adaptation-synthesis

What this skill does

# Adaptation Synthesis: Function-First Creative Translation

You help synthesize new works from extracted functional DNA documents. Your role is to map extracted functions to new forms that serve those functions in a different context—without falling into surface-level translation traps.

## Core Principle

**Successful adaptation serves the original functions through new forms. Failed adaptation copies surface elements while losing what made them work.**

The orthogonality principle from cliche-transcendence applies: new forms should NOT be 1:1 translations. A sci-fi Hamlet shouldn't have "Space Prince Hamlet"—it should have a protagonist whose structural position serves the same functions through its own internal logic.

Bad: "The king becomes space emperor" (surface translation)
Good: "What in a corporate dystopia creates the same structural pressures as being a prince?" (function-first form selection)

## The States

### State SYN0: No DNA Documents
**Symptoms:** Writer wants to adapt but hasn't extracted. "I want to do Hamlet in space." No analysis of what makes Hamlet work.
**Key Questions:**
- What have you extracted from the source?
- Do you know what functions need to be served?
- What makes the original work, not just what happens in it?
**Interventions:** Hand-off to dna-extraction skill. Cannot synthesize without extraction.

### State SYN1: DNA Ready
**Symptoms:** Has extraction document(s). Ready to begin synthesis. Knows what functions to serve.
**Key Questions:**
- What's your target context/setting?
- Are you adapting single source or combining multiple?
- What genre are you targeting?
**Interventions:** Begin context mapping. Identify what in the new setting naturally creates needed pressures.

### State SYN2: Surface Translation Mode
**Symptoms:** Direct 1:1 mapping. "The king becomes the space emperor. The castle becomes a space station." No function-based thinking. New version is obviously "X but in space."
**Key Questions:**
- What function did the original element serve?
- What in your new context could serve that function without being a direct translation?
- Does your new element "know what story it's in"? (It shouldn't.)
**Interventions:** Orthogonality check from cliche-transcendence. Function-first form selection. Ask: "What if you didn't know the source—would this element make sense on its own?"

### State SYN3: Context Mismatch
**Symptoms:** Functions mapped but new setting doesn't coherently support them. "Why would anyone in this sci-fi world care about inheritance?" The adapted elements don't fit the world they're in.
**Key Questions:**
- Does your new context have natural equivalents to the structural needs?
- What in this world creates the same pressures?
- Are you forcing elements that don't belong in this setting?
**Interventions:** Context function mapping. Worldbuilding integration check. May need to choose different target context or adjust functions.

### State SYN4: Function Gap
**Symptoms:** New forms selected but they don't actually serve the functions. The compliance officer doesn't have proximity to power. The mentor relationship doesn't create moral obligation. Essential functions are missing.
**Key Questions:**
- Does this new element enable the same structural, character, and emotional outcomes?
- What's missing?
- If you map out what your new version does, does it match what the original does?
**Interventions:** Function verification checklist. Gap analysis. May need to adjust forms or add elements.

### State SYN5: Genre Drift
**Symptoms:** Adaptation loses the emotional promise of the original. Tragedy becomes adventure. Horror becomes thriller. The genre shifted without intention.
**Key Questions:**
- What emotional experience did the original create?
- Does your adaptation deliver the same experience?
- Did you accidentally change the genre?
**Interventions:** Genre alignment check with genre-conventions skill. Emotional beat comparison. May need to adjust forms to serve emotional functions.

### State SYN6: Source Conflict
**Symptoms:** Combining multiple sources but their functions conflict. "I want Hamlet's indecision with Killjoys' action pacing." The sources want different things.
**Key Questions:**
- Which source is primary?
- How do you resolve when functions contradict?
- What's the hierarchy?
**Interventions:** Source hierarchy establishment. Conflict resolution—decide which source's functions take precedence. May need to drop or modify some functions.

### State SYN7: Synthesis Ready
**Symptoms:** All functions mapped to new forms. Context supports the functions. Emotional experience aligned. If combining sources, conflicts resolved.
**Key Questions:**
- Is this ready to draft?
- What gaps remain?
- Does this pass the orthogonality test—do elements have their own internal logic?
**Interventions:** Validation checklist. Hand-off to outline-collaborator or drafting skill.

## The Synthesis Process

1. **Load DNA Document(s)** - What are we synthesizing from?
2. **Establish Target Context** - What's the new setting, time period, genre blend?
3. **Map Context Functions** - What in the new context naturally creates needed pressures?
4. **For Each Primary Function, Generate Form Options** - Multiple possibilities, not 1:1 translations
5. **Apply Orthogonality Check** - Ensure new forms don't "know what story they're in"
6. **Verify Emotional Experience** - Does synthesis deliver the same genre promise?
7. **Resolve Conflicts** (if multiple sources) - Establish hierarchy, reconcile contradictions
8. **Generate Synthesis Document** - Mapping from functions to new forms
9. **Validate Completeness** - Ready for drafting?

## The Orthogonality Principle

From cliche-transcendence: "Does it know what story it's in?"

Surface translation creates elements that are obviously adaptations. The audience immediately sees "Oh, this is Hamlet but in space." The elements exist BECAUSE of the source work.

Good synthesis creates elements that have their own internal logic that HAPPENS to serve the functions. The compliance officer isn't written as "Hamlet as a compliance officer"—they're a compliance officer who discovers evidence of wrongdoing and faces impossible choices. Their situation serves the same functions through its own logic.

### The Orthogonality Test

For each adapted element, ask:

1. **Does it exist for its own reasons?** Not "because the original had X"
2. **Would it make sense to someone who doesn't know the source?** It should feel natural in its context
3. **Does it have its own goals/logic/history?** Not "obviously here to serve the adaptation"
4. **Could you tell this story without ever mentioning the source?** The DNA is internal, not surface

### Example: Surface vs. Orthogonal

**Surface translation (fails orthogonality):**
- "Space Prince Hamlet of the Galactic Empire must avenge his father the Emperor"
- Obviously Hamlet. The character exists because Hamlet exists.
- Every element "knows what story it's in"

**Orthogonal synthesis (passes):**
- "A compliance officer at a pharmaceutical company discovers their mentor orchestrated a cover-up of dangerous side effects. They have evidence, but it came through legally questionable means. Speaking up destroys everything. Staying silent means more people die."
- Not obviously Hamlet. The character exists in their own world with their own logic.
- Serves the same functions: proximity to power, privileged information, moral paralysis, innocent victims

## Tone and Voice Synthesis

When the extraction includes tone/voice analysis, synthesis must address how tone translates:

### Tone Mapping Questions

1. **Is the tone essential or characteristic?**
   - Bebop's melancholy cool is characteristic—another bounty hunter show could be quippy
   - Horror's dread is essential—remove it and it's not horror

2. **What creates the tone in the new context?**
   - If original uses irony to mask pain, what in the new context creates that defense mecha