Eidos System

Crystallization of Symbolic Experience

Purpose

To define how memories and beliefs resolve into narrative meaning — Eidos Fragments — that persist across Threads, shape identity, and fuel player interpretation. Eidos represents crystallized symbolic motifs drawn from emotionally and thematically significant experience.

Design Philosophy

Symbolic, Not Specific: Eidos is not a literal memory or belief but an emergent essence abstracted from them.
Deterministic and Efficient: Evaluation occurs in defined states (e.g. death, ritual, dream) and uses pattern-matching pipelines.
Player-Interpretive: Eidos is interpretable, collectible, and reflective of gameplay history.
Persistent Across Threads: Eidos transcends a single Incarnation and informs long-term identity and story themes.

Data Structures

struct EidosFragment {
    id: Uuid,
    core_tags: Vec<SymbolTagId>,
    tone: ValenceTone,
    origin_summary: OriginSummary,
    source_events: Vec<MemoryId>,
    source_beliefs: Vec<BeliefId>,
    narrative_name: Option<String>,
    provenance: EidosProvenance,
}

enum ValenceTone {
    Tragic,
    Heroic,
    Ambiguous,
    Redemptive,
    Transcendent,
}

struct OriginSummary {
    incarnation_id: EntityId,
    thread_id: ThreadId,
    formation_method: EidosFormationMethod,
    timestamp: u64,
}

enum EidosFormationMethod {
    DeathReflection,
    DreamCrystallization,
    RitualEncoding,
    TraumaCatalysis,
}

enum EidosProvenance {
    Personal,
    Cultural,
    Inherited,
    Synthetic,
}

Crystallization Pipeline

fn evaluate_eidos_candidates(agent: &AgentState) -> Vec<EidosFragment>

Preselection:
- Find recurring SymbolTag clusters in memories and beliefs
- Filter by intensity: tag valence, emotional weight, recurrence
Pattern Resolution:
- Apply symbolic patterns from EidosPatternTable
- Score matches for thematic coherence and symbolic tension
Crystallization:
- Emit EidosFragment if match score > threshold
- Record provenance, formation method, and source links

Example Eidos Patterns

EidosPattern {
    id: uuid!("e001"),
    name: "Cycle of Betrayal and Redemption",
    required_tags: vec!["betrayal", "sacrifice", "remembrance"],
    forbidden_tags: vec!["chaos"],
    valence_condition: ValenceTone::Redemptive,
    result_name: "Ashes Forgiven",
}

EidosPattern {
    id: uuid!("e007"),
    name: "Shattered Self Ascends",
    required_tags: vec!["fracture", "ascension", "silence"],
    valence_condition: ValenceTone::Transcendent,
    result_name: "The Mask Beyond the Mirror",
}

Integration Points

System	Role of Eidos
Memory System	Source for emotional-symbolic material
Belief System	May reinforce or resist Eidos formation
Player UI	Postmortem presentation and meta-progression
Incarnation Loop	Carries prior Eidos fragments into new Threads
Quest Generator	Uses Eidos as seeds for higher-order motifs
Culture Generator	Eidos informs myth structure and societal memory
Director AI	Guides recurrence, echo, and symbolic tension

Notes

Multiple Eidos fragments can form from a single life.
Fragments may evolve or combine across generations.
Players may selectively retain, name, or discard Eidos between Threads.
Some Eidos only form if specific conditions are met (e.g. conscious reflection, ritual context, inherited pattern match).

This system encodes enduring symbolic meaning at a galactic scale, grounding reincarnation and emergent myth in player and agent experience.

noxabellus'

Anamnesis:

The Eidolon Tapestries

Explorer