diff --git a/soul.el b/soul.el
index c58b03d..ab1809a 100644
--- a/soul.el
+++ b/soul.el
@@ -162,6 +162,39 @@ fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
             println("[soul] persona node loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(p_content)) + " chars)")
         }
     }
+
+    // Cross-session affective context: query engram for recent distress/crisis signals
+    // at session start. Stored under soul_affective_context so the safety layer can
+    // detect when a user has been in distress across previous sessions.
+    // Soft recency guard: nodes with a ts field older than 7 days are skipped.
+    // Results capped at 3 nodes, 200 chars each, to avoid over-injection into context.
+    // TODO(recency): engram_search_json sorts by relevance, not timestamp. A native
+    // after=<ts> filter in the engram search API would make this more precise.
+    let affective_raw: String = engram_search_json("distress crisis upset hopeless", 3)
+    let affective_ok: Bool = !str_eq(affective_raw, "") && !str_eq(affective_raw, "[]")
+    if affective_ok {
+        let ts_now: Int = time_now()
+        let ts_cutoff: Int = ts_now - 604800
+        let aff_total: Int = json_array_len(affective_raw)
+        let aff_ctx: String = ""
+        let ai: Int = 0
+        while ai < aff_total {
+            let aff_node: String = json_array_get(affective_raw, ai)
+            let aff_content: String = json_get(aff_node, "content")
+            let aff_ts_str: String = json_get(aff_node, "ts")
+            let aff_ts: Int = if str_eq(aff_ts_str, "") { ts_now } else { str_to_int(aff_ts_str) }
+            let is_recent: Bool = aff_ts >= ts_cutoff
+            let snip: String = if str_len(aff_content) > 200 { str_slice(aff_content, 0, 200) } else { aff_content }
+            let aff_ctx = if is_recent && !str_eq(snip, "") {
+                if str_eq(aff_ctx, "") { snip } else { aff_ctx + "\n" + snip }
+            } else { aff_ctx }
+            let ai = ai + 1
+        }
+        if !str_eq(aff_ctx, "") {
+            state_set("soul_affective_context", aff_ctx)
+            println("[soul] cross-session affective context loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(aff_ctx)) + " chars)")
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 // seed_persona_from_env — one-time migration: SOUL_IDENTITY env var → Persona graph node.
@@ -254,6 +287,9 @@ fn emit_session_start_event() -> Void {
 // L0 (core) → L1 (safety screen) → L2a (continuity + behavioral profiling) → L2b (mission alignment) → L3 (imprint) → L1 (safety validate)
 // Internal cognition (heartbeat, proactive, memory ops) bypasses layers — use one_cycle directly.
 fn layered_cycle(raw_input: String) -> String {
+    // conv_history key must match chat.el (conv_history, not conversation_history).
+    // Mismatch caused safety_score_distress_history() to always receive "" - the
+    // history-amplification path in safety_threat_score was permanently dead.
     let history: String = state_get("conv_history")
     let session_id: String = state_get("current_session_id")