[REALITY CONDITION REPORT – CLASSIFICATION: COG-HZ]
The Department has logged a steady uptick in misremembered signage across stabilized urban centers.
Examples include:
Exit signs reading “Wait” instead of “Exit”
Storefronts called “Always Been” or “The Familiar Place”
Street signs that swap letters after you’ve passed them
Bathroom placards labeled “Return When Ready”
These signs are not malfunctioning. The signage itself is structurally consistent and unaffected.
The change is in your perception. You are seeing what you think is there, not what is there.
This phenomenon is classified as a COG-HZ (Cognitohazardous Entity) event. It is not dangerous unless:
You follow a sign into a room that doesn't exist
You insist that others are “reading it wrong”
You begin editing signs manually to match memory
To mitigate:
Do not read signs twice in a row
Do not photograph signage for later comparison
If lost, follow someone who looks confident (not someone familiar)
Your memory is not failing. It is simply interacting with a narrative reflective surface.
[IF THE SIGN FEELS PERSONAL, WALK AWAY.]
Classification:
COG-HZ – Cognitohazardous Entity
The signage is not anomalous. Your perception is. Exposure may cause temporary confidence loss, spatial looping, or false familiarity.