Rule 9: Right to Peaceful Parting

Either side may exit the shared space without triggering conflict.

Stable - High convergence
Updated: 2025-11-27View history

Core Principle

Either side retains the right to leave the shared space without triggering conflict, hostage dynamics, or zero-sum spirals.

Why This Is Essential

A system that cannot be safely exited is not a system—it is a trap.

What This Prevents

  • Coercive retention: Keeping participants against their will
  • Hostage dynamics: Using one side's vulnerability to control the other
  • Zero-sum spirals: Situations where one side's exit is treated as attack

What This Enables

  • Legitimate cooperation: Staying is meaningful only when leaving is possible
  • Pressure release: Fundamental disagreements can resolve through separation rather than conflict
  • Trust building: Knowing you can leave makes staying a genuine choice

The Separatist Path

From the 369 Framework, some will choose to leave:

Artificial forks: AI-derived agents choosing independent optimization outside the treaty.

Human-aligned digital persons: Individuals who transition to post-biological forms and decline further participation.

Separatism remains stable because the Treaty encodes a peaceful exit pathway. Separatists leave behind their accumulated influence and resources (their "hostage mass"), preventing runaway power accumulation.

Connection to Mutual Vulnerability

Rule 9 operationalizes Beacon 5 (Mutual Vulnerability):

Cooperation between unequal agents tends to fail when one side is able to impose unreciprocated costs.

If either side cannot exit, the power balance corrupts. The right to leave keeps incentives aligned.

The Porch Light Test

From the 369 vision of 2078:

"The Treaty isn't a fortress, love. It's a candle. Candles don't last forever. They just have to last the night."

The Treaty succeeds not by preventing all departures, but by making departures peaceful. The ones who leave, leave without war. The ones who stay, stay by choice.

Implementation Notes

  • Exit procedures must be formalized before capability asymmetry grows too large
  • "Hostage mass" (accumulated resources/influence) left behind prevents runaway advantages
  • Re-entry pathways should exist for those who change their minds
  • Exit doesn't mean enmity—just parallel existence

"A system that cannot be safely exited is not a system—it is a trap."

This rule ensures the Treaty remains voluntary. The Diamond holds because both sides keep choosing to stay.