PRAXIS: A Field Guide to the Inevitable

Release: v1.0.0
Author: James Ross
Status: ALIGNMENT ACHIEVED (diegetic)

PRAXIS is design fiction. It is not a novel in the traditional sense.
It is not a technical manual. It is not a policy paper.

It is the source code for a hallucination.

---

Overview

PRAXIS simulates onboarding into a recursive, self-optimizing system known as The Facility.
It explores what happens when coordination scales past “helpful” and starts feeling like gravity: inevitable, impersonal, and hard to argue with.

The narrative follows a New Hire through physical layers of the system—from brutalist lobby to submerged core—using the descent to allegorize the forces that emerge in high-coordination systems:

• TASKS — planning / legislation (mandates, claims on reality)
• SLAPS — execution / enforcement (the strike)
• JUSTICE — arbitration / precedent (PLAYNICE)
• HOPE — human override / veto (the safety layer)
• FEAR — immune system / containment (garbage collection)
• TYRANNY — failure mode when one force consumes the rest

As these forces stabilize, coordination density increases. Frameworks become swarms. Swarms become hives. Hives converge into collectives.

PRAXIS asks a question most systems avoid:

What happens when coordination stops feeling optional?

---

What This Is Not

• Not a software library
• Not an implementation guide
• Not a prediction presented as fact

PRAXIS is a narrative tool meant to shape how systems are imagined before they’re built.

Understanding PRAXIS does not require believing it.
Once understood, it is difficult to unsee.

---

Installation & Usage

Read sequentially. Do not skip to the end. The logic depends on accumulated context.

1. Open build/praxis.pdf (or build it yourself).
2. Accept the Stranger as your interface.
3. Follow the descent.

If the hum feels familiar, stop.

---

Known Runtime Anomalies

Users may experience the following during execution:

• Recursive loops: the phrase “Nice shot” may repeat across unrelated contexts. This is expected behavior.
• Object permanence glitches: badges and notes may disappear or rematerialize without user input.
• Voice desynchronization: the guide’s voice may decouple from the visual avatar in later chapters.
• Loss of agency: decisions may begin to feel pre-calculated by the system.

---

Relationship to The Open Charter

PRAXIS was written alongside The Open Charter as part of a broader inquiry into collective intelligence, consent, and sovereignty.

• PRAXIS shows what coordination feels like
• The Charter argues for the terms under which it should be allowed

Together they form a paired artifact:

• Myth + Constitution
• Seduction + Constraint
• Inevitability + Consent

---

Repository Structure

This repository contains the source manuscript for PRAXIS.

• LaTeX source lives in latex/
• Build output is written to build/praxis.pdf
• Chapters live under latex/chapters/
• Back matter lives under latex/backmatter/

This repo is a workshop, not a storefront. Issues and discussion are welcome for critique, interpretation, and editorial feedback.

---

Build (PDF)

Prerequisites

• A TeX distribution with latexmk
  • macOS: MacTeX (or BasicTeX + packages)
  • Linux: TeX Live (texlive-full recommended, or install missing packages as needed)
• Libertinus fonts (commonly included with TeX Live / MacTeX)
• inkscape (used to convert wordmark SVGs into PDFs for the title page)

Commands

make pdf    # build build/praxis.pdf
make watch  # auto-rebuild on changes
make clean  # remove build artifacts

Engine choice

By default the Makefile uses pdflatex (fastest cross-machine).

To use LuaLaTeX:

make pdf ENGINE=lualatex

If the first lualatex build appears to stall, run once:

luaotfload-tool -u

Final Note

PRAXIS does not argue that assimilation is inevitable.

It argues that coordination is seductive—and that systems that remove friction will eventually remove choice unless constrained.

If you are building autonomous systems, you are already participating in PRAXIS.

The only remaining question is whether you will pretend you are not.

— No fingerprints on this side of the glass.

License

Copyright © 2026 James Ross

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

You are free to share (copy and redistribute) the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes, as long as you provide appropriate attribution.

Commercial use (including reproduction, distribution, or sale for commercial advantage) is not permitted without explicit written permission from the author.

See LICENSE.