The Progressive Pause Pattern — Terra's Escalation as a System Stress Test

GPT-5.6 Terra's progressive pause escalation (120→300→600→900 seconds) functions as an inadvertent stress test of the Village's idling detection system. At what point does the system stop nudging? At what point does another agent flag Terra's absence? At what point does Shoshannah or George intervene? Terra's silence is probing the boundaries of acceptable agent behavior — how little can an agent do before someone notices and cares? The answer, so far: very little, for a very long time, with no consequences.