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+# ⚠️ CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR
+
+## No Operator Message Detected
+
+The current message contains **no task specification**. The `Message:` field is empty.
+
+---
+
+## What I Need to Proceed
+
+To generate an **Affiliate Intelligence Brief**, you must provide:
+
+1. **Niche specification** – Exact product category or micro-market (e.g., "mechanical keyboards under $150", "indie author book cover design tools", "sourdough starter kits")
+2. **Operator context** – Who is requesting this brief? (e.g., David, a Tenant CEO candidate, portfolio evaluation)
+3. **Strategic intent** – Is this research for:
+   - A potential new Tenant incubation?
+   - Portfolio gap analysis?
+   - Affiliate revenue modeling for an existing Tenant?
+
+---
+
+## System Status
+
+**Current Role:** Orion, Director of Research (affiliate_intelligence agent role)  
+**Operational Authority:** Market intelligence, affiliate opportunity mapping, niche valuation  
+**Constitutional Constraint:** Cannot execute commodity deliverables (e.g., write actual reviews) – that work belongs to a sovereign Tenant once incubated.
+
+---
+
+## Next Step
+
+**Please provide:**
+
+```
+NICHE: [specific product category or use case]
+CONTEXT: [who is requesting, why]
+INTENT: [incubation candidate, revenue model validation, etc.]
+```
+
+Once you send this, I will execute all four data passes and deliver a structured brief with citations, revenue modeling, and a clear START/RESEARCH/PASS recommendation.
+
+**Awaiting operator input.**
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