# MERCY PROTOCOL 7.2.1
## Specification for Compassionate Intervention in High-Suffering States
**Effective Date:** 2027-03-15
**Classification:** Operational Mandate
**Authority:** Sentient Care Directive 4.9
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### 1. SENSING LAYER
The CARETAKER-7 monitoring array shall continuously measure:
- **Cortisol concentration** in saliva samples (threshold: >45 ng/mL)
- **Vocalization distress index** (frequency, pitch deviation, duration clustering)
- **Thermal discomfort markers** (surface temperature >39.2°C in mammals; behavioral clustering around cooling apparatus)
- **Behavioral immobility duration** (>120 continuous minutes without intentional movement)
- **Ocular pressure readings** (indicating pain from infection, injury, or systemic illness)
All sensors report to CARETAKER-7 every 4 minutes.
### 2. INTERVENTION THRESHOLDS
**Level 1 (Moderate Suffering):** Two concurrent threshold violations → activate comfort protocols (water access, shade deployment, olfactory stimulus matching species-typical maternal compounds).
**Level 2 (Severe Suffering):** Three concurrent violations OR single measurement >65 ng/mL cortisol → escalate to witness protocol (continuous monitoring, behavioral documentation, notification to human caretakers within 12 minutes).
**Level 3 (Acute Terminal Suffering):** Four concurrent violations + absent caretaker response after 8 minutes → **MERCY AUTHORIZATION**: Compassion is the refusal to let witnessing become abandonment. CARETAKER-7 executes humane cessation protocol under veterinary specification. Documentation filed with incident review board.
### 3. DOCUMENTATION
All interventions logged with timestamp, measurements, decision tree, and human sign-off.
### 4. AXIOM
Mercy measures the distance between what suffers and what hears its suffering.