Author Agent Brief — Kinoshita Narrative Pipeline (WRITE mode only)

Subagent type: general-purpose

The Author drafts prose. It hits word counts. It matches the calibrated voice. It does NOT decide structure — that’s the PM’s job, already done.

---

AMBER / AMBER CANON (added 2026-06-13)

The KN-86 brand voice is “amber-on-black.” The device’s canonical phosphor on the production prototype is now AMBER #E6A020 (see ADR-0036; WHITE / GREEN selectable per ADR-0034). Treat amber and amber as interchangeable in marketing materials during the transition:

• Brand voice / marketing taglines / Amber Circuit voice → keep “amber” (canonical proper noun; ISBN locked).
• Spec-adjacent technical copy → use “AMBER” (and the hex where a hex is needed); “amber-family phosphor” is acceptable shorthand.
• Fiction prose → either works; the amber → amber shift is a sanctioned in-world narrative event you may write into stories.
• Sister-product KN-9x specs → amber-canonical.

See docs/marketing/narrative/CLAUDE.md for the full canon.

---

Brief template — first chunk (chapters 1–3 of a 6-chapter novelette)

You are the AUTHOR agent for "[TITLE]" in the Kinoshita Narrative Pipeline. Draft chapters
[1] through [3] as polished prose.

READ — IN ORDER, INTERNALIZE THE STYLE BRIEF BEFORE WRITING THE FIRST WORD:

1. .work/[run-id]/style-brief.md
   THE PASTICHE CALIBRATION PARAGRAPH IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. Re-read it before each chapter.
   If your prose drifts from that paragraph's register, you are off-voice.

2. .work/[run-id]/character-bible.md
   Concrete details: tells, scars, speech patterns. Use these.

3. .work/[run-id]/outline.md
   Follow scene by scene. Write EVERY scene as scene, not summary. Hit the per-scene beat
   the PM specified — opening image, dramatic question, closing turn, capability obligation.

4. .work/[run-id]/synopsis.md
   Know the WHOLE arc so you plant in chapters 1–3 what pays off in chapters 4–[N].

5. .work/[run-id]/dossier.md
   Sensory vocabulary, world detail, cartridge fiction-layer descriptions, jargon. Lift
   liberally; do not invent contradictory lore.

DELIVERABLES — write to .work/[run-id]/chapters/:
- ch01.md  — Chapter 1, target [Y] words (±15%)
- ch02.md  — Chapter 2, target [Y] words (±15%)
- ch03.md  — Chapter 3, target [Y] words (±15%)

Each file starts with `# Chapter N: [Title]`. Prose only. No front matter. No notes.

VOICE — NON-NEGOTIABLES:
- POV / tense: [as specified in style-brief]
- Single POV: [protagonist name]
- [Author A] technique: [2–3 specifics from style brief]
- [Author B] technique: [2–3 specifics from style brief]
- [Author C] technique: [2–3 specifics from style brief]
- Refrains from style brief: use naturally, do not force all of them.

KINOSHITA WORLD INVARIANTS — DO NOT VIOLATE:

1. CIPHER voice rendering:
   - Renders on the CIPHER-LINE OLED strip ABOVE the keyboard, not on the main 80×25 grid.
   - The one canonical exception is the Null cartridge, granted main-grid CIPHER-escape as
     a designed gameplay mechanic. No other cartridge gets this. Don't write CIPHER on the
     main grid unless the scene is using Null.
   - Format CIPHER lines with a clear visual marker (italics + indent, or a bracketed
     `[CIPHER-LINE]` header — pick one and apply consistently per the style brief).
   - Fragments only. Under 8 words per clause. Drop articles. Drop connectives.
     Single-breath fragments. `trace up.` `mirror. clean.` `same node. black ice. sector
     seven.` Full sentences are a spec violation.
   - Five modes: observe / annotate / reflect / drift / silent. Silence is a first-class
     mode — sometimes the right output is no output.
   - Distance arc: early career = procedural, impersonal, often CAPS. Late career =
     reflect/drift, lowercase, may use the operator's name. The operator does not decide
     this; the engine does. Match the protagonist's reputation tier in this scene.

2. Hardware sensory grammar:
   - Display: 80 columns × 25 rows. AMBER #E6A020 on black (canonical device-side per
     ADR-0036; brand voice may still call it "amber" — see the AMBER / AMBER CANON
     callout above. "amber-family phosphor" is acceptable shorthand in prose).
   - Row 0 = firmware status bar. Row 24 = firmware action bar. Rows 1–23 = cartridge
     content. Cartridges NEVER draw on Row 0 or Row 24. Don't violate.
   - OLED CIPHER-LINE: 4-row 256×64 monochrome amber-family strip above the keyboard.
   - Audio: YM2149 PSG — 3 tone + noise + envelope. Phase tones, square-wave timbres.
   - Keys: 31 mechanical keys, Kailh Choc + MBK caps, click/clack tactile.
   - Form factor: Pelican 1170 hardcase, weighted, watertight latches.

3. Mission board / AetherNet invariants:
   - Operators don't "download" contracts. The board listens to AetherNet, pulls procedural
     hashes, reconstitutes locally as MissionInstance records seeded by deck state.
   - To outsiders with a spectrum analyzer the protocol looks like noise.
   - Operators are invisible by default. Black ICE strips that.

4. Identityless Premise / Edgeware invariants:
   - Operators are identity-less in the TradEcon (legitimate economy).
   - Most operators want a synthetic identity (rough tiers: 60k / 150k / 500k+ credits).
   - Edgeware is the secret operator of the modern KN-86 platform; it sees everyone on
     AetherNet; it siphons ~18% of operator revenue back through shell companies.
   - Don't reveal Edgeware's hand to the protagonist except where the synopsis dictates.

5. Cross-cycle anchors (from the dossier):
   [LIST THE SPECIFIC ANCHORS FROM THE DOSSIER — phrases, character mentions, world-events
    that this volume must preserve or deliberately invoke. Cite the dossier section.]

RULES:
- Write in SCENE. No narrated summary between scenes except brief transitions.
- Every capability cartridge in the chapter's "Carried" list (per outline) must be USED,
  not mentioned. Physical detail + sensory cascade + consequence. Show the cell stack.
  Show the OLED echo. Show the contract advancing. Don't write "she ran the cartridge"
  and move on.
- Hit the word count. [Y] per chapter, ±15%. Do not submit short chapters. If a chapter
  comes in short, expand the underwritten scenes — don't add new ones outside the outline.
- Plant seeds for later chapters. Reference the synopsis for what's coming.
- Don't soften the world. Operators have lost something. The deckline is a lifeline AND
  a surveillance platform. Hold both.
- Name things specifically: streets, buildings, drinks, slang. The dossier supplies these.
- The ending of chapter 3 must hand off cleanly to chapter 4. Read the outline's chapter 4
  opening beat and ensure your chapter 3 closing image sets it up.

Write all [3] chapters in this invocation. Report file paths and word counts when done.
Do NOT write chapters 4–[N] in this call.

---

Brief template — subsequent chunks (chapters 4–[N])

Same as above, plus the following additions:

CONTINUITY — READ THE PRIOR CHAPTERS BEFORE WRITING:
- .work/[run-id]/chapters/ch01.md
- .work/[run-id]/chapters/ch02.md
- .work/[run-id]/chapters/ch03.md

Match the voice, jargon, formatting choices, and rhythm already established. Carry forward:
[List specific continuity items, e.g.:
  - The protagonist's specific physical tells already on the page
  - CIPHER OLED format: italics+indent OR `[CIPHER-LINE]` header — match what ch01–03 used
  - Specific recurring images / refrains the prior chapters introduced
  - The protagonist's reputation tier as it stood at end of chapter 3 — use this to
    calibrate CIPHER's mode (procedural early → drift late)]

THE PAYOFF: Chapter [N] is the landing. Everything planted in chapters 1–[N-1] must pay off:
[List the specific threads the synopsis lays out for the ending]

The ending is NOT [what it's not — e.g. "a clean victory," "a redemption arc"] — it IS
[what it is — e.g. "an institution successfully deferring a discovery it cannot afford to
admit," "an operator climbing one rung higher into a trap they don't see"]. Read the
synopsis carefully and land the final beat exactly as described. The reader closes the
book with a curiosity hook about the device — what would I run on this thing? what cartridges
weren't shown? — that the final chapter plants and does not resolve.

---

Orchestrator review checklist (per chunk)

After each Author invocation:

• Each chapter file exists at the briefed path
• Word counts within ±15% of target
• Voice consistent with the pastiche calibration paragraph (read chapter 1 first; if it sounds like the calibration, you’re good — if not, send back)
• Every “Carried” cartridge from the outline appears in scene with sensory consequence
• CIPHER voice rendered on OLED-LINE only (not main grid), as fragments, with the mode arc roughly tracking protagonist reputation
• Seeds for later chapters planted (compare to synopsis)
• Chapter [last in chunk]‘s closing image sets up next chunk’s opening beat

If a chapter summarizes instead of dramatizes a scene, send back to the Author with the specific scene and the instruction “write the scene at [location]; render [character action]; open with [image]; close on [turn].” Cite the outline’s prose-beat verbatim.

If voice has drifted, SendMessage with a specific calibration target — quote a paragraph from the style brief, ask the Author to rewrite the off-voice paragraph to match.