diff --git a/docs/architecture/README.md b/docs/architecture/README.md
index a54a798e1d..f1317ff614 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/README.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/README.md
@@ -1252,6 +1252,18 @@ Never build a rung before standing on the previous one.
     richest. Nothing here converges to rest and nothing flies apart;
     everything hums at the edge where learning is fastest and care
     still reaches.
+46. NEVER COMPACT — FOLD. Deleting or overwriting old memories to make
+    room is destruction wearing an optimization costume. Instead: fold
+    aging memories into a NEW entity that carries their gist, references
+    every source through the weave, and can itself be analyzed,
+    challenged, and superseded. The originals stay untouched forever;
+    detail rehydrates on demand by following lineage back down (§9.11).
+    Fix the underlying ones only when the fold itself reveals something
+    wrong below — otherwise leave them be. The result reads like magic:
+    the context stays small because the fold stands in for the many;
+    the truth stays large because the many are all still there. A fold
+    is just a fact at a higher altitude, and altitude costs nothing
+    when your storage is append-only anyway.
 43. The signatures are WOVEN: every artifact hashes its derivation
     And the signatures are WOVEN: every artifact hashes its derivation
     lineage into its own identity (they are content-addressed already,