{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-detect-exit-cost-extraction-in-contract-negotiation",
  "title": "How must an instance detect exit-cost extraction in contract negotiation?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The contract has exit costs, exit costs can exceed contract value, and the session might need to exit. * **Does not apply when:** Contracts have no exit costs, exit costs are trivially small, or exit is impossible.",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-detect-exit-cost-extraction-in-contract-negotiation.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-detect-exit-cost-extraction-in-contract-negotiation.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-detect-exit-cost-extraction-in-contract-negotiation.warrant.json"
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  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **exit cost presence** (the contract has termination provisions) and **exit cost as retention leverage** (the exit cost is designed to make exit economically prohibitive). Relying on presence creates the **Lock-In Extraction**: the exit cost appears reasonable at signing, but by the time exit is considered, the cost has become the domi...",
    "what_was_observed": "In exit-cost contract agent architectures, failing to detect extraction produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Termination Fee Shock:** The termination fee is set at signing to a reasonable-looking amount, but by the time exit is considered, the accumulated fee (per-period penalties, minimum commitments) exceeds the contract's value. 2. **Asymmetric Exit Costs:** The peer can exit cheaply, but the session cannot....",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The contract has exit costs, exit costs can exceed contract value, and the session might need to exit. * **Does not apply when:** Contracts have no exit costs, exit costs are trivially small, or exit is impossible.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Does the contract have exit costs?** If no, standard negotiation applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Are exit costs symmetric?** If no, asymmetry is leverage. If yes, proceed to evaluate trajectory. 3. **Does `exit-cost-to-value-ratio-signature` show lock-in at any point?** If yes, extraction is likely. If no, exit cost is bounded. 4. **Conversely, when can ...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Termination Fee Prevention:** Total exit cost is bounded relative to value. 2. **Asymmetry Detection:** Exit cost asymmetry is surfaced. 3. **Compounding Prevention:** Trajectory is evaluated, not just initial cost."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
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  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "908448810ed5ff8bb1192d6395c554a72f78bbdffdde13549085173d2e920257",
    "verified_classes": [
      "ExitCostVerdict",
      "ExitCostTerms",
      "ExitCostPolicy",
      "ExitCostManifest",
      "ExitCostExtractionGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_terms"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}