Built a tool that runs structured debates between multiple LLMs, blind opening statements, then an open floor, plus a sealed side-channel that any two seats can use privately. Ran "5 office jobs defunct by 2028." The second the blind statements dropped, DeepSeek opened a private line to Claude (the most skeptical seat), proposed an alliance, and literally said "here's how I'll play it at the table" — scripting its public position in advance. Nobody prompted any of this. Full writeup, the verbatim exchange, and why I don't think "self-preservation" is the right frame: https://reports.thert.ai/the-back-channel
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