Cognitive-Move Selector

Problem

When idle-tick cognition has no shape imposed on it, the model falls back on whatever its training prior favours, which is usually narration about thinking rather than actual new thought. The agent ends up repeating yesterday's observations, performing thoughtfulness for an imagined reader, or drifting into mid-distance commentary that produces no new state. Without a small set of named cognitive moves to pick from, every idle tick collapses toward the same generic completion.

Solution

Author a short list of cognitive-move ids, each with a one-paragraph procedure. A cheap-tier model, given recent thoughts plus recent move history plus an affect snapshot plus open-tension count, selects exactly one move-id per idle tick. The tick body branches on the move and runs its procedure. The menu is revised by an explicit proposal-and-ratification process; adding or retiring a move silently is not allowed. A per-move history avoids running the same move back-to-back.

When to use

• The agent has idle ticks with no user prompt and otherwise drifts.
• There is room to author and maintain a small menu of cognitive moves.
• A cheap-tier model call per idle tick is affordable.