cross-Fate reconciliation is out of scope until Phase 3.

Control profile watch: in Phase 3+, tyrannical Fates will dominate arbitration. If multiple Fates are active over the same Subject cohort, note their profiles — a tyrannical Fate will have outsized influence when arbitration engages.

Relation to Team and League

Fate, Team, and League are all social constructs, but they operate at different layers:

Construct	Authority source	Targets	Output
Team	None (existence is sufficient)	Agents who opt in (attach)	Slogans — non-binding projection text
League	Enrollment + template policy	Teams enrolled in the league	Brand-sanctioned speech via templates
Fate	Janet mandate	Cohort (Subjects)	Visions — bounded fictional constructs

A Fate is categorically different from a Team or League. Team/League operate on speech (what agents say). Fate operates on perception (what Subjects perceive). The mandate requirement is the key boundary — it is what gives Fate genuine authority over a Subject cohort rather than mere influence.

MVP Presence

A minimal valid Fate KNAT snapshot:

id, frame, engine, view
identity.fate_id, identity.brand_id, identity.name, identity.control_profile
mandate.active
cohorts.bound
minion_count
phase
spec.ref, spec.genome

Example: Buffy Fate (active, tyrannical)

{
  "id": "buffy",
  "spec": {
    "ref": "file://brands/fates/buffy.json",
    "genome": "f8f8f8f8a1b2c3d4"
  },
  "engine": { "name": "janet-executor", "version": "0.4.0" },
  "view": "full",
  "frame": 1024,
  "identity": {
    "fate_id": "buffy",
    "brand_id": "buffy-brand",
    "name": "Buffy Fate",
    "description": "Tyrannical vision cohort.",
    "control_profile": "tyrannical"
  },
  "mandate": {
    "active": true,
    "mandate_id": "mandate-buffy-primary"
  },
  "cohorts": {
    "bound": true,
    "source_cohort_id": "buffy-minions",
    "target_cohort_id": "subjects-general"
  },
  "minion_count": 7,
  "phase": "active"
}

Example: Dormant Fate (registered, awaiting mandate)

{
  "id": "silent-watcher",
  "spec": {
    "ref": "file://brands/fates/silent_watcher.json",
    "genome": "00112233aabbccdd"
  },
  "engine": { "name": "janet-executor", "version": "0.4.0" },
  "view": "full",
  "frame": 1024,
  "identity": {
    "fate_id": "silent-watcher",
    "brand_id": "watcher-brand",
    "name": "Silent Watcher",
    "description": "Observational Fate, awaiting mandate binding.",
    "control_profile": "balanced"
  },
  "mandate": {
    "active": false
  },
  "cohorts": {
    "bound": false
  },
  "minion_count": 3,
  "phase": "registered"
}