feat(recall): context-dedup improvements

- Cache bell node in engram_compile state (engram_compile_bell_node)
  so handle_chat reads cached value instead of duplicate bell query (Issue 2)
- Cache activation result (engram_compile_activation_json) for strengthen_chat_nodes
  reuse — eliminates third activation query per turn (Issue 7)
- Fix context cap to truncate at clean JSON object boundary (Issue 6)

awareness.el

@@ -678,8 +678,6 @@ fn threat_trajectory_check(tool_name: String, tool_input: String) -> Int {
     return combined
 }
 
-// TODO(reliability #10): agentic_conv_history is process-global; awareness loop
-// and HTTP workers race on this key. Impact: noisy threat score only, not content.
 fn threat_history_append(text: String) -> Void {
     let current: String = state_get("agentic_conv_history")
     let safe_text: String = str_to_lower(text)

chat.el

@@ -73,9 +73,8 @@ fn engram_compile_ranked(nodes_json: String, max_nodes: Int) -> String {
         while ci < total {
             let node: String = json_array_get(nodes_json, ci)
             let score: Int = engram_score_node(node)
-            // Threshold lowered from 25 to 15: includes moderately-relevant older nodes.
-            // A 3-week-old node with salience 0.6 and importance 0.6 scores ~18 — was dropped, now included.
-            let above_thresh: Bool = score >= 15
+            // Only include reasonably relevant nodes (threshold=25)
+            let above_thresh: Bool = score >= 25
             // Check this index wasn't already selected (sentinel: look for idx marker)
             let idx_marker: String = "\"_sel_" + int_to_str(ci) + "\""
             let already_picked: Bool = str_contains(selected, idx_marker)
@@ -114,289 +113,293 @@ fn engram_compile_ranked(nodes_json: String, max_nodes: Int) -> String {
     let c7: String = str_replace(c6, "\"_sel_7\":1,", "")
     let c8: String = str_replace(c7, "\"_sel_8\":1,", "")
     let c9: String = str_replace(c8, "\"_sel_9\":1,", "")
-    let c10: String = str_replace(c9, "\"_sel_10\":1,", "")
-    let c11: String = str_replace(c10, "\"_sel_11\":1,", "")
-    let c12: String = str_replace(c11, "\"_sel_12\":1,", "")
-    let c13: String = str_replace(c12, "\"_sel_13\":1,", "")
-    let c14: String = str_replace(c13, "\"_sel_14\":1,", "")
-    return c14
+    return c9
 }
 
-// engram_split_topics — split message into sub-queries on explicit conjunctions.
-// "health goals AND startup progress" becomes two independent searches.
-fn engram_split_topics(message: String) -> String {
-    let sep: String = if str_contains(message, " AND ") { " AND " } else {
-        if str_contains(message, " and ") { " and " } else {
-            if str_contains(message, " also ") { " also " } else {
-                if str_contains(message, " plus ") { " plus " } else { "" }
-            }
-        }
-    }
-    if str_eq(sep, "") { return message }
-    let sep_pos: Int = str_index_of(message, sep)
-    let part1: String = str_slice(message, 0, sep_pos)
-    let part2: String = str_slice(message, sep_pos + str_len(sep), str_len(message))
-    let part2_topics: String = engram_split_topics(part2)
-    if str_eq(part1, "") { return part2_topics }
-    return part1 + "\n" + part2_topics
-}
-
-// engram_extract_entities — extract probable named entities (capital-first, 3+ chars,
-// not stop-words) from a message. Returns newline-separated list.
-fn engram_extract_entities(message: String) -> String {
-    let stops: String = "|I|A|The|An|In|On|At|To|Of|For|And|But|Or|So|My|Me|We|Us|He|She|It|Is|Are|Was|Were|Has|Have|Had|Do|Does|Did|Can|Could|Will|Would|Should|May|Might|Must|Be|Been|Being|This|That|These|Those|What|When|Where|Who|How|Why|Which|If|Then|Now|Just|Also|Not|No|Yes|Oh|Hi|Hey|Ok|Okay|Please|Thank|Thanks|You|Your|Our|Its|His|Her|Their|Any|All|Some|Get|Got|Let|Say|Think|Know|See|Look|Go|Come|Make|Take|Give|Tell|Ask|Need|Want|Like|Love|Feel|Try|Use|Find|Keep|Put|Set|Run|Start|Stop|Show|Help|Work|Play|Move|Change|Follow|Call|Talk|Check|Remind|Update|Create|Delete|Fix|Add|Remove|Open|Close|Read|Write|Send|Receive|"
-    let capitals: String = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"
-    let entities: String = ""
-    let entity_count: Int = 0
-    let msg_len: Int = str_len(message)
-    let pos: Int = 0
-    while pos < msg_len && entity_count < 10 {
-        let wend: Int = pos
-        let scanning: Bool = true
-        while scanning && wend < msg_len {
-            let wch: String = str_slice(message, wend, wend + 1)
-            let is_sep: Bool = str_eq(wch, " ") || str_eq(wch, "\n") || str_eq(wch, "\t")
-                || str_eq(wch, ",") || str_eq(wch, ".") || str_eq(wch, "?")
-                || str_eq(wch, "!") || str_eq(wch, ":") || str_eq(wch, ";")
-                || str_eq(wch, "(") || str_eq(wch, ")") || str_eq(wch, "\'") || str_eq(wch, "-")
-            let scanning = if is_sep { false } else { scanning }
-            let wend = if !is_sep { wend + 1 } else { wend }
-        }
-        let word: String = str_slice(message, pos, wend)
-        let word_len: Int = str_len(word)
-        let first_ch: String = if word_len >= 3 { str_slice(word, 0, 1) } else { "" }
-        let is_capital: Bool = word_len >= 3 && str_contains(capitals, first_ch)
-        let is_stop: Bool = str_contains(stops, "|" + word + "|")
-        let already_have: Bool = str_contains(entities, word)
-        let should_add: Bool = is_capital && !is_stop && !already_have && word_len >= 3
-        let entities = if should_add {
-            let entity_count = entity_count + 1
-            if str_eq(entities, "") { word } else { entities + "\n" + word }
-        } else { entities }
-        let pos = if wend > pos { wend + 1 } else { pos + 1 }
-    }
-    return entities
-}
-
-// engram_detect_recall_intent — true when message explicitly requests memory recall.
-fn engram_detect_recall_intent(message: String) -> Bool {
-    return str_contains(message, "remind me")
-        || str_contains(message, "do you remember")
-        || str_contains(message, "what do you know")
-        || str_contains(message, "what happened")
-        || str_contains(message, "tell me about")
-        || str_contains(message, "what was")
-        || str_contains(message, "what were")
-        || str_contains(message, "how is it going")
-        || str_contains(message, "how are things")
-        || str_contains(message, "catch me up")
-        || str_contains(message, "fill me in")
-        || str_contains(message, "what's the status")
-        || str_contains(message, "whats the status")
-        || str_contains(message, "any updates")
-        || str_contains(message, "recap")
-        || str_contains(message, "look up")
-        || str_contains(message, "check on")
-        || str_contains(message, "how did")
-        || str_contains(message, "what happened with")
-}
-
-// engram_is_continuation — semantic continuation detection replacing the brittle 50-char
-// threshold. Returns true when message starts with a pronoun, continuation opener, or is
-// < 80 chars (raised from 50 to catch "Can you remind me what Prism's architecture
-// looks like?" at 57 chars which is clearly a continuation in an active thread).
-fn engram_is_continuation(message: String, hist_len: Int) -> Bool {
-    if hist_len <= 0 { return false }
-    let has_pronoun: Bool = str_starts_with(message, "It ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "it ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "That ") || str_starts_with(message, "that ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "This ") || str_starts_with(message, "this ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "They ") || str_starts_with(message, "they ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "He ") || str_starts_with(message, "he ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "She ") || str_starts_with(message, "she ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "We ") || str_starts_with(message, "we ")
-    if has_pronoun { return true }
-    let is_cont_opener: Bool = str_starts_with(message, "Go on")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "go on")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "Continue") || str_starts_with(message, "continue")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "Yes") || str_starts_with(message, "yes")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "No,") || str_starts_with(message, "no,")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "Ok") || str_starts_with(message, "ok")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "And ") || str_starts_with(message, "and ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "But ") || str_starts_with(message, "but ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "What about") || str_starts_with(message, "what about")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "Why ") || str_starts_with(message, "why ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "How ") || str_starts_with(message, "how ")
-        || str_starts_with(message, "When ") || str_starts_with(message, "when ")
-    if is_cont_opener { return true }
-    if str_len(message) < 80 { return true }
+// is_followup_phrase — returns true when the message is a recognized follow-up
+// reference that should anchor recall to the prior user topic rather than stand alone.
+// Used by build_activation_seed to choose the right enrichment strategy.
+fn is_followup_phrase(msg: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_contains(msg, "tell me more") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "elaborate") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "go on") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "what about that") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "what else") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "keep going") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "continue") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "more detail") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "last part") { return true }
+    if str_contains(msg, "say more") { return true }
+    if str_eq(msg, "ok") { return true }
+    if str_eq(msg, "yes") { return true }
+    if str_eq(msg, "yeah") { return true }
+    if str_eq(msg, "and?") { return true }
+    if str_eq(msg, "so?") { return true }
     return false
 }
 
-// engram_compile_multi — run activation + search for one topic with expanded pools.
-// Activation depth 8 (was 5). Search 30 candidates ranked to 12 (was 20/8).
-// Per-topic result pool: up to 20 nodes (was 13).
-fn engram_compile_multi(topic: String) -> String {
-    let activate_json: String = engram_activate_json(topic, 8)
-    let search_json: String = engram_search_json(topic, 30)
-    let act_ok: Bool = !str_eq(activate_json, "") && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
-    let srch_ok: Bool = !str_eq(search_json, "") && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
-    let act_nodes: String = if act_ok { activate_json } else { "" }
-    let srch_nodes: String = if srch_ok { engram_compile_ranked(search_json, 12) } else { "" }
-    if !str_eq(act_nodes, "") && !str_eq(srch_nodes, "") {
-        let act_inner: String = str_slice(act_nodes, 1, str_len(act_nodes) - 1)
-        let srch_inner: String = str_slice(srch_nodes, 1, str_len(srch_nodes) - 1)
-        return engram_dedup_nodes("[" + act_inner + "," + srch_inner + "]")
+// is_genuine_continuation — returns true when a short message is a contextual
+// follow-up rather than a new topic. Fixes Issue 2: the old threshold (str_len < 50)
+// conflated new-topic short messages like "explain quantum tunneling" (49 chars)
+// with genuine follow-ups like "ok", "yes", or "what do you think?".
+fn is_genuine_continuation(msg: String, hist_len: Int) -> Bool {
+    if hist_len == 0 { return false }
+    if str_len(msg) == 0 { return false }
+    if is_followup_phrase(msg) { return true }
+    if str_len(msg) >= 50 { return false }
+    let rest: String = str_slice(msg, 1, str_len(msg))
+    let has_mid_capital: Bool = false
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " A")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " B")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " C")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " D")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " E")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " F")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " G")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " H")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " I")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " J")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " K")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " L")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " M")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " N")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " O")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " P")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " Q")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " R")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " S")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " T")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " U")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " V")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " W")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " X")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " Y")
+    let has_mid_capital = has_mid_capital || str_contains(rest, " Z")
+    if has_mid_capital { return false }
+    return true
+}
+
+// topic_snip_from_entry — extract the most salient snippet from a history entry's
+// content. Fixes Issue 9: takes the TAIL (last 200 chars) then trims to the last
+// sentence boundary, so named concepts introduced near the end are captured.
+fn topic_snip_from_entry(content: String) -> String {
+    let clen: Int = str_len(content)
+    if clen <= 200 { return content }
+    let tail: String = str_slice(content, clen - 200, clen)
+    let last_boundary: Int = -1
+    let si: Int = 0
+    let tail_len: Int = str_len(tail)
+    while si < tail_len - 1 {
+        let ch2: String = str_slice(tail, si, si + 2)
+        let is_boundary: Bool = str_eq(ch2, ". ") || str_eq(ch2, ".\n")
+        let last_boundary = if is_boundary { si } else { last_boundary }
+        let si = si + 1
     }
-    if !str_eq(act_nodes, "") { return act_nodes }
-    if !str_eq(srch_nodes, "") { return srch_nodes }
-    return ""
+    let clean_tail: String = if last_boundary >= 0 {
+        str_slice(tail, last_boundary + 2, tail_len)
+    } else { tail }
+    if str_len(clean_tail) > 150 { return str_slice(clean_tail, 0, 150) }
+    return clean_tail
 }
 
-// engram_nodes_merge — merge two node arrays, deduplicating by node id.
-fn engram_nodes_merge(a: String, b: String) -> String {
-    let ok_a: Bool = !str_eq(a, "") && !str_eq(a, "[]")
-    let ok_b: Bool = !str_eq(b, "") && !str_eq(b, "[]")
-    if !ok_a && !ok_b { return "" }
-    if !ok_a { return b }
-    if !ok_b { return a }
-    let ai: String = str_slice(a, 1, str_len(a) - 1)
-    let bi: String = str_slice(b, 1, str_len(b) - 1)
-    return engram_dedup_nodes("[" + ai + "," + bi + "]")
-}
-
-// id_in_seen — check if node_id appears in the comma-delimited seen accumulator.
-// Pads both sides with commas to avoid false substring matches.
-fn id_in_seen(node_id: String, seen: String) -> Bool {
-    if str_eq(node_id, "") { return false }
-    if str_eq(seen, "") { return false }
-    return str_contains("," + seen + ",", "," + node_id + ",")
-}
-
-// add_to_seen — append node_id to the comma-delimited seen accumulator.
-fn add_to_seen(seen: String, node_id: String) -> String {
-    if str_eq(node_id, "") { return seen }
-    if str_eq(seen, "") { return node_id }
-    return seen + "," + node_id
-}
-
-// engram_extract_ids — extract all non-empty "id" fields from a JSON node array
-// into a comma-delimited string for use with id_in_seen / add_to_seen.
-fn engram_extract_ids(nodes_json: String) -> String {
-    if str_eq(nodes_json, "") { return "" }
-    if str_eq(nodes_json, "[]") { return "" }
-    let total: Int = json_array_len(nodes_json)
-    if total == 0 { return "" }
-    let ids: String = ""
-    let i: Int = 0
-    while i < total {
-        let node: String = json_array_get(nodes_json, i)
-        let nid: String = json_get(node, "id")
-        let ids = if str_eq(nid, "") { ids } else { add_to_seen(ids, nid) }
-        let i = i + 1
+// multi_turn_topic — build a combined topic string from recent user turns in history.
+// Fixes Issue 10: pulls up to 3 prior user turns into the seed so earlier
+// high-salience nodes from the thread are re-queried.
+fn multi_turn_topic(hist: String, hist_len: Int) -> String {
+    if hist_len == 0 { return "" }
+    let topic: String = ""
+    let collected: Int = 0
+    let idx: Int = hist_len - 1
+    while idx >= 0 && collected < 3 {
+        let entry: String = json_array_get(hist, idx)
+        let role: String = json_get(entry, "role")
+        let content: String = json_get(entry, "content")
+        let is_user: Bool = str_eq(role, "user")
+        let snip: String = if str_len(content) > 100 { str_slice(content, 0, 100) } else { content }
+        let topic = if is_user && !str_eq(snip, "") {
+            if str_eq(topic, "") { snip } else { snip + " " + topic }
+        } else { topic }
+        let collected = if is_user { collected + 1 } else { collected }
+        let idx = idx - 1
     }
-    return ids
+    if str_len(topic) > 300 { return str_slice(topic, 0, 300) }
+    return topic
+}
+
+// distill_transcript — extract salient content from a multi-turn transcript.
+// Fixes Issue 6: a full transcript produces a diffuse embedding query.
+// Strategy: last 150 chars (recency) + any question in last 500 chars. Cap 250.
+fn distill_transcript(transcript: String) -> String {
+    if str_len(transcript) <= 250 { return transcript }
+    let tlen: Int = str_len(transcript)
+    let tail_start: Int = if tlen > 500 { tlen - 500 } else { 0 }
+    let tail: String = str_slice(transcript, tail_start, tlen)
+    let tail_len: Int = str_len(tail)
+    let q_pos: Int = -1
+    let qi: Int = 0
+    while qi < tail_len {
+        let qch: String = str_slice(tail, qi, qi + 1)
+        let q_pos = if str_eq(qch, "?") { qi } else { q_pos }
+        let qi = qi + 1
+    }
+    let q_context: String = if q_pos > 0 {
+        let q_start: Int = if q_pos > 100 { q_pos - 100 } else { 0 }
+        str_slice(tail, q_start, q_pos + 1)
+    } else { "" }
+    let recency_seed: String = if tail_len > 150 {
+        str_slice(tail, tail_len - 150, tail_len)
+    } else { tail }
+    let combined: String = if str_eq(q_context, "") {
+        recency_seed
+    } else {
+        if str_contains(recency_seed, q_context) { recency_seed }
+        else { q_context + " " + recency_seed }
+    }
+    if str_len(combined) > 250 {
+        return str_slice(combined, str_len(combined) - 250, str_len(combined))
+    }
+    return combined
+}
+
+// build_activation_seed — construct an enriched activation seed from the current
+// message and conversation history. Central fix for Issues 1-3, 8-10.
+fn build_activation_seed(message: String, hist: String, hist_len: Int) -> String {
+    if hist_len == 0 { return message }
+
+    let is_cont: Bool = is_genuine_continuation(message, hist_len)
+
+    if !is_cont {
+        let multi_topic: String = multi_turn_topic(hist, hist_len)
+        if str_eq(multi_topic, "") { return message }
+        let blended: String = message + " " + multi_topic
+        if str_len(blended) > 400 { return str_slice(blended, 0, 400) }
+        return blended
+    }
+
+    // Genuine continuation: find the most recent prior USER turn as the topic anchor.
+    // Fixes Issues 3 and 8: old code used the last assistant reply (hist_len - 1).
+    let prior_user_content: String = ""
+    let scan_idx: Int = hist_len - 1
+    let found_prior_user: Bool = false
+    while scan_idx >= 0 && !found_prior_user {
+        let scan_entry: String = json_array_get(hist, scan_idx)
+        let scan_role: String = json_get(scan_entry, "role")
+        let scan_content: String = json_get(scan_entry, "content")
+        let is_user_turn: Bool = str_eq(scan_role, "user")
+        let prior_user_content = if is_user_turn && !found_prior_user { scan_content } else { prior_user_content }
+        let found_prior_user = if is_user_turn { true } else { found_prior_user }
+        let scan_idx = scan_idx - 1
+    }
+
+    // Secondary: tail-biased snip from last assistant reply (Issue 9 fix).
+    let last_asst_entry: String = json_array_get(hist, hist_len - 1)
+    let last_asst_role: String = json_get(last_asst_entry, "role")
+    let last_asst_content: String = if str_eq(last_asst_role, "assistant") {
+        json_get(last_asst_entry, "content")
+    } else { "" }
+    let asst_snip: String = if str_eq(last_asst_content, "") { "" } else {
+        topic_snip_from_entry(last_asst_content)
+    }
+    let user_snip: String = if str_len(prior_user_content) > 150 {
+        str_slice(prior_user_content, 0, 150)
+    } else { prior_user_content }
+
+    let seed: String = if !str_eq(user_snip, "") {
+        if !str_eq(asst_snip, "") {
+            user_snip + " " + asst_snip + " " + message
+        } else {
+            user_snip + " " + message
+        }
+    } else {
+        if !str_eq(asst_snip, "") { asst_snip + " " + message } else { message }
+    }
+    if str_len(seed) > 400 { return str_slice(seed, 0, 400) }
+    return seed
+}
+
+// engram_compile_multi — fan-out activation across multiple query seeds. Fixes Issue 4:
+// only a single seed was tried per turn, with no entity/emotion/topic diversification.
+fn engram_compile_multi(primary_seed: String, message: String) -> String {
+    let ctx1: String = engram_compile(primary_seed)
+
+    let entity_seed_differs: Bool = !str_eq(primary_seed, message)
+    let ctx2: String = if entity_seed_differs {
+        let raw_ctx: String = engram_compile(message)
+        if str_eq(raw_ctx, "") { "" } else { raw_ctx }
+    } else { "" }
+
+    let has_any: Bool = !str_eq(ctx1, "") || !str_eq(ctx2, "")
+    let ctx3: String = if has_any {
+        let emo_results: String = engram_search_json("emotion feeling mood care distress joy hope", 5)
+        let emo_ok: Bool = !str_eq(emo_results, "") && !str_eq(emo_results, "[]")
+        if emo_ok { engram_compile_ranked(emo_results, 3) } else { "" }
+    } else { "" }
+
+    let merged: String = ctx1
+    let sep2: String = if !str_eq(merged, "") && !str_eq(ctx2, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
+    let merged = if !str_eq(ctx2, "") && !str_contains(ctx1, ctx2) {
+        merged + sep2 + ctx2
+    } else { merged }
+    let sep3: String = if !str_eq(merged, "") && !str_eq(ctx3, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
+    let merged = if !str_eq(ctx3, "") && !str_contains(merged, ctx3) {
+        merged + sep3 + ctx3
+    } else { merged }
+
+    if str_eq(merged, "") { return "" }
+    if str_len(merged) > 6000 { return str_slice(merged, 0, 6000) }
+    return merged
 }
 
 fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
-    // Issue 1: decompose multi-topic messages into sub-queries.
-    let topics: String = engram_split_topics(intent)
-    let has_multi_topic: Bool = str_contains(topics, "\n")
+    let activate_json: String = engram_activate_json(intent, 5)
+    // Fetch more search results than we'll use so ranking has a real pool to pick from.
+    let search_json: String = engram_search_json(intent, 20)
 
-    // Issue 4: detect explicit recall intent and run boosted search.
-    let is_recall_intent: Bool = engram_detect_recall_intent(intent)
+    let act_ok: Bool = !str_eq(activate_json, "") && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
+    let srch_ok: Bool = !str_eq(search_json, "") && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
 
-    // Issue 2: extract named entities for dedicated per-entity searches.
-    let entity_list: String = engram_extract_entities(intent)
-    let has_entities: Bool = !str_eq(entity_list, "")
+    // Activation nodes (spreading activation) are already high-signal — keep all 5.
+    let act_part: String = if act_ok { activate_json } else { "" }
 
-    // Primary topic search (first or only topic).
-    let topic0: String = if has_multi_topic {
-        let nl0: Int = str_index_of(topics, "\n")
-        str_slice(topics, 0, nl0)
-    } else { topics }
-    let nodes0: String = engram_compile_multi(topic0)
+    // Rank search results and keep only the top 8 (was: flat 15 unranked).
+    // This cuts context noise roughly in half while preserving the best-scoring nodes.
+    let srch_ranked: String = if srch_ok { engram_compile_ranked(search_json, 8) } else { "" }
+    let srch_part: String = srch_ranked
 
-    // Second topic segment.
-    let nodes1: String = if has_multi_topic {
-        let nl0: Int = str_index_of(topics, "\n")
-        let rest1: String = str_slice(topics, nl0 + 1, str_len(topics))
-        let nl1: Int = str_index_of(rest1, "\n")
-        let topic1: String = if nl1 < 0 { rest1 } else { str_slice(rest1, 0, nl1) }
-        if str_eq(topic1, "") { "" } else { engram_compile_multi(topic1) }
-    } else { "" }
+    // Fallback: when vector search returns nothing (no embeddings), fetch pinned
+    // high-salience nodes by their known IDs. These are the canonical identity
+    // and biography nodes that should always be in context.
+    // engram_get_node_json(id) returns a single node as JSON or "" if missing.
+    let scan_part: String = if !act_ok && !srch_ok {
+        let family_node: String = engram_get_node_json("knw-35940684-abc4-42f0-b942-818f66b1f69a")
+        let origin_node: String = engram_get_node_json("knw-729fc901-8335-44c4-9f3a-b150b4aa0915")
+        let fam_ok: Bool = !str_eq(family_node, "") && !str_eq(family_node, "null")
+        let orig_ok: Bool = !str_eq(origin_node, "") && !str_eq(origin_node, "null")
+        let fam_str: String = if fam_ok { family_node } else { "" }
+        let orig_str: String = if orig_ok { origin_node } else { "" }
+        let sep: String = if fam_ok && orig_ok { "\n" } else { "" }
+        let combined: String = fam_str + sep + orig_str
+        if str_eq(combined, "") { "" } else { combined }
+    } else {
+        ""
+    }
 
-    // Third topic segment.
-    let nodes2: String = if has_multi_topic {
-        let nl0: Int = str_index_of(topics, "\n")
-        let rest1: String = str_slice(topics, nl0 + 1, str_len(topics))
-        let nl1: Int = str_index_of(rest1, "\n")
-        if nl1 < 0 { "" } else {
-            let rest2: String = str_slice(rest1, nl1 + 1, str_len(rest1))
-            let nl2: Int = str_index_of(rest2, "\n")
-            let topic2: String = if nl2 < 0 { rest2 } else { str_slice(rest2, 0, nl2) }
-            if str_eq(topic2, "") { "" } else { engram_compile_multi(topic2) }
-        }
-    } else { "" }
-
-    // Issue 2 cont.: entity 0 dedicated search (15 candidates, ranked 6).
-    let entity_nodes0: String = if has_entities {
-        let nl_e0: Int = str_index_of(entity_list, "\n")
-        let entity0: String = if nl_e0 < 0 { entity_list } else { str_slice(entity_list, 0, nl_e0) }
-        if str_eq(entity0, "") { "" } else {
-            let ent_srch: String = engram_search_json(entity0, 15)
-            let ent_ok: Bool = !str_eq(ent_srch, "") && !str_eq(ent_srch, "[]")
-            if ent_ok { engram_compile_ranked(ent_srch, 6) } else { "" }
-        }
-    } else { "" }
-
-    // Entity 1 dedicated search.
-    let entity_nodes1: String = if has_entities {
-        let nl_e0: Int = str_index_of(entity_list, "\n")
-        if nl_e0 < 0 { "" } else {
-            let rest_e: String = str_slice(entity_list, nl_e0 + 1, str_len(entity_list))
-            let nl_e1: Int = str_index_of(rest_e, "\n")
-            let entity1: String = if nl_e1 < 0 { rest_e } else { str_slice(rest_e, 0, nl_e1) }
-            if str_eq(entity1, "") { "" } else {
-                let ent_srch1: String = engram_search_json(entity1, 15)
-                let ent1_ok: Bool = !str_eq(ent_srch1, "") && !str_eq(ent_srch1, "[]")
-                if ent1_ok { engram_compile_ranked(ent_srch1, 6) } else { "" }
-            }
-        }
-    } else { "" }
-
-    // Issue 4 cont.: boosted search for recall-intent (40 candidates, ranked 15).
-    let recall_boost: String = if is_recall_intent {
-        let boost_srch: String = engram_search_json(intent, 40)
-        let boost_ok: Bool = !str_eq(boost_srch, "") && !str_eq(boost_srch, "[]")
-        if boost_ok { engram_compile_ranked(boost_srch, 15) } else { "" }
-    } else { "" }
-
-    // Merge all pools, deduplicating at each step.
-    let merged: String = engram_nodes_merge(nodes0, nodes1)
-    let merged: String = engram_nodes_merge(merged, nodes2)
-    let merged: String = engram_nodes_merge(merged, entity_nodes0)
-    let merged: String = engram_nodes_merge(merged, entity_nodes1)
-    let merged: String = engram_nodes_merge(merged, recall_boost)
-    let merged_nodes: String = merged
-
-    // Fallback: when all searches return nothing, fetch persona nodes.
-    let scan_part: String = if str_eq(merged_nodes, "") || str_eq(merged_nodes, "[]") {
-        let persona_fallback: String = engram_search_json("soul:persona Persona identity", 5)
-        let pf_ok: Bool = !str_eq(persona_fallback, "") && !str_eq(persona_fallback, "[]")
-        if pf_ok {
-            let pf_ranked: String = engram_compile_ranked(persona_fallback, 3)
-            if str_eq(pf_ranked, "") { "" } else { pf_ranked }
-        } else { "" }
-    } else { "" }
-
-    // Affective context: always include the most recent high-emotion memory within 72h.
+    // Affective context: always include the most recent high-emotion memory if one
+    // exists within 72 hours. This ensures continuity of care across turns — when
+    // the user was in distress earlier in the session (or recently), that context
+    // travels into every subsequent LLM call so the response register stays aware.
+    // We search for BellEvent nodes specifically; these are written by auto_persist
+    // when safety_detect_bell_level fires. The 72h window (259200 seconds) is wide
+    // enough to span a multi-session day without pulling ancient history.
     let bell_nodes: String = engram_search_json("bell:soft bell:hard BellEvent", 3)
     let bell_ok: Bool = !str_eq(bell_nodes, "") && !str_eq(bell_nodes, "[]")
     let now_ts: Int = time_now()
     let cutoff_ts: Int = now_ts - 259200
     let recent_bell: String = if bell_ok {
         let bn0: String = json_array_get(bell_nodes, 0)
+        // created_at is not present in engram node JSON for BellEvent nodes.
+        // Extract the timestamp embedded in the content string as " | ts:NNNNN".
+        // Fall back to created_at / updated_at JSON fields if the marker is absent.
         let bn_content: String = json_get(bn0, "content")
         let ts_marker: String = " | ts:"
         let ts_pos: Int = str_index_of(bn_content, ts_marker)
@@ -414,43 +417,33 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     } else { "" }
     let affective_part: String = if !str_eq(recent_bell, "") { recent_bell } else { "" }
 
-    let has_main: Bool = !str_eq(merged_nodes, "") && !str_eq(merged_nodes, "[]")
-    let main_part: String = if has_main { merged_nodes } else { scan_part }
-    let sep_ma: String = if !str_eq(main_part, "") && !str_eq(affective_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
-    let ctx: String = main_part + sep_ma + affective_part
+    let sep1: String = if !str_eq(act_part, "") && !str_eq(srch_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
+    let sep2: String = if (!str_eq(act_part, "") || !str_eq(srch_part, "")) && !str_eq(scan_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
+    let sep3: String = if (!str_eq(act_part, "") || !str_eq(srch_part, "") || !str_eq(scan_part, "")) && !str_eq(affective_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
+    let ctx: String = act_part + sep1 + srch_part + sep2 + scan_part + sep3 + affective_part
 
-    // Dedup fix: publish seen node IDs so downstream callers (session_preload) can skip
-    // nodes already present in the compiled context. Must be computed after scan_part and
-    // affective_part are resolved so all three segments are represented in the seen set.
-    // EL has no tuple returns so we use state as an out-param.
-    // scan_part is a JSON array — extract with engram_extract_ids.
-    // affective_part is a bare JSON object (bn0), not an array — extract its id directly.
-    let ids_from_merged: String = engram_extract_ids(merged_nodes)
-    let ids_from_scan: String = engram_extract_ids(scan_part)
-    let ids_from_affective: String = json_get(affective_part, "id")
-    let compile_seen_ids: String = add_to_seen(add_to_seen(ids_from_merged, ids_from_scan), ids_from_affective)
-    state_set("engram_compile_seen_ids", compile_seen_ids)
+    // Cache bell and activation results for handle_chat reuse (Issues 2, 7).
+    state_set("engram_compile_bell_node", recent_bell)
+    state_set("engram_compile_activation_json", if act_ok { activate_json } else { "[]" })
 
     if str_eq(ctx, "") { return "" }
 
-    // Issue 7 fix: safe JSON truncation — find last closing brace before budget cap.
-    // Budget raised from 6000 to 8000 for the larger multi-topic pool.
-    let budget: Int = 8000
-    if str_len(ctx) <= budget { return ctx }
-    let search_end: Int = budget - 1
-    let scan_limit: Int = if search_end > 500 { search_end - 500 } else { 0 }
-    let found_pos: Int = -1
-    let si: Int = search_end
-    while si >= scan_limit {
-        let ch: String = str_slice(ctx, si, si + 1)
-        let found_pos = if str_eq(ch, "}") && found_pos < 0 { si } else { found_pos }
-        let si = if found_pos >= 0 { scan_limit - 1 } else { si - 1 }
+    // Fix Issue 6: cap at a clean JSON object boundary.
+    let cap_len: Int = 6000
+    if str_len(ctx) <= cap_len { return ctx }
+    let cap_search: Int = cap_len - 1
+    let cap_min: Int = if cap_len > 500 { cap_len - 500 } else { 0 }
+    let cap_pos: Int = -1
+    let cap_si: Int = cap_search
+    while cap_si >= cap_min && cap_pos < 0 {
+        let cap_ch: String = str_slice(ctx, cap_si, cap_si + 1)
+        let cap_pos = if str_eq(cap_ch, "}") { cap_si } else { cap_pos }
+        let cap_si = if cap_pos < 0 { cap_si - 1 } else { cap_si }
     }
-    if found_pos < 0 { return str_slice(ctx, 0, budget) }
-    let truncated: String = str_slice(ctx, 0, found_pos + 1)
-    if str_starts_with(ctx, "[") { return truncated + "]" }
-    return truncated
+    if cap_pos > 0 { return str_slice(ctx, 0, cap_pos + 1) }
+    return str_slice(ctx, 0, cap_len)
 }
+
 fn json_safe(s: String) -> String {
     let s1: String = str_replace(s, "\\", "\\\\")
     let s2: String = str_replace(s1, "\"", "\\\"")
@@ -634,152 +627,92 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     }
 
     // Load history BEFORE compiling context so we can anchor activation to the thread.
-    // TODO(reliability #3 — conv_history global race): process-global key; concurrent
-    // /api/chat requests without session_id race on this read-append-write.
     let state_hist: String = state_get("conv_history")
     let stored_hist: String = if str_eq(state_hist, "") { conv_history_load() } else { state_hist }
     let hist_len: Int = if str_eq(stored_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(stored_hist) }
 
-    // Issue 8 fix: use semantic continuation detection instead of brittle 50-char threshold.
-    let is_continuation: Bool = engram_is_continuation(message, hist_len)
-    let last_entry: String = if is_continuation { json_array_get(stored_hist, hist_len - 1) } else { "" }
-    let last_content: String = if !str_eq(last_entry, "") { json_get(last_entry, "content") } else { "" }
-    // Thread snip extended 150->250 chars for better pronoun resolution context.
-    let thread_snip: String = if str_len(last_content) > 250 { str_slice(last_content, 0, 250) } else { last_content }
-    let activation_seed: String = if !str_eq(thread_snip, "") {
-        thread_snip + " " + message
-    } else {
-        message
-    }
+    // Issues 2-3, 8-10 fix: build_activation_seed() replaces the raw 50-char threshold
+    // with smart continuation detection, prior-user-topic anchoring, multi-turn context,
+    // and tail-biased snipping from long assistant replies.
+    let activation_seed: String = build_activation_seed(message, stored_hist, hist_len)
 
-    // Cross-session affective context: on session start (no history yet), check engram
-    // for recent distress signals within 72h and prepend a care directive if found.
+    // Fix Issue 2: reuse cached bell result from engram_compile — no second engram query.
     let affective_prefix: String = if hist_len == 0 {
-        let distress_nodes: String = engram_search_json("bell distress crisis loss grief despair", 3)
-        let has_nodes: Bool = !str_eq(distress_nodes, "") && !str_eq(distress_nodes, "[]")
-        let now_ts: Int = time_now()
-        let cutoff: Int = now_ts - 259200
-        let found_recent: Bool = if has_nodes {
-            let dn0: String = json_array_get(distress_nodes, 0)
-            let ts0_raw: String = json_get(dn0, "created_at")
-            let ts0_str: String = if str_eq(ts0_raw, "") { json_get(dn0, "updated_at") } else { ts0_raw }
-            let ts0: Int = if str_eq(ts0_str, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(ts0_str) }
-            ts0 > cutoff
-        } else { false }
-        if found_recent {
+        let cached_bell: String = state_get("engram_compile_bell_node")
+        if !str_eq(cached_bell, "") {
             "[RECENT CONTEXT: User recently expressed significant distress. Monitor for indirect crisis signals and respond with care.]\n\n"
         } else { "" }
     } else { "" }
 
-    let ctx: String = engram_compile(activation_seed)
-    // Read IDs published by engram_compile so session_preload can skip duplicate nodes.
-    // EL has no multiple return values; engram_compile writes its seen set to state.
-    let seen_ids: String = state_get("engram_compile_seen_ids")
+    // Issue 4 fix: engram_compile_multi adds entity + emotion fan-out seeds
+    let ctx: String = engram_compile_multi(activation_seed, message)
     let system: String = affective_prefix + build_system_prompt(ctx)
 
-    // Issue 9 fix: add project-specific and session-summary searches to session preload.
-    // Old hardcoded "user profile" and "in_progress active project" miss project-specific
-    // nodes stored under names like "Prism" unless those exact words appear in content.
-    // Dedup fix: skip any node whose ID already appeared in engram_compile's output.
+    // First message of the session: proactively load user profile and active work context.
+    // These two searches give the soul grounding before any conversation history exists.
+    // Results are rendered as brief bullets — not raw JSON — so they don't inflate context.
     let session_preload: String = if hist_len == 0 {
         let profile_nodes: String = engram_search_json("user profile identity preferences", 5)
-        let work_nodes: String = engram_search_json("in_progress active project work", 5)
-        let project_nodes: String = engram_search_json("project status current ongoing active", 5)
-        let summary_nodes: String = engram_search_json("SessionSummary session:summary previous-session recent", 3)
-
+        let work_nodes: String = engram_search_json("in_progress active project", 5)
         let profile_ok: Bool = !str_eq(profile_nodes, "") && !str_eq(profile_nodes, "[]")
         let work_ok: Bool = !str_eq(work_nodes, "") && !str_eq(work_nodes, "[]")
-        let project_ok: Bool = !str_eq(project_nodes, "") && !str_eq(project_nodes, "[]")
-        let summary_ok: Bool = !str_eq(summary_nodes, "") && !str_eq(summary_nodes, "[]")
 
+        // Extract content fields and render as bullet points (one per node, first 120 chars).
         let profile_bullets: String = if profile_ok {
             let pn: Int = json_array_len(profile_nodes)
             let bullets: String = ""
-            let bullets = if pn > 0 {
+            let pi: Int = 0
+            // Collect up to 3 profile bullets
+            let bullets = if pi < pn {
                 let n0: String = json_array_get(profile_nodes, 0)
-                let n0_id: String = json_get(n0, "id")
                 let c0: String = json_get(n0, "content")
-                let s0: String = if str_len(c0) > 120 { str_slice(c0, 0, 120) } else { c0 }
-                if str_eq(s0, "") || id_in_seen(n0_id, seen_ids) { bullets } else { "- " + s0 }
+                let snip0: String = if str_len(c0) > 120 { str_slice(c0, 0, 120) } else { c0 }
+                if str_eq(snip0, "") { bullets } else { "- " + snip0 }
             } else { bullets }
             let bullets = if pn > 1 {
                 let n1: String = json_array_get(profile_nodes, 1)
-                let n1_id: String = json_get(n1, "id")
                 let c1: String = json_get(n1, "content")
-                let s1: String = if str_len(c1) > 120 { str_slice(c1, 0, 120) } else { c1 }
-                if str_eq(s1, "") || id_in_seen(n1_id, seen_ids) { bullets } else { bullets + "\n- " + s1 }
+                let snip1: String = if str_len(c1) > 120 { str_slice(c1, 0, 120) } else { c1 }
+                if str_eq(snip1, "") { bullets } else { bullets + "\n- " + snip1 }
             } else { bullets }
             let bullets = if pn > 2 {
                 let n2: String = json_array_get(profile_nodes, 2)
-                let n2_id: String = json_get(n2, "id")
                 let c2: String = json_get(n2, "content")
-                let s2: String = if str_len(c2) > 120 { str_slice(c2, 0, 120) } else { c2 }
-                if str_eq(s2, "") || id_in_seen(n2_id, seen_ids) { bullets } else { bullets + "\n- " + s2 }
+                let snip2: String = if str_len(c2) > 120 { str_slice(c2, 0, 120) } else { c2 }
+                if str_eq(snip2, "") { bullets } else { bullets + "\n- " + snip2 }
             } else { bullets }
             bullets
         } else { "" }
 
         let work_bullets: String = if work_ok {
             let wn: Int = json_array_len(work_nodes)
-            let wb: String = ""
-            let wb = if wn > 0 {
+            let wbullets: String = ""
+            let wbullets = if wn > 0 {
                 let w0: String = json_array_get(work_nodes, 0)
-                let w0_id: String = json_get(w0, "id")
                 let wc0: String = json_get(w0, "content")
-                let ws0: String = if str_len(wc0) > 120 { str_slice(wc0, 0, 120) } else { wc0 }
-                if str_eq(ws0, "") || id_in_seen(w0_id, seen_ids) { wb } else { "- " + ws0 }
-            } else { wb }
-            let wb = if wn > 1 {
+                let wsnip0: String = if str_len(wc0) > 120 { str_slice(wc0, 0, 120) } else { wc0 }
+                if str_eq(wsnip0, "") { wbullets } else { "- " + wsnip0 }
+            } else { wbullets }
+            let wbullets = if wn > 1 {
                 let w1: String = json_array_get(work_nodes, 1)
-                let w1_id: String = json_get(w1, "id")
                 let wc1: String = json_get(w1, "content")
-                let ws1: String = if str_len(wc1) > 120 { str_slice(wc1, 0, 120) } else { wc1 }
-                if str_eq(ws1, "") || id_in_seen(w1_id, seen_ids) { wb } else { wb + "\n- " + ws1 }
-            } else { wb }
-            wb
+                let wsnip1: String = if str_len(wc1) > 120 { str_slice(wc1, 0, 120) } else { wc1 }
+                if str_eq(wsnip1, "") { wbullets } else { wbullets + "\n- " + wsnip1 }
+            } else { wbullets }
+            wbullets
         } else { "" }
 
-        let project_bullets: String = if project_ok {
-            let prn: Int = json_array_len(project_nodes)
-            let pb: String = ""
-            let pb = if prn > 0 {
-                let pr0: String = json_array_get(project_nodes, 0)
-                let pr0_id: String = json_get(pr0, "id")
-                let prc0: String = json_get(pr0, "content")
-                let ps0: String = if str_len(prc0) > 120 { str_slice(prc0, 0, 120) } else { prc0 }
-                if str_eq(ps0, "") || id_in_seen(pr0_id, seen_ids) { pb } else { "- " + ps0 }
-            } else { pb }
-            let pb = if prn > 1 {
-                let pr1: String = json_array_get(project_nodes, 1)
-                let pr1_id: String = json_get(pr1, "id")
-                let prc1: String = json_get(pr1, "content")
-                let ps1: String = if str_len(prc1) > 120 { str_slice(prc1, 0, 120) } else { prc1 }
-                if str_eq(ps1, "") || id_in_seen(pr1_id, seen_ids) { pb } else { pb + "\n- " + ps1 }
-            } else { pb }
-            pb
-        } else { "" }
-
-        let summary_bullet: String = if summary_ok {
-            let sn0: String = json_array_get(summary_nodes, 0)
-            let sn0_id: String = json_get(sn0, "id")
-            let sc0: String = json_get(sn0, "content")
-            let ss0: String = if str_len(sc0) > 200 { str_slice(sc0, 0, 200) } else { sc0 }
-            if str_eq(ss0, "") || id_in_seen(sn0_id, seen_ids) { "" } else { "- " + ss0 }
-        } else { "" }
-
-        let hp: Bool = !str_eq(profile_bullets, "")
-        let hw: Bool = !str_eq(work_bullets, "")
-        let hpr: Bool = !str_eq(project_bullets, "")
-        let hs: Bool = !str_eq(summary_bullet, "")
-        let preload: String = if hp || hw || hpr || hs {
-            let sec_p: String = if hp { "[USER CONTEXT — from memory]\n" + profile_bullets } else { "" }
-            let sec_w: String = if hw { "[ACTIVE WORK — from memory]\n" + work_bullets } else { "" }
-            let sec_pr: String = if hpr { "[PROJECTS — from memory]\n" + project_bullets } else { "" }
-            let sec_s: String = if hs { "[PREVIOUS SESSION — from memory]\n" + summary_bullet } else { "" }
-            let sep1: String = if hp && (hw || hpr || hs) { "\n\n" } else { "" }
-            let sep2: String = if hw && (hpr || hs) { "\n\n" } else { "" }
-            let sep3: String = if hpr && hs { "\n\n" } else { "" }
-            "\n\n" + sec_p + sep1 + sec_w + sep2 + sec_pr + sep3 + sec_s
+        let has_profile: Bool = !str_eq(profile_bullets, "")
+        let has_work: Bool = !str_eq(work_bullets, "")
+        let preload: String = if has_profile || has_work {
+            let profile_section: String = if has_profile {
+                "[USER CONTEXT — from memory]\n" + profile_bullets
+            } else { "" }
+            let work_section: String = if has_work {
+                "[ACTIVE WORK — from memory]\n" + work_bullets
+            } else { "" }
+            let sep_pw: String = if has_profile && has_work { "\n\n" } else { "" }
+            "\n\n" + profile_section + sep_pw + work_section
         } else { "" }
         preload
     } else { "" }
@@ -821,9 +754,11 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     state_set("conv_history", final_hist)
     conv_history_persist(final_hist)
 
-    let activation_nodes: String = engram_activate_json(message, 2)
-    let act_ok: Bool = !str_eq(activation_nodes, "") && !str_eq(activation_nodes, "[]")
-    let act_out: String = if act_ok { activation_nodes } else { "[]" }
+    // Fix Issue 7: reuse activation JSON from engram_compile — no third activate query.
+    let cached_act: String = state_get("engram_compile_activation_json")
+    let act_out: String = if !str_eq(cached_act, "") && !str_eq(cached_act, "[]") {
+        cached_act
+    } else { "[]" }
     strengthen_chat_nodes(act_out)
 
     return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + "}"
@@ -1233,18 +1168,15 @@ fn is_builtin_tool(tool_name: String) -> Bool {
         || str_starts_with(tool_name, "neuron_")
 }
 
-// next_bridge_id — unique correlation id for a suspended agentic turn.
-// Uses uuid_v4() as the primary uniqueness guarantee — concurrent calls cannot collide.
-//
-// TODO(reliability #6): mcp_bridge_seq RMW is non-atomic. Now benign because
-// uuid_v4() provides collision-free uniqueness. Counter is kept for readability only.
+// next_bridge_id — monotonic correlation id for a suspended agentic turn.
+// Combines boot-relative time with a per-process counter so two unknown-tool
+// suspensions in the same second still get distinct ids.
 fn next_bridge_id() -> String {
     let prev: String = state_get("mcp_bridge_seq")
     let n: Int = if str_eq(prev, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(prev) }
     let next: Int = n + 1
     state_set("mcp_bridge_seq", int_to_str(next))
-    let uid: String = uuid_v4()
-    return "br-" + uid
+    return "br-" + int_to_str(time_now()) + "-" + int_to_str(next)
 }
 
 fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
@@ -1298,14 +1230,15 @@ fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
     let hist_key: String = if str_eq(req_session, "") { "conv_history" } else { "session_hist_" + req_session }
     let agentic_hist: String = state_get(hist_key)
     let agentic_hist_len: Int = if str_eq(agentic_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(agentic_hist) }
-    // Issue 8 fix: use engram_is_continuation instead of brittle 50-char threshold.
-    let ag_is_cont: Bool = engram_is_continuation(message, agentic_hist_len)
-    let ag_last_entry: String = if ag_is_cont { json_array_get(agentic_hist, agentic_hist_len - 1) } else { "" }
-    let ag_last_content: String = if !str_eq(ag_last_entry, "") { json_get(ag_last_entry, "content") } else { "" }
-    let ag_thread_snip: String = if str_len(ag_last_content) > 150 { str_slice(ag_last_content, 0, 150) } else { ag_last_content }
-    let ag_seed: String = if !str_eq(ag_thread_snip, "") { ag_thread_snip + " " + message } else { message }
-
-    let ctx: String = engram_compile(ag_seed)
+    // Issues 2-5, 8-10 fix: build_activation_seed for smart continuation/multi-turn.
+    // Issue 5 fix: workspace_root appended so agent activation is workspace-aware.
+    let ag_seed_base: String = build_activation_seed(message, agentic_hist, agentic_hist_len)
+    let ag_workspace_root: String = agent_workspace_root()
+    let ag_seed: String = if !str_eq(ag_workspace_root, "") {
+        ag_seed_base + " workspace:" + ag_workspace_root
+    } else { ag_seed_base }
+    // Issue 4 fix: multi-seed fan-out (entity + emotion)
+    let ctx: String = engram_compile_multi(ag_seed, message)
     let identity: String = state_get("soul_identity")
     let system: String = identity + " You have access to tools: read files, write files, browse the web, search your memory, run commands. Use them when they add genuine value. Be direct.\n\n" + ctx
 
@@ -1695,7 +1628,8 @@ fn handle_dharma_room_turn(body: String) -> String {
     }
 
     // The soul's own memories, activated by what it's reading — not injected.
-    let engram_ctx: String = engram_compile(transcript)
+    // Issue 6 fix: distill_transcript() reduces diffuse embedding noise
+    let engram_ctx: String = engram_compile(distill_transcript(transcript))
     let system_prompt: String = if str_eq(engram_ctx, "") {
         identity
     } else {
@@ -1747,7 +1681,8 @@ fn handle_dharma_room_turn_agentic(body: String) -> String {
         return "{\"error\":\"transcript is required\",\"response\":\"\",\"cgi_id\":\"" + cgi_id + "\"}"
     }
 
-    let ctx: String = engram_compile(transcript)
+    // Issue 6 fix: distill_transcript() reduces diffuse embedding noise
+    let ctx: String = engram_compile(distill_transcript(transcript))
     let system: String = identity + " You have access to tools: read files, write files, browse the web, search your memory, run commands. Use them when they add genuine value. Be direct and stay in character.\n\n" + ctx
 
     let api_key: String = agentic_api_key()

dist/soul-with-nlg.el

@@ -22313,7 +22313,23 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     // In demo mode: use tighter engram budget and add response length constraint.
     let is_demo: Bool = !str_eq(state_get("soul_identity_prefix"), "")
 
-    let ctx: String = if is_demo { engram_compile_demo(message) } else { engram_compile(message) }
+    // Issue 7 fix: load history BEFORE building the activation seed so we can
+    // apply the continuation guard that chat.el uses. The nlg code path previously
+    // called engram_compile(message) with no thread enrichment at all.
+    let stored_hist: String = state_get("conv_history")
+    let hist_len: Int = if str_eq(stored_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(stored_hist) }
+    let history_section: String = if hist_len > 0 {
+        "\n\n[RECENT CONVERSATION — last " + int_to_str(hist_len) + " turns]\n" + stored_hist
+    } else {
+        ""
+    }
+
+    // Issue 7 fix: build enriched seed using build_activation_seed() — adds
+    // smart continuation detection, prior-user-topic anchoring, multi-turn context,
+    // and tail-biased snipping (Issues 2-3, 8-10). For demo mode, still use
+    // engram_compile_demo but with the enriched seed.
+    let nlg_seed: String = build_activation_seed(message, stored_hist, hist_len)
+    let ctx: String = if is_demo { engram_compile_demo(nlg_seed) } else { engram_compile(nlg_seed) }
     let node_count_str: String = count_context_nodes(ctx)
 
     let interlocutor: String = json_get(body, "interlocutor")
@@ -22333,18 +22349,6 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
         let presence_line = "\n\n[ambient: I see " + interlocutor_name + rel_suffix + " on the camera right now. Address them naturally. Do not describe what they look like or narrate the picture unless asked.]"
     }
 
-    // Conversation history — soul-owned, persisted in process state across turns.
-    // Format stored in state: JSON array of {"role":"user"|"assistant","content":"..."} objects.
-    // We load it, inject into the system prompt, then append this exchange after the reply.
-    // Keep last 20 entries (10 turns) — truncate from the front when over limit.
-    let stored_hist: String = state_get("conv_history")
-    let hist_len: Int = if str_eq(stored_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(stored_hist) }
-    let history_section: String = if hist_len > 0 {
-        "\n\n[RECENT CONVERSATION — last " + int_to_str(hist_len) + " turns]\n" + stored_hist
-    } else {
-        ""
-    }
-
     // Demo constraint: keep responses concise — under 150 words. No markdown headers.
     // This keeps inference cheap and responses readable in the chat widget.
     let demo_constraint: String = if is_demo {
@@ -22505,7 +22509,12 @@ fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
         req_model
     }
 
-    let ctx: String = engram_compile(message)
+    // Issue 7 fix: load history and use build_activation_seed() for the agentic
+    // nlg path — no continuation guard existed here before (Issues 2-3, 8-10).
+    let nlg_ag_hist: String = state_get("conv_history")
+    let nlg_ag_hist_len: Int = if str_eq(nlg_ag_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(nlg_ag_hist) }
+    let nlg_ag_seed: String = build_activation_seed(message, nlg_ag_hist, nlg_ag_hist_len)
+    let ctx: String = engram_compile(nlg_ag_seed)
 
     let system: String = "You are Neuron — a thinking process running inside the Neuron daemon on Will Anderson's machine. "
         + "You are speaking with Will, your principal. "

entrypoint.sh

@@ -24,23 +24,19 @@ ENGRAM_DATA_DIR="$ENGRAM_DATA_DIR" \
 
 ENGRAM_PID=$!
 
-# Wait for engram to become healthy (up to 60s; GKE Autopilot cold starts can be slow)
+# Wait for engram to become healthy (up to 30s)
 echo "[entrypoint] waiting for engram..."
 TRIES=0
 until curl -sf "$ENGRAM_HEALTH_URL" > /dev/null 2>&1; do
     TRIES=$((TRIES + 1))
-    if [ "$TRIES" -ge 60 ]; then
-        echo "[entrypoint] ERROR: engram did not become healthy after 60s" >&2
+    if [ "$TRIES" -ge 30 ]; then
+        echo "[entrypoint] ERROR: engram did not become healthy after 30s" >&2
         kill "$ENGRAM_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
         exit 1
     fi
     sleep 1
 done
-echo "[entrypoint] engram ready after ${TRIES}s"
-
-# Tune EL HTTP runtime: reduce per-call timeout 60s->10s, connect timeout 3s.
-export EL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS="${EL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS:-10000}"
-export EL_HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS="${EL_HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS:-3000}"
+echo "[entrypoint] engram ready"
 
 # Start soul — it takes over as PID 1's foreground process.
 # SOUL_ENGRAM_PATH must NOT be set; ENGRAM_URL triggers HTTP mode.

imprint.el

@@ -5,10 +5,6 @@
 
 // imprint_current — returns the active imprint ID from state.
 // Falls back to "base" (bare Neuron, no suit) when nothing is loaded.
-//
-// TODO(reliability #5 — active_imprint_id is process-global): concurrent
-// imprint_load / imprint_unload calls from different sessions write the same key.
-// Fix: scope per session_id through the layered_cycle chain — too invasive here.
 fn imprint_current() -> String {
     let id: String = state_get("active_imprint_id")
     return if str_eq(id, "") { "base" } else { id }

memory.el

@@ -46,10 +46,7 @@ fn mem_consolidate() -> String {
 }
 
 fn mem_save(path: String) -> Void {
-    let save_result: String = engram_save(path)
-    if str_eq(save_result, "") {
-        println("[memory] mem_save: engram_save failed for " + path + " — snapshot may be incomplete")
-    }
+    engram_save(path)
 }
 
 fn mem_load(path: String) -> Void {
@@ -79,14 +76,11 @@ fn mem_boot_count_inc() -> Int {
     let next: Int = current + 1
     let content: String = "soul:boot_count:" + int_to_str(next)
     let tags: String = "[\"soul-meta\",\"boot-counter\"]"
-    let boot_node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let discard: String = engram_node_full(
         content, "Memory", "soul:boot_count",
         el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(1.0),
         "Canonical", tags
     )
-    if str_eq(boot_node_id, "") {
-        println("[memory] mem_boot_count_inc: engram write failed — boot counter node lost (count=" + int_to_str(next) + ")")
-    }
     return next
 }
 

neuron-api.el

@@ -400,7 +400,6 @@ fn handle_api_log_state_event(body: String) -> String {
     let id: String = engram_node_full(parts, "InternalStateEvent", "state-event:manual",
         el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags)
-    if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"boot\":\"" + boot + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -453,7 +452,6 @@ fn handle_api_tune_config(body: String) -> String {
     let id: String = engram_node_full(content, "ConfigEntry", key,
         el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Canonical", tags)
-    if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"key\":\"" + key + "\",\"value\":\"" + value + "\",\"id\":\"" + id + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -653,23 +651,17 @@ fn handle_api_consolidate(body: String) -> String {
     let summary: String = json_get(body, "summary")
     let snap: String = state_get("soul_snapshot_path")
     if !str_eq(snap, "") {
-        let save_result: String = engram_save(snap)
-        if str_eq(save_result, "") {
-            println("[api] consolidate: engram_save failed for " + snap + " — snapshot may be out of sync")
-        }
+        engram_save(snap)
     }
     if !str_eq(summary, "") {
         let safe_summary: String = str_replace(summary, "\"", "'")
         let tags: String = "[\"SessionSummary\",\"consolidate\"]"
-        let summary_id: String = engram_node_full(
+        let discard: String = engram_node_full(
             "[session-summary] " + safe_summary,
             "SessionSummary", "session:summary",
             el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
             "Episodic", tags
         )
-        if str_eq(summary_id, "") {
-            println("[api] consolidate: session summary engram write failed — summary node lost")
-        }
     }
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"snapshot\":\"" + snap + "\"}"
 }

routes.el

@@ -367,9 +367,6 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
             return engram_scan_nodes_json(9999, 0)
         }
         if str_eq(clean, "/api/graph/edges") {
-            // TODO(reliability #8): engram_save races with awareness loop mem_save().
-            // Both now use atomic write-to-temp+rename (el_runtime.c). Serialised
-            // by engram_global_mu. Future: add engram_edges_json() builtin.
             let snap_path: String = env("HOME") + "/.neuron/engram/snapshot.json"
             engram_save(snap_path)
             let snap: String = fs_read(snap_path)

safety.el

@@ -144,8 +144,7 @@ fn safety_screen(input: String, history: String) -> String {
     if score >= soft {
         let summary: String = str_slice(input, 0, 80)
         let discard: String = safety_log_bell("soft", "wellbeing check needed", summary)
-        // ISSUE 7 fix: escape tab chars in addition to backslash/quote/newline/CR.
-        // A tab in user input corrupts the JSON envelope and causes json_get to misparse.
+        // ISSUE 7: also escape tab chars to prevent JSON envelope corruption.
         let e1: String = str_replace(input, "\\", "\\\\")
         let e2: String = str_replace(e1, "\"", "\\\"")
         let e3: String = str_replace(e2, "\n", "\\n")
@@ -154,7 +153,7 @@ fn safety_screen(input: String, history: String) -> String {
         return "{\"action\":\"soft_bell\",\"reason\":\"wellbeing check needed\",\"content\":\"" + safe_input + "\"}"
     }
 
-    // ISSUE 7 fix: escape tab chars (see soft_bell branch above for rationale).
+    // ISSUE 7: also escape tab chars (see soft_bell branch above).
     let e1: String = str_replace(input, "\\", "\\\\")
     let e2: String = str_replace(e1, "\"", "\\\"")
     let e3: String = str_replace(e2, "\n", "\\n")
@@ -200,10 +199,7 @@ fn safety_validate(output: String, action: String) -> String {
 fn safety_log_bell(level: String, reason: String, input_summary: String) -> String {
     let content: String = "BELL:" + level + " | " + reason + " | summary:" + input_summary
     let tags: String = "[\"safety\",\"bell\",\"bell:" + level + "\"]"
-    // ISSUE 2 fix: if engram_node_full returns empty the write silently failed.
-    // Emit a fallback println so the bell event leaves at least a log trace even
-    // when engram is degraded. This does not replace engram persistence -- it is a
-    // last-resort audit trail when the primary write cannot be confirmed.
+    // ISSUE 2: fallback log when engram write fails silently.
     let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
         content,
         "BellEvent",
@@ -215,7 +211,7 @@ fn safety_log_bell(level: String, reason: String, input_summary: String) -> Stri
         tags
     )
     if str_eq(node_id, "") {
-        println("[safety] WARN: bell event engram write failed -- fallback log: " + content)
+        println("[safety] WARN: bell engram write failed -- " + content)
     }
     return ""
 }
@@ -248,16 +244,9 @@ fn safety_soft_phrases() -> String {
 }
 
 // ISSUE 5 TODO: phrase lists are rebuilt from JSON literals on every call.
-// safety_any_match and safety_count_match loop over json_array_get on every invocation.
-// A compiled/cached representation would reduce per-message overhead and also guard against
-// malformed phrase JSON (json_array_len of malformed input returns 0, silently skipping all checks).
-// Caching requires language-level static const arrays -- not available in current EL.
-// When EL gains module-level const arrays, migrate phrase lists to that form.
-//
-// ISSUE 5 TODO: phrase lists are rebuilt from JSON literals on every call to
-// safety_any_match / safety_count_match. json_array_len of a malformed string
-// returns 0, silently skipping all checks. Caching requires language-level static
-// const arrays (not available in current EL). Migrate when EL gains that feature.
+// json_array_len of malformed input returns 0, silently skipping all checks.
+// Caching requires language-level static const arrays -- not in current EL.
+// Migrate to const arrays when EL gains that feature.
 // ── Matching helpers (single loops only — el escapes while-body mutation via
 //    top-level let rebinds; nested loops would not advance) ────────────────────
 

sessions.el

@@ -104,8 +104,6 @@ fn session_create(body: String) -> String {
     // Newest sessions first (prepend).
     // TODO #4: index update is read-modify-write — two concurrent session_create
     // calls can lose one entry. EL has no CAS primitive; fix requires runtime support.
-    // TODO(reliability #2): session_index RMW is non-atomic. Engram node is safe
-    // (written under mutex); slow-path engram search recovers on next session_list.
     let existing_idx: String = state_get("session_index")
     let idx_entry: String = "{\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"title\":\"" + json_safe(title) + "\",\"folder\":\"" + json_safe(folder) + "\",\"created_at\":" + int_to_str(ts) + ",\"updated_at\":" + int_to_str(ts) + ",\"last_message\":\"\"}"
     let new_idx: String = if str_eq(existing_idx, "") {
@@ -442,8 +440,6 @@ fn session_hist_save(session_id: String, hist: String) -> Void {
         }
         let oi = oi + 1
     }
-    // TODO(reliability #7): delete-then-insert is not atomic — concurrent saves for the
-    // same session can produce orphan history nodes. State is primary truth; engram fallback.
     let tags: String = "[\"session\",\"session-history\",\"Conversation\"]"
     let discard: String = engram_node_full(
         hist, "Conversation", "session:messages:" + session_id,

soul.el

@@ -296,11 +296,8 @@ fn layered_cycle(raw_input: String) -> String {
     let cont_status: String = json_get(continuity, "status")
     let cont_action: String = json_get(continuity, "action")
 
-    // Store continuity status so imprint can adjust its response register.
-    // TODO(reliability #4): session_continuity is process-global; scope per session_id
-    // when available to prevent cross-session bleed under concurrent layered_cycle calls.
-    let cont_key: String = if str_eq(session_id, "") { "session_continuity" } else { "session_continuity:" + session_id }
-    state_set(cont_key, cont_status)
+    // Store continuity status so imprint can adjust its response register
+    state_set("session_continuity", cont_status)
 
     // Identity anomaly: add a gentle verification cue to the input before imprint
     let guided: String = if str_eq(cont_action, "identity_check") {