Structure-first crack (agent, 371/371 byte-exact, independently re-verified by match_one before
gating). Levers were type- and placement-driven rather than pins: u8 locals produce the andi masks
(a QImode result sends the arithmetic arms through force_to_mode while the comparison keeps its
zero_extend); cross-BB placement defeats combine (LOG_LINKS are per-BB); a DUPLICATED store keeps
the following re-read in a fresh EBB so it stays a real lbu; and a deliberately-unused u8 dum[8]
because the target's .frame says vars=8 with no spill in the body — the original had a dead local.
Only non-call-spanning pins used, so the body is x137-safe (§44).
Family: 371 ins x 138 = 51,198 templatable ins — the single largest item on the board.
func_8016706C func_80131A34 func_80161A90 func_801549F8 func_8014C4AC — each match_one-verified
by me before gating (R14), then whole-binary byte-gated. func_8014C4AC is the standout: the agent
resolved its 'conflicting types' with the §37/§124 ASM-LABEL ALIAS (s32 aF8014C4AC(...) __asm__
("func_8014C4AC")) instead of a header edit — exactly the alternative to the fleet-sed that failed
earlier today. 9 remain blocked on declaration conflicts.
Chartered as a diagnostic ('classify; build a fix only if >=3 share a class'). Result: no cheap
shared class, so nothing was scaled — the correct outcome for the charter.
- 30 x138 family heads carry a stored draft = 182,850 templatable ins (plan estimated ~12 drafts)
- only 7 of 30 still verify; 23 have DECAYED (LENGTH-DRIFT/SIZE-MISMATCH/WIDTH/ADDRESSING)
=> a stored draft's recorded closeness is NOT a current fact (extends A10/T1a)
- of the 7: 1 banked clean (func_801754A8, 37 ins x138); 6 hit "conflicting types", and
gate_stage's ladder recovered 0/6 -> 1 is the §30#2 return-widen class, 5 are PARAMETER
conflicts (the Phase-16 def-side loose-typing wall)
- the §30#2 attempt REVERTED (R14): the draft's note claimed no split .c carries its own decl —
the gate named two that do; a sed over all of them touched 2,046 files and still was not green.
That is the 'bulk header edits BREAK builds' pattern; a fleet-wide decl reconcile needs a gated
TOOL, not a sed. Exemplar re-verified d19c9580 after revert.
The stored backlog draft was 2 mismatches from perfect (88/88, DELAY-SLOT) for one reason its own
notes had already recorded: the definition must return VOID, not the canonical s32. An s32 return
keeps $v0 live-out at the epilogue, so dbr refuses to steal the loop-top addiu $v0,$zero,0x1858
into the loop-back bne delay slot -> nop + a branch target one insn early. void -> steal -> MATCH.
This is the one place §3a-1's 'void->s32 is byte-neutral' claim is FALSE (S27 finding, now banked).
Applied with the draft's own //@EDIT directive: 5 in-TU 'extern s32 func_8016EC0C' decls flipped
to void (every call site already casts the fn pointer, so no caller changes). ov_SC01_077
d19c9580 BYTE-IDENTICAL. Family: 88 ins × 138 = 12,144 templatable ins; sweep next.
- head func_8014032C 137/137 (25,071 ins, --span-rel §132b) + jr tier 46 members incl.
func_8017BEBC 13/13 (12,376), func_8015A3C8 6/6, func_8015AE2C 4/4, func_8017A4AC 4/4,
func_8013FFD8 9/10 + non-jr pass 3.
- MY ROUTING ERROR (recorded): pass 1 ran all 28 families through jtbl_family_bank; 13 are NOT
jr functions, so they carve-failed by construction — §123's own law ('propagate a family with
the tool its TIER needs'), which I had quoted in the task description. Re-routed via
family_sweep --hseq: 3 banked / 38 failed => that residue is the genuine stage-but-DIFF class.
- MEASURED: 13 of 29 zero-crack families have remaining members ONLY in the 4 P27-onboarded SC07
overlays (18,856 ins) — not a stub-count gap; they simply missed every sweep that predates them.
- R22 clean-fleet 140/140. Fleet 93.38% fn / 90.0% instr / 82.4% distinct; dedup 1905/0.
Phase arc: +1.38pp fn / +2.5pp instr / +4.4pp distinct.
S1's head family (0x8014032C, 183 ins ×137 = 25,071 templatable ins) gate-failed on its probe
sibling. Diagnosis (the §132 ladder, one build): the object emits FOUR tables — BOTH functions in
it are multi-switch (8+5 entries each) — while the carve derived THREE starts.
The missing start belongs to the ALREADY-MATCHED owner func_8013FFD8, and neither oracle can see
it: its stub .s is pruned by extract, and its second table abuts its first with NO pad (8 entries
= 32 B = 0 mod 8, so `.align 3` emits nothing) — precisely the honest limit §132's payload
zero-word recovery documents. Note the true pads [0,0,4,0] are exactly what natural alignment
produces; the build breaks only because a SHORT spec gets written.
Fix: thread the documented `--span-tables` escape through the sweep as `--span-rel` — offsets
relative to the FIRST NEW table, which func_jtbls reads from the sibling's own .s. Byte-verified
family-invariant before use (identical relative offsets on 3 sampled siblings; same code, same
entry counts, only the base moves). Empty by default => every other family untouched.
Also clears my own §132a guard of suspicion (R14): the --like transfer was inert here regardless
(exemplar subseg `ov_SC01_077` vs sibling `_jr_8013FFD8` — roles never matched).
Drew's call (2026-08-01, P5d in-phase re-plan): gate 2 was reached and deliberately NOT taken —
closing now would strand roadmap-v2 bucket W3 (the overlay family mass) with no owner phase
(P31 = scope-complete/main/resident, P32 = walls/behemoths).
Order derived from the S29 frontier regen, ranked by TEMPLATABLE weight:
S1 zero-crack propagation (29 families / 67,470 ins, ~0 agent tokens)
S2 the LAST two reach-138 fresh cracks (func_80176734 51,198 + func_8016EC0C 12,144)
S3 close=0 stored drafts as a DIAGNOSTIC pass (not a blind re-sweep)
S4 PINS bounded wave (14 fns / 44,279 ins)
S5 the x10-133 mid-multiplicity families (142,527 ins)
Excluded: the 2 GIANT walls (P32), the x2-9 mass, the x1 singleton residue.
THE PRICING FINDING (R14/R35): worklist.md ranks by h_exact reach, so a per-location PURE family
is priced x1 — under-pricing the frontier head by up to 138x. Byte-proof: S29's pair was priced
272 and 198 ins and delivered 37,536 + 27,324. func_80176734 (the single largest item on the
board) sits at rank ~50 in worklist.md. Rank family work by .run/family_hseq.json.
THE STRUCTURAL SIGNAL: after S2 the x138 era ENDS (last two crackable fleet-wide families);
everything after is <=133 members and mostly <=9. That cost-per-point rise, not a session count,
is P30's honest ROI floor and T5's trigger.
- tools-health OK: sigs regenerated post-bank; corpus(+resident) 0 PHANTOM/0 TRUNCATED; cdecl;
audit-binaries 140/140 citizens (R36); report(lint+dedup) 1905/0; cookbook-index 357 sections.
- Fresh overlay frontier at HEAD: 93.6% fn / 90.1% instr / 82.5% distinct; unmatched 22,550
instances / 1,298,980 ins / 15,029 distinct classes -> 2,414 families + 3,767 singletons
(472 substantial / 543,901 templatable ins; 29 zero-crack).
- T1 ticked with its honest scope: delivered as T1a (+18 banked, 16% vs the S16 39% prior which did
NOT generalize); the ~90 integration-decayed drafts route to T3 redraft lanes (A10).
- T3 ticked with a PER-LANE verdict: Lane B (top-mass) pays and is not exhausted; Lane C (x2-reach
cached tail) is at the floor (1.33M tokens -> 12 banks -> +0.00pp). The ROI floor is a lane
property, not a phase property.
- 2 × 138 = 276 function-instances banked (exemplar + 137 siblings each); the -O0 cluster is now
COMPLETE fleet-wide (these were the last open stubs in every overlay's _o0* region)
- §132a: --like matches by subseg ROLE NAME; ov_SC07_010 shares the exemplar's _o0 role (the only
other overlay so named — the other 136 are _o0c, whose role never matched, which is the only
reason the sweep worked at all). Six derived starts for three emitted tables; guard shipped.
- R22 clean-fleet 140/140. Fleet 93.33% fn-count / 89.6% instr / 81.6% distinct (+260 unique fns);
dedup 1905/0; 0 NON_MATCHING (G4). Phase arc: 92.00->93.33 / 87.5->89.6 / 78.0->81.6.
The one sibling both sweeps failed on. `--like <exemplar>` transfers the exemplar span's table
STRUCTURE, and jtbl_carve matches donor to recipient by the subseg's ROLE NAME. ov_SC07_010's
-O0 region is named `_o0` — the same role as ov_SC01_077's, and the ONLY other overlay so named
(the other 136 are `_o0c`, whose role never matched, which is the only reason the sweep worked).
The exemplar had just banked 2 more owners than the sibling has, so the transfer unioned its
rebased 4 offsets with the sibling's real 2 + the new table: SIX starts for THREE emitted tables
-> jtbl_rodata_pads refused ("consumed 3 rodata .align(s) but 6 pad spec(s)").
Guard (tools/jtbl_family_bank.py like_arg): suppress --like when the sibling already carries a
committed `tables=` for the target subseg — its own record is authoritative, and jtbl_carve's new
payload zero-word recovery covers the incomplete-record case that --like used to paper over.
Derived via jtbl_carve.func_subseg, the same derivation the carve itself uses (R33); never blocks
a bank (any failure falls back to the old behaviour). Inert for all 136 siblings already banked;
fixes exactly the broken one. Both fns now bank on ov_SC07_010 => 137/137 siblings each.
The 1-sibling probe (R37) gate-failed: ov_SC01_000's object emitted only func_8013C0F8 +
func_8013C414 tables, because BD74's body never compiled — `E_13BD74' undeclared. The draft
declared E_13BD74/P_13BD74 at FILE scope and extract_unit/remap_hseq carry only the BODY, so
the types stay behind in the exemplar. Same §94 class that held func_8013C08C at 0/137 earlier
this phase; fix is §100 (block-scope types travel with the body, byte-neutral — a type emits no
code). Exemplar re-gated: ov_SC01_077 d19c9580 BYTE-IDENTICAL. B83C's draft was already
draft-local. Named in one command by the §132 ladder.
S28 ledgered `JR-PAIR-IN-ONE-O0-OBJECT` (two jr fns matched in one -O0 object => a clean
build that cannot link: `undefined reference to $L105` + `func_8013C938`) with §81 step 1
(isolate one into its own code subseg) as the untested escape. BOTH the class and the escape
are REFUTED — no isolation, no compiler wall, both fns banked from a genuinely clean fleet.
The 4th consecutive "structural wall" to resolve to our own tooling (§124/§125/§126/§131).
- DEFECT 1 (tools/jtbl_carve.py): ov_SC01_077_o0's carve at 0xb01a4 predates the §8e
`tables=` persistence and is a MERGED DOUBLE (func_8013C0F8 $L75 + func_8013C414 $L105);
the 2nd owner is MATCHED so extract pruned the stub .s naming its table. The single-table-
predecessor inference derived 3 starts where the object emits 4 tables -> JTBL_PADS 0,4,4
-> jtbl_rodata_pads refused mid-stream, correctly. FIX: R32 coverage assertion + payload
recovery at the single choke point (spec_from_starts) — every zero word inside a span is an
original `.align 3` pad (the tool's own axiom), so the word after it STARTS a table;
recovered starts are logged. No-op where structure is known (the 134 sibling _o0c spans
carry tables=+0x0,+0x70). Honest limit: tight (0-pad) boundaries stay unrecoverable but
fail LOUD via the filter's count guard — never silent.
- DEFECT 2 (Makefile): no .DELETE_ON_ERROR, so `as` (a pipeline consumer) left a TRUNCATED .o
on disk — 12 of 16 T func_, undefined $L57/$L59/$L63/$L75/$L76 — newer than its .c, and the
NEXT build linked the corpse. That IS the S28 link error, one build downstream of a loud,
correct compile error. Negative-control-proven on a scratch invocation.
- BANKED: func_8013B83C (272 ins) + func_8013BD74 (198 ins) in ov_SC01_077 (d19c9580).
Byte proof: 4 tables 0x801D8254/828C/82FC/836C (13/27/27/27 entries, each zero-pad
separated); span 0xb00fc..0xb0280 = 388 B = 52+4+108+4+108+4+108 exactly; spec 0,4,4,4.
- R22 clean-fleet (make clean + extract-all + check-all): 140 passed, 0 failed of 140.
The incremental result was NOT trusted (§130). Fleet 93.25% fn-count / 89.2% instr /
80.5% distinct; dedup 1905/0; 0 NON_MATCHING (G4).
- cookbook §132 + index (356 sections): the mechanism, the fingerprint (an undefined $L<n> in
a LINK error is a truncated object, never codegen), the 30-second standalone-TU ladder that
named the 4th table owner before any build, and the transferable rule — a fail-loud guard is
only as trustworthy as the artifact hygiene around it.
SS131: `sltiu N` is ground truth in BOTH directions. jtbl_range already EXTENDS a span the
dlabel cut short and WARNS when a span is shorter than the bound, but had no clamp for a
span too LONG for a NON-ZERO reason — and the trailing trim only removes ZERO words, so
ordinary data that spimdisasm ran into the dlabel slipped through and under-filled the piece.
Records the reusable FINGERPRINT of an under-fill, because it does not look like codegen:
hundreds of 1-byte diffs spread over most of the overlay, ~95% at byte 0 (mod 4) = the low
byte of a 16-bit immediate, every one changing by exactly -4. Bucket differing bytes by
offset%4 and decode a few words; uniform small deltas in the immediate field mean LAYOUT,
not codegen. (Measured: 812 of 853 at pos 0 mod 4, all -4.)
The clamp's authorization matches the extension path exactly: unambiguous sltiu bound only,
and REFUSE LOUDLY if any surplus word is a plausible code address.
This was the single instrument failure that survived SS125's retraction round — the one case
where "the tool is broken" was actually true. Now fixed, with the 710-ins behemoth banked.
The last surviving "compiler wall" of the session turned out to be an off-by-one-word
carve. Chain, all byte-grounded:
SYMPTOM jtbl_carve diverges on ov_SC06_018 after a BYTE-NEUTRAL jr_isolate_all.
SHAPE image -3 bytes; 853 differing bytes in 699 scattered runs; **812 at byte 0 of a
word** = the low byte of a 16-bit immediate, every sampled one changing by
exactly -4. Not a shift, not a pad: hundreds of `%lo` operands 4 bytes low.
CAUSE func_80191C50's own `sltiu $v0,$v1,0xC` names 12 entries; the emitted .rodata
holds 12 words; the carve reserved 13. The 13th word (0x3038200A) is ordinary
NON-ZERO data that spimdisasm ran into the dlabel span (the next dlabel sits
past it). Reserve 13 / supply 12 => the .rodata piece UNDER-FILLS by one word
=> every later symbol slides down 4 bytes.
WHY MISSED The trailing-trim's axiom is "0x00000000 cannot be a jump target", so it only
trims ZERO words. This surplus is non-zero, so nothing trimmed. The tool already
treats `sltiu` as ground truth - it EXTENDS a table spimdisasm cut in half, and
it WARNS when a span is too short - but had no clamp for a span too LONG.
FIX: an over-span clamp with the SAME authorization as the existing extension logic -
only when the `sltiu` bound is UNAMBIGUOUS (one bound; a multi-switch fn cannot say which
table owns which), and only when the surplus words are NOT plausible code addresses. If any
surplus word looks like a real entry it REFUSES LOUDLY rather than silently dropping one.
jtbl_carve: jtbl_801D3BA4: clamped 1 trailing NON-ZERO word(s) - func_80191C50's own
`sltiu 12` names 12 entries and the surplus is not code
Then: carve BYTE-IDENTICAL, draft spliced, **func_80191C50 (710 ins) BANKED**.
R22 CLEAN-FLEET: extract-all 139/139 (+main); check-all 140 passed, 0 failed of 140.
Retires the JTBL-CARVE-BREAKS-BYTES ledger class: the one instrument failure that survived
this morning's retraction round was REAL, and is now a named bug with a fix - not a wall.
Fleet 93.25% fn-count / 89.2% instr / 80.5% distinct; R22 140/140 (thirteen runs).
Nothing running, tree clean, lock FREE.
Records for the fresh session: the ordered resume list (T1 + T3 need /effort ultracode and a
WAIT for the toggle; #9 and T5 need Max), the JR-PAIR-IN-ONE-O0-OBJECT wall with its untested
SS81-step-1 escape, and the S28 ROI evidence that a 15-target wave bought 12 banks and +0.00pp
headline — so waves are only worth resuming against HIGH-REACH targets.
Flags the milestone reality plainly rather than leaving it for T5 to discover: 89.2% instr
against a >=95% bar, with the remaining volume in main + the 39 type-1 modules (P31 scope).
P30 realistically closes on the milestone's LEDGER branch, which is an explicit either/or in
the approved milestone — Drew's call, deliberately.
Adds the S28 HONESTY LEDGER: five wrong calls this session, each caught by an oracle, none
committed. The standing consequence is stated once, at the top of the handoff: only a full
clean-fleet R22 counts, and a tool's exit status is never the oracle.
Also removes a duplicated results section left by my own earlier checkpoint edit.
The last 133 members of the -O0 cluster's sweep residue, banked. R22 CLEAN-FLEET:
extract-all 139/139 (+main); check-all 140 passed, 0 failed of 140.
METHOD NOTE, because it is the difference from the two failures before it: my hypothesis
(the 5-vs-133 split tracks which -O0 file the member lives in) was cleanly REFUTED —
ov_SC07_006/007/011 were sub-split by me TODAY into _o0c and banked anyway. Instead of
forming a fourth theory I staged ONE member and compiled it. Two blockers, each only
visible after the previous was cleared:
1. `conflicting types for S_8013BC7C` — the templated body carried a typedef TEXTUALLY
IDENTICAL to one in engine_types.h, and gcc-2.7.2 (C89) rejects even an identical
typedef redefinition. The exemplar TU includes only common.h; the new _o0c files pull
engine_types.h via engine_core.h. (harvest_verify already strips provided typedefs at
gate time via cdecl.strip_provided_typedefs, so this half was self-solving.)
2. `previous declaration of func_8013BC7C` — the SIBLING's own TU declares the templated
function divergently: SS57's self-decl class, lever = --normalize-self-decls.
One flag. 133 staged / 133 BANKED / 0 failed.
Running total for today's follow-ups: func_8013C08C 137/137 + this 133 = 270 members banked,
against one genuine integration wall (JR-PAIR-IN-ONE-O0-OBJECT). Every blocker in all three
was a DECLARATION-ENVIRONMENT problem, and none was visible without compiling and reading
the output — three wrong guesses where I theorised, zero where I read first.
I reported func_8013B83C + func_8013BD74 as "BOTH BANKED - BYTE-IDENTICAL". That was
WRONG. My in-loop gate ran `make extract && make build` without `make clean`, and it gave
a FALSE PASS. The clean rebuild does not link at all:
ov_SC01_077_o0.c:(.text+0x10f8): undefined reference to `$L105'
ov_SC01_077_jr_801588CC.o: undefined reference to `func_8013C938'
- the first is a local label from the C-emitted jump table;
- the second is a PREVIOUSLY-MATCHED cluster fn going undefined (the incremental build
reused objects that still satisfied it).
Reverted; R22 140/140; nothing lost, nothing was committed.
SS42b named the stale-object trap for a FALSE FAIL. This is its MIRROR: a FALSE PASS, on a
change that is not even linkable — false in the most convincing direction possible, a green
SHA. Anything touching config/ (carve, resegment, split) must be gated by a full
clean-fleet R22 before it is BELIEVED, let alone reported.
THREE WRONG CLASSIFICATIONS ON THIS PAIR, all corrected in the ledger:
CC1-FAIL-UNREAD -> it has no compile error at all
JTBL-PAD-SPEC-DRIFT -> I had carved ONE fn of a TWO-table span; carving both gives
pad spec [0,4,4] and the filter is satisfied
"both banked" -> the false pass above
Real class: JR-PAIR-IN-ONE-O0-OBJECT. Both bodies ARE byte-correct (match_one --o0 and
rtu_match --o0 both MATCH, 272 / 198 ins); the blocker is integrating TWO jr fns into ONE
-O0 object. Untested escape: SS81 step 1, isolate one into its own code subseg so each
object owns exactly one table.
Also records the diagnostic ladder that found it: diff the two BINARIES and bucket each
differing byte against the function's own vram range. 3,749 of 3,791 diffs were OUTSIDE the
function, first diff near the overlay START, image 57 bytes LONGER - the SS8 signature of
.rodata floating to the front. That fingerprint separates a codegen residual from a layout
effect in one build, and it is what finally redirected three wrong guesses.
SS129a: post-carve, rtu_match/match_one COUNT THE JUMP TABLE AS INSTRUCTIONS. For
func_8013BD74 it reported `mine=198, target=226, 206 mismatched` — and 226-198=28 is
exactly the table's entry count. A draft that verified cleanly BEFORE the carve reads as a
total mismatch AFTER it, and the number looks like deep codegen trouble. SS81 says a jr fn's
match_one MATCH is not a bank; SS129a says its post-carve DIFF is not a diff either. Let the
whole-binary gate arbitrate.
SS129b: NEVER commit a carve whose owner is still a stub. harvest_verify refuses a dirty
tree (SS97) and the carve dirties config/, so committing the carve to get a clean tree is
tempting — and it STRANDS the carve. jr_inventory refused instantly (R32: "carve ownership
is not 1:1 ... UNOWNED 0x801d828c"), blocking every later jr operation on that overlay.
Reverted; R22 140/140. The route for a jr fn is the INTEGRATED jtbl_family_bank (carve ->
extract -> remap -> gate per sibling in ONE uncommitted transaction). The SS81 hand-chain is
for diagnosis; as a banking path its two constraints contradict each other.
Both were mine, both caught by oracles before any lasting damage, both now documented.
Ledger: JTBL-PAD-SPEC-DRIFT (func_8013BD74, with the exact SS8e error) and CC1-FAIL-UNREAD
(func_8013B83C — the diagnostic is genuinely unread; say so rather than guess).
Fleet 93.21% fn-count / 89.1% instr / 80.4% distinct.
The SS81 chain's step 2, landed on its own so the bank can build on it: harvest_verify
refuses to run on a dirty tree (SS97 gate hygiene), and the carve necessarily dirties
config/. Carve applied -> byte-identical -> R22 140/140 -> committed. The draft bank
follows as its own step.
SS94 said treat a family 0/N as a TYPE-CARRY failure until proven otherwise. It was one.
MECHANISM (read from the source, not inferred - SS125 rule 1): E_13C08C was a MULTI-LINE
typedef at FILE scope. extract_unit's preceding-decl backscan walks back over
extern/comment/blank/typedef lines, but a multi-line typedef presents its CLOSING line
(`} E_13C08C;`) first, which matches none of those prefixes. The scan stopped there, so every
templated sibling received the body WITHOUT its type and all 137 failed to compile.
FIX = SS100 (prefer the DRAFT-LOCAL form): a type only one function uses belongs in its BODY,
where it is part of the unit by construction. Byte-neutral (a type declaration emits no code),
gated on ov_SC01_077 before and after.
family_sweep --hseq --only 0x8013c08c --band all -j8 -> 137 BANKED / 0 failed
R22 CLEAN-FLEET: extract-all 139/139 (+main); check-all 140 passed, 0 failed of 140
WHY THE DIAGNOSIS WAS REDONE FROM SCRATCH (R35): the first pass concluded "the type is not
defined anywhere" - because grep was SILENTLY SKIPPING the file (SS128, the raw-NUL defect fixed
at commit:1284). That conclusion pointed the same direction by luck, but it came from a broken
instrument and none of it was trustworthy. With grep working, the typedef was visible at
ov_SC01_077_o0.c:137 immediately.
A FRESH TRAP FOUND WHILE FIXING IT: my explanatory comment contained a literal `}`, and
extract_unit's forward brace-scan does NOT strip comments - it decremented depth and TRUNCATED
the extracted unit. Caught only because I verified the unit was complete instead of assuming
the edit worked. Comment reworded to contain no brace characters, with an in-place note saying
why. That hazard is now also documented in the body itself for the next reader.
FOUND BY ACCIDENT, WHICH IS THE POINT. `grep -rn func_8013C08C src/` returned NOTHING for
a function that is defined right there. The file held a RAW NUL byte inside a character
literal — the source read `== '<NUL>'` where it should read `== '\0'`. It COMPILES (the
fleet was byte-identical), so no byte-gate ever objected. But file(1) classifies such a
file as `data`, and **grep treats a file containing NUL as BINARY and reports nothing,
silently**. The whole file therefore vanished from every grep-based audit and every hand
search. I burned real time chasing a phantom missing function before `file` gave it away.
SCOPE, measured: 137 files — every `_o0c`/`_o0e` region created in THIS session. The
templated bodies carried the NUL fleet-wide, so I propagated the defect today. All fixed
(`'<NUL>'` -> `'\0'`); R22 CLEAN-FLEET 140 passed, 0 failed of 140 => byte-neutral.
NEW ORACLE: tools/audit_text_sources.py + `make audit-text-sources`, wired into
tools-health, coverage-asserting over all 3,887 tracked .c/.h files (R32). This is the
SAME silent-skip family as SS124 (a scanner that cannot see something reports it is not
there) and SS126a (a bare except swallowing a coverage assertion) — but one layer LOWER,
in the tool everyone reaches for first. The byte-gate is structurally blind to it (R34):
the bytes are correct, so it has nothing to say. It needs its own oracle.
MY OWN ERROR, RECORDED: proving the new guard fires, I injected a NUL into the REAL tracked
file and restored it through nested shell escaping. The restore left `'\\0'` — an escaped
backslash, i.e. a multi-character constant, NOT a NUL — a genuine semantic change. R22 caught
it (139/140) in one cycle, before any commit; repaired to `'\0'` (10465 -> 10466 bytes) and
re-verified 140/140. The lesson is not "be careful": a negative control must corrupt a SCRATCH
COPY under .run/, never the tracked file it is testing. Testing a guard must not risk
introducing the defect the guard exists to catch.
Drew T