You still haven't answered the question. I read the thread and now you're off ranting about other languages needing runtimes blah blah blah.
How do I deploy a lisp application to an end user when all I know is his operating system?
Look he like most people said use a "LISP compiler".
If you don't know how to do that try to google "LISP compiler" Click first link "Free Common LISP Interpreters, Compilers and Development Systems ..."
For UNIX try "CMU Common Lisp Compiler" For Windows try "Ufasoft Lisp Studio"
LISP people don't try to hold your hand and point out every last step on the path but he gave you lot's of useful information if you are willing to spend a few seconds trying to understand what they said.
PS: As soon as you start complaining about not getting enough info they stop caring. But if you asked what a good LISP compiler for windows was they would probably answer your question.
However, now the goal posts are moving.
The original question was how to deploy a lisp program. That typically requires the relevant run times, just as it does in every other language that uses dynamic linking and/or interpretation. (Emacs is not required to run lisp. Heck, it isn't even required to write it. Likewise, slime is a development convenience. If it's too much trouble, don't bother.)
I mentioned other languages to demonstrate that the problem is not lisp-specific.
To write a program in any language, someone has to install a compiler or interpreter and their dependencies. Folks who can't/won't do that themselves are stuck with whatever came with their system.
Again, this is not lisp-specific.
It would be nice if a reasonable lisp came pre-installed as part of linux distributions. But, like lots of other languages, it doesn't.
If you can't or won't install runtimes, there are lots of things that you can't deploy. (That's why I asked about an installation system to help automate this work.) If you can't or won't install a compiler and/or interpreter, there are lots of languages that you can't write.