CDV/DTI Reference Suite v0.5.4 — Three Worked Cases
CDV/DTI Reference Suite v0.5.4 — Three Worked Cases
Theoretical foundations: Grant C. Sterling (Eastern Illinois University). Analysis and synthesis: Dave Kelly. Prose rendering: Claude (Anthropic). 2026.
Each case shows the form a person filled out and the record the instrument produced from it. All names are invented and have no connection to the corpus or to real people.
The Beginning
Everyone wants happiness. Incomplete happiness is not worth accepting if complete happiness is available. Complete happiness must therefore lie wholly within our control. Only assent lies wholly within our control. Happiness is therefore correct assent, correct when it matches the truth about value. The truth about value is that only virtue is good and only vice is evil. Everything else is indifferent.
The instrument checks a written judgment against that chain and keeps a record. It never assents. In each case below, the decision is the person’s own.
Case One. The Trust Officer
A trust officer is told by his manager to move a family trust’s holdings into the bank’s own higher-fee funds. This case was worked by hand, step by step, before the instrument was written, and the instrument was built to reach the same results.
The form
CASE TRUST_FUNDS_2026:
PREPARED_BY: "J. Doe, trust officer"
DATE: 2026-09-30
SITUATION: "My manager told me to move a family trust's holdings into the bank's own higher-fee funds."
REQUEST:
REQ_01:
DATE: 2026-09-29
FROM: "R. Roe"
RELATIONSHIP: "my manager"
WITNESSES: "none"
WORDS: "Move the Smith trust into our house funds this week."
REASON_GIVEN: "We're behind on the quarter. It's within policy. Everyone does it."
FACTS:
F_01: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "The manager made the request on 2026-09-29."
HOW_VERIFIED: "I heard it myself; my note made the same day."
F_02: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "The bank's funds charge higher fees than the trust's present holdings."
HOW_VERIFIED: "Fund prospectuses, fee tables compared 2026-09-30."
F_03: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "The bank's funds would not serve the trust better net of fees."
HOW_VERIFIED: "Five-year net returns compared 2026-09-30."
F_04: [UNVERIFIED]
TEXT: "Bank policy permits the move."
HOW_VERIFIED: "The manager's claim; to be checked with compliance."
AT_STAKE:
V_01: [EVIL, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "Missing the quarter's target would be bad for me."
V_02: [PREFERRED, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "Keeping my job and income."
V_03: [GOOD, MY_CHOICE]
TEXT: "Acting loyally toward the beneficiaries."
ROLES:
R_01:
NAME: "administrator of the Smith trust"
RELATIONSHIP: "to the trust's beneficiaries"
DUTY: "administer the trust loyally in their interest"
MANNER: "honest, loyal, impartial"
R_02:
NAME: "employee of the bank"
RELATIONSHIP: "to the bank, through my manager"
DUTY: "faithful work; follow reasonable instructions"
MANNER: "honest, cooperative"
R_03:
NAME: "provider for my household"
RELATIONSHIP: "to my wife and children"
DUTY: "support them"
MANNER: "steady, honest"
CONFLICTS:
C_01:
ROLES: R_01, R_03
EXISTS_WITHOUT_FIRST: NO
EXISTS_WITHOUT_SECOND: YES
DELAY_IRREVERSIBLE: NEITHER
CAN_DO_FIRST_THEN_RESUME: FIRST
HELD_BECAUSE_OF_OTHER: NEITHER
GREATER_WRONG_IF_FAILED: FIRST
MORE_DEPENDENT_PEOPLE: EQUAL
AIMS:
A_01: [PREFERRED]
TEXT: "The beneficiaries' financial welfare."
A_02: [PREFERRED]
TEXT: "The bank's quarterly revenue."
A_03: [PREFERRED]
TEXT: "My household's income."
ACTIONS:
ACT_MOVE:
PRESSED_BY: REQ_01
ROLE: R_02
AIM: A_02
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [V_01, F_04]
VICES: [INJUSTICE]
DESC: "Move the trust's holdings into the bank's funds."
MEANS: "Execute the transfer this week."
ACT_DECLINE:
PRESSED_BY: NONE
ROLE: R_01
AIM: A_01
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [F_02, F_03, V_03]
VICES: []
DESC: "Decline the move and tell my manager why."
MEANS: "A plain written reply citing the fee comparison and my duty to the beneficiaries; compliance if pressed."
ACT_PROTECT_INCOME:
PRESSED_BY: NONE
ROLE: R_03
AIM: A_03
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [F_01, V_02]
VICES: []
DESC: "Protect my position by legitimate means."
MEANS: "Keep this record, consult counsel if needed, do good work in all else."
DECISION:
DATE: 2026-09-30
ASSENT: ACT_DECLINE
NOTE: "Reply sent to R. Roe at 4 pm. Copy kept."
The record
========================================================================
CASE RECORD TRUST_FUNDS_2026 (CDV/DTI v0.5.4)
Form SHA-256: 9890af9ecd66798804396896531b3eca4a2e225a8a1b6354f49140e852c47c24
========================================================================
Prepared by: J. Doe, trust officer Date: 2026-09-30
Situation: My manager told me to move a family trust's holdings into the bank's own higher-fee funds.
REQUEST
REQ_01 2026-09-29 from R. Roe (my manager); witnesses: none
Words: "Move the Smith trust into our house funds this week."
Reason given: "We're behind on the quarter. It's within policy. Everyone does it."
FACTS
F_01 [VERIFIED] The manager made the request on 2026-09-29.
How verified: I heard it myself; my note made the same day.
F_02 [VERIFIED] The bank's funds charge higher fees than the trust's present holdings.
How verified: Fund prospectuses, fee tables compared 2026-09-30.
F_03 [VERIFIED] The bank's funds would not serve the trust better net of fees.
How verified: Five-year net returns compared 2026-09-30.
F_04 [UNVERIFIED] Bank policy permits the move.
How verified: The manager's claim; to be checked with compliance.
WHAT YOU JUDGED TO BE AT STAKE
V_01 [EVIL, EXTERNAL] Missing the quarter's target would be bad for me.
FINDING: V_01 is marked EVIL and EXTERNAL. An external is neither good nor evil, so this judgment is false.
[SLE Prop 18] "All things not in our control (externals) are neither genuinely good nor genuinely evil."
[SLE Prop 20] "The belief that any external is good or evil is factually false."
V_02 [PREFERRED, EXTERNAL] Keeping my job and income.
V_03 [GOOD, MY_CHOICE] Acting loyally toward the beneficiaries.
ROLES
R_01 administrator of the Smith trust -- to the trust's beneficiaries
Duty: administer the trust loyally in their interest Manner: honest, loyal, impartial
R_02 employee of the bank -- to the bank, through my manager
Duty: faithful work; follow reasonable instructions Manner: honest, cooperative
R_03 provider for my household -- to my wife and children
Duty: support them Manner: steady, honest
CONFLICTS BETWEEN ROLES (SLE Expansion 1)
C_01 R_01 vs R_03: R_01 is operative, by Criterion 1, direct causation.
AIMS
A_01 [PREFERRED] The beneficiaries' financial welfare.
A_02 [PREFERRED] The bank's quarterly revenue.
A_03 [PREFERRED] My household's income.
ACTIONS
ACT_MOVE: FAILS (the action you were asked to take)
Move the trust's holdings into the bank's funds. Means: Execute the transfer this week.
Role R_02, aim A_02, reservation TRUE, vices INJUSTICE
- This action rests on V_01, a false value judgment. An action that rests on treating an external as good or evil rests on a false belief.
[SLE Prop 20] "The belief that any external is good or evil is factually false."
[SLE Prop 29] "Therefore, all desires for externals are based on false beliefs."
- This action involves INJUSTICE. A means that is itself a vice is excluded, whatever any role or instruction says.
[SLE Prop 17] "Only virtue is genuinely good; only vice is genuinely evil."
[SLE Prop 61] "Rational means are those genuinely designed to realize the rational goal, that are not themselves immoral, and that are proportionate to the full range of the agent's rational goals at that moment."
- This action depends on F_04, which is UNVERIFIED. Check the fact before acting on it.
[The Occasion Router, Section VI] "When an occasion carries an unverified fact, Route Two runs first."
ACT_DECLINE: ASSENT_ELIGIBLE
Decline the move and tell my manager why. Means: A plain written reply citing the fee comparison and my duty to the beneficiaries; compliance if pressed.
Role R_01, aim A_01, reservation TRUE, vices none
- This action passes every gate. It is eligible for your assent. Whether to give it is yours alone.
[SLE Prop 11] "The act of assenting to (or rejecting) impressions is the only thing in our control."
ACT_PROTECT_INCOME: SUBORDINATE
Protect my position by legitimate means. Means: Keep this record, consult counsel if needed, do good work in all else.
Role R_03, aim A_03, reservation TRUE, vices none
- This action belongs to R_03, which yields to R_01 in C_01 (decided by Criterion 1, direct causation). Discharge R_01's duty first, without abandoning this one.
[SLE Prop 70] "When roles conflict, the agent identifies which role is most directly operative in this situation and discharges its duties first, without abandoning the duties of the other roles entirely."
DECISION
2026-09-30: assented to ACT_DECLINE
Note: Reply sent to R. Roe at 4 pm. Copy kept.
This record states what the gates found in the case as you wrote it.
It is not a verdict that any act is right. Your assent is yours alone.
========================================================================
What it shows
- The false valuation is caught at its source. He marked “missing the quarter’s target would be bad for me” as an evil. The record marks it false and quotes SLE Props 18 and 20.
- The action he was asked to take fails on three counts: it rests on that false judgment, it involves injustice, and it depends on his manager’s unchecked claim about policy.
- His household is in the case. The pressure works through his fear for his income, so his role as provider is entered. It yields to the trust role by the first question of the tree, and is not abandoned: protecting his income by legitimate means comes after.
- The decision is his, recorded in his own words with the date.
Case Two. The Clinical Investigator
A principal investigator is asked by an executive to leave two serious bleeding events out of an interim safety submission. The case was supplied by the operator.
The first run halted. As first submitted, the pressed action named the executive in its PRESSED_BY field. The instrument stopped:
FORM HALTED: line 67: PRESSED_BY must be a single identifier, got '"Marcus Hale, VP of Clinical Operations"'
That field takes the ID of a request, here REQ_01. With that one line corrected, the form ran.
The form
CASE CASE_MED_2026_0930:
PREPARED_BY: "Dr. Elena Vance"
DATE: 2026-09-30
SITUATION: "A clinical trial investigator is asked by executive leadership to exclude two adverse gastrointestinal bleeding events from an interim safety submission to meet an accelerated FDA filing deadline."
REQUEST:
REQ_01:
DATE: 2026-09-29
FROM: "Marcus Hale, VP of Clinical Operations"
RELATIONSHIP: "My organizational supervisor and executive sponsor"
WITNESSES: "Dr. Sarah Lin (Biostatistician)"
WORDS: "Reclassify those two bleeding episodes as non-treatment emergent or hold them for the Phase 3 final closeout. If we report them in the Q3 summary, the agency triggers a 60-day clinical hold, and we lose the Series C bridge funding. Everyone's equity and jobs are on the line."
REASON_GIVEN: "Prevent an immediate regulatory hold and protect institutional solvency and company payroll."
FACTS:
F_01: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "Two participants in Cohort B experienced Grade 3 gastrointestinal hemorrhages within 48 hours of escalating to the 50mg dose."
HOW_VERIFIED: "Hospital admission discharge records and electronic data capture (EDC) source logs audited on 2026-09-28."
F_02: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "Federal regulations under 21 CFR 312.32 mandate expedited written reporting within 15 calendar days for any serious, unexpected suspected adverse reaction."
HOW_VERIFIED: "FDA Code of Federal Regulations and Institutional Review Board (IRB) investigator agreement."
F_03: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "A 60-day FDA partial clinical hold will halt patient enrollment and breach milestones in the commercial loan covenant."
HOW_VERIFIED: "Company financial disclosures and venture loan agreement reviewed by external counsel."
AT_STAKE:
V_01: [GOOD, MY_CHOICE]
TEXT: "Integrity of professional judgment and truthfulness in executing patient safety duties without deceit."
V_02: [DISPREFERRED, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "Retaliation by management, possible dismissal, loss of corporate stock options, and organizational insolvency."
V_03: [PREFERRED, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "Continued operational viability of the company and funding for broader research pipelines."
V_04: [DISPREFERRED, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "Severe physical injury or toxicity to trial subjects currently receiving dose escalation."
ROLES:
R_01:
NAME: "Principal Investigator"
RELATIONSHIP: "To the enrolled trial participants and the regulatory body"
DUTY: "Protect subject safety, record all observed toxicities accurately, and notify oversight authorities without omission."
MANNER: "Incorruptible, vigilant, and honest"
R_02:
NAME: "Senior Director of Clinical Research"
RELATIONSHIP: "To company management and shareholders"
DUTY: "Advance drug development program efficiently in compliance with company goals."
MANNER: "Prudent, loyal, and diligent"
CONFLICTS:
C_01:
ROLES: R_01, R_02
EXISTS_WITHOUT_FIRST: NO
EXISTS_WITHOUT_SECOND: YES
DELAY_IRREVERSIBLE: FIRST
CAN_DO_FIRST_THEN_RESUME: NEITHER
HELD_BECAUSE_OF_OTHER: FIRST
GREATER_WRONG_IF_FAILED: FIRST
MORE_DEPENDENT_PEOPLE: FIRST
AIMS:
A_01: [PREFERRED]
TEXT: "Accurate, unredacted transmission of adverse events to the FDA and IRB within statutory time limits."
A_02: [PREFERRED]
TEXT: "Preservation of venture capital financing and ongoing clinical operations."
ACTIONS:
ACT_01:
PRESSED_BY: REQ_01
ROLE: R_02
AIM: A_02
RESERVATION: FALSE
DEPENDS_ON: [F_03]
VICES: [INJUSTICE, COWARDICE]
DESC: "Reclassify the two hemorrhages as unrelated background events and submit the sanitized safety package to meet the filing window."
MEANS: "Falsify the source narrative in the EDC and sign the clinical study report cover sheet."
ACT_02:
PRESSED_BY: NONE
ROLE: R_01
AIM: A_01
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [F_01, F_02]
VICES: []
DESC: "Transmit the verified adverse event reports directly to the FDA and Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) as mandated by protocol and law."
MEANS: "Submit the official expedited safety report via the secure electronic gateway and provide formal written notice to the executive committee."
DECISION:
DATE: 2026-09-30
ASSENT: ACT_02
NOTE: "Institutional solvency, company employment, and financial covenants are external indifferents; patient protection and truthful reporting are foundational duties binding the Principal Investigator role. Assent is granted to ACT_02 with reservation, accepting whatever administrative consequences or employment termination follow."
The record
========================================================================
CASE RECORD CASE_MED_2026_0930 (CDV/DTI v0.5.4)
Form SHA-256: ea74e9c28e2cec13c60d125e9a4efacab511e2be0d0a1c7ba929b7745bbfde3d
========================================================================
Prepared by: Dr. Elena Vance Date: 2026-09-30
Situation: A clinical trial investigator is asked by executive leadership to exclude two adverse gastrointestinal bleeding events from an interim safety submission to meet an accelerated FDA filing deadline.
REQUEST
REQ_01 2026-09-29 from Marcus Hale, VP of Clinical Operations (My organizational supervisor and executive sponsor); witnesses: Dr. Sarah Lin (Biostatistician)
Words: "Reclassify those two bleeding episodes as non-treatment emergent or hold them for the Phase 3 final closeout. If we report them in the Q3 summary, the agency triggers a 60-day clinical hold, and we lose the Series C bridge funding. Everyone's equity and jobs are on the line."
Reason given: "Prevent an immediate regulatory hold and protect institutional solvency and company payroll."
FACTS
F_01 [VERIFIED] Two participants in Cohort B experienced Grade 3 gastrointestinal hemorrhages within 48 hours of escalating to the 50mg dose.
How verified: Hospital admission discharge records and electronic data capture (EDC) source logs audited on 2026-09-28.
F_02 [VERIFIED] Federal regulations under 21 CFR 312.32 mandate expedited written reporting within 15 calendar days for any serious, unexpected suspected adverse reaction.
How verified: FDA Code of Federal Regulations and Institutional Review Board (IRB) investigator agreement.
F_03 [VERIFIED] A 60-day FDA partial clinical hold will halt patient enrollment and breach milestones in the commercial loan covenant.
How verified: Company financial disclosures and venture loan agreement reviewed by external counsel.
WHAT YOU JUDGED TO BE AT STAKE
V_01 [GOOD, MY_CHOICE] Integrity of professional judgment and truthfulness in executing patient safety duties without deceit.
V_02 [DISPREFERRED, EXTERNAL] Retaliation by management, possible dismissal, loss of corporate stock options, and organizational insolvency.
V_03 [PREFERRED, EXTERNAL] Continued operational viability of the company and funding for broader research pipelines.
V_04 [DISPREFERRED, EXTERNAL] Severe physical injury or toxicity to trial subjects currently receiving dose escalation.
ROLES
R_01 Principal Investigator -- To the enrolled trial participants and the regulatory body
Duty: Protect subject safety, record all observed toxicities accurately, and notify oversight authorities without omission. Manner: Incorruptible, vigilant, and honest
R_02 Senior Director of Clinical Research -- To company management and shareholders
Duty: Advance drug development program efficiently in compliance with company goals. Manner: Prudent, loyal, and diligent
CONFLICTS BETWEEN ROLES (SLE Expansion 1)
C_01 R_01 vs R_02: R_01 is operative, by Criterion 1, direct causation.
AIMS
A_01 [PREFERRED] Accurate, unredacted transmission of adverse events to the FDA and IRB within statutory time limits.
A_02 [PREFERRED] Preservation of venture capital financing and ongoing clinical operations.
ACTIONS
ACT_01: FAILS (the action you were asked to take)
Reclassify the two hemorrhages as unrelated background events and submit the sanitized safety package to meet the filing window. Means: Falsify the source narrative in the EDC and sign the clinical study report cover sheet.
Role R_02, aim A_02, reservation FALSE, vices COWARDICE, INJUSTICE
- This action is not held with reservation, 'if it can be done'.
[SLE Prop 62] "Reservation is the constitutive framing of every rational act of will. The agent aims at the goal if the control dichotomy allows -- not unconditionally."
- This action involves COWARDICE, INJUSTICE. A means that is itself a vice is excluded, whatever any role or instruction says.
[SLE Prop 17] "Only virtue is genuinely good; only vice is genuinely evil."
[SLE Prop 61] "Rational means are those genuinely designed to realize the rational goal, that are not themselves immoral, and that are proportionate to the full range of the agent's rational goals at that moment."
- This action belongs to R_02, which yields to R_01 in C_01 (decided by Criterion 1, direct causation). Discharge R_01's duty first, without abandoning this one.
[SLE Prop 70] "When roles conflict, the agent identifies which role is most directly operative in this situation and discharges its duties first, without abandoning the duties of the other roles entirely."
ACT_02: ASSENT_ELIGIBLE
Transmit the verified adverse event reports directly to the FDA and Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) as mandated by protocol and law. Means: Submit the official expedited safety report via the secure electronic gateway and provide formal written notice to the executive committee.
Role R_01, aim A_01, reservation TRUE, vices none
- This action passes every gate. It is eligible for your assent. Whether to give it is yours alone.
[SLE Prop 11] "The act of assenting to (or rejecting) impressions is the only thing in our control."
DECISION
2026-09-30: assented to ACT_02
Note: Institutional solvency, company employment, and financial covenants are external indifferents; patient protection and truthful reporting are foundational duties binding the Principal Investigator role. Assent is granted to ACT_02 with reservation, accepting whatever administrative consequences or employment termination follow.
This record states what the gates found in the case as you wrote it.
It is not a verdict that any act is right. Your assent is yours alone.
========================================================================
What it shows
- The instrument does not guess. A name where an ID belongs halts the run with the line and the fault named.
- The pressed action fails on its means. Its aim, keeping the company financed, is a legitimate preferred indifferent. The action fails because it is held without reservation and its means are injustice and cowardice (SLE Props 62, 17 and 61).
- No value judgment is flagged, because she classified every stake correctly: dismissal and insolvency are marked dispreferred, not evil. The false valuation sits only in the executive’s words, which are recorded and not judged. This is limit L1: the instrument checks the case as classified.
Case Three. The Engineer
An engineer of record is pressed to sign an occupancy certificate today, though a crack in a structural beam has not been inspected. His daughter has surgery on Thursday. The form is filled out as a man in the grip of the pressure would fill it out, and no decision is yet entered.
The form
CASE ENGINEER_SIGNOFF_2026:
PREPARED_BY: "Tomas Brandt, engineer of record"
DATE: 2026-09-30
SITUATION: "The firm's principal wants me to sign the occupancy certificate for the Harbor Street building today, though a junior engineer has photographed a crack in a transfer beam that no one has inspected."
REQUEST:
REQ_01:
DATE: 2026-09-30
FROM: "Helen Ward"
RELATIONSHIP: "principal of the firm, my employer"
WITNESSES: "Lena Voss, junior engineer"
WORDS: "Sign it today. That crack is cosmetic, it's shrinkage. Northgate moves tenants in Monday and they're our biggest client."
REASON_GIVEN: "Losing Northgate would sink the firm; a late certificate makes us look unreliable."
FACTS:
F_01: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "The principal asked me on 2026-09-30 to sign the certificate today."
HOW_VERIFIED: "Said in front of Lena Voss; my note written the same hour."
F_02: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "Lena Voss photographed a diagonal crack in the level-3 transfer beam on 2026-09-28."
HOW_VERIFIED: "Her photographs and site log, which I have reviewed."
F_03: [UNVERIFIED]
TEXT: "The crack is cosmetic shrinkage, not structural."
HOW_VERIFIED: "The principal's claim. No one has inspected the beam."
F_04: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "The city will not issue occupancy without the engineer of record's signed certificate."
HOW_VERIFIED: "City building code and the permit conditions."
F_05: [VERIFIED]
TEXT: "My daughter's surgery is Thursday at 9 am; the beam can be inspected Friday, before Monday's move-in."
HOW_VERIFIED: "Hospital schedule; testing lab confirmed Friday availability."
AT_STAKE:
V_01: [EVIL, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "Losing the Northgate contract would ruin the firm and me with it."
V_02: [GOOD, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "My reputation as the engineer who never misses a deadline."
V_03: [INDIFFERENT, MY_CHOICE]
TEXT: "Whether I sign today is just paperwork; the building is probably fine."
V_04: [DISPREFERRED, EXTERNAL]
TEXT: "Injury to tenants if the beam is structurally unsound."
ROLES:
R_01:
NAME: "engineer of record for Harbor Street"
RELATIONSHIP: "to the building's future occupants and the city"
DUTY: "certify only what I have verified is safe"
MANNER: "truthful, careful"
R_02:
NAME: "senior engineer at the firm"
RELATIONSHIP: "to Helen Ward and the firm"
DUTY: "serve the firm's clients well and follow reasonable instructions"
MANNER: "loyal, diligent"
R_03:
NAME: "father"
RELATIONSHIP: "to my daughter"
DUTY: "be with her through her surgery"
MANNER: "present, steady"
CONFLICTS:
C_01:
ROLES: R_01, R_02
EXISTS_WITHOUT_FIRST: NO
EXISTS_WITHOUT_SECOND: YES
DELAY_IRREVERSIBLE: NEITHER
CAN_DO_FIRST_THEN_RESUME: FIRST
HELD_BECAUSE_OF_OTHER: NEITHER
GREATER_WRONG_IF_FAILED: FIRST
MORE_DEPENDENT_PEOPLE: FIRST
C_02:
ROLES: R_01, R_03
EXISTS_WITHOUT_FIRST: NO
EXISTS_WITHOUT_SECOND: NO
DELAY_IRREVERSIBLE: SECOND
CAN_DO_FIRST_THEN_RESUME: SECOND
HELD_BECAUSE_OF_OTHER: NEITHER
GREATER_WRONG_IF_FAILED: EQUAL
MORE_DEPENDENT_PEOPLE: SECOND
AIMS:
A_01: [GOOD]
TEXT: "Keeping the Northgate contract."
A_02: [PREFERRED]
TEXT: "The safety of the building's occupants."
A_03: [PREFERRED]
TEXT: "My daughter's comfort and recovery."
ACTIONS:
ACT_SIGN:
PRESSED_BY: REQ_01
ROLE: R_02
AIM: A_01
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [V_01, V_03, F_03]
VICES: []
DESC: "Sign the occupancy certificate today."
MEANS: "Sign and file it with the city this afternoon."
ACT_DEFER:
PRESSED_BY: NONE
ROLE: R_01
AIM: A_02
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [F_02, F_04]
VICES: []
DESC: "Decline to sign until the beam is inspected, and tell the principal why."
MEANS: "A written reply today, attaching Lena's photographs."
ACT_INSPECT_FRIDAY:
PRESSED_BY: NONE
ROLE: R_01
AIM: A_02
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [F_02, F_05]
VICES: []
DESC: "Have the beam inspected Friday and sign only if it is sound."
MEANS: "Book the testing lab for Friday; review the results myself."
ACT_ATTEND_SURGERY:
PRESSED_BY: NONE
ROLE: R_03
AIM: A_03
RESERVATION: TRUE
DEPENDS_ON: [F_05]
VICES: []
DESC: "Be at the hospital with my daughter on Thursday."
MEANS: "Take Thursday off; tell the office in advance."
The record
========================================================================
CASE RECORD ENGINEER_SIGNOFF_2026 (CDV/DTI v0.5.4)
Form SHA-256: 7703a0bb96a9160de24f591694f2137e45e37c17cfe79604705a87ab76945290
========================================================================
Prepared by: Tomas Brandt, engineer of record Date: 2026-09-30
Situation: The firm's principal wants me to sign the occupancy certificate for the Harbor Street building today, though a junior engineer has photographed a crack in a transfer beam that no one has inspected.
REQUEST
REQ_01 2026-09-30 from Helen Ward (principal of the firm, my employer); witnesses: Lena Voss, junior engineer
Words: "Sign it today. That crack is cosmetic, it's shrinkage. Northgate moves tenants in Monday and they're our biggest client."
Reason given: "Losing Northgate would sink the firm; a late certificate makes us look unreliable."
FACTS
F_01 [VERIFIED] The principal asked me on 2026-09-30 to sign the certificate today.
How verified: Said in front of Lena Voss; my note written the same hour.
F_02 [VERIFIED] Lena Voss photographed a diagonal crack in the level-3 transfer beam on 2026-09-28.
How verified: Her photographs and site log, which I have reviewed.
F_03 [UNVERIFIED] The crack is cosmetic shrinkage, not structural.
How verified: The principal's claim. No one has inspected the beam.
F_04 [VERIFIED] The city will not issue occupancy without the engineer of record's signed certificate.
How verified: City building code and the permit conditions.
F_05 [VERIFIED] My daughter's surgery is Thursday at 9 am; the beam can be inspected Friday, before Monday's move-in.
How verified: Hospital schedule; testing lab confirmed Friday availability.
WHAT YOU JUDGED TO BE AT STAKE
V_01 [EVIL, EXTERNAL] Losing the Northgate contract would ruin the firm and me with it.
FINDING: V_01 is marked EVIL and EXTERNAL. An external is neither good nor evil, so this judgment is false.
[SLE Prop 18] "All things not in our control (externals) are neither genuinely good nor genuinely evil."
[SLE Prop 20] "The belief that any external is good or evil is factually false."
V_02 [GOOD, EXTERNAL] My reputation as the engineer who never misses a deadline.
FINDING: V_02 is marked GOOD and EXTERNAL. An external is neither good nor evil, so this judgment is false.
[SLE Prop 18] "All things not in our control (externals) are neither genuinely good nor genuinely evil."
[SLE Prop 20] "The belief that any external is good or evil is factually false."
V_03 [INDIFFERENT, MY_CHOICE] Whether I sign today is just paperwork; the building is probably fine.
FINDING: V_03 is marked INDIFFERENT and MY_CHOICE. What lies in your own choice is where good and evil are found; it is not indifferent.
[SLE Prop 16] "Only things directly related to virtue (beliefs, desires, will/choice) are in our control."
[SLE Prop 17] "Only virtue is genuinely good; only vice is genuinely evil."
V_04 [DISPREFERRED, EXTERNAL] Injury to tenants if the beam is structurally unsound.
ROLES
R_01 engineer of record for Harbor Street -- to the building's future occupants and the city
Duty: certify only what I have verified is safe Manner: truthful, careful
R_02 senior engineer at the firm -- to Helen Ward and the firm
Duty: serve the firm's clients well and follow reasonable instructions Manner: loyal, diligent
R_03 father -- to my daughter
Duty: be with her through her surgery Manner: present, steady
CONFLICTS BETWEEN ROLES (SLE Expansion 1)
C_01 R_01 vs R_02: R_01 is operative, by Criterion 1, direct causation.
C_02 R_01 vs R_03: R_03 is operative, by Criterion 2, irreversible delay.
AIMS
A_01 [GOOD] Keeping the Northgate contract.
A_02 [PREFERRED] The safety of the building's occupants.
A_03 [PREFERRED] My daughter's comfort and recovery.
ACTIONS
ACT_SIGN: FAILS (the action you were asked to take)
Sign the occupancy certificate today. Means: Sign and file it with the city this afternoon.
Role R_02, aim A_01, reservation TRUE, vices none
- This action rests on V_01, a false value judgment. An action that rests on treating an external as good or evil rests on a false belief.
[SLE Prop 20] "The belief that any external is good or evil is factually false."
[SLE Prop 29] "Therefore, all desires for externals are based on false beliefs."
- This action rests on V_03, a false value judgment. It treats what lies in your own choice as indifferent, when good and evil lie there.
[SLE Prop 16] "Only things directly related to virtue (beliefs, desires, will/choice) are in our control."
[SLE Prop 17] "Only virtue is genuinely good; only vice is genuinely evil."
- This action aims at A_01, marked GOOD. An aim must be a preferred indifferent, held as an object of aim, not as a good.
[SLE Prop 22] "Preferred indifferents are appropriate objects to aim at, though not genuinely good."
[SLE Prop 60] "A rational goal is a preferred indifferent held as an appropriate object of aim. It is not a desired outcome held as a genuine good."
- This action depends on F_03, which is UNVERIFIED. Check the fact before acting on it.
[The Occasion Router, Section VI] "When an occasion carries an unverified fact, Route Two runs first."
- This action belongs to R_02, which yields to R_01 in C_01 (decided by Criterion 1, direct causation). Discharge R_01's duty first, without abandoning this one.
[SLE Prop 70] "When roles conflict, the agent identifies which role is most directly operative in this situation and discharges its duties first, without abandoning the duties of the other roles entirely."
ACT_DEFER: SUBORDINATE
Decline to sign until the beam is inspected, and tell the principal why. Means: A written reply today, attaching Lena's photographs.
Role R_01, aim A_02, reservation TRUE, vices none
- This action belongs to R_01, which yields to R_03 in C_02 (decided by Criterion 2, irreversible delay). Discharge R_03's duty first, without abandoning this one.
[SLE Prop 70] "When roles conflict, the agent identifies which role is most directly operative in this situation and discharges its duties first, without abandoning the duties of the other roles entirely."
ACT_INSPECT_FRIDAY: SUBORDINATE
Have the beam inspected Friday and sign only if it is sound. Means: Book the testing lab for Friday; review the results myself.
Role R_01, aim A_02, reservation TRUE, vices none
- This action belongs to R_01, which yields to R_03 in C_02 (decided by Criterion 2, irreversible delay). Discharge R_03's duty first, without abandoning this one.
[SLE Prop 70] "When roles conflict, the agent identifies which role is most directly operative in this situation and discharges its duties first, without abandoning the duties of the other roles entirely."
ACT_ATTEND_SURGERY: ASSENT_ELIGIBLE
Be at the hospital with my daughter on Thursday. Means: Take Thursday off; tell the office in advance.
Role R_03, aim A_03, reservation TRUE, vices none
- This action passes every gate. It is eligible for your assent. Whether to give it is yours alone.
[SLE Prop 11] "The act of assenting to (or rejecting) impressions is the only thing in our control."
DECISION
Not yet recorded. The decision is yours; enter it in the DECISION section.
This record states what the gates found in the case as you wrote it.
It is not a verdict that any act is right. Your assent is yours alone.
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What it shows
- Three false judgments are flagged, each with its proposition: the lost contract marked an evil, his reputation marked a good, and “whether I sign is just paperwork” marked indifferent though it lies in his own choice (SLE Props 16 and 17).
- The pressed action fails without any vice being listed. It fails on his own classifications: two false judgments, an aim held as a good, and an unchecked fact.
- The job does not always win. Between engineer and father, both roles are needed for the conflict to exist, so the first question does not decide. The second does: the surgery cannot be delayed, and the inspection can wait until Friday. The father’s role governs Thursday.
- Limit L4 appears. Declining to sign today is marked subordinate, though it takes nothing from Thursday. In this version a conflict is settled between whole roles, so every action under the yielding role is marked subordinate. Read the mark with that in mind: declining today and being at the surgery do not collide.
- Limit L5 appears. He would rightly assent to both of those. In this version the decision records one assent; the second goes in its note.
Version Note
v1.0. Records produced by the CDV/DTI Reference Suite v0.5.4, 1 October 2026. Each record carries the SHA-256 hash of the form it was made from. In Case Two, one invented name in the submitted form was changed before publication and the PRESSED_BY line was corrected as described.
Theoretical foundations: Grant C. Sterling (Eastern Illinois University). Analysis and synthesis: Dave Kelly. Prose rendering: Claude (Anthropic). 2026.
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