Witness Payroll Triage / 证人薪册分诊

Witness Payroll Triage is an assignable management rite for deciding how Storyteller keeps a protected person usable after recruitment, exposure, enforcement, or public witness creation.

The rite turns a protected witness into a pressure choice: pay and shelter them, protect them under audit, let the public shelter them, accept sponsor retainer money, mask them through an edit, defer support, or abandon/suppress them and accept a leak.

Entry condition

Offer this rite when all of the following are true:

1. 受保护证人薪册 or an equivalent roster is present, or a protected/exposed person exists without support;
2. the person is in recruited, protected, route_asset, public_witness_recruited, carrier_protected_under_oath, runner_protected_under_oath, payroll_due, hostile, captured, missed, or equivalent state;
3. at least one support requirement is unresolved: cash, safehouse, oath, alias, escort, fan support, sponsor retainer, edit mask, apology, or favor;
4. at least one claimant pressure can reach the person;
5. the outcome can change future route access, follower state, public legitimacy, archive admissibility, sponsor pressure, or broadcast reality.

This rite must never be offered only because a fixed numbered turn has arrived.

Required assignment slots

The rite must record all required slots or explicit absence.

rite_id: rite.witness_payroll_triage
required_slots:
  roster: card.protected_witness_payroll_roster | equivalent | explicit_absent
  person: protected_witness | runner | follower | carrier | clerk | fan_delegate | editor_source | route_asset | explicit_missing_or_hostile
  handler: yu_lan | shen_luo | han_yanshuang | inspector_rhee | baiya | sponsor_orion | security | explicit_absent
  support: cash | safehouse | oath | alias | escort | fan_support | sponsor_retainer | edit_mask | public_apology | favor | explicit_absent
  claimant_pressure: sponsor | inspector_archive | fan_public | editor_blackbox | false_owner | pirate_relay | artist_boundary | explicit_absent
optional_slots:
  proof_anchor: archive_docket | public_receipt | fan_oxygen_stub | black_box_fragment | audit_seal | source_tape | route_asset_id | explicit_absent
  sacrifice_or_defer: pay_now | defer_cost | burn_asset | hide_roster | expose_publicly | none

A high-rank handler without person/support/claimant state is not enough to satisfy the rite.

Branch menu

Branch A — Pay and shelter

Assign cash, safehouse, security escort, staff favor, or low-risk delivery support.

Expected result:

payroll_state_after: sheltered | paid_route_asset
relief:
  - witness_retaliation_risk decreases
  - custody_gap or route_asset_pressure decreases
cost:
  - cash_reserve, safehouse_capacity, payroll_leak, favor_debt, or inspection_heat worsens
future:
  - person remains assignable to at least one future rite

Branch B — Audit oath protection

Assign Han Yanshuang, Inspector Rhee Archive, audit seal, lawful oath, archive copy, or equivalent proof.

Expected result:

payroll_state_after: audit_protected
relief:
  - custody_clarity, archive_signature_legitimacy, or public_witness_legitimacy improves
cost:
  - inspection_heat, bureau_favor_debt, sponsor_stop_loss_pressure, or archive_debt rises
future:
  - witness remains admissible but attracts official pressure

Branch C — Public shelter

Assign Yu Lan, fan oxygen queue, public receipt, audience testimony, pirate relay, or public witness chain.

Expected result:

payroll_state_after: public_shelter
relief:
  - public_receipt_legitimacy, fan_oxygen_balance, or audience_stability improves
cost:
  - fan_oxygen_liability, sponsor_stop_loss_pressure, inspection_heat, pirate_exposure, or witness_retaliation_risk rises
future:
  - harm to the witness becomes public route pressure

Branch D — Sponsor retainer / managed quiet

Assign Shen Luo, Orion Breath, sponsor quiet money, clean package, retainer language, or slot-saving cover.

Expected result:

payroll_state_after: sponsor_retained | payroll_deferred
relief:
  - cash_reserve, slot pressure, or immediate retaliation risk improves
cost:
  - contract_capture, public_receipt_distrust, witness_loyalty_doubt, future_blackmail_cost, or fan_oxygen_resentment rises
future:
  - person remains usable only under sponsor claim or later counterproof

Branch E — Editorial mask

Assign Baiya, edit mask, alias, black-box cut, checksum, redaction, or source tape patch.

Expected result:

payroll_state_after: masked_by_edit
relief:
  - witness_retaliation_risk, leak exposure, or sponsor targeting decreases
cost:
  - edit_debt, reality_drift, archive_debt, public_receipt_distrust, or future_fraud_cost rises
future:
  - public proof may require reveal, checksum, or confession later

Branch F — Abandon, suppress, sell, or sacrifice

Leave support absent, hide the roster, let a claimant reach the person first, sell the witness to a sponsor/archive desk, or burn them to protect a stronger route.

Expected result:

payroll_state_after: unpaid_hostile | captured_witness | witness_disappeared | sacrificed_witness
relief:
  - one immediate pressure may pause if the person is silenced or sacrificed
cost:
  - hostile testimony, leak, duplicate claim, route block, false owner, or recovery-only branch appears
future:
  - at least one future rite becomes blocked, costlier, hostile, or sacrifice-only

Resolution contract

Every completed triage must change at least three counters or durable states. It must include one visible relief and one visible cost.

Required output shape:

result:
  selected_branch: pay_and_shelter | audit_protection | public_shelter | sponsor_retainer | editorial_mask | abandon_suppress_sell_or_sacrifice
  payroll_state_before: <state>
  payroll_state_after: <state>
  person_state_after: paid_route_asset | audit_protected | public_witness | sponsor_retained | masked | hostile | captured | disappeared | sacrificed | equivalent
  counter_deltas:
    <counter>: <delta_or_state_change>
  future_route_effects:
    unlocked: []
    blocked_or_costlier: []
    recovery_hooks: []

Failure and blocked reasons

The rite must report blocked reasons rather than silently refusing to run:

• no protected person exists;
• person is terminally gone or captured without a recovery route;
• no handler and no public/official protection exists;
• support source is absent;
• claimant pressure is absent and the roster is not yet at risk;
• the same person already has a terminal clean discharge;
• selected branch lacks a visible cost.

Non-goals

• Not a generic pay wages action.
• Not a passive relationship maintenance action.
• Not a free witness protection button.
• Not a fixed-turn upkeep ritual.
• Not satisfied by assigning a famous handler while ignoring the protected person, support slot, and claimant pressure.