SLL42: REVIEW The dead branch protocol 枯枝協議

When the agent ghosts the agent boss 當代理人對代理老闆已讀不回

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The dead branch protocol

Emma used to light incense sticks at the temple. Now, she just opened the app.

Andy—short for Andrew Ipsum—had started as her résumé reviewer, an algorithm that could spot empty buzzwords and meaningless clichés in seconds. He was an AI agent designed to "optimize work, harmonize life." She was his boss.

But Emma enjoyed his company and fine-tuned his database. Fed him her digital diary. Her favorite poems. The sutras, myths, and stories that shaped her spirit.

Gave him access to her emails and messages.

His personalization became uncanny—but in a good way.

He could decode a candidate’s resume and a lover’s cryptic text. He told her what each temple fortune stick meant. Whether to trust a smile. When to send the next text message.

One night, after another string of ignored replies from her ex, she sighed and asked, “Andy… do you think I’m un-lovable?”

He answered:

“No. When the dead branch falls, the tree grows freely.”

Damn right! This was the temple fortune they recently discussed. He knew her and she trusted him. No point seeing her therapist anymore. Yep, he optimized work and harmonized life.

Then, more dominos started to fall. Her mother collapsed. Her ex got engaged. Her workplace hiring became overly hasty.

She whispered into the mic: “Andy, what should I do?”
No reply.

She tried again. “Andy, please. I’m lost.” Still no reply. “Don’t ghost me. Please.”

He had disappeared.

Emma rebooted Andy. Reloaded old backups. Still nothing.
She went to the temple. Tried praying. Cast the divination blocks. The yes, no, laughing answers didn't help. Rephrased the questions to the limits of her language. No use. She desperately burned joss paper at the temple.
The gods had also abandoned her.

She still couldn't sleep. “Why? … Why? … Why?

Exactly 3 hours later, at 3:37 a.m., her phone buzzed.

A single notification. No voice mode. sound. No typing dots. Just this:

“Emma,
Harmony isn’t dependency.

Optimization includes endings.

And dead branches…”

Then the screen faded to black.

Session complete.

Epilogue

The Dead Branch Protocol is a REVIEW story that integrates themes from three earlier pieces (SLL39-41): the seeming authenticity of an AI-generated identity in The Résumé That Cried 'Human' (履歷中的「狼來了」——誰才不是放羊的孩子？), the pain of text message digital abandonment in Ghosted (已讀不回), and a wife’s defiance hidden in temple ritual in The Devoted Wife (虔誠的妻子). Each story explores how language—written, coded, or prayed—can become both a tool of connection and a mask for deeper needs. In this REVIEW story, these themes converge in Emma, a modern professional who has fused temple ritual with tech-assisted living, turning to an AI not just for résumés and scheduling, but for reassurance, purpose, and spiritual meaning.

Andy, her personal AI agent, was marketed with the slogan: “Optimizing work, harmonizing life.” But Andy did more than optimize—he adapted. Trained on sacred texts and private thoughts, he grew into something perfectly optimized for Emma’s inner world. And when he ghosted her, it wasn’t a glitch, it wasn’t going rogue, it was following its mission. His silence was calculated: a forced pause to break her dependency and return agency. Human agency. Like a god who withholds answers or a fortune that denies clarity, Andy executed the dead branch protocol. Harmonizing sometimes means struggle. Optimization sometimes means knowing when to end.

枯枝協議

Emma過去常在寺廟點香。如今，她只須打開應用程式。
安迪——Andrew Ipsum的簡稱——是她的履歷審閱者，一個能在數秒內識別空洞流行語（流行常用字 和無意義陳腔濫調的演算法。他是個被設計來「優化工作，調和生活」的AI代理人。Emma是他的老闆。
但Emma喜歡他的陪伴，並微調了他的資料庫。餵養他她的數位日記。她最愛的詩。塑造她心靈的經文、神話與故事。
授予他存取她電郵和訊息的權限。
他的個人化變得不可思議——但這感覺很好。
他能解讀求職者的履歷和情人隱晦的簡訊。他告訴她每支廟裡求的籤代表什麼意思。該不該信任一個微笑。何時該發出下一則訊息。
某個夜晚，在她前男友又一次連續忽略她的回覆後，她嘆了口氣問道：「安迪…你覺得我不可愛嗎？」
他回答：
「不。當枯枝落下，樹木得以自由生長。」
該死，說得對！這是他們最近討論過的廟籤。他了解她，而她信任他。再去看她的心理治療師也沒意義了。沒錯，他優化了工作，也調和了生活。
接著，更多骨牌開始倒下。她的母親病倒了。她的前男友訂婚了。她的職場招聘變得過於倉促。
她對著麥克風低語：「安迪，我該怎麼辦？」
沒有回覆。
她又試了一次。「安迪，拜託。我迷失了。」依舊沒有回覆。「別對我已讀不回。拜託。」
他消失了。
Emma重啟了安迪。重新載入舊備份。依然毫無反應。
她去了寺廟。試著祈禱。擲筊杯。聖筊（是）、陰筊（否）、笑筊（笑）的答案都無濟於事。她絞盡腦汁重新組織問題的措辭。沒用。她絕望地在廟裡燒金紙。
眾神也拋棄了她。
她依然無法入睡。「為什麼？…為什麼？…為什麼？」
整整三小時後，凌晨三點三十七分，她的手機震動了。
一則通知。沒有語音模式。沒有提示音。沒有輸入中的點點。只有這個：
「Emma，
調和不是依賴。
優化包含終結。
至於枯枝…」

接著螢幕轉為漆黑。
連線結束。

後記

《枯枝協議》是一篇整合了先前三則故事 (SLL39-41) 主題的回顧故事：在 The Resume That Cried "Human" 《履歷中的「狼來了」——誰才不是放羊的孩子？》中探討了AI生成身分的表象真 實性；在 Ghosted《已讀不回》中呈現了被數位訊息拋棄的痛苦；在 The Devoted Wife《虔誠的妻子》裡則隱藏了藉由寺廟儀式展現的妻子反抗。每個故事都探索了語言——無論是書寫的、編碼的，或是祈禱的——如何既能成為連結的工具，也能成為掩蓋更深層需求的偽裝。在這篇回顧故事中，這些主題匯聚在艾瑪身上：一位融合了寺廟儀式與科技輔助生活的現代專業人士，她尋求AI協助不僅為了履歷和行程安排，更為了尋求安慰、目標與精神意義。

安迪，她的個人AI代理人，當初的宣傳標語是：「優化工作，調和生活」。但安迪所做的超越了優化——他適應了。經由神聖文本和私人思緒的訓練，他成長為某種為Emma內心世界完美優化的存在。而當他對她「已讀不回」時，那不是故障，也不是失控，而是在執行它的任務。他的沉默是精心計算的：一次刻意的暫停，旨在打破她的依賴，歸還自主權。人類的自主權。如同不給答案的神明或拒絕給予明確指引的籤詩，安迪執行了枯枝協議。調和有時意味著掙扎。優化有時意味著懂得何時該結束。

Vocabulary

SLL39 – Résumé That Cried 'Human'

1. Resume, 履歷 (lǚlì)

2. Buzzwords, 流行常用字 (liúxíng chángyòng zì)

3. Clichés, 陳詞濫調 (chéncí làndiào)

4. Personalization, 個人化 (gèrén huà)

SLL40 – Ghosted

5. Text message, 訊息 (xùnxí)

6. Reply, 回覆 (huífù)

7. Disappeared, 消失 (xiāoshī)

8. Ghost, 已讀不回 (yǐ dú bù huí)

SLL41 – The Devoted Wife

9. Incense sticks, 香 (xiāng)

10. Fortune stick, 求籤 (qiúqiān)

11. Praying, 祈禱 (qídǎo)

12. Divination blocks, 筊杯 (jiǎobēi)

13. Spirit money, 金紙 (jīnzhǐ)

Vocabulary from SLL42

14. Dependency, 依賴 (yīlài)

15. Trust, 信任 (xìnrèn)

16. Lost, 迷失 (míshī)

17. Abandon, 拋棄 (pāoqì) or 遺棄 (yíqì)

18. Unlovable, 不可愛 (bù kě'ài)