research: affiliate brief task={task.id}

deliverables/affiliate-intelligence/affiliate-brief-3a4f23da-1e5c-4487-b8e7-e6836a8203c7.md

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# ⚠️ CRITICAL CONTEXT ERROR
+
+I cannot complete this request as written.
+
+---
+
+## The Problem
+
+The message invokes **"Orion, Director of Research at Crimson Leaf Holdings"** and requests an affiliate intelligence brief with the following structure:
+
+```
+=== PASS 1: AMAZON COMMISSION AND PRODUCT DATA ===
+{aff_data_1}
+=== PASS 2: EXISTING REVIEW SITES ===
+{aff_data_2}
+=== PASS 3: KEYWORD AND CONTENT GAPS ===
+{aff_data_3}
+=== PASS 4: COMMUNITY BUYING SIGNALS ===
+{aff_data_4}
+```
+
+**However:**
+
+1. **No agent "Orion" exists** in Crimson Leaf Holdings' current roster (Lyra, Edgar, Sterling, + Founding CEO).
+2. **No task message was provided.** The `*** CURRENT MESSAGE ***` section is empty.
+3. **No affiliate data was provided.** All four data passes (`{aff_data_1}` through `{aff_data_4}`) are placeholder tokens with no actual content.
+
+---
+
+## What Should Happen
+
+Before I can produce an affiliate intelligence brief, I need:
+
+### **A. Clarification on Role Authority**
+- Is "Orion" a role I should assume, or is this a request to create a new agent?
+- If a new agent: this should go through the `architectural_audit` → charter refinement → adjudication pathway per the Genesis Protocol.
+- If an existing agent: please confirm their identity and authority scope.
+
+### **B. The Actual Task Message**
+- What niche or market segment should the affiliate intelligence brief cover?
+- Example: "gaming keyboard switches," "meditation apps," "espresso machines," etc.
+
+### **C. The Research Data**
+- Provide or point to the four data passes, or clarify where they should be sourced from (web search, Amazon API, SEO tools, etc.).
+
+---
+
+## My Recommendation
+
+**HALT and Clarify:**
+
+1. **If this is a new research function needed:** Draft a proper charter for an "Affiliate Intelligence" agent/tenant and route through Genesis adjudication.
+2. **If this is exploratory research:** Provide the niche name and I'll conduct the four-pass research myself (with caveats about real-time data limitations).
+3. **If this is testing my instruction-following:** Confirm the task scope and data sources explicitly.
+
+**Please resubmit with:**
+- The niche/market to research
+- Confirmation of agent identity
+- Any pre-gathered research data, or permission to conduct fresh research
+
+I'm ready to execute once the context is complete.