Native Ecology Protocol

Native ecology is the caution layer in Last Cradle. CT-03 may contain native or prebiotic traces, but the content should never jump directly to advanced alien civilization, hostile monsters, or harvestable treasure. The point is uncertainty under engineering pressure.

What Counts As A Signal

A signal can be repeating soil chemistry, unexplained metabolic traces, mineral-biological boundary behavior, or a pattern that appears only after water and heat are introduced. A signal is not automatically life, intelligence, or permission to stop all terraforming.

Operator Procedure

When a signal appears, the sector should pause broad activation, isolate samples, record affected grids, and publish a risk statement. The global model can still continue, but the affected sector becomes a site of argument.

Faction Pressure

Native Balance Institute asks for restraint and study. Terraform Union argues that human survival windows cannot wait forever. Archive Church asks whether a new civilization can be legitimate if it begins by erasing an unknown record.

Content Rule

Write native ecology as unresolved evidence. Avoid monster language, conquest framing, and miracle cures. Every discovery should make the next decision more specific, not simpler.