diff --git a/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.c b/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.c
index 0445841..c6fdd28 100644
--- a/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.c
+++ b/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.c
@@ -7233,11 +7233,20 @@ el_val_t engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth) {
 
     /* ── TIER MIGRATION: upgrade tier based on activation_count ─────────
      * 0–4 → Working, 5–19 → Episodic, 20–49 → Semantic, 50+ → Procedural.
-     * Only upgrades; never downgrades. */
+     * Only upgrades; never downgrades.
+     *
+     * InternalStateEvent nodes are excluded from tier migration (2026-06-05
+     * self-review): ISEs are ephemeral and get activated by curiosity_scan
+     * substring matches. Without this guard they accumulate 50+ activations
+     * and reach Procedural tier (720h decay), permanently occupying WM slots
+     * and crowding out Knowledge/Memory nodes. ISEs should decay quickly on
+     * their Working-tier 48h schedule regardless of how often they're hit. */
     {
         const char* ddir = engram_data_dir();
         for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
             EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
+            /* Skip ISEs — tier migration does not apply to ephemeral state events. */
+            if (n->node_type && strcmp(n->node_type, "InternalStateEvent") == 0) continue;
             const char* target_tier = NULL;
             int64_t ac = n->activation_count;
             if      (ac >= 50) target_tier = "Procedural";
@@ -8948,6 +8957,65 @@ el_val_t engram_wm_avg_weight(void) {
     return el_from_float(avg);
 }
 
+/* engram_wm_top_json — return top N working-memory nodes (by wm weight) as a
+ * compact JSON array for ISE heartbeat reporting.
+ *
+ * Each element: {"label":"...","node_type":"...","tier":"...","wm":0.42}
+ *
+ * Purpose: the heartbeat ISE reports wm_active (count) and wm_avg_weight but
+ * gives zero visibility into WM *composition* — which types/tiers are active.
+ * After long uptime every WM slot is in steady-state decay+re-promotion so
+ * wm_promotion ISEs never fire (they only fire on 0→>0.1 transitions).
+ * This function fills the observability gap by snapshotting the current top-N
+ * WM nodes on every heartbeat. Inserted 2026-06-05 self-review. */
+el_val_t engram_wm_top_json(el_val_t n_v) {
+    int64_t top_n = (int64_t)n_v;
+    if (top_n <= 0) top_n = 10;
+    if (top_n > 50) top_n = 50;
+    EngramStore* g = engram_get();
+
+    /* Collect indices of promoted nodes. */
+    int64_t* idx = malloc((size_t)(g->node_count + 1) * sizeof(int64_t));
+    if (!idx) return el_wrap_str(el_strdup("[]"));
+    int64_t mc = 0;
+    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+        if (g->nodes[i].working_memory_weight > 0.0) idx[mc++] = i;
+    }
+
+    /* Insertion-sort descending by wm weight (mc is typically small). */
+    for (int64_t i = 1; i < mc; i++) {
+        int64_t key = idx[i];
+        double  kw  = g->nodes[key].working_memory_weight;
+        int64_t j = i;
+        while (j > 0 && g->nodes[idx[j-1]].working_memory_weight < kw) {
+            idx[j] = idx[j-1]; j--;
+        }
+        idx[j] = key;
+    }
+
+    int64_t emit = mc < top_n ? mc : top_n;
+    JsonBuf b; jb_init(&b);
+    jb_putc(&b, '[');
+    for (int64_t k = 0; k < emit; k++) {
+        EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[idx[k]];
+        if (k > 0) jb_putc(&b, ',');
+        jb_putc(&b, '{');
+        jb_puts(&b, "\"label\":");
+        jb_emit_escaped(&b, n->label     ? n->label     : "");
+        jb_puts(&b, ",\"node_type\":");
+        jb_emit_escaped(&b, n->node_type ? n->node_type : "");
+        jb_puts(&b, ",\"tier\":");
+        jb_emit_escaped(&b, n->tier      ? n->tier      : "");
+        char tmp[48];
+        snprintf(tmp, sizeof(tmp), ",\"wm\":%.3f", n->working_memory_weight);
+        jb_puts(&b, tmp);
+        jb_putc(&b, '}');
+    }
+    free(idx);
+    jb_putc(&b, ']');
+    return el_wrap_str(b.buf);
+}
+
 /* engram_list_layers_json — serialized counterpart of engram_list_layers.
  * Returns a JSON array, sorted by activation_priority ascending. */
 el_val_t engram_list_layers_json(void) {
diff --git a/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.h b/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.h
index c733dd6..56adb6c 100644
--- a/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.h
+++ b/lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.h
@@ -620,6 +620,7 @@ el_val_t  engram_activate_json(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth);
 el_val_t  engram_stats_json(void);
 el_val_t  engram_wm_count(void);
 el_val_t  engram_wm_avg_weight(void);  /* avg wm weight of promoted nodes; float bits */
+el_val_t  engram_wm_top_json(el_val_t n);  /* top-N WM nodes by weight as compact JSON */
 el_val_t  engram_apply_decay_json(void);
 el_val_t  engram_list_layers_json(void);
 /* engram_compile_layered_json — produce a prompt-ready text block split