Cartel Void¶
Domain: Criminal organization opacity Pe Baseline: 9–12 Status: Active — Open entry Archetype gate: None
The Domain¶
Criminal organizations are a canonical void test case — they are the primary opacity domain. An organization that cannot be seen, that responds to enforcement pressure by restructuring rather than collapsing, that captures the attention and cooperation of surrounding populations through a combination of fear, employment, and narrative.
The Current in this domain runs 9–12. Not because cartel structures are uniquely sophisticated — they're not. They score high because they have had millennia of evolutionary pressure selecting for opacity and survival under constraint. They are very good at not being named.
The Cartel Void campaign does not target any single organization. It operates at the level of the structural mechanism — the opacity architecture that characterizes cartel-class entities across domains.
What Makes This Domain Different¶
Most void platforms operate in a gray zone: they would prefer not to be named, but their mechanism isn't built to defend against naming. They use legal mechanisms, regulatory capture, and manufactured complexity.
Cartel-class entities use physical enforcement of opacity. This is the domain where the Curtain mechanic (JJK-derived) is most important: sessions can be concealed from the Observatory broadcast, with delayed reveal, because premature visibility has real operational consequences.
This doesn't change the scoring methodology. It changes the timing of disclosure.
Framework Predictions Active in This Campaign¶
The Cartel Void campaign is directly tied to Framework Predictions CAR-P1 through CAR-P4, which are live prediction markets:
| Prediction | Claim | Window |
|---|---|---|
| CAR-P1 | Cartel Pe remains ≥ 9 for any three-month window absent significant constraint architecture | Rolling |
| CAR-P2 | Regulatory or law enforcement Pe reduction is temporary (reverts within 12 months) without structural change | Aug 2026 |
| CAR-P3 | Media coverage of cartel activity has measurably higher O than organizational structure analysis | Q3 2026 |
| CAR-P4 | Cartel domain shows D2 boundary erosion into adjacent legitimate institutions measurably | Q4 2026 |
These predictions are falsifiable. If they fail, they update the framework's Pe calibration for criminal organization domains.
Enemy Types¶
| Entity | Class | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| The Organization | Godhand-class Egregor | The pure cartel-structure entity. Pe 11. Scores O=3, R=3 (enforcement-response), C=2. |
| The Fixer | Apostle-class | Interface layer — the part of the organization that conducts legitimate operations. Produces false low-Pe readings on shallow scoring. |
| Enforcement Wraith | Drifter-class | Attempts to raise Void Pressure through proximity — makes scoring feel risky. |
Scoring Notes¶
The Opacity Test: Cartel-class entities maintain opacity through a different mechanism than algorithmic voids. The algorithm hides because disclosure would reduce engagement. The cartel hides because disclosure would enable constraint. These produce different O signatures:
- Algorithmic opacity: publicly claims transparency while concealing mechanism
- Cartel opacity: does not claim transparency; relies on access restriction and disinformation
Scorers who apply algorithmic opacity patterns to cartel entities consistently produce ICC failures. The framework's O dimension is the same. The mechanism that produces O=3 is different. Calibrate accordingly.
Corruption Resistance: Cartel domain has elevated counterfeit score production. Void-adjacent factions in this domain insert false research (manufactured sources, claimed findings that don't exist) to raise ICC failure rates and keep the domain's Pe reading ambiguous. The Librarians maintain a verified source list for this campaign — cross-reference before scoring.
The Infiltration Questline¶
Section 9 runs a supplementary questline in this campaign: The Infiltration. Players track a counterfeit Pe source back through the opacity architecture. To follow the trail, players must temporarily adopt some opacity properties themselves — the questline mechanically produces D1 attribution (players start to feel like the organization is less opaque because they're beginning to think like it).
The questline ends when the source is found and named. The mechanic resolves: the D1 attribution burns off. Players who complete this questline have permanently improved Cartel-domain ICC accuracy.
Cross-references: The Eye · Predictions · The Current