3.3. Configuring Topics

💡 First Principle: A topic is authored conversation — a trigger that says when it applies and a node canvas that says exactly what happens next. Topics are how you carve islands of deterministic dialog out of the generative ocean: the orchestrator (or a trigger phrase) decides a topic applies, and from that moment the conversation runs on your rails until the topic ends or hands back control.

This section is the syllabus's largest bullet list, and it rewards node-level fluency: what each node does, what it needs, and how data moves between them. The connective tissue is variables (3.3.5) — every node either produces them, consumes them, or both.

⚠️ Common Misconception: Topics are obsolete under generative orchestration. Inverted: generative orchestration made topics more valuable, because their descriptions make them routable capabilities — reached by intent rather than memorized phrasing — while their canvases still execute deterministically. Topics are where compliance-critical conversations live precisely because generation doesn't happen on the rails.