6. Preserve useful stepping stones and return the next question

For a stepping-stone claim, name the option or region it could open, the enabling transition and the evidence that supports that connection. Distinguish a candidate stepping stone from one whose retention is already justified under an applicable policy. A data-access inquiry can be a candidate stepping stone toward representative evaluation; it does not itself demonstrate capability or authorize use of the data.

If a generation archive is useful, use C.18 with this named generator, its operators, descriptors, source/lineage and retention basis. A retained archive can preserve exploration value beyond the current front. Front membership needs its own comparator and admissibility; neither archive nor front is a recommendation or permission.

Claim a changed possibility space only when it matters and the earlier and candidate generation conditions are recoverable. A newly visited region inside the same admissible space is not an expansion. If a new access relation, operator or building block makes a formerly unavailable region reachable, state that exact change and its evidence. C.18 and the direct causal owner govern any stronger claim; this Method does not infer it from novelty.

When choosing which opportunity or question to consider next, declare the receiving policy: relevant value, burden, delay, protected conditions and uncertainty. A partial comparison can be enough. An actual C.19 pool policy is used only when that pool and policy exist; there is no default explore/exploit setting.

Return the useful opportunity and the unresolved distinction that limits it. Where the recipient needs a next inquiry question, state what its plausible answers could change. Before recommending a probe or request, compare its attainable contribution with its full burden and alternatives through C.11.DUA and A.15.9. A selected probe retains its feasibility, exposure, authority, and execution conditions; an inactive probe creates no request or omission record.