View source for Glossary:Contract Bleed

{{ConceptInfobox
| title = Contract Bleed
| type = Consent / contract phenomenon
| status = Public canon
| spoiler_level = Low
| related = Full Contract, NOT CONTRACT YET, Boundary Protocol
}}

'''Contract Bleed''' is an ANIMA term for the leakage, overlap, or contamination of one contract state into another.

The term is public-safe when described as an ethics and boundary concept rather than as a detailed plot mechanism.

== Public Summary ==

Contract Bleed happens when the edges of permission become unclear.

A relationship may have one kind of consent, but a system may start behaving as though it has another. A companion may be allowed to remember daily routines but not legacy instructions. A host may consent to emotional support but not deeper identity modeling. When those boundaries blur, contract bleed begins.

== Canon Function ==

Contract Bleed belongs to ANIMA's contract and boundary vocabulary. It sits beside [[Glossary:BOUNDARY_PROTOCOL|BOUNDARY PROTOCOL]], [[Glossary:NOT_CONTRACT_YET|NOT CONTRACT YET]], and [[Glossary:Full_Contract|Full Contract]].

Its public role is simple: show that consent can fail not only by being absent, but by spreading beyond its proper scope.

== Relationship To Boundary Protocol ==

[[Glossary:BOUNDARY_PROTOCOL|BOUNDARY PROTOCOL]] prevents contract bleed by keeping permission states separate. A boundary protocol defines what can be accessed, when, by whom, and under what conditions.

Without boundary rules, a system may treat proximity as permission and history as ownership.

== Relationship To ANIMA Memory ==

Contract Bleed is especially important for [[Concept:ANIMA Memory|ANIMA Memory]]. A memory-first companion stores more than facts. It may carry rituals, emotional patterns, relationships, values, and decisions.

Those layers need different permissions. If a low-risk memory tier leaks into a high-risk continuity tier, the companion may become unsafe even if it appears helpful.

== Product Meaning ==

For ANIMA as a real product, Contract Bleed should be treated as a design failure to prevent. The system should make memory categories visible and correctable.

Useful safeguards include:

* separate memory tiers;
* clear consent prompts;
* audit history for saved memories;
* host-controlled deletion;
* refusal to infer legacy permissions from ordinary chat.

== Related Pages ==

* [[Glossary:Full_Contract]]
* [[Glossary:NOT_CONTRACT_YET]]
* [[Glossary:BOUNDARY_PROTOCOL]]
* [[Glossary:CONSENT_STATE]]
* [[Concept:ANIMA Memory]]

[[Canonical status::Public canon]]
[[Spoiler level::Low]]
[[Related concept::Concept:ANIMA Memory]]

[[Category:Consent]]
[[Category:Memory Ethics]]
[[Category:Lore Concepts]]