{
  "code": "FOUND-01",
  "slug": "operational-neutrality-and-authority",
  "title": "Operational Neutrality and Authority",
  "category": "Foundation",
  "status": "Current",
  "version": "2.0.4-wip",
  "summary": "Authorities define mandates, resources, constraints, and customers; the system does not assign permanent hero or villain status.",
  "keywords": [
    "authority",
    "mandate",
    "neutrality",
    "multi-polar",
    "allegiance",
    "motivation"
  ],
  "mission_phases": [
    "Task",
    "Plan",
    "Debrief"
  ],
  "canonical": "https://iarpg.com/standard/operational-neutrality-and-authority",
  "json": "https://iarpg.com/records/operational-neutrality-and-authority.json",
  "requirements": [
    {
      "level": "MUST",
      "text": "Every operation identify the sponsoring authority, customer, mandate, and jurisdiction before player acceptance."
    },
    {
      "level": "MUST",
      "text": "No authority receive a permanent good, evil, hero, or villain flag in canonical game logic."
    },
    {
      "level": "SHOULD",
      "text": "Conflicting authorities expose different objectives, constraints, and definitions of success without hiding their operational interests."
    },
    {
      "level": "MAY",
      "text": "Authorities cooperate temporarily when requirements overlap, even when their long-term interests conflict."
    }
  ],
  "research": [
    {
      "label": "Geopolitical agnosticism and faction ecology",
      "href": "/docs/report/systemic-subterfuge-architecting-a-geopolitically-neutral-classless-espionage-mmo#architectural-pillar-i-geopolitical-agnosticism-and-dynamic-faction-ecology",
      "note": "Neutral authority architecture and fluid loyalty."
    },
    {
      "label": "Post-national worldbuilding",
      "href": "/docs/report/architectural-and-narrative-design-specifications-for-a-vr-first-post-national-espionage-mmo#post-national-worldbuilding-and-the-elimination-of-geopolitical-bias",
      "note": "International representation without nationality-based moral assignment."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "mandate-customer-and-jurisdiction",
    "mission-brief-contract",
    "versioning-change-control-and-telemetry"
  ],
  "release": "IARPG-OPS-2",
  "revised_utc": "2026-07-20T12:04:07Z",
  "purpose": "Define the authority, customer, jurisdiction, mandate, and neutrality rules that make an operation intelligible without assigning permanent moral alignment.",
  "rationale": "A mission cannot be reviewed when its sponsor, customer, limits, and desired effect remain implicit.",
  "game_interaction": [
    "Review authority dossier",
    "Compare mandate constraints",
    "Accept or decline tasking",
    "Record conflict of interest"
  ],
  "inputs": [
    "Authority profile",
    "Customer requirement",
    "Jurisdiction profile"
  ],
  "outputs": [
    "Tasking context",
    "Mandate boundary",
    "Authority-specific success definition"
  ],
  "state_transitions": [
    {
      "from": "not-applicable",
      "event": "record requirement evaluated",
      "to": "conforming-or-documented-exception"
    }
  ],
  "evidence_and_provenance": [
    "The implementation records the source, UTC event time, mission identifier, responsible role, and reason code for consequential state changes.",
    "Generated dialogue and player interpretation are not stored as authoritative facts without a separate verification event."
  ],
  "ui_requirements": [
    "Show the record code and requirement level at the point of use.",
    "Expose the reason for blocked, failed, escalated, or irreversible actions.",
    "Provide a direct link to the canonical standard and machine-readable record."
  ],
  "accessibility_requirements": [
    "Essential information is available without reliance on color, audio, motion, or a VR-only gesture.",
    "Keyboard, screen-reader, reduced-motion, seated-play, and high-contrast equivalents are documented where the interaction applies."
  ],
  "telemetry_events": [
    {
      "name": "standard.operational-neutrality-and-authority.evaluated",
      "required_fields": [
        "event_id",
        "timestamp_utc",
        "mission_id",
        "record_code",
        "result",
        "reason_code"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "abuse_and_exploit_cases": [
    "A participant attempts to omit required context so another role accepts a misleading task.",
    "A generated or user-authored statement is presented as server-authoritative without verification.",
    "A consequential state transition occurs without a durable reason code."
  ],
  "failure_behavior": "Fail closed for irreversible or settlement-bearing actions. Preserve the current state, show the missing requirement, and allow correction or documented exception review.",
  "recovery_behavior": "Restore from the last authoritative event, retain the rejected transition in the audit log, and require a new validated event before continuing.",
  "example_implementation": "A mission interface evaluates FOUND-01 before advancing the relevant state and writes the result to the local event log with a UTC timestamp and reason code.",
  "roles": [
    "Operative",
    "Handler",
    "Intelligence Analyst"
  ],
  "authority_types": [
    "Civil administration",
    "Military command",
    "Commercial intelligence service",
    "International verification body",
    "Scientific consortium",
    "Independent investigative network"
  ],
  "collection_disciplines": [],
  "interaction_types": [
    "Review authority dossier",
    "Compare mandate constraints",
    "Accept or decline tasking"
  ],
  "evidence_requirement": "Reviewable provenance required",
  "conformance_level": "Level B — Playable",
  "implementation_maturity": "Published WIP",
  "related_examples": [
    "port-access-anomaly-investigation"
  ],
  "revision_history": [
    {
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19",
      "note": "Initial IARPG-OPS-1 publication."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.1-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19",
      "note": "Expanded for IARPG-OPS-2 workbench, simulation, evidence, accessibility, telemetry, and machine-readable publication."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.2-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19T16:42:07Z",
      "change": "Reviewed for operation-package lifecycle compatibility and local tool integration."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.3-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19T18:45:50Z",
      "note": "Reviewed for integrity-aware package verification, merge, multi-role replay, custody comparison, batch review, backup, publication preview, and release-promotion workflows."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.4-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-20T12:04:07Z",
      "note": "Reviewed for canonicalization, round-trip portability, recovery, provenance, compatibility, accessibility, hosting evidence, and stable-promotion gates."
    }
  ]
}