Broadcast Reality Drift / 播出实在漂移

Broadcast Reality Drift is the pressure that appears when Storyteller has already made something public, but later custody, receipt, edit, sponsor, archive, fan, or inspector evidence no longer agrees with the aired version.

The city does not immediately forget the broadcast. It splits around it. The management problem is not “what is true?” but “which public version keeps legal, audience, archive, and schedule systems from tearing each other apart?”

Canon rule

Broadcast Reality hardens events by airing, editing, scheduling, archiving, or suppressing them. Drift starts when at least two hardened surfaces contradict each other.

A drifted reality must remain playable as a management object. It cannot be solved by declaring a canon answer in prose. The player must spend actors, proof, schedule capacity, public trust, or sponsor leverage to reconcile, patch, expose, contain, or let the contradiction harden.

State-triggered entry

Open this mechanic when all of the following are true:

1. at least one aired or archived public state exists;
2. at least one later object contradicts that state: receipt, source tape, body/voice boundary, custody ruling, sponsor clean patch, fan oxygen testimony, pirate relay, black-box fragment, or inspector objection;
3. at least two claimant surfaces can use the contradiction: inspector, archive bureau, sponsor desk, editor, unauthorized historian, fan oxygen public, artist boundary, pirate relay, or schedule board;
4. at least one live pressure is present: reality_drift, continuity_hazard, inspection_heat, archive_fraud, audience_churn, sponsor_stop_loss_pressure, public_receipt_legitimacy, fan_oxygen_resentment, or black_screen_slots.

Do not open this mechanic from a fixed numbered trigger. It opens from contradictory broadcast state plus claimant pressure.

Core states

State	Meaning	Required gameplay effect
single_public_version	No visible contradiction has reached management pressure.	Drift stays dormant.
drift_detected	A contradiction is visible but not yet docketed.	Offer an audit, patch, disclosure, or suppression surface.
inspector_docket_open	A formal actor demands reconciliation.	The player must assign lawful proof, editor, witness, or explicit absence.
public_receipt_realign	Public proof names the contradiction and makes the revised version legible.	Legitimacy rises; sponsor, inspector, archive, or schedule pressure rises.
editorial_patch_version	Edit continuity holds the broadcast together without full truth.	Audience or schedule stabilizes; fraud, distrust, voice/body risk, or archive debt rises.
sponsor_containment_version	Sponsor money or contract language contains the contradiction.	Immediate broadcast pressure drops; capture, fan resentment, or future audit heat rises.
quarantined_split_version	The contradiction is contained and cannot be used cleanly.	Fraud or blackout risk lowers; schedule, fan, or grief pressure rises.
double_reality_hardened	Two incompatible public versions survive.	Future rites must see harder costs, route locks, or blackout incidents.

Counters and tags

Use small, visible deltas rather than hidden lore flags.

Counters:

• reality_drift
• continuity_hazard
• inspection_heat
• archive_fraud
• archive_debt
• public_receipt_legitimacy
• public_receipt_distrust
• fan_oxygen_resentment
• audience_churn
• sponsor_stop_loss_pressure
• contract_capture
• black_screen_slots

Durable tags:

• reality_drift.detected
• reality_drift.docketed
• version.public_receipt_realign
• version.editorial_patch
• version.sponsor_containment
• version.quarantined_split
• version.double_reality_hardened
• inspector_intervention.active
• drift_witness_missing

Branch contract

Branch A — Inspector docket

A lawful actor such as Inspector Rhee Archive or Han Yanshuang opens a docket and demands proof.

Expected effect: reduce reality_drift or archive_fraud, raise inspection_heat, bureau_favor_debt, sponsor pressure, or schedule cost.

Branch B — Public receipt realignment

The player uses a receipt, historian, fan witness, or source object to name the contradiction in public.

Expected effect: improve public_receipt_legitimacy or audience_stability, while increasing sponsor, archive, fan oxygen, or inspector pressure.

Branch C — Editorial patch

An editor, black-box checksum, final-cut ledger, or continuity edit keeps the broadcast legible without full disclosure.

Expected effect: reduce audience_churn, continuity_hazard, or schedule pressure now, while raising archive_debt, public_receipt_distrust, voice/body risk, or later fraud.

Branch D — Sponsor containment

Sponsor leverage, clean relief packaging, or contract language keeps the contradiction off the public surface.

Expected effect: lower immediate sponsor or schedule pressure, while increasing contract_capture, fan_oxygen_resentment, public_receipt_distrust, or future inspection heat.

Branch E — Hardened double reality

The player suppresses, lacks proof, misses the docket, or lets two versions remain useful to rival factions.

Expected effect: set double_reality_hardened, raise reality_drift, black_screen_slots, archive_fraud, or route lock pressure, and make a later correction more expensive.

Non-goals

• Not a global sanity meter.
• Not a fixed sequence trigger.
• Not a retcon button.
• Not a free inspector cleanup.
• Not generic worldbuilding; every drift state must alter cards, rites, counters, tags, route access, or future costs.