Surfaces the underlying conflict that sustains the constraint. Identifies the assumptions that make the conflict feel irresolvable, then challenges those assumptions to find a direction for change.
Every constraint persists because of an underlying conflict — two things the agent believes they need that appear to be mutually exclusive. The EC makes that conflict explicit, identifies the hidden assumptions that sustain it, and finds the assumption that can be challenged to break the conflict.
The EC has five elements:
Use plain language. Do NOT draw a formal diagram unless the agent asks for one. Walk through it conversationally:
"Here's the conflict I see. You want [A]. To get there, you need [B], which means you have to [D]. But you also need [C], which means you have to [D']. And [D] and [D'] feel like they can't coexist because you're assuming [assumption]. But what if that assumption isn't true? What if [challenged assumption]?"
The injection from the EC becomes the hypothesis for the Future Reality Tree. Move to FRT. Do NOT jump to execution.