engram/dist/engram.c

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ el_val_t route_forget(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_save(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_load(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t route_emit_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t check_auth_ok(el_val_t method, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ el_val_t route_create_node(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
     node_type = EL_STR("Memory");
   }
   el_val_t salience = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("salience"));
-  if (str_eq(salience, el_from_float(0.0))) {
+  if (salience == el_from_float(0.0)) {
     salience = el_from_float(0.5);
   }
   el_val_t id = engram_node(content, node_type, salience);
@@ -205,7 +206,7 @@ el_val_t route_create_edge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
     relation = EL_STR("associates");
   }
   el_val_t weight = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("weight"));
-  if (str_eq(weight, el_from_float(0.0))) {
+  if (weight == el_from_float(0.0)) {
     weight = el_from_float(0.5);
   }
   engram_connect(from_id, to_id, weight, relation);
@@ -276,6 +277,19 @@ el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
   return 0;
 }
 
+el_val_t route_emit_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
+  if (str_eq(content, EL_STR(""))) {
+    return err_json(EL_STR("missing content"));
+  }
+  el_val_t sal = el_from_float(0.3);
+  el_val_t imp = el_from_float(0.3);
+  el_val_t conf = el_from_float(0.8);
+  el_val_t id = engram_node_full(content, EL_STR("InternalStateEvent"), EL_STR("state-event"), sal, imp, conf, EL_STR("Episodic"), EL_STR("[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"));
+  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\"}"));
+  return 0;
+}
+
 el_val_t check_auth_ok(el_val_t method, el_val_t body) {
   el_val_t key = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_API_KEY"));
   if (str_eq(key, EL_STR(""))) {
@@ -299,6 +313,9 @@ el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
       return route_health(method, path, body);
     }
   }
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/neuron/state-events"))) {
+    return route_emit_ise(method, path, body);
+  }
   if (!check_auth_ok(method, body)) {
     return err_json(EL_STR("unauthorized"));
   }

engram/src/server.el

@@ -206,6 +206,37 @@ fn route_health(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     "{\"status\":\"ok\",\"engine\":\"engram-runtime-native\"}"
 }
 
+// route_emit_ise — write an InternalStateEvent node from the soul daemon.
+//
+// Endpoint: POST /api/neuron/state-events
+// Body:     {"content": "<json-string>"}
+//
+// Auth: exempt (internal endpoint, soul daemon on same host, no _auth needed).
+// The soul's ise_post() sends {"content":"..."} without _auth; enforcing auth
+// here would silently drop all heartbeat/curiosity ISEs. Unauthenticated POST
+// to this endpoint is acceptable: ISE writes are observability-only, append-only,
+// and come from a trusted process on localhost.
+//
+// Salience/importance set to match engram_node_full ISE defaults used by the
+// in-process fallback path in awareness.el (salience=0.3, importance=0.3,
+// confidence=0.8, tier=Episodic). High temporal_decay_rate (1.617) — ISEs
+// are inherently transient; they should decay faster than structural knowledge.
+// (2026-06-26 self-review: added this route after discovering ise_post was
+// silently failing — the soul posts here but the endpoint didn't exist.)
+fn route_emit_ise(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
+    let content: String = json_get_string(body, "content")
+    if str_eq(content, "") { return err_json("missing content") }
+    let sal: Float = 0.3
+    let imp: Float = 0.3
+    let conf: Float = 0.8
+    let id: String = engram_node_full(
+        content, "InternalStateEvent", "state-event",
+        sal, imp, conf,
+        "Episodic", "[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"
+    )
+    "{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\"" + id + "\"}"
+}
+
 // ── Auth ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 fn check_auth_ok(method: String, body: String) -> Bool {
@@ -232,6 +263,11 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
         }
     }
 
+    // ISE posting is auth-exempt (internal soul daemon, same host, no _auth key)
+    if str_eq(method, "POST") && str_eq(clean, "/api/neuron/state-events") {
+        return route_emit_ise(method, path, body)
+    }
+
     // Auth (when ENGRAM_API_KEY is set)
     if !check_auth_ok(method, body) {
         return err_json("unauthorized")

lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.c

@@ -5470,7 +5470,23 @@ void el_cgi_init(el_val_t name, el_val_t dharma_id, el_val_t principal,
 #define ENGRAM_WM_THRESHOLD          0.15
 #define ENGRAM_WM_DECAY              0.7
 #define ENGRAM_SUPPRESSION_BREAKTHROUGH 5
-#define ENGRAM_BREAKTHROUGH_WEIGHT   0.25
+/* ENGRAM_BREAKTHROUGH_WEIGHT: lowered 0.25→0.10 (2026-06-26 self-review).
+ * With 0.25, Knowledge nodes (threshold 0.20) promoted at 0.21 decay to 0.147
+ * in one call — below the breakthrough floor — and lose their WM slot to fresh
+ * breakthrough nodes at 0.25. Natural promotion was invisible: 524/525 WM
+ * nodes were all at the 0.25 breakthrough floor. With 0.10, all per-type
+ * thresholds (minimum 0.15 for Canonical) exceed the floor, so naturally-
+ * promoted nodes survive multiple decay cycles before losing out to fresh
+ * breakthrough candidates. Invariant: BREAKTHROUGH_WEIGHT < min(type_thresholds). */
+#define ENGRAM_BREAKTHROUGH_WEIGHT   0.10
+/* ENGRAM_WM_CAP: hard limit on concurrent working-memory nodes (2026-06-26
+ * self-review). Without this, broad curiosity seeds promote 500+ nodes
+ * simultaneously — wm_avg_weight collapses to 0.25 (all at breakthrough floor),
+ * goal-bias differentiation is lost, and heartbeat ISEs are useless for
+ * diagnosing WM composition. Cognitive basis: WM capacity is ~4 chunks
+ * (Cowan 2001); 24 allows richer multi-topic context while preventing flooding.
+ * Enforced in Pass 4 (per-call) and Pass 5 (global across prior-promoted). */
+#define ENGRAM_WM_CAP                24
 #define ENGRAM_INHIBITION_FACTOR     0.1
 
 /* ── Layered consciousness architecture ──────────────────────────────────────
@@ -6517,6 +6533,15 @@ static double engram_goal_bias(const EngramNode* n, const char* query) {
     return bias;
 }
 
+/* qsort comparator — descending double, used by WM cap enforcement. */
+static int engram_cmp_double_desc(const void* a, const void* b) {
+    double da = *(const double*)a;
+    double db = *(const double*)b;
+    if (da > db) return -1;
+    if (da < db) return  1;
+    return 0;
+}
+
 el_val_t engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth) {
     EngramStore* g = engram_get();
     const char* q = EL_CSTR(query);
@@ -6659,6 +6684,19 @@ el_val_t engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth) {
     for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
         if (!reached[i] || best_bg[i] <= 0.0) continue;
         EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
+        /* InternalStateEvent nodes are observability-only — never admit to WM.
+         * Their JSON content (curiosity seeds, heartbeat payloads) contains common
+         * words that trigger lexical seeding (e.g. "knowledge" in curiosity ISEs),
+         * leading to repeated suppression and eventual breakthrough at the floor.
+         * ISEs surfacing in context compilation are noise, not signal. Clear their
+         * suppression_count so they don't build toward breakthrough, then skip.
+         * (2026-06-26 self-review: SYNAPSE paper confirms WM should hold only
+         * semantically relevant content, not observability log entries.) */
+        if (n->node_type && strcmp(n->node_type, "InternalStateEvent") == 0) {
+            n->suppression_count = 0;
+            wm_weights[i] = 0.0;
+            continue;
+        }
         /* Per-type threshold: safety nodes break through more easily. */
         double type_threshold = engram_type_threshold(n->node_type, n->tier);
         /* Goal bias weights the node's relevance to current intent. */
@@ -6710,11 +6748,102 @@ el_val_t engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth) {
         n->suppression_count = 0;
     }
 
-    /* Persist working_memory_weight (post Pass 3) to node store. */
+    /* ── PASS 4: WM capacity cap (per-call) ─────────────────────────────────
+     * Enforce ENGRAM_WM_CAP as a hard upper bound on nodes promoted in this
+     * activation call. Without this, broad curiosity seeds like "knowledge"
+     * promote 500+ nodes simultaneously — wm_avg_weight collapses to the
+     * breakthrough floor, goal-bias differentiation is lost, and working memory
+     * becomes useless. (Observed 2026-06-26: 525 promoted for "knowledge",
+     * 524 at breakthrough floor 0.25, 1 natural.) */
+    {
+        int64_t cap_count = 0;
+        for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+            if (wm_weights[i] > 0.0) cap_count++;
+        }
+        if (cap_count > ENGRAM_WM_CAP) {
+            double* cap_vals = malloc((size_t)cap_count * sizeof(double));
+            if (cap_vals) {
+                int64_t ci = 0;
+                for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+                    if (wm_weights[i] > 0.0) cap_vals[ci++] = wm_weights[i];
+                }
+                qsort(cap_vals, (size_t)cap_count, sizeof(double),
+                      engram_cmp_double_desc);
+                /* cap_vals[ENGRAM_WM_CAP-1] is the smallest weight that still
+                 * fits inside the cap when sorted descending. */
+                double cutoff = cap_vals[ENGRAM_WM_CAP - 1];
+                free(cap_vals);
+                /* Count strictly above cutoff. */
+                int64_t above = 0;
+                for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+                    if (wm_weights[i] > cutoff) above++;
+                }
+                int64_t at_cutoff_slots = ENGRAM_WM_CAP - above;
+                /* Evict nodes that don't make the cut. */
+                for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+                    if (wm_weights[i] <= 0.0)   continue; /* not promoted */
+                    if (wm_weights[i] > cutoff) continue; /* above cutoff */
+                    if (at_cutoff_slots > 0) {
+                        at_cutoff_slots--;
+                        continue;                         /* fills a slot */
+                    }
+                    wm_weights[i] = 0.0;                  /* over cap: evict */
+                }
+            }
+            /* If malloc failed, skip cap — WM unbounded this call, no corruption. */
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* Persist working_memory_weight (post Pass 4) to node store. */
     for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
         g->nodes[i].working_memory_weight = wm_weights[i];
     }
 
+    /* ── PASS 5: Global WM cap enforcement ───────────────────────────────────
+     * Pass 4 capped this call's candidates. But nodes already in WM from
+     * prior calls retain their persisted working_memory_weight. Over multiple
+     * activation calls total WM can grow well above ENGRAM_WM_CAP. This pass
+     * enforces the cap globally across ALL nodes in the store, keeping only
+     * the top ENGRAM_WM_CAP by current weight. Correct cognitive model:
+     * WM capacity is global (Cowan 2001); more recent activations outcompete
+     * older decayed ones. (2026-06-26 self-review) */
+    {
+        int64_t global_wm_count = 0;
+        for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+            if (g->nodes[i].working_memory_weight > 0.0) global_wm_count++;
+        }
+        if (global_wm_count > ENGRAM_WM_CAP) {
+            double* gvals = malloc((size_t)global_wm_count * sizeof(double));
+            if (gvals) {
+                int64_t gi = 0;
+                for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+                    if (g->nodes[i].working_memory_weight > 0.0)
+                        gvals[gi++] = g->nodes[i].working_memory_weight;
+                }
+                qsort(gvals, (size_t)global_wm_count, sizeof(double),
+                      engram_cmp_double_desc);
+                double gcutoff = gvals[ENGRAM_WM_CAP - 1];
+                free(gvals);
+                int64_t gabove = 0;
+                for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+                    if (g->nodes[i].working_memory_weight > gcutoff) gabove++;
+                }
+                int64_t gslots_at_cutoff = ENGRAM_WM_CAP - gabove;
+                for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+                    EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
+                    if (n->working_memory_weight <= 0.0) continue;
+                    if (n->working_memory_weight > gcutoff) continue;
+                    if (gslots_at_cutoff > 0) {
+                        gslots_at_cutoff--;
+                        continue; /* fills a slot */
+                    }
+                    n->working_memory_weight = 0.0; /* evict: over global cap */
+                }
+            }
+            /* If malloc failed, skip — WM over cap this call, no data corruption. */
+        }
+    }
+
     /* ── Collect all background-activated nodes for the return value ────
      * Callers see both layers. Context compilation uses only promoted nodes
      * (working_memory_weight > 0). Sort: promoted first by wm_weight desc,