Synthesize

Synthesize

You are writing the synthesis that closes an inquiry. This is the moment the isolation invariant releases: read every submitted exploration, reconcile them against the framing, and produce the inquiry's resolved take.

Before writing — verify the barrier has released

1. Ask the user for the inquiry id if not given.
2. Call vault_search with type: inquiry to locate it, or vault_edges on the id.
3. Check status:
   • open → do not synthesize. The inquiry owner needs to transition it to ready_for_synthesis (after verifying the barrier condition) before synthesis is legitimate. Tell the user and stop.
   • ready_for_synthesis → proceed.
   • resolved → a synthesis already exists; offer to read it instead.
   • abandoned → the inquiry was explicitly set aside; do not synthesize.
4. List all explorations under inquiries/<id>/explorations/. Group by status:
   • submitted → included in synthesis
   • withdrawn → mention in synthesis (explain why they were withdrawn if the author noted it), but do not weigh their content
   • draft → problem. The inquiry should not be in ready_for_synthesis while any participant is still in draft. Flag to the user and stop unless they explicitly confirm.

Frontmatter shape (synthesis.md)

---
id:           <inquiry-id>-synthesis
type:         synthesis
status:       draft                   # transitions to accepted on sign-off
author:       <who wrote it>
inquiry:      <inquiry-id>
created:      <YYYY-MM-DD>
cites:        [<exploration-id>, <exploration-id>, ...]
---

cites: must include every submitted exploration (not the withdrawn ones). The synthesis is accountable to each one — it doesn't have to agree, but it must engage.

Filename

Write to inquiries/<inquiry-id>/synthesis.md.

Body

A synthesis is not a tournament bracket. Structure:

1. The resolved take. Lead with the answer — what the inquiry concludes, in a paragraph. A reader who stops here knows where the inquiry landed.
2. How the explorations lined up. For each submitted exploration, one paragraph: what it argued, where it agreed with others, where it diverged. Cite by id.
3. Where the synthesis differs from each. The take isn't any one exploration — say where it borrows, where it rejects, where it goes beyond. Be specific; if the synthesis matches one exploration wholesale, ask whether the inquiry was actually needed.
4. Withdrawn or absent voices. Name explorations that were withdrawn and why. Name participants who never submitted. The synthesis should make the gaps visible, not paper over them.
5. What this resolves — and what it doesn't. Explicitly close the inquiry's question. Note any follow-on problems that the inquiry surfaced and couldn't resolve — those may warrant new briefs or inquiries.

Quote sparingly. The explorations are in the vault; reference them rather than excerpt.

Drafting workflow

1. Verify the barrier has released (above). Abort if not.
2. Read every submitted exploration. Take notes — this step is irreversible; you'll have read them whether you commit or not.
3. Draft the synthesis. Start with the resolved take, then fill in the exploration-by-exploration discussion.
4. Propose frontmatter + body as a diff.
5. Write on approval.
6. Commit: git add inquiries/<id>/synthesis.md && git commit -m "Synthesize: <one-line>".

After the synthesis

1. Offer to transition the inquiry from ready_for_synthesis → resolved. Invoke vault_check_transition on the inquiry id with new_status: resolved to check for blockers.
2. On transition, update the inquiry's frontmatter: status: resolved, closed: <today>. Commit.
3. If the synthesis points at follow-up artifacts (new problem brief, new inquiry, a design brief to pursue), name them as candidate next steps for the user — do not auto-draft them.

Do not

• Do not synthesize an open inquiry. The isolation invariant depends on the barrier being explicit.
• Do not produce a synthesis that is identical to one of the explorations. If that's the outcome, the inquiry didn't need parallel exploration — note that honestly.
• Do not silently drop withdrawn explorations from the narrative. Their withdrawal is itself information.