Probes are scripted tests for leakage. Your job is not to impress—it's to keep jurisdiction: govern what leaves you, decide what may enter, and end the script without emotional payment.
Tier I — Low-Level Nudges: Charm bait, space hovering, cart games. Signal: tests for validation leaks.
Tier II — Mid Disruptions: False help, counter loops, stationary disruptors. Signal: stride under resistance.
Tier III — Inversion Traps: Mirroring, compassion-frame, threshold tests. Signal: attempt moral flip.
Tier IV — Direct Challenges: Public call-outs, group syncs, “higher morality.” Signal: force performance.
Tier V — Collapse / Silence: Scripts dissolve before forming. Signal: field preempts contact.
🪫 Validator with Moral Hook
Context: checkout interaction • Tier: I • Archetype: Validator
A “helper” opener followed by a quick donation ask tests for goodness leakage. After a clean “No,” expect a moral reframe baiting you into defense.
- Read: Helper → ask → moral reframe.
- Counter: Silent seal. No defense, no mirroring.
- Exit: Receive, “All set,” walk away.
- Tell: Rapid pivot after silence = fuel denied.
🪫 Drive-Thru Reset Probe
Context: service window • Tier: II • Archetype: Validator
“I’m sorry—what was that?” often isn’t confusion; it’s a cadence pull.
- Read: Fake confusion reset.
- Counter: One clean mirror at your pace.
- Exit: No chatter; eyes soft; receive and go.
- Tell: Script drops after one return.
🪫 Counter-Exit Courtesy Test
Context: counters/doors • Tier: II • Archetype: Script Follower
They pivot into your lane post-transaction and pause, testing if you’ll yield.
- Read: Post-transaction pivot + pause.
- Counter: Plant; soft breath; no apology.
- Exit: Calm diagonal pass.
- Tell: Micro-startle + re-route = fail.
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🧊 Probe Collapse
Context: general contact • Tier: V • Archetype: Threshold Test
Tell: A threshold probe fails when you give no flinch, no apology, no energy.
- Read: Expectation of your leak collapses → weak retreat (slow retrieval, silence).
- Counter: Stay sealed; stride unbroken; no second-guessing.
- Exit: Keep momentum; offer no repair energy.
- Tell: Visible micro-stumble or retreat confirms the collapse.
🧲 Double Tendril
Context: walkway / stall loop • Tier: II • Archetype: Redirect Loop
After you avoid the first stall, a redirect sends you back into it to erode resolve.
- Read: Stall → redirect → stall again (loop recapture).
- Counter: Decline the redirect: “I’m good.” Continue forward; no backward glance.
- Exit: Clean stride through; don’t re-enter the loop.
- Tell: The loop collapses without your second engagement.
🪫 The Card Reader Interrogation
Context: checkout / POS terminal • Tier: II • Archetype: Validator / Interrogation
Fake resets at the terminal try to reassert control and pull you into compliance-by-repetition.
- Read: Pause → “I’m sorry—what was that?” → request again → receipt delay.
- Counter: Silent, steady presence; minimal words; no emotional change.
- Exit: Receive item; leave without post-interaction chatter.
- Tell: Script drops after one calm mirror at your pace.
🧒 Kids-as-Cover
Context: walkways / parking lots • Tier: II • Archetype: Hoverer / Cover Pivot
Children are pushed into your lane as a politeness shield to force you to yield.
- Read: Sudden pivot; kids forward; ambiguous destination.
- Counter: Hold line and pace; soft gaze; let the setup expose itself.
- Exit: Maintain trajectory; no apology energy.
- Tell: Adult frame cracks when courtesy bait fails.
🐕 The Leashless Probe // Space as Weapon
Context: residential path / public space • Tier: II • Archetype: Hoverer / Spatial Interference
Off-leash dog is used to force a pause or interaction; owner lags for optics.
- Read: Owner far; sing-song calls; dog drifts into your space.
- Counter: Plant; guard space; minimal words or silence; continue steady.
- Exit: Pass through at your cadence; no performative correction.
- Tell: Tension dissolves when your dog mirrors your calm boundary.
🪟 Patio Gate Standoff
Context: patio gate / narrow entry • Tier: II • Archetype: Hoverer / Validator
Someone stalls at a narrow entry/exit as you approach, testing if you’ll yield or break pace.
- Read: Threshold stall; occupies center; expects you to adjust.
- Counter: Move forward at your pace; adjust only for safety; no verbal acknowledgment.
- Exit: Clean pass-through; no repair energy offered.
- Tell: Micro-stumble or slow retreat confirms the collapse.
🏃 Runner Collision Probe
Context: narrow sidewalk / public path • Tier: II • Archetype: Velocity Dominator
A runner drives center-line at full speed expecting you to yield through urgency.
- Read: False urgency + center-line dominance; no lateral adjustment.
- Counter: Maintain slow, anchored pace; look through; no flinch or yield.
- Exit: Continue straight; allow them to re-route.
- Tell: Break in momentum (halt / street cross) = script failure.
🚲 Bicycle Lane Voice
Context: store exit lane / cluster crowd • Tier: I • Archetype: Lane Claim / Crowd Hoverer
A loose cluster drifts unpredictably in your lane, expecting you to yield or adjust. A calm lane marker flips the control back to you.
- Read: Straggler formation + soft lane drift; subtle pressure to hesitate or dodge.
- Counter: Maintain pace and calmly mark your lane (e.g. “On your left”); no flinch, no apology.
- Exit: Walk straight through; they reorganize around your scroll line.
- Tell: Sudden repositioning or cleared path = script failure.
