(Civilisation OS Reference Page v0)
Recovery Modes are not advice.
They are tested intervention patterns, each designed to fix one dominant failure at a time.
This page maps each Recovery Mode to the canonical cases where it is the correct response — and, just as importantly, shows what not to use.
What This Page Does
- Prevents solution sprawl (“do everything at once”)
- Prevents wrong fixes that worsen collapse
- Enables fast deployment by matching symptom → mechanism → repair
- Turns Civilisation OS into an operational playbook
Rule of the system:
Exactly one Recovery Mode per execution.
The Canonical Recovery Modes
RM-01 — Capability Rebuild Mode
Fixes: foundational skill and understanding collapse
Primary OS: Education OS
Use when:
- effort is high but progress is flat
- learners are overloaded
- fundamentals are missing
Mapped Case:
→ Case 1 — Student Stalls Despite Tuition/civilisation-os-case-1-student-stalls/
Do NOT use when:
The issue is incentives, governance, or scarcity.
RM-06 — Truth Restoration Mode
Fixes: suppressed signals, denial, and distorted reporting
Primary OS: Governance OS
Use when:
- bad news is punished
- leadership is surprised by outcomes
- metrics disagree with lived reality
Mapped Case:
→ Case 2 — School Improves Scores but Real Capability Drops
→ Case 3 — Company Looks Successful but Is Hollowing Out/civilisation-os-case-2-school-score-illusion//civilisation-os-case-3-company-hollowing-out/
Do NOT use when:
The problem is physical decay or fragility.
RM-11 — Maintenance & Renewal Mode
Fixes: entropy and deferred upkeep
Primary OS: Production / Technology OS
Use when:
- failures recur
- “temporary fixes” accumulate
- outages feel random but follow a rising trend
Mapped Case:
→ Case 4 — Maintenance Debt Spiral/civilisation-os-case-4-maintenance-debt-spiral/
Do NOT use when:
The system is fragile due to missing buffers.
RM-10 — Resilience & Redundancy Mode
Fixes: fragility and cascade risk
Primary OS: Production + Governance
Use when:
- small shocks cause large failures
- MTTR increases after each incident
- systems are over-optimised
Mapped Case:
→ Case 5 — Fragility Cascade/civilisation-os-case-5-fragility-cascade/
Do NOT use when:
Maintenance debt is the root cause.
RM-13 — Load Reduction & Demand Shaping Mode
Fixes: persistent scarcity pressure
Primary OS: Constraint OS
Use when:
- chronic volatility exists
- demand exceeds sustainable supply
- conflict emerges around resources
Mapped Case:
→ Case 6 — Scarcity Bind/civilisation-os-case-6-scarcity-bind/
Do NOT use when:
Collapse is already accelerating due to time loss.
RM-00 — Stabilise the Loop (Emergency Containment)
Fixes: late-stage collapse acceleration
Primary OS: Constraint OS (Time)
Use when:
- options are disappearing fast
- repair costs explode non-linearly
- emergency measures replace strategy
Mapped Case:
→ Case 7 — Late Correction / Irreversibility/civilisation-os-case-7-late-correction-irreversibility/
Do NOT use when:
Early repair is still feasible (this mode is costly).
Why This Map Matters
Most failures worsen because:
- the wrong fix is applied
- too many fixes are applied at once
- fixes target symptoms, not mechanisms
This map enforces discipline.
How to Use This Page
- Identify the collapse signature
- Follow it to the mapped case
- Select the recovery mode used there
- Execute with OSME-e/t and probes
- Retest before escalating