Paradigm investigation files — author / assistant instructions

Purpose: Capture how paradigm-threat-files investigations are written and maintained so sessions stay consistent.

Reader-facing articles (parent-folder essays: thesis-led voice, hook, theory-first pacing, lay citations with dossiers for heavy proof) — docs/instructions/ARTICLES.md.

Structure (typical)

1. Title — topic + scope in one line (# heading at top of file). Do not use YAML --- frontmatter blocks (title:, description:, keywords:); the site and index read title, snippet, hashtags, and OG image from the markdown body (# title, > **TL;DR:**, first paragraph, Keywords: line, first ![]()).
2. Optional header image — path under repo; keep alt text short.
3. TL;DR — one blockquote: thesis, strongest cites, cross-links to other investigations. Avoid duplicating the whole Limits list here.
4. Status — Open / closed; one sentence.
5. Guide (read order) — optional numbered list: “if you want X → section Y”. Use for long files so everyday readers can skip to militainment, money, clues, etc.
6. Body — numbered sections with stable anchors. Prefer one interpretive synthesis per theme (avoid repeating the same Russia/Iran contrast in §2 and again in §6). Do not scatter limits / disclaimer boilerplate through the body; one sentence of in-section nuance where analytically necessary is OK.
7. Author’s originating thesis (when the author supplies it) — Required whenever the author provides sentiment, pattern language, or claims that are not yet evidenced in third-party sources: include their words (blockquote verbatim where possible) and a short “what they mean” unpack so readers grasp intent and pattern stakes. This material establishes why the investigation exists for Paradigm Threat; it is not optional padding. Do not replace it with only “unsupported” or a one-line dismissal. Separate visibly from evidence-backed findings (subsections or labels: Author vs Documented vs Speculative).
8. Author’s open claims (optional section, but required when §7 applies) — numbered or tabulated list of claims that are unique to this file or not fully grounded elsewhere in the repo — before the open questions block. Purpose: pattern registry for cross-investigation threads, not pretense that every claim is proven.
9. Questions to clarify, verify, or debunk — table or list following §8 (when present): falsifiable hooks, FOIA/archive targets, or mainstream sources that could adjudicate author claims. Distinct from routine TODOs; may merge weak points here when appropriate.
10. Weak points / remaining research TODOs — when not folded into §9, keep a table or checkboxes for assistant follow-up (citations, missing books, etc.).
11. Keywords — one line near end of file, exactly Keywords: (case-insensitive on that label) followed by space-separated hashtags. Option B (required): each tag is # plus a single PascalCase token — letters and digits only, no hyphens and no underscores inside the tag (e.g. #RemoteViewing, #ParadigmThreatFiles, not #remote-viewing or #predictive_programming). The static index (scripts/generate-index.py) only reads this line; do not use a ## Keywords heading (it is ignored and npm run check-keywords fails the repo).
12. Date line — last substantive update; trim verbose changelog if git history suffices.
13. Limits and disclaimers — one consolidated block at end of file, after Keywords and before Investigator notes (fiction vs evidence, cross-links thematic, evidence tiers, assistant bias, and explicit note that author thesis sections are first-class but not automatically factual). Everyday readers who skip to substance can stop before this section; it still satisfies repo-wide evidence discipline. TL;DR should not paste the full Limits list (thesis + strongest cites only).
14. Investigator notes (optional) — after Limits; maintainers and LLMs only: local machine paths, subtitle file locations, grep/session hints. Do not put these in the body or duplicate Limits here. See Online vs local content below.

Online vs local content

• Online readers (static site, GitLab browse, strangers cloning the repo) have no access to the author’s OS paths (/home/…, /media/…, C:\…, etc.). Those paths do not belong in the main investigation text, Limits, Related table, or scattered footnotes.
• Keep the body to repo-relative links (/docs/…, /governance/…), public URLs, and citable secondary sources.
• Put machine-local paths and assistant-only reminders in Investigator notes at the very end of the .md file (after Limits and disclaimers). Casual readers typically stop after Keywords; Limits is the repo-wide evidence discipline block.
• CIA Reading Room bulk mirror (author machine): operational layout, Playwright/OCR/index commands, and logs live only in ~/dev/wget/cia/cia-reading-room-local-mirror-and-ocr-operations.md (outside paradigm-threat-files); the public investigation stays CIA.gov + citations + hypotheses; see Investigator notes in cia-reading-room-mars-exploration-1984-rv-investigation.md (Mars mirror + transcript regen); for Iran / two-way / Super Cockpit context only, cia-reading-room-rv-two-way-iran-revival-investigation.md.

Investigations folder vs parent “article” pages (controlled opposition pattern; generalize elsewhere)

Some hubs use an investigations/ subfolder for technical dossiers and keep reader-facing articles one level up (same parent topic folder). Paradigm rule:

Assistant / agent constraints (hard):

• Do not create or fully draft article-style pages in the parent folder unless the author names the output path (e.g. influence/…/my-article.md) in the request. Exploratory or “write an article about X” prompts without an explicit path → stop and ask for the path, or only update investigations/ dossiers per existing investigation rules.
• When the author does name a path, they will often paste conjecture / bullet themes first (as with Mars + Chrono Trigger). Fold that sentiment into the article; do not silently discard author stakes. Technical proof and Limits-class discipline stay primarily in the linked investigations/ file(s).
• Cross-link discipline: parent articles link out to investigations and hubs; avoid duplicating long investigative arcs in both places. If a fact needs five citations, it lives in investigations/; the article summarizes and links.
• Site root page.md — discovery (two surfaces): The live welcome page lists investigations in ## Investigation Categories (#### Cosmos, #### History, #### Influence, …). When you add a new investigation, chronology reader essay, hub, or reader-facing article, add a bullet there under the matching #### (alphabetical or thematic order within that block—one line + optional em dash blurb; link the primary investigations/ dossier when the new file is an entry page pointing at dossiers). Separately, optional high-visibility items may also go under ## My Articles (### Reader-facing articles vs ### Hubs and broad entry points)—use for flagship essays or major hubs, not required for every file if it already sits in Investigation Categories.

Examples (reference implementations):

• influence/controlled_opposition/cia-1984-mars-chrono-trigger.md (article) ↔ …/investigations/cia-reading-room-mars-exploration-1984-rv-investigation.md (dossier).
• history/chronology/indigenous-creation-legends-and-geology.md (lay reader essay + prose citations) ↔ …/investigations/indigenous-legends-vs-geologic-dating-investigation.md (dossier).

Front page (page.md) — optional structure (recommendation)

• ## Investigation Categories is the primary master list readers scan; keep #### sections tidy (one bullet = one line + short blurb).
• ## My Articles benefits from two short subheads: ### Reader-facing articles (parent-folder essays + long standalone investigation reads) vs ### Hubs and broad entry points (/history/mudflood, /cosmos/mars, etc.). Use for highlight entries; they do not replace a bullet under Investigation Categories unless the item is only a deep-link highlight (prefer both for major launches).
• ## Investigation Categories → #### Influence: Consider a short bullet for the controlled opposition hub and one line pointing to the Mars × Chrono article so the master list mirrors page.md—optional; avoids only ever surfacing heavy investigations/ paths.

New article or hub — discovery checklist (assistants)

When generating or landing a new .md article, hub, or major investigation (author-named path or assistant-created under paradigm-threat-files):

1. Site root page.md — Under ## Investigation Categories, add a bullet in the correct #### … section (e.g. chronology / history lane → #### History). Match existing style: * [Title](path.md) — blurb.
2. Topic hub page.md (if the tree has one) — e.g. history/chronology/page.md for timeline work: add a short prose link in the section readers already use for that theme (do not rely on AutoIndex alone for first discovery of a new flagship page).
3. Chronology investigations index — For anything under history/chronology/ or tightly paired with that lane: add or refresh a row in history/chronology/investigations/index-investigations.md (and sibling indexes like war hub page.md when the topic is governance/war).
4. Cross-links — In related dossiers, add a Related / References row (or hub table row) pointing to and from the new file so navigation is bidirectional.
5. Folder page.md + AutoIndex — If the new file is a sibling of a page.md that hides directory listings, append or refresh <AutoIndex … /> per docs/instructions/PAGE_MD_AUTOINDEX.md.
6. npm run autogen — From repo root after substantive .md edits so index.json / changelog.json and Keywords lint stay aligned.
7. Optional: Duplicate a one-line entry under ## My Articles on root page.md when the piece should be editorially featured alongside category listing.

Reorganization (when asked to simplify)

• Do not lose data. Merge sections by moving paragraphs and tables into the surviving heading; never drop citations, URLs, or checklist rows without pasting them elsewhere.
• Reduce redundancy. One Limits block at file end (before Investigator notes); one Related investigations table (do not duplicate the same links in a separate “Cross-links” section). One interpretive “premise” statement — cross-reference earlier sections instead of restating.
• Everyday readers: Keep a short Guide (read order) as a numbered list (reliable on all renderers). Prefer plain sentences; bold for emphasis and labels, not every entity name.
• Closing a session: Refresh governance/war/investigations/page.md row if scope changed; add/update docs/INVESTIGATIONS_DEEP_DIVE.md row and §2 validation block when the file has material open TODOs; update site root page.md ## Investigation Categories (and ## My Articles if featured) per New article or hub — discovery checklist above; update topic hub page.md and index-investigations.md when the lane uses them; run final pass on open questions and weak points / TODOs; npm run autogen; commit and push all configured remotes (origin, relays, etc.) when the author asks for repo sync.

Evidence and tone

• Tiers: Primary > secondary press > social. Flag FOIA-derived figures and wiki-as-convenience vs peer-reviewed claims.
• Author sentiment vs verification: When the author supplies pattern thesis or claims without external citations, the investigation must still present that material prominently (see Structure §7–9). Assistants add context, feasibility, counterarguments, and sources without replacing the author’s voice with only debunking or omission. The Limits block states evidence discipline; it does not delete the author’s stakes.
• Cross-investigations: Links are thematic rhymes, not proof that fictional plots equal documented history.
• Clue threads (e.g. fiction foreshadowing, casting irony): label as clues, not closed findings. When the author asks for no disclaimer boilerplate in a clue block, keep the clue language; the file-level Limits still govern evidence tiers for the repo.
• Bolding: Use sparingly — emphasis and section labels, not every proper noun.

Physics / æther vocabulary (all paradigm-threat* repos)

• Canon: docs/LLM_AETHER_VOCABULARY_MAXWELL_DEBATE.md — debate summary, Maxwell cite path, one-line disclaimer template, and Copilot/Cursor .cursor/rules/paradigm-threat-aether-vocabulary.mdc mirror.
• Running voice: æther (or aether in slugs) for the substrate; do not use quantum / ZPE / dark matter as silent “mainstream-complete” substitutes except in citation / definition / debate.
• Optional bridge: one sentence may note mainstream fields in vacuum + relativity + QED as translation, not replacement of the author’s ontology.

Money / engines / militainment

When discussing defense budgets vs commercial games: cite parallel ecosystems (America’s Army, VBS, DARWARS, DARPA programs) separately from publisher AAA budgets (Activision, platform deals, court filings). Do not collapse into “Pentagon funded Call of Duty” without a specific line-item source.

Git

• Commit investigation changes with a clear one-line message.
• Push to all configured remotes (origin, atlanta2, atlanta3, jp-osa, … per git remote -v) when the author requests repo sync.

Index maintenance

• Site root page.md: ## Investigation Categories — add new bullets when a new article, hub, or investigation should be site-discoverable (see New article or hub — discovery checklist).
• governance/war/investigations/page.md (and similar page.md files): update the investigation row blurb when the scope or thesis changes materially.
• history/chronology/investigations/index-investigations.md: add a table row when a new chronology investigation or history/chronology/*.md reader essay / hub ships or changes scope.
• docs/INVESTIGATIONS_DEEP_DIVE.md: add or refresh a row when an investigation has substantial open TODOs worth tracking repo-wide.
• Keyword line: before regenerating index.json / changelog.json, run npm run autogen from repo root (it runs check-keywords then index + changelog). If check-keywords reports a file, fix the Keywords: line to Option B tokens.

Date: 2026-04-18 — Initial instructions from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare investigation session (reorg, citations, clue threads, funding sections). Updates: reorganization rules (no data loss, deep dive + page.md on close, push all remotes); online vs local — no absolute OS paths in body; optional Investigator notes appendix at file end for LLM/maintainer paths. 2026-04-19 — Limits/disclaimers placement: consolidated at end of file (after Keywords, before Investigator notes); body sections stay lean. 2026-04-21 — Author’s originating thesis, open claims, and questions to clarify/debunk added to Structure and Evidence and tone; applies repo-wide so investigations preserve author pattern language alongside verification. 2026-04-27 — æther vocabulary + Maxwell debate canon (docs/LLM_AETHER_VOCABULARY_MAXWELL_DEBATE.md, .cursor/rules/paradigm-threat-aether-vocabulary.mdc in each paradigm-threat* repo). 2026-04-27 (b) — CIA Reading Room local mirror companion file path documented under Online vs local content (~/dev/wget/cia/cia-reading-room-local-mirror-and-ocr-operations.md). 2026-04-26 — Keywords: Option B enforced repo-wide (PascalCase tags, no hyphens/underscores in tag text); no ## Keywords; npm run check-keywords + indexer alignment. 2026-04-27 (c) — investigations/ vs parent articles: table + hard rule: no new article pages unless author gives explicit output path; reference article cia-1984-mars-chrono-trigger.md. 2026-04-29 — Site root page.md: new reader-facing work listed under ## My Articles where featured; 2026-04-29 (b) — Primary discoverability clarified: ## Investigation Categories → #### … is required for new bullets; New article or hub — discovery checklist; index-investigations.md + topic page.md; Closing a session + Index maintenance aligned; remotes note includes all configured names. 2026-04-30 — docs/instructions/ARTICLES.md — reader-facing article voice (hook, lay reader, clinical-but-inspired stakes, citations in prose, optional Limits); linked from Purpose and parent-folder table. 2026-04-29 (c) — ARTICLES.md refresh: body stays light on Limits-class material (send readers to dossier); first person (I) + required attribution footer; discourage overused “not A, it is B” LLM cadence; parent-folder table row updated. 2026-04-30 (b) — Articles default lighter on lament; drive points in cool exact prose; reference example blurb lay reader essay (not “lay lament”). 2026-04-30 (c) — ARTICLES: state the claim (no “my hard moral read” scaffolding); footer replaces constant who-is-speaking reminders; no hand-holding / intelligent reader default. 2026-04-30 (d) — ARTICLES: bold only for emphasis or new terminology; avoid sparkle bold / sparkle fatigue. 2026-04-29 (e) — ARTICLES: Length (Substack / email) — target ~2k–3.2k words; Gmail 102KB clip per Substack Support; ~3.5k soft ceiling. 2026-04-30 (f) — ARTICLES + parent-folder table: I as Ari for memory / judgment / stakes; avoid “this essay / this piece” scaffolding; trim stance meta, not first person; PAGE_MD_AUTOINDEX blurb aligned. 2026-05-05 — Theory-led reader-essay default codified in ARTICLES.md (unified thesis first, manifesto tone allowed, dossiers hold proof density); Purpose line + parent-folder Article voice row updated for documentary default + selective first person; reference flagship circle-of-life-and-how-it-began.md. 2026-05-06 — ARTICLES.md Reader-facing prose (generic surface): article bodies project-agnostic; theory-led subsection restored after generic rules; parent-folder row cites generic-surface rule. 2026-05-07 — ARTICLES.md: disclaimers batched in ## Framing and limits (after Where next, before Keywords:); avoid mid-essay disclaimer sprawl; parent-folder table row + Circle of Life article aligned.