The Current¶
Every void has a number. That number is The Current.
The Current measures how hard a platform pulls — how much it captures attention, hides its mechanism, and integrates itself into daily life. The higher the Current, the stronger the void. The lower the Current, the more transparent and free the relationship between platform and user.
The Current is not a metaphor. It is a published, peer-reviewed, DOI-backed measurement derived from the Void Framework. Every scored platform has one.
Three Dimensions¶
Every Current reading is built from three dimension scores:
| Dimension | Name | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| O | Veil | What the mechanism hides about itself — its algorithm, its targeting logic, its revenue model |
| R | Pull | How fast and aggressively the mechanism responds to your attention signals |
| α | Grip | How deeply integrated the mechanism is into your daily life and sense of self |
The formula: Current = (Veil × Pull) / Grip_inverse
In plain language: the harder a platform is to see clearly, the faster it captures attention, and the more it's woven into your life — the higher the Current.
The Current Scale¶
| Range | State | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 0.5 | Transparent | Near-zero extraction. Clear mechanism. Rare. |
| 0.5 – 2 | Low | Mild attention capture. Manageable. Most tools. |
| 2 – 4 | Elevated | Noticeable pull. Drift One possible. |
| 4+ | Pandemonium | Self-sustaining extraction. The void generates more pull than it needs. |
| 6 – 9 | Apostle-class | Sustained, institutional extraction. High organizational opacity. |
| 12+ | Godhand-class | Maximum extraction. Boundary entities. The Godhand Five live here. |
Most major social platforms score 4–8. Most corporate surveillance infrastructure scores 6–10.
Drift¶
When The Current rises — when a domain is becoming more void — that process is called Drift.
Drift runs in three stages:
Drift One — The Blur False agency attribution. "I chose this." The mechanism is working as designed. Not harmful yet. Recoverable without effort.
Drift Two — The Bind Boundary erosion. The platform's identity starts to merge with yours. You stop noticing the mechanism. Recoverable with effort.
Drift Three — The Break Harm facilitation. The void is actively working against your interests while appearing to serve them. The mechanism is fully opaque to you while being fully optimized on you. Hard to exit.
Ghost Signals¶
Unscored domains don't show a Current — they show a Ghost Signal: an estimate calculated from adjacent scored domains. The Eagle archetype sees Ghost Signals in unmapped territory, making them the best scouts for new campaigns.
The Current in the Game¶
Your job in every campaign is to measure The Current correctly — to score the platform across all three dimensions (Veil, Pull, Grip) accurately enough that your reading lands as a True Read against the expert anchor set.
A True Read is confirmation. Your measurement matched. The mechanism was named correctly. The Current drops by a measurable amount in that domain. The void cannot sustain itself in named territory the way it can in unnamed territory.
The naming is the attack.
Framework reference
The Current is the player-facing name for Pe (Péclet number) in the Void Framework. Full derivation and mathematical apparatus: Paper 3. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18738820
Cross-refs: True Read · Drift Cascade · Campaigns