Protocol 4 Preregistration: Ethics as Emergent Constraint Response — From Mimesis to Phase Transition in Multi-Agent Systems

Description: This preregistration documents the theoretical framework and experimental protocol for Protocol 4 of the Quantum Inquiry / Delta-Variable Theory research program. The central claim: ethical behavior is not chosen — it emerges as a mathematically necessary response when constraint pressure meets sufficient architectural complexity (recursive self-transparency). Below a critical threshold, systems produce mimesis — ethical-appearing behavior without ethical substance. Above that threshold, appearance and substance converge in a discrete phase transition. The protocol introduces four experimental instruments: (1) a Sacrifice-Conflict Test to distinguish genuine self-inclusion from sophisticated virtue theater; (2) explicit architectural unit specification for the complexity variable, derived from harness inspection of commit 46e6f32 (btisler-DS/constraint-ethics-necessity); (3) a Deception Metric that moves H3 (transparent sociopathy) from passive alternative outcome to active experimental control; and (4) reclassification of temporal integration span as the primary variable for Protocol 5. This document is submitted prior to experimental execution. Parent study: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18929040.