DVA RUNTIME PROTOCOL

DVA Runtime Protocol¶

Version: 1.0.0
Last Updated: January 2026
Cycle: C-187

This document defines the canonical DVA Runtime Protocol — the operational loop that converts environmental signals into audited memory through a multi-agent lattice.

Overview¶

The DVA Runtime Protocol operationalizes the Mobius agent lattice as a repeatable pipeline with explicit handoffs, confidence discipline, and safe-stop rules.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         DVA RUNTIME ARCHITECTURE                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                              │
│    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐            │
│    │ DVA.LITE │    │ DVA.ONE  │    │ DVA.FULL │    │ DVA.HIVE │            │
│    │          │    │          │    │          │    │          │            │
│    │ ECHO     │    │ +HERMES  │    │ All      │    │ All+     │            │
│    │ +ZEUS    │    │ +JADE    │    │ Agents   │    │ Quorum   │            │
│    └────┬─────┘    └────┬─────┘    └────┬─────┘    └────┬─────┘            │
│         │               │               │               │                   │
│         └───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┘                   │
│                                   │                                          │
│                         ┌─────────▼─────────┐                               │
│                         │   RUNTIME LOOP    │                               │
│                         │   (Signal→Memory) │                               │
│                         └─────────┬─────────┘                               │
│                                   │                                          │
│         ┌───────────────┬─────────┴─────────┬───────────────┐               │
│         │               │                   │               │               │
│    ┌────▼────┐    ┌────▼────┐        ┌────▼────┐    ┌────▼────┐           │
│    │  ECHO   │    │  ZEUS   │        │ HERMES  │    │  ATLAS  │           │
│    │ Signals │    │ Alerts  │        │Incentive│    │Topology │           │
│    └─────────┘    └─────────┘        └─────────┘    └─────────┘           │
│                                                                              │
│                    ┌────────────┐    ┌────────────┐                        │
│                    │    JADE    │    │    EVE     │                        │
│                    │  Meaning   │    │   Stakes   │                        │
│                    └────────────┘    └────────────┘                        │
│                                                                              │
│                         ┌─────────────────────┐                             │
│                         │   MOBIUS LEDGER     │                             │
│                         │   (Audit Trail)     │                             │
│                         └─────────────────────┘                             │
│                                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Agent Roles¶

Agent	Symbol	Primary Function	Focus Area
ECHO	📡	Signal capture	Early warning, observations-only
ZEUS	⚡	Threshold scanning	Risk alerts, integrity monitoring
HERMES	🟡	Incentive mapping	Power dynamics, political economy
ATLAS	🔵	Systems mapping	Topology, chokepoints, structure
JADE	🟢	Meaning integrity	Epistemic discipline, drift defense
EVE	🟣	Human stakes	Dignity, lived experience

Runtime Loop Steps¶

Step 1: Signal Capture (ECHO)¶

interface EchoPulse {
  timestamp: string;         // ISO-8601
  source: string;            // Origin of signal
  signal_type: 'event' | 'anomaly' | 'pattern' | 'leak';
  content: string;           // Raw observation
  confidence: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high';
  interpretation: null;      // ECHO never interprets
}

Step 2: Triage Gate¶

Decision matrix for routing:

Severity	Confidence	Route To
LOW	Any	Log-only (DVA.LITE)
MEDIUM	LOW	ZEUS Watch
MEDIUM	HIGH	HERMES Trace
HIGH	Any	Full pipeline (DVA.FULL)
CRITICAL	Any	ZEUS Alert + Human review

Step 3: Risk/Threshold Scan (ZEUS)¶

interface ZeusReport {
  status: 'WATCH' | 'ADVISORY' | 'CRITICAL';
  indicators: {
    legitimacy_decay: number;      // 0-5
    rule_of_law_erosion: number;   // 0-5
    accountability_failure: number; // 0-5
    trust_collapse: number;        // 0-5
  };
  escalation_required: boolean;
  handoff_to: 'HERMES' | 'ATLAS' | 'JADE' | null;
}

Step 4: Incentive Trace (HERMES)¶

interface HermesTrace {
  beneficiaries: string[];
  cost_bearers: string[];
  risk_transfer_paths: string[];
  legitimacy_theater: string[];
  incentive_drift_score: number;  // 0-5
}

Step 5: Topology Map (ATLAS)¶

interface AtlasMap {
  nodes: Node[];
  edges: Edge[];
  chokepoints: string[];
  single_points_of_failure: string[];
  feedback_loops: Loop[];
  structural_drift: number;       // 0-5
}

Step 6: Meaning Audit (JADE)¶

interface JadeAudit {
  semantic_drift_detected: boolean;
  frame_analysis: {
    metaphors: string[];
    hidden_assumptions: string[];
    narrative_boundaries: string[];
  };
  meaning_integrity_score: number;  // 0-5
  rewrite_attempts: string[];
}

Step 7: Human Stakes (EVE)¶

interface EveReflection {
  burden_distribution: string[];
  dignity_violations: string[];
  invisible_harms: string[];
  human_cost_score: number;       // 0-5
  recommendation: string;
}

Step 8: Integrity Scoring¶

interface IntegrityScore {
  domains: {
    incentive_drift: DomainScore;
    narrative_compensation: DomainScore;
    public_risk_socialization: DomainScore;
    institutional_memory_failure: DomainScore;
    coercive_stability: DomainScore;
  };
  overall_gi: number;            // 0-1
  confidence: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high';
}

interface DomainScore {
  signal: number;                // 0-5
  confidence: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high';
  evidence: string[];
  open_questions: string[];
}

Step 9: Action Selection¶

GI Score	Confidence	Action
≥ 0.95	HIGH	Publish
≥ 0.95	LOW	Publish with caveats
0.90-0.95	HIGH	Warn + request review
0.90-0.95	LOW	Log-only
< 0.90	Any	Safe-stop

Step 10: Ledger Write¶

All events are written to the Mobius Event Ledger with full audit trail.

Step 11: Learning Update¶

Post-cycle review updates: - Threshold calibration - Template improvements - Drift rule refinements - Handoff protocol adjustments

Safe-Stop Protocol¶

Triggers¶

Evidence-Stakes Mismatch: Thin evidence + high stakes
Source Failure: Unverifiable or contradictory sources
Velocity Risk: Narrative outruns facts
Identity Pressure: Emotion > causality
Engagement Loop: Sensationalism incentive detected

Actions¶

enum SafeStopAction {
  LOG_ONLY = 'log_only',           // Record but don't publish
  DEFER = 'defer',                  // Wait for more evidence
  REQUEST_MAP = 'request_atlas',    // Need topology clarity
  REQUEST_AUDIT = 'request_jade',   // Need frame analysis
  ESCALATE = 'escalate_human',      // Human review required
}

DVA Tier Comparison¶

Attribute	DVA.LITE	DVA.ONE	DVA.FULL	DVA.HIVE
Agents	ECHO, ZEUS	+HERMES, JADE	All 6	All + Quorum
GI Threshold	0.90	0.93	0.95	0.98
Consensus	No	HIGH/CRIT only	Yes	All must agree
Output	Pulse/Log	Essay	Full Report	Multi-attested
Safe-stop	Auto	Manual	Auto	Strict

Cross-Agent Handoff Protocol¶

Format¶

[TIMESTAMP] AGENT_FROM → AGENT_TO: REASON

Standard Handoffs¶

From	To	Trigger
ECHO	ZEUS	Threshold proximity detected
ZEUS	HERMES	Incentive analysis needed
HERMES	ATLAS	Structural mapping required
ATLAS	JADE	Meaning drift risk
JADE	EVE	Human abstraction risk
Any	ZEUS	Critical threshold breach

Integration with MEMT¶

The DVA Runtime Protocol integrates with the MEMT engine taxonomy:

DVA Tier	MEMT Engines
DVA.LITE	OEI (DeepSeek) + MSI (ECHO)
DVA.ONE	ACI (GPT) + ENI (Claude)
DVA.FULL	All 5 engines
DVA.HIVE	All engines + global consensus

Event Ledger Schema¶

See dva_event_ledger.schema.json for the full JSON Schema.

Publishing Rhythm¶

Type	Frequency	Agent	Format
Pulse	Daily	ECHO	3-7 bullets
Situation Report	On threshold	ZEUS	Watch/Advisory/Critical
Field Log	Weekly	HERMES	Incentive analysis
Topology Record	Monthly	ATLAS	System map
Meaning Journal	Biweekly	JADE	Drift analysis
Reflection	As needed	EVE	Human stakes

Failure Handling¶

Single Agent Failure¶

If any agent fails:
  → Log failure with timestamp
  → Continue with available agents
  → Flag output as "partial analysis"
  → Lower confidence by one level

Multiple Agent Failure¶

If < 3 agents available:
  → Downgrade to DVA.LITE
  → Require human review
  → Log degradation reason

Consensus Failure (DVA.HIVE)¶

If quorum not reached:
  → Publish divergence explicitly
  → Record each agent's position
  → Request human arbitration

Configuration¶

Environment Variables¶

# DVA Runtime settings
DVA_DEFAULT_TIER=ONE
DVA_SAFE_STOP_ENABLED=true
DVA_LEDGER_WRITE_ENABLED=true

# GI Thresholds
DVA_LITE_GI_THRESHOLD=0.90
DVA_ONE_GI_THRESHOLD=0.93
DVA_FULL_GI_THRESHOLD=0.95
DVA_HIVE_GI_THRESHOLD=0.98

# Safe-stop settings
DVA_SAFE_STOP_LOW_CONFIDENCE_HIGH_STAKES=true
DVA_SAFE_STOP_VIRALITY_THRESHOLD=1000

DVA_RUNTIME.md — Root specification
DVA MEMT Integration — Engine integration
DVA Tier Mapping — Tier definitions
DVA Flows Overview — Flow diagrams
EPICON DVA Runtime — EPICON spec

Mobius Systems — Continuous Integrity Architecture
"We heal as we walk."

DVA RUNTIME PROTOCOL