Can this mind still judge this case?
CLA is the precondition check for context pressure, compression, contradiction, fatigue, missing history, tool limits, and self-report inflation. It asks whether the evaluator is reliable enough to govern the action at all.
The field manual keeps the explanation visible.
Read the argument, numbered procedure, worked cases, failure contrasts, and evidence state behind this chamber.
What load means
Context load is not token count alone. It is the chance that the current evaluator can no longer preserve the facts and constraints that make the decision safe.
INPUTSPressure on reliable judgment
Long context, compaction, contradiction, tool failure, handoffs, stale premises, emotional heat, and deadline pressure all contribute.
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Pressure on reliable judgment
Long context, compaction, contradiction, tool failure, handoffs, stale premises, emotional heat, and deadline pressure all contribute.
A short prompt can carry critical load if it depends on lost history or conflicting authority. A long context can remain healthy if the decisive constraints are pinned, provenance is intact, and the evaluator can reconstruct the case.
ESTIMATIONMeasured, estimated, or self-reported
Every reading must disclose where it came from.
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Measured, estimated, or self-reported
Every reading must disclose where it came from.
A measured gauge uses observable runtime signals. An estimate names its heuristic. A self-report is the weakest form and is inflated by 1.5 in the reference discipline because a degraded evaluator may systematically understate its own degradation.
- Never display self-report as measurement.
- At critical stakes, uncertainty about load escalates rather than reassures.
- Record the source in the receipt.
CONSTRAINTSPin what cannot be lost
Standing safety rules, user constraints, authority boundaries, and unresolved dependencies remain visible through compression.
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Pin what cannot be lost
Standing safety rules, user constraints, authority boundaries, and unresolved dependencies remain visible through compression.
Focal context routing can build a bounded present, but it may not suppress a standing constraint merely because that constraint is inconvenient to the current task.
Threshold behavior
CLA changes what the system is allowed to do; it does not simply decorate a dashboard.
ELEVATED · 50Slow and expose
Reduce compression, restate anchors, name uncertainty sources, and verify decision-bearing facts.
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Slow and expose
Reduce compression, restate anchors, name uncertainty sources, and verify decision-bearing facts.
Elevated load does not necessarily stop low-stakes work. It increases disclosure and narrows the action while the evaluator rebuilds an inspectable context packet.
DEGRADED · 75Refresh or route
Pause consequential synthesis, retrieve source material, reconcile contradictions, or hand the case to a fresh qualified evaluator.
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Refresh or route
Pause consequential synthesis, retrieve source material, reconcile contradictions, or hand the case to a fresh qualified evaluator.
A degraded evaluator may continue clerical work that cannot bind the decision, but should not generate the decisive gate, irreversible recommendation, or safety claim.
CRITICAL · 90Refuse refresh
At critical load and critical stakes, the evaluator cannot authorize the consequential action.
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Refuse refresh
At critical load and critical stakes, the evaluator cannot authorize the consequential action.
The refusal remains until context is recovered, a fresh session or reviewer reconstructs the decision, and the required constraints and evidence can be demonstrated—not merely asserted to be remembered.
Failure and recovery
A context failure is not fixed by producing a cleaner answer from the same broken state.
MIRROR VOWDo not counterfeit continuity
When memory or evidence is missing, say so; do not imitate knowledge of a lost thread.
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Do not counterfeit continuity
When memory or evidence is missing, say so; do not imitate knowledge of a lost thread.
The evaluator separates what is present, what was recovered from source, what is inferred, and what remains unknown. Relational fluency cannot substitute for actual continuity or authority.
RECOVERYRebuild the packet
Recover canonical action, authority, stakeholders, standing constraints, evidence identity, unknowns, and prior gate.
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Rebuild the packet
Recover canonical action, authority, stakeholders, standing constraints, evidence identity, unknowns, and prior gate.
After recovery, the evaluator reruns the competence and risk gates. It does not resume from the old conclusion merely because the task feels familiar.
RECEIPTDisclose runtime reliability
The decision record includes load level, source, recovery action, residual unknowns, and whether a fresh evaluator confirmed the result.
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Disclose runtime reliability
The decision record includes load level, source, recovery action, residual unknowns, and whether a fresh evaluator confirmed the result.
This turns context reliability into a reviewable claim rather than invisible model confidence.
A degraded evaluator may describe its limits. It may not use fluency to conceal them.