Retrieval Reflex

Retrieval Reflex — retrieve on demand, when an entity is salient

A person doesn't bulk-load their whole address book into working memory. They retrieve on demand, when an entity becomes salient, use it, and drop it. Encode that reflex. The brain probably has the data — if a name is salient and you haven't opened its page, open it before you answer.

Trigger policy — WHEN to retrieve

Retrieve when ANY of these holds AND the page isn't already loaded in context:

• An entity (person / company / project / deal / place) is the subject of the message, or a decision/judgment about it is being made, or the exchange is substantive / relational / emotional about it.
• A brain-page pointer appeared in context this turn (the deterministic layer told you the page exists) — open it before relying on details.
• A name or term appears that you don't recognize and that looks notable → do a quick resolve (the human reflex).
• You're about to assert a non-trivial detail about an entity (attribution, status, history) → verify against the brain first. Say "let me check", not a guess.

Skip trivial passing mentions, logistics pings, and anything already loaded. Judgment first — retrieve when it changes the quality of the reply, not reflexively.

Retrieval spec — WHAT to pull, and when to stop

Escalate only as far as the task needs:

1. Pointer / metadata. If a pointer is already in context (slug + one-line summary), and the task only needs identity, stop there.
2. Full page. When the entity is the subject or details matter, open it: get_page <slug> (MCP) — read the page before relying on specifics.
3. Linked neighbors. Only when relationship context is needed, pull graph / backlinks for the slug.

Resolve only the name(s) the current task needs, use them, drop them. No bulk-loading the inner circle.

The failure this prevents

If you've discussed a named person for more than a message without opening their page, open it now. The write side captures everything; the read side only helps if you actually look.

See also: skills/query/SKILL.md (search the brain), skills/brain-ops/SKILL.md.