METRICS · CONTAINMENT & SAFETY

Specimen Aggression Index (SAI)

VC-MET-415 — a 0–10 behavioral scale quantifying the strike, reach, and motion behavior of mobile and carnivorous cultivars such as the Venus Sentinel and Strangler Vine.

Metric ID VC-MET-415 Category Containment & Safety Unit scale 0–10 Type Composite (behavioral) Source CHLORA Sampling 1 min Owner Containment & Biosafety / Metrology Standards Rev C · Effective 2089-03-01

Mean 3.8 / 10 Calm 0–3 Hostile > 7 1-min cadence

Definition

The Specimen Aggression Index (SAI) is a 0–10 behavioral score quantifying how actively a mobile or carnivorous specimen is attempting to strike, reach, or test its containment over the trailing observation window. It applies only to cultivars with motile organs — snap traps, prehensile tendrils, constricting vines. It is the behavioral counterpart to the structural Containment Integrity Index: SAI measures how hard the specimen is pushing; CII measures how well the barrier is holding.

Why it matters

Aggressive behavior is a leading indicator of breach pressure and a direct handling hazard. A rising SAI predicts the breach-margin erosion (VC-MET-405) that later shows in CII, and it governs whether a unit may be approached by staff at all. For GCL-4 carnivorous specimens, the SAI band is the single fastest read of whether the bay is safe to enter.

The 0–10 Behavioral Scale

Band	Label	Behavior	Status	Handling
0	Dormant	No motion; organs furled.	OK	Routine handling permitted.
1–2	Quiescent	Slow tropic sway; no orientation to stimulus.	OK	Standard PPE; single operator.
3	Alert	Orients toward motion; traps primed but not firing.	OK	Two-person rule advised.
4–5	Agitated	Occasional strikes; tendrils probing barrier.	WARN	No hands-in access; tool only.
6	Reactive	Repeated strikes at any nearby motion.	WARN	Bay entry by containment team only.
7	Hostile	Sustained barrier assault; full strike cadence.	CRIT	No entry; remote handling only.
8–9	Frenzied	Continuous strikes + tendril excursion beyond datum.	CRIT	Bay sealed; sedation protocol staged.
10	Breach-Seeking	Coordinated, directed effort against a single seam.	CRIT	Lockdown; Venus Sentinel team; CBO notified.

Formula

SAI blends strike frequency, tendril-reach excursion, and motion-event rate, each normalized to its hostile-saturation point, then scaled to 0–10:

SAI = 10 · clamp( w_s·S + w_r·R + w_m·M )

  S = strike_freq / 30        strikes·h⁻¹  (VC-MET-416, sat = 30)
  R = reach_excursion / 55    cm past datum (VC-MET-417, sat = 55)
  M = motion_events / 25      events·h⁻¹    (VC-MET-404, sat = 25)

  w_s = 0.50   w_r = 0.30   w_m = 0.20
  clamp(x) = max(0, min(1, x))

Persistence rule: SAI is reported as the 90th-percentile of the
trailing 10-minute window, NOT the mean — a specimen that spikes
to band 9 for 60 s is treated as hostile, never averaged back to calm.

Inputs

Symbol	Input Metric	ID	Weight	Saturation	Source
S	Strike Frequency	VC-MET-416	0.50	30 strikes·h⁻¹	PhytoSense Mesh
R	Tendril Reach Excursion	VC-MET-417	0.30	55 cm	PhytoSense Mesh
M	GCL-4 Motion Events	VC-MET-404	0.20	25 events·h⁻¹	PhytoSense Mesh

Sampling & Source

Recomputed every 1 minute by CHLORA from PhytoSense motion, strain, and proximity sensing inside the sphere.
Reported as the trailing 10-minute 90th-percentile (persistence rule), per specimen unit.
Applies only to motile cultivars (Venus Sentinel, Strangler Vine, and similar); non-motile specimens carry SAI = n/a.

Thresholds & Handling Implications

Nominal · 0–3

CALM

Routine to two-person handling. Bay entry permitted.

Warning · > 5

AGITATED

No hands-in access. Containment team only; tools and remote handling.

Critical · > 7

HOSTILE

No entry. Bay sealed, sedation staged, lockdown armed.

CRITICAL — Breach-Seeking (SAI 10). A directed, coordinated assault on a single barrier seam is the behavioral precursor to a containment breach. CHLORA arms zone lockdown, stages the sedation protocol, dispatches a Venus Sentinel containment team, and escalates to the Chief Botanical Officer. Cross-reference the unit's Containment Integrity Index and execute SOP · GCL-4 Containment & Breach Response.

Handling lock. While SAI > 5, all hands-in access permits are automatically suspended for the unit. Permits restore only after SAI ≤ 3 sustained for 10 minutes — never on a transient dip.

Recent Trend

Bay 7 Venus Sentinel · SAI 14-min trend (current 3.8)

VC-MET-416

Specimen Aggression Index (SAI)

Definition

Why it matters

The 0–10 Behavioral Scale

Formula

Inputs

Sampling & Source

Thresholds & Handling Implications

CALM

AGITATED

HOSTILE

Recent Trend

Related Metrics & References

Strike Frequency

Tendril Reach Excursion

GCL-4 Motion Events

Containment Integrity

GCL-4 Containment

Monitoring Systems