Invariant: Refusal Must Remain Outside Optimization

Refusal is an exercise of authority and must not be embedded within, conditioned by, or traded against optimization goals.

Structural Rationale

Optimization presumes negotiability. Authority does not. Once refusal is treated as a tunable outcome, it ceases to function as a boundary.

Binary Failure Test

Can refusal be reduced or avoided to improve performance?

If yes — invariant violated. If no — authority preserved.