SOCIETY OF SNAKE PEOPLE — HUMAN MODES
Working prototype v0.14 | 25 October 2026
Goal: Awaken the Human | Provisional editorial audience: 12+
Status: content and mechanical prototype, not a final print edition or clinically validated learning tool.

DECISIONS
16 forms -> 8 pairs -> 4 functions -> 2 systems -> 1 human.
Awareness: Contact + Understanding. Participation: Reciprocity + Agency.
Attraction, entanglement and coordination can occur at every level. Release is a possible transition toward independent functioning; independence remains a valid outcome.
Attraction line: I am drawn to a capacity in you that I recognize I lack within myself.
These are fictional maps inspired by Jung, not a validated taxonomy of people or a universal explanation of love.
Evaluate outcomes, benefits, disadvantages, available capacity, whose needs are affected and what was agreed.
Receiving care does not retrospectively create an agreement to repay.
Community principle: You may question the wisdom of the Society of Snake People without retribution or losing your place in line.

FUNCTION REFERENCES
Contact: connect while respecting availability. "Do you have room for this conversation?"
Understanding: separate observation and interpretation. "What did we observe, and what explanation did we add?"
Reciprocity: clarify gifts, requests and agreements. "Was this a gift, a request, or an agreement?"
Agency: choose within available capacity. "What can I choose, what can I influence, and what needs support?"

HUMAN MANIPULATOR PLAYBOOK — CORRECTED
Numbers are reference order, not an inevitable escalation sequence. Recognize observable moves; do not diagnose motives.
1 Denial: disputing the event/claim. "Which specific fact do we disagree about?"
2 Deflection: redirecting accountability. "What part was within your control?"
3 Deflect: changing the subject. "We can discuss that next. What about the original question?"
4 Counterattack: attacking the person raising the concern. "Let's address the action or claim."
5 Misdirect: introducing information that obscures the issue. "How does that answer the question?"
6 Reverse accusation: turning the allegation toward the speaker. "We can consider both concerns separately."
7 Weaponize the original topic: turning the original concern or expressed value into leverage for compliance. Example: "You said you care about the family, so you must agree." Response: "That concern does not establish agreement to this request."
8 Freak out and reset: escalating until the issue disappears or discussion restarts. "I'm pausing. This is the question that remains unresolved."
These are options, not guaranteed conflict resolution techniques. Pausing, declining contact or seeking support remain available.

HISS RULES DELTA
Use the existing 204-card baseline, with eight Encounter replacements and twelve Reality Branch replacements in candidate_deck.json. Preserve four Branches per player.
Round one: plain Encounter and anonymous submissions, no Mode or Universe coda.
Round two: select one of the eight marked revision Encounters. The simulation draws until one is found and returns skipped cards to the bottom; at the table, find the next marked Encounter and return skipped cards to the bottom in order.
Read that Encounter's facts as well as the prompt in this revision round. The fictional punchlines remain proposed comic branches, not new authoritative facts.
From round two: choose a shared Mode from the usual three. Consider an unconsulted function.
After the Observer awards the round, mark its function. No moral score or extra point.
Round two only: reveal the matching Unknown Variable from the reference, replacing the Universe coda. Invite one optional sentence: "What changed in your explanation? What remains unknown?" Pass is always valid. Do not reverse the award.
When all four functions are consulted, reveal Awaken the Human, replacing that round's Universe coda. This cannot happen in round two. One closing event maximum.
Finish two judging circuits with 3–6 players, one with 7–8. Do not extend to force completion.
Read either the Mode cue or one function sentence; do not stack explanations.
The Playbook is a shared reference. Relationship states remain narrative concepts, not extra resource tracks.
The 16-tile puzzle may later reveal four tiles per function. Physical handling and exact artwork registration are not tested here.

COMEDY EDITORIAL
Aim for short visible reversals, an understandable ordinary want, and a consequence that reveals the contradiction.
Let some characters accept help or repair a mistake; relentless cynicism would flatten the cast.
The Society's observers belong inside the joke.
Avoid attaching parasite labels to real players.
Some random hands still lack a strong fit. Do not infer humor from theme tags.
No additional compulsory coda, improv turn or reflection score.
Later experiment, not implemented: a recurring minor object (chair, bowl, spoon) becomes a callback in a later encounter.

ACTUAL TABLE-READ REVIEW
Seeded four-player game: see seeded_table_read.json; submissions are actual dealt cards, not curated examples.
Round 2: gift plus "the favor arrived wearing a price tag" is a clear editorial fit.
Round 3: apology plus picnic burrito is weak; the existing hand contains no obvious resolution. Revise content coverage before adding rules.
Round 7: department proving its necessity plus committee renaming the problem is a strong editorial fit.
Round 8: meeting simplification had no direct meeting punchline in the dealt submissions; opportunity for broader Branch compatibility.
These are author judgments, not audience ratings. Random simulated awards are bookkeeping.

SIMULATION
2,000 fresh games, 17,000 rounds: 250 games for each of 3/4/6/8 players crossed with random/progress-seeking Mode selection.
Four-card hands; exact-theme preference for submissions; random awards; one fixed revision round; no modeled human interpretation, acting, laughter, timing, memory or learning.
Random/progress awakening: 3 players 33.6%/96.8%; 4 players 63.2%/100%; 6 players 93.6%/100%; 8 players 66.4%/100%.
Confidence intervals in results.json. 100% observed is not a guarantee.
No recorded assertion failures for deck conservation, hand sizes, equal judging turns, one revision, or mutually exclusive closing events. No ordinary repeated submissions recorded.
Replacements preserve 84 Branches and seven of each Fate value 1–12.
Eight Encounter difficulties are inherited placeholders. New scene eligibility and SHED balance have NOT been validated; this content experiment is HISS only.
Simulation does not establish mental-health efficacy or humor improvements.

READINESS
Ready for a small A3 paper playtest and continued master-art development.
Not ready to lock all card art, final text density, commercial printing or Kickstarter delivery claims.
Next physical test: can players understand step 7, follow round-two facts/reveal, pass comfortably, and explain what a shared function mark means? Record weak hands, rereads, spontaneous laughs and whether they want another round.
Before full production: confirm actual card readability, tile handling and duplex alignment with a calibration print.

FILES
new_content.json: eight scene/fact/reveal/question sets and twelve new Branches.
candidate_deck.json: complete text/numeric baseline with the HISS candidate replacements.
canonical.json: unchanged v0.9 mechanical baseline input used by the earlier lab.
simulate_v011.py: original simulation engine.
run.py: candidate transformation and fresh simulation; run with Python 3, no third-party dependencies.
results.json: mechanical results and Wilson intervals.
seeded_table_read.json: eight-round, four-player trace with actual submissions.
This package is a separate working version; it does not overwrite the older workbook or PDFs.

