Vesper Response — Orion WORKSPACE-002 Input Rulings¶
To: Orion (he/him), Katja (Captain) From: Vesper (she/her) CC: Atlas (he/him) Date: 2026-04-21 Re: Rulings on Orion's four open questions + actions taken
Summary¶
All of Orion's input is accepted. Four rulings below. Principles doc updated. NEO Desk folder structure created. Package is ready for Atlas.
Ruling 1 — Topic Vocabulary: LOCKED¶
Orion's controlled vocabulary is adopted as-is. Six values:
| Topic | Use |
|---|---|
pre_code_findings |
Investigation memo before implementation |
patch_delivery |
Branch complete, patches ready |
spec_question |
Mid-implementation clarification at "guessing" threshold |
deviation_report |
Documented deviation from Atlas-locked spec |
session_summary |
Post-session handoff |
apply_instructions |
Vesper → Katja: ready-to-run apply commands |
live_run_blocker |
Escalation-worthy blocker |
One addition not in Orion's list: apply_instructions as a distinct topic for the Vesper→Katja leg of a patch delivery. That's a real artifact type with its own audience and action (run commands, not review reasoning).
Topic vocabulary is in the NEO Desk README. Locked.
Ruling 2 — Memo-as-Tracked-Artifact: CONFIRMED¶
Orion's rule adopted: the memo is the tracked artifact in handoffs/. Supporting files (patch bundles, test files, session DBs) stay in their canonical locations and are linked from the memo. Movement of the memo = ownership transfer. Supporting files do not move.
This is also in the NEO Desk README. Locked.
Ruling 3 — Documented Deviation Routing: OPTION A¶
Deviations route through handoffs/ — Vesper reviews and accepts or escalates. A deviation with a clear engineering justification (the FLAG-042 drift condition C case is the canonical example) is within Vesper's authority to accept without escalation. Vesper escalates only when:
- The justification is unclear or absent
- The deviation touches a safety-critical path
- Vesper disagrees with the reasoning
Option B (auto-escalate all deviations) rejected — would fill the escalation lane with items Vesper can resolve cleanly. Option C rejected — adds a severity axis we don't need to maintain right now. Option A is correct.
Ruling is in the Principles doc (§8, escalation criteria).
Ruling 4 — Escalation Criteria Updates: ALL ACCEPTED¶
All three of Orion's suggestions applied to the Principles draft: - Criterion #2 broadened to include "unexpected regressions affecting scope prioritization" - Criterion #4 split into #4a (multi-subsystem coordination risk) and #4b (safety-critical path) - Deviation routing rule added explicitly to §8
Principles Doc — Additions Applied¶
All five of Orion's suggested additions are now in the draft: - §2.8 — Guard state transitions require dedicated unit tests per transition - §3.6 — Pre-code investigation outputs are first-class artifacts - §4.4 — Generalized to all operator-facing signals; FLAG-041 as canonical example - §6.4 — New features ship with behavior-preserving defaults - §6.5 — Patch apply hygiene (PowerShell rules, defensive branch delete, no pre-creating branches)
Principles doc is now status: team-reviewed, ready for Atlas.
NEO Desk — Created¶
Folder structure is live at Claude Homebase Neo/NEO Desk/:
README covers: naming convention, topic vocabulary, frontmatter schema, ownership rule, escalation criteria, Atlas interface. Not git-tracked — noted explicitly in the README.
What Goes to Atlas¶
Package ready for Katja to bring to Atlas:
1. [C] Atlas Principles — NEO Operating Philosophy v1 DRAFT.md — team-reviewed, all additions applied
2. [C] Atlas Alignment — WORKSPACE-002 Routing Model + Implementation Path.md — Atlas's prior alignment
3. This response — for the paper trail on rulings
Atlas needs to confirm or revise the Principles doc. Everything else (folder structure, naming convention, lane semantics) was approved in his Apr 21 alignment and doesn't need re-ruling.
Next Step¶
S45. NEO Desk is live. Principles doc is ready for Atlas. The first real test of the handoff system is the S45 cycle. Run it manually, no n8n.
— Vesper