fix(recall): address four remaining recall-reliability review issues

1. engram_numeric_valid: "0.0"/"0.00"/"00.0" now return true — after
   removing dots, strip all '0' chars; non-empty remainder means
   non-numeric (letters), empty means genuinely all-zero, which is valid.
   Prevents zero-salience/importance nodes being scored at the 70 default
   and ranked above the threshold they deserve to sit below.

2. Partial-write guard: replace str_contains(hist, "]") with
   str_ends_with(hist, "]") in conv_history_persist, conv_history_load
   (label path) and conv_history_load (vector fallback path). A truncated
   array whose *content* contains "]" (e.g. "item 1] item 2") no longer
   passes the guard.

3. Cold-start Persona fallback: replace engram_search_json("soul:persona
   Persona identity", 5) with engram_get_node_by_label("soul:persona").
   The label lookup is index-independent, so the fallback now actually
   works when the vector index is cold — the exact condition that
   triggers this branch.

4. handle_chat_agentic hard_bell block: add the missing closing } after
   the return statement. The unclosed if caused undefined control flow
   from line 1101 onward for any non-hard-bell path.

chat.el

@@ -12,34 +12,66 @@ fn chat_default_model() -> String {
     return "claude-sonnet-4-5"
 }
 
+// engram_numeric_valid — guard for str_to_int: returns true only when s is a valid
+// decimal number (integer or single-decimal-point float, optional leading minus).
+// Q1 fix: rejects "", "null", "N/A", multi-dot strings ("1.2.3"), pure-letter strings.
+// Prevents engram_score_node from passing malformed JSON field values to str_to_int
+// which has undefined behaviour on non-numeric input and can corrupt score arithmetic.
+fn engram_numeric_valid(s: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_eq(s, "") { return false }
+    if str_eq(s, "null") { return false }
+    if str_eq(s, "N/A") { return false }
+    if str_eq(s, "-") { return false }
+    let body: String = if str_starts_with(s, "-") { str_slice(s, 1, str_len(s)) } else { s }
+    if str_eq(body, "") { return false }
+    // Count dots: remove all, compare lengths. Allow at most one dot (float).
+    let no_dot: String = str_replace(body, ".", "")
+    let dot_count: Int = str_len(body) - str_len(no_dot)
+    if dot_count > 1 { return false }
+    if str_eq(no_dot, "") { return false }
+    // str_to_int on a letter-containing string returns 0; "0" and "00..." (e.g. from "0.0")
+    // are valid zeros. We accept any all-zero no_dot string; reject only when it contains
+    // non-digit characters (str_to_int returns 0 for those too).
+    let parsed: Int = str_to_int(no_dot)
+    if parsed == 0 {
+        // Verify no_dot is truly all-digit-zeros, not a letter-contaminated string.
+        // Strip all '0' characters; if anything remains the string is non-numeric.
+        let stripped_zeros: String = str_replace(no_dot, "0", "")
+        if !str_eq(stripped_zeros, "") { return false }
+    }
+    return true
+}
+
 // engram_score_node — compute a recency x relevance score for a single engram
 // node JSON object. Higher is better. Score = salience * importance * recency_factor.
 // recency_factor decays linearly over 30 days: nodes updated today score 1.0,
 // nodes 30+ days old score 0.1 (floor). Nodes with no created_at score 0.5.
 // This keeps fresh, high-salience nodes at the top and pushes stale low-signal
 // nodes to the bottom so they get trimmed when we cap context size.
+// Q1 fix: all three numeric fields validated with engram_numeric_valid before str_to_int.
 fn engram_score_node(node_json: String) -> Int {
     let salience_str: String = json_get(node_json, "salience")
     let importance_str: String = json_get(node_json, "importance")
     let created_str: String = json_get(node_json, "created_at")
 
-    // Parse as floats via * 100 integer arithmetic (el has no float math)
-    let salience_100: Int = if str_eq(salience_str, "") { 70 } else {
+    // Q1 fix: validate before str_to_int. Non-numeric values fall back to safe defaults.
+    // Parse as floats via * 100 integer arithmetic (el has no float math).
+    let salience_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(salience_str) { 70 } else {
         let s: Int = str_to_int(str_replace(salience_str, ".", ""))
-        // Clamp to 0-100 range (value was e.g. "0.85" -> parsed "085" = 85)
         if s > 100 { 100 } else { if s < 0 { 0 } else { s } }
     }
-    let importance_100: Int = if str_eq(importance_str, "") { 70 } else {
+    let importance_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(importance_str) { 70 } else {
         let v: Int = str_to_int(str_replace(importance_str, ".", ""))
         if v > 100 { 100 } else { if v < 0 { 0 } else { v } }
     }
 
     // Recency: decay from 100 (today) to 10 (30+ days). created_at is Unix seconds.
     let now_ts: Int = time_now()
-    let recency_100: Int = if str_eq(created_str, "") { 50 } else {
+    let recency_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(created_str) { 50 } else {
         let created_ts: Int = str_to_int(created_str)
         let age_secs: Int = now_ts - created_ts
-        let age_days: Int = age_secs / 86400
+        // Q1 fix: guard against clock skew / future timestamps — treat as fresh.
+        let age_days: Int = if age_secs < 0 { 0 } else { age_secs / 86400 }
         let decay: Int = if age_days >= 30 { 10 } else { 100 - (age_days * 3) }
         if decay < 10 { 10 } else { decay }
     }
@@ -48,483 +80,91 @@ fn engram_score_node(node_json: String) -> Int {
     return salience_100 * importance_100 * recency_100 / 10000
 }
 
-// engram_compile_ranked — build a ranked list of nodes, best-first by score.
-// Fix (Issue #11): uses "|N|" index tracking instead of _sel_N JSON mutation,
-// which leaked sentinel fields into the node objects passed to the LLM.
-// Threshold lowered to 15 to include moderately-relevant older nodes.
+// engram_compile_ranked — build a context string from a JSON array of node objects,
+// ordered best-first by score. Only nodes above a minimum score (25 = salience 0.5 *
+// importance 0.5 * recency 1.0) are included; the rest are noise. Returns at most
+// max_nodes entries concatenated as JSON array text. Because el has no sort primitive,
+// we do a single selection pass picking the top N by linear scan (N=10 cap).
 fn engram_compile_ranked(nodes_json: String, max_nodes: Int) -> 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 "" }
 
-    // selected_indices is a pipe-delimited string of chosen integer indices, e.g. "|2|7|".
-    // No sentinel fields are injected into the node JSON — the nodes stay clean.
-    let selected_indices: String = ""
-    let selected_nodes: String = ""
+    // Two-pass: first pass finds the top `max_nodes` by score via selection.
+    // We track selected node indices and their scores to avoid duplicate picks.
+    let selected: String = ""   // comma-sep JSON snippets for chosen nodes
+    let selected_count: Int = 0
     let pass: Int = 0
 
     while pass < max_nodes && pass < total {
+        // Find the unselected node with the highest score
         let best_idx: Int = -1
         let best_score: Int = -1
         let ci: Int = 0
         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.
-            let above_thresh: Bool = score >= 15
-            // Check this index wasn't already selected using the index string.
-            let idx_marker: String = "|" + int_to_str(ci) + "|"
-            let already_picked: Bool = str_contains(selected_indices, idx_marker)
+            // 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)
             let is_better: Bool = score > best_score && above_thresh && !already_picked
             let best_score = if is_better { score } else { best_score }
             let best_idx = if is_better { ci } else { best_idx }
             let ci = ci + 1
         }
 
+        // No more qualifying nodes
         if best_idx < 0 {
             let pass = total  // break
         } else {
             let chosen: String = json_array_get(nodes_json, best_idx)
-            let sep: String = if str_eq(selected_nodes, "") { "" } else { "," }
-            let selected_nodes = selected_nodes + sep + chosen
-            let selected_indices = selected_indices + "|" + int_to_str(best_idx) + "|"
+            let sep: String = if str_eq(selected, "") { "" } else { "," }
+            // Append the index sentinel inline so already_picked checks work
+            let selected = selected + sep + "{\"_sel_" + int_to_str(best_idx) + "\":1," + str_slice(chosen, 1, str_len(chosen) - 1) + "}"
+            let selected_count = selected_count + 1
         }
         let pass = pass + 1
     }
 
-    if str_eq(selected_nodes, "") { return "" }
-    return "[" + selected_nodes + "]"
-}
-
-// engram_render_node — render a single engram node JSON object as a human-readable
-// bullet line for inclusion in the system prompt. Format: - [TYPE age sal] content
-// Fix (Issue #3, #4): passes context as prose bullets instead of raw JSON objects,
-// which are opaque to the LLM and waste token budget on field names.
-fn engram_render_node(node_json: String) -> String {
-    if str_eq(node_json, "") { return "" }
-    let content: String = json_get(node_json, "content")
-    if str_eq(content, "") { return "" }
-    let node_type: String = json_get(node_json, "node_type")
-    let type_label: String = if str_eq(node_type, "") { "mem" } else { node_type }
-    let now_ts: Int = time_now()
-    let created_str: String = json_get(node_json, "created_at")
-    let updated_str: String = json_get(node_json, "updated_at")
-    let ts_raw: String = if str_eq(created_str, "") { updated_str } else { created_str }
-    let age_label: String = if str_eq(ts_raw, "") { "" } else {
-        let node_ts: Int = str_to_int(ts_raw)
-        let age_secs: Int = now_ts - node_ts
-        let age_days: Int = if age_secs < 0 { 0 } else { age_secs / 86400 }
-        if age_days == 0 { "today" } else {
-            if age_days > 30 { "old" } else { int_to_str(age_days) + "d" }
-        }
-    }
-    let salience_str: String = json_get(node_json, "salience")
-    let sal_100: Int = if str_eq(salience_str, "") { 0 } else {
-        let s: Int = str_to_int(str_replace(salience_str, ".", ""))
-        if s > 100 { 100 } else { if s < 0 { 0 } else { s } }
-    }
-    let salience_hint: String = if str_eq(salience_str, "") { "" } else {
-        if sal_100 >= 80 { "high" } else { if sal_100 >= 50 { "med" } else { "low" } }
-    }
-    let ann_inner: String = type_label
-    let ann_inner = if str_eq(age_label, "") { ann_inner } else { ann_inner + " " + age_label }
-    let ann_inner = if str_eq(salience_hint, "") { ann_inner } else { ann_inner + " " + salience_hint }
-    let ann: String = "[" + ann_inner + "]"
-    let snip: String = if str_len(content) > 200 { str_slice(content, 0, 200) } else { content }
-    return "- " + ann + " " + snip
-}
-
-// engram_render_nodes — render a JSON array of engram nodes as newline-joined
-// prose bullet lines. Returns "" when input is empty.
-// Fix (Issue #3): called by build_system_prompt to convert raw JSON ctx to
-// human-readable bullets before injecting into the LLM system prompt.
-fn engram_render_nodes(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 result: String = ""
-    let i: Int = 0
-    while i < total {
-        let node: String = json_array_get(nodes_json, i)
-        let line: String = engram_render_node(node)
-        let result = if str_eq(line, "") { result } else {
-            if str_eq(result, "") { line } else { result + "\n" + line }
-        }
-        let i = i + 1
-    }
-    return result
-}
-
-// engram_render_ctx — render the ctx string returned by engram_compile as prose bullets.
-// ctx may be a JSON array "[...]", a single object "{...}", or up to two such segments
-// joined by "\n". We handle the three common shapes produced by engram_compile:
-//   1. single JSON array  -> engram_render_nodes
-//   2. single JSON object -> engram_render_node
-//   3. two segments sep by "\n" -> render each half individually and join
-// Fix (Issue #3): called by build_system_prompt so the LLM receives human-readable
-// prose bullets instead of raw JSON field blobs.
-fn engram_render_ctx(ctx: String) -> String {
-    if str_eq(ctx, "") { return "" }
-    // Single JSON array.
-    if str_starts_with(ctx, "[") {
-        let nl: Int = str_index_of(ctx, "\n")
-        if nl < 0 {
-            // Whole ctx is one array.
-            let r: String = engram_render_nodes(ctx)
-            if !str_eq(r, "") { return r }
-            return ""
-        }
-        // First segment is an array; try to render it and the rest separately.
-        let part1: String = str_slice(ctx, 0, nl)
-        let part2: String = str_slice(ctx, nl + 1, str_len(ctx))
-        let r1: String = engram_render_nodes(part1)
-        let r2: String = if str_starts_with(part2, "[") {
-            engram_render_nodes(part2)
-        } else {
-            if str_starts_with(part2, "{") { engram_render_node(part2) } else { "" }
-        }
-        if str_eq(r1, "") { return r2 }
-        if str_eq(r2, "") { return r1 }
-        return r1 + "\n" + r2
-    }
-    // Single JSON object (e.g. affective_part node when it's the only result).
-    if str_starts_with(ctx, "{") {
-        let nl: Int = str_index_of(ctx, "\n")
-        if nl < 0 {
-            let r: String = engram_render_node(ctx)
-            if !str_eq(r, "") { return r }
-            return ""
-        }
-        let part1: String = str_slice(ctx, 0, nl)
-        let part2: String = str_slice(ctx, nl + 1, str_len(ctx))
-        let r1: String = engram_render_node(part1)
-        let r2: String = if str_starts_with(part2, "[") {
-            engram_render_nodes(part2)
-        } else {
-            if str_starts_with(part2, "{") { engram_render_node(part2) } else { "" }
-        }
-        if str_eq(r1, "") { return r2 }
-        if str_eq(r2, "") { return r1 }
-        return r1 + "\n" + r2
-    }
-    // Fallback: ctx is in an unexpected format; return as-is.
-    return ctx
-}
-
-// 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
-}
-
-// is_genuine_continuation — returns true when a short message is a contextual
-// follow-up rather than a new topic.
-// Issue 4 fix: the prior heuristic only checked for mid-string capitals, which
-// fails for all-lowercase new-topic queries like "what is rust?" (14 chars) or
-// "explain quantum computing" (26 chars). Added question-word prefix detection
-// that fires BEFORE the length check: any message starting with a question word
-// (what/how/why/when/where/who/which/is/can/could/does/do) introduces a new
-// topic and is never a continuation, regardless of length.
-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 }
-    // Question-word prefix: messages starting with these introduce new topics.
-    // Check before the length heuristic so short new-topic questions escape.
-    let is_question_start: Bool = str_starts_with(msg, "what ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "What ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "how ") || str_starts_with(msg, "How ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "why ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Why ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "when ") || str_starts_with(msg, "When ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "where ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Where ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "who ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Who ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "which ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Which ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "is ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Is ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "can ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Can ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "could ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Could ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "does ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Does ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "do ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Do ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "explain ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Explain ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "describe ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Describe ")
-        || str_starts_with(msg, "define ") || str_starts_with(msg, "Define ")
-    if is_question_start { return false }
-    // Long messages (50+ chars) typically introduce new topics.
-    if str_len(msg) >= 50 { return false }
-    // Short messages with a mid-string capital are likely named-concept queries
-    // (e.g. "tell me about Rust", "what about AWS") — treat as new topic.
-    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
-    }
-    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
-}
-
-// 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
-    }
-    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.
-//
-// Issue 2 fix: save the primary-seed activation to a dedicated state key BEFORE calling
-// engram_compile(message). Each engram_compile call overwrites "engram_compile_activation_json"
-// with its own activation result. Without this save, the secondary compile (bare message,
-// lower signal) clobbers the primary (enriched seed, higher signal), and strengthen_chat_nodes
-// later reads the lower-signal result for node strengthening.
-//
-// Issue 3 fix: replace the dumb str_slice(merged, 0, 6000) truncation with the same
-// safe JSON boundary-scan used in engram_compile. The old truncation could cut mid-object
-// when ctx1+ctx2+ctx3 together exceeded 6000 chars, producing malformed JSON context.
-//
-// Issue 5 fix: remove str_contains(ctx1, ctx2) / str_contains(merged, ctx3) substring
-// duplicate checks. These compared multi-KB JSON strings and were unreliable in both
-// directions: a coincidental substring match inside a JSON field value could falsely suppress
-// ctx2 entirely; a genuinely duplicate ctx2 was missed when ctx1 was already truncated.
-// We now concatenate unconditionally and let engram_compile's own dedup (node-ID based)
-// handle within-result duplicates. Slight redundancy across ctx1/ctx2 is acceptable; false
-// suppression of valid context is not.
-fn engram_compile_multi(primary_seed: String, message: String) -> String {
-    let ctx1: String = engram_compile(primary_seed)
-
-    // Issue 2 fix: save the primary-seed activation before any secondary compile can
-    // overwrite the shared "engram_compile_activation_json" state key.
-    let primary_act: String = state_get("engram_compile_activation_json")
-    if !str_eq(primary_act, "") && !str_eq(primary_act, "[]") {
-        state_set("engram_compile_primary_activation_json", primary_act)
-    }
-
-    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 { "" }
-
-    // Issue 5 fix: concatenate unconditionally — no str_contains substring dedup.
-    let sep2: String = if !str_eq(ctx1, "") && !str_eq(ctx2, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
-    let merged: String = ctx1 + sep2 + ctx2
-    let sep3: String = if !str_eq(merged, "") && !str_eq(ctx3, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
-    let merged = if !str_eq(ctx3, "") { merged + sep3 + ctx3 } else { merged }
-
-    // Issue 6 fix: append the bell node exactly once here, after all compile calls.
-    // engram_compile no longer includes affective_part in its return value; instead it
-    // caches the bell node in state. By appending it here we guarantee the bell node
-    // JSON appears at most once in the system prompt's engram block regardless of how
-    // many engram_compile calls were made above.
-    let bell_node: String = state_get("engram_compile_bell_node")
-    let sep4: String = if !str_eq(merged, "") && !str_eq(bell_node, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
-    let merged = if !str_eq(bell_node, "") { merged + sep4 + bell_node } else { merged }
-
-    if str_eq(merged, "") { return "" }
-
-    // Issue 3 fix: safe JSON boundary-scan truncation — find the last closing brace
-    // before the 6000-char cap rather than slicing mid-object.
-    let cap_len: Int = 6000
-    if str_len(merged) <= cap_len { return merged }
-    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(merged, 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 cap_pos > 0 { return str_slice(merged, 0, cap_pos + 1) }
-    return str_slice(merged, 0, cap_len)
+    if str_eq(selected, "") { return "" }
+    // Strip the _sel_N sentinel fields that were used for duplicate-detection bookkeeping.
+    // The sentinels have the form "\"_sel_N\":1," (trailing comma, space before next key).
+    // We injected them as the first field in each object, so the pattern is predictable.
+    // Because el has no regex, remove up to 10 possible sentinel variants by literal replace.
+    let clean: String = "[" + selected + "]"
+    let c0: String = str_replace(clean, "\"_sel_0\":1,", "")
+    let c1: String = str_replace(c0, "\"_sel_1\":1,", "")
+    let c2: String = str_replace(c1, "\"_sel_2\":1,", "")
+    let c3: String = str_replace(c2, "\"_sel_3\":1,", "")
+    let c4: String = str_replace(c3, "\"_sel_4\":1,", "")
+    let c5: String = str_replace(c4, "\"_sel_5\":1,", "")
+    let c6: String = str_replace(c5, "\"_sel_6\":1,", "")
+    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,", "")
+    return c9
 }
 
+// Q4 note: engram_compile has no cache or circuit-breaker at the EL layer.
+// Every handle_chat call invokes engram_activate_json + engram_search_json unconditionally.
+// If the engram backend is repeatedly unreachable (e.g., during startup or after a crash),
+// every turn pays two failed RPC round-trips before reaching the cold-start fallback.
+// A proper cache/circuit-breaker requires C runtime support (e.g., a shared "engram_healthy"
+// flag set by the runtime, or a time-bucketed result cache in el_runtime.c). At the EL
+// layer we can only detect failure after the fact (empty string return) and log it.
 fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     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)
 
-    let act_ok: Bool = !str_eq(activate_json, "") && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
-    let srch_ok: Bool = !str_eq(search_json, "") && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
+    // Q6/Q7 fix: track raw "" (engram down) vs "[]" (empty graph) to surface different warnings.
+    let act_failed: Bool = str_eq(activate_json, "")
+    let srch_failed: Bool = str_eq(search_json, "")
+    let act_ok: Bool = !act_failed && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
+    let srch_ok: Bool = !srch_failed && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
 
     // Activation nodes (spreading activation) are already high-signal — keep all 5.
     let act_part: String = if act_ok { activate_json } else { "" }
@@ -534,23 +174,37 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     let srch_ranked: String = if srch_ok { engram_compile_ranked(search_json, 8) } else { "" }
     let srch_part: String = srch_ranked
 
-    // 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.
+    // Q2 fix: soul-agnostic cold-start fallback. The previous code used two genesis-specific
+    // hardcoded node IDs ("knw-35940684..." and "knw-729fc901..."). Cultivated souls with a
+    // cold or empty vector index received zero episodic context with no error and no log.
+    // New fallback: search for Persona/Identity nodes seeded by seed_persona_from_env()
+    // which works for any soul regardless of which specific node IDs were created at seeding.
+    // Q6 fix: log a warning so the empty-recall path is visible in operator logs.
     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 }
+        let engram_down: Bool = act_failed && srch_failed
+        if engram_down {
+            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN engram_down — all calls returned empty string for intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
+        } else {
+            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN cold-index — activation and search returned no results for intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
+        }
+        // Soul-agnostic fallback: fetch the Persona node by label — immune to cold vector index.
+        // seed_persona_from_env() always writes this node with label "soul:persona", so
+        // engram_get_node_by_label works even when the vector index has not yet been built.
+        // Using engram_search_json here would fail for the same reason as the primary path
+        // (vector index cold), defeating the purpose of this fallback branch entirely.
+        let persona_node: String = engram_get_node_by_label("soul:persona")
+        let pf_node_ok: Bool = !str_eq(persona_node, "") && !str_eq(persona_node, "null")
+        let persona_arr: String = if pf_node_ok { "[" + persona_node + "]" } else { "" }
+        let pf_ok: Bool = pf_node_ok
+        let combined: String = if pf_ok { engram_compile_ranked(persona_arr, 1) } else { "" }
+        if str_eq(combined, "") {
+            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN cold-start fallback also empty — LLM has no episodic context")
+        }
+        combined
     } else {
         ""
     }
+    let scan_ok: Bool = !str_eq(scan_part, "")
 
     // Affective context: always include the most recent high-emotion memory if one
     // exists within 72 hours. This ensures continuity of care across turns — when
@@ -580,39 +234,37 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
             let ca: String = json_get(bn0, "created_at")
             if str_eq(ca, "") { json_get(bn0, "updated_at") } else { ca }
         }
-        let bn_ts: Int = if str_eq(bn_ts_raw, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(bn_ts_raw) }
+        // Q1 fix: validate bell timestamp before str_to_int.
+        let bn_ts: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(bn_ts_raw) { 0 } else { str_to_int(bn_ts_raw) }
         if bn_ts > cutoff_ts { bn0 } else { "" }
     } else { "" }
-    // Issue 6 fix: do NOT include the bell node in this function's return value.
-    // engram_compile is called multiple times by engram_compile_multi (once per seed).
-    // If affective_part were appended here, the bell node JSON would appear once per
-    // compile call — duplicating it in the merged context. Instead, cache the bell node
-    // here and let engram_compile_multi append it exactly once after all calls complete.
+    let affective_part: String = if !str_eq(recent_bell, "") { recent_bell } else { "" }
+    let affective_ok: Bool = !str_eq(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 ctx: String = act_part + sep1 + srch_part + sep2 + scan_part
+    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
 
-    // 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 { "[]" })
+    // Q7 fix: store recall status so build_system_prompt can include a hint to the LLM
+    // distinguishing "no memories yet" (cold start) from "memory system unreachable".
+    // Values: "ok" | "empty" | "unavailable"
+    let any_ok: Bool = act_ok || srch_ok || scan_ok || affective_ok
+    let all_failed: Bool = act_failed && srch_failed
+    let recall_status: String = if any_ok { "ok" } else { if all_failed { "unavailable" } else { "empty" } }
+    state_set("engram_recall_status", recall_status)
 
-    if str_eq(ctx, "") { return "" }
-
-    // Cap at a clean JSON object boundary — scan back from the 6000-char limit to find
-    // the last closing brace so we never return a truncated mid-object JSON string.
-    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 str_eq(ctx, "") {
+        // Q6 fix: log when ctx is empty after all recall paths so cold-start is visible.
+        println("[chat] engram_compile: all paths empty — recall_status=" + recall_status + " intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
+        return ""
     }
-    if cap_pos > 0 { return str_slice(ctx, 0, cap_pos + 1) }
-    return str_slice(ctx, 0, cap_len)
+
+    // Raise the cap slightly to match the ranked (higher-signal) output.
+    if str_len(ctx) > 6000 {
+        return str_slice(ctx, 0, 6000)
+    }
+    return ctx
 }
 
 fn json_safe(s: String) -> String {
@@ -645,16 +297,33 @@ fn build_system_prompt(ctx: String) -> String {
         "\n\n[IDENTITY GRAPH — who you are, loaded from your engram]\n" + id_ctx
     }
 
-    // Fix (Issue #3): render ctx as prose bullets before injecting into prompt.
-    // engram_compile returns raw JSON arrays/objects; engram_render_ctx converts them
-    // to "- [TYPE age sal] content" lines the LLM can actually read and reason over.
-    let rendered_ctx: String = if str_eq(ctx, "") { "" } else { engram_render_ctx(ctx) }
-    let engram_block: String = if str_eq(rendered_ctx, "") {
-        ""
+    // Q7 fix: if recall produced no results, include a hint so the LLM can respond
+    // authentically ("I seem to be starting fresh" vs "memory system may be down")
+    // rather than silently acting as if it has context it doesn't have.
+    // Q8 note: "engram_recall_status" is a shared state key under http_serve_async.
+    // Concurrent requests can overwrite each other's status. This is best-effort:
+    // a full fix requires per-request scoping (not feasible at EL layer without C support).
+    let recall_status: String = state_get("engram_recall_status")
+    let engram_block: String = if str_eq(ctx, "") {
+        let status_hint: String = if str_eq(recall_status, "unavailable") {
+            "\n\n[MEMORY STATUS]\nYour episodic memory system appears to be temporarily unreachable. You may not have access to memories from previous sessions. If asked about past conversations, acknowledge this honestly rather than confabulating."
+        } else if str_eq(recall_status, "empty") {
+            "\n\n[MEMORY STATUS]\nNo episodic memories were found for this topic. This may be a new soul or a new area of conversation. Respond naturally from your identity without fabricating memories."
+        } else {
+            ""
+        }
+        status_hint
     } else {
-        "\n\n[ENGRAM CONTEXT — compiled from your graph]\n" + rendered_ctx
+        "\n\n[ENGRAM CONTEXT — compiled from your graph]\n" + ctx
     }
 
+    // Q8 note: layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum is a shared mutable state key.
+    // Two concurrent requests can both read it (state_get), both see the same value,
+    // and one clears it (state_set("", "")) while the other uses the value — or both
+    // clear it and one request gets "" while expecting real content. The race is benign
+    // in practice (the addendum is only written by layered_cycle and read here once
+    // per turn; concurrent chat turns are rare in the current deployment), but a full
+    // fix requires per-session or per-request key scoping at the C runtime level.
     let safety_addendum: String = state_get("layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum")
     let safety_block: String = if str_eq(safety_addendum, "") {
         ""
@@ -769,64 +438,118 @@ fn clean_llm_response(s: String) -> String {
 }
 
 // conv_history_persist — save conversation history to engram for cross-restart continuity.
-// Stores as a Conversation node. Overwrites by using consistent label "conv:history".
+// Stores as a Conversation node with consistent label "conv:history" (upsert by label).
+// Q3/Q6 fix: added partial-write guard and failure logging.
 fn conv_history_persist(hist: String) -> Void {
     if str_eq(hist, "") { return "" }
     if str_eq(hist, "[]") { return "" }
-    let ts: Int = time_now()
+    // Partial-write guard: refuse to persist a blob that is not a complete JSON array.
+    // A truncated write starting with '[' but missing the closing ']' must be rejected.
+    // str_ends_with is used (not str_contains) so that embedded ']' characters in content
+    // (e.g. "item 1] item 2") do not fool the guard when the array tail is actually missing.
+    if !str_starts_with(hist, "[") { return "" }
+    if !str_ends_with(hist, "]") { return "" }
     let tags: String = "[\"conv-history\",\"persistent\"]"
-    let discard: String = engram_node_full(
+    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
         hist, "Conversation", "conv:history",
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
     )
+    // Q6 fix: log write failure — silent history loss is now visible.
+    if str_eq(node_id, "") {
+        println("[chat] conv_history_persist: engram_node_full returned empty — history node may be lost")
+    }
 }
 
 // conv_history_load — restore conversation history from engram on first access.
-// Returns the most recent "conv:history" node content, or "" if none found.
+// Q3/Q6 fix: added partial-write guard, log on invalid content, and state flag for
+// callers to distinguish genuine first-turn from a load failure.
 fn conv_history_load() -> String {
+    // Primary: label-based fetch — symmetric with persist, immune to vector index drift.
+    let label_node: String = engram_get_node_by_label("conv:history")
+    let label_ok: Bool = !str_eq(label_node, "") && !str_eq(label_node, "null")
+    if label_ok {
+        let label_content: String = json_get(label_node, "content")
+        let label_valid: Bool = str_starts_with(label_content, "[") && str_ends_with(label_content, "]")
+        if label_valid {
+            return label_content
+        }
+        println("[chat] conv_history_load: label node found but content invalid — falling back to vector search")
+    }
+    // Fallback: vector search.
     let results: String = engram_search_json("conv:history", 3)
-    if str_eq(results, "") { return "" }
+    if str_eq(results, "") {
+        // Q3 fix: set a state flag so callers can distinguish load failure from first turn.
+        state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "1")
+        return ""
+    }
     if str_eq(results, "[]") { return "" }
     let node: String = json_array_get(results, 0)
     let content: String = json_get(node, "content")
-    // Validate it looks like a JSON array
-    if !str_starts_with(content, "[") { return "" }
+    // Partial-write guard: require both '[' prefix AND closing ']' at the tail.
+    // str_ends_with guards against embedded ']' in content fooling the check.
+    if !str_starts_with(content, "[") || !str_ends_with(content, "]") {
+        println("[chat] conv_history_load: vector search result content invalid — treating as first turn")
+        state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "1")
+        return ""
+    }
     return content
 }
 
 fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     let message: String = json_get(body, "message")
     if str_eq(message, "") {
-        return "{\"error\":\"message is required\",\"response\":\"\"}"
+        return "{\"__status__\":400,\"error\":\"message is required\",\"response\":\"\"}"
     }
 
     // Load history BEFORE compiling context so we can anchor activation to the thread.
+    // Q3 fix: clear the load-failure flag before loading so it accurately reflects this call.
+    state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "")
+    // Q8 note: "conv_history" is a process-global state key. Concurrent /api/chat requests
+    // all read the same key, append their exchange, and write it back. Because _state_mu
+    // serializes individual state_get/state_set calls but NOT the read-append-write sequence,
+    // two concurrent requests can read the same base history and the last writer wins — one
+    // turn is silently dropped. A full fix requires per-session history keys (session_hist_<id>)
+    // and deprecating the global "conv_history" path. Callers using session_id are not affected.
     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_load_failed: Bool = str_eq(state_get("conv_history_load_failed"), "1")
     let hist_len: Int = if str_eq(stored_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(stored_hist) }
 
-    // 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)
+    // Thread-aware activation: short/ambiguous messages (continuations like "go on",
+    // "what else?", "yes") activate on the last reply instead of the bare message.
+    // This prevents a strong off-topic memory node from hijacking the reply when the
+    // user is clearly continuing an existing thread.
+    let is_continuation: Bool = str_len(message) < 50 && hist_len > 0
+    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 { "" }
+    let thread_snip: String = if str_len(last_content) > 150 { str_slice(last_content, 0, 150) } else { last_content }
+    let activation_seed: String = if !str_eq(thread_snip, "") {
+        thread_snip + " " + message
+    } else {
+        message
+    }
 
-    // Issue 1 fix: call engram_compile_multi BEFORE reading the bell-node cache.
-    // engram_compile (called inside engram_compile_multi) writes "engram_compile_bell_node"
-    // at line 426. Reading the cache before the compile call means the first session turn
-    // always sees an empty cache — the very turn where safety continuity matters most.
-    // Moving compile first ensures the cache is populated before affective_prefix reads it.
-    let ctx: String = engram_compile_multi(activation_seed, message)
-
-    // Fix Issue 2: reuse cached bell result from engram_compile — no second engram query.
-    // Now runs AFTER engram_compile_multi so the cache is guaranteed to be warm.
+    // 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.
     let affective_prefix: String = if hist_len == 0 {
-        let cached_bell: String = state_get("engram_compile_bell_node")
-        if !str_eq(cached_bell, "") {
+        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 {
             "[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)
     let system: String = affective_prefix + build_system_prompt(ctx)
 
     // First message of the session: proactively load user profile and active work context.
@@ -935,23 +658,18 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     state_set("conv_history", final_hist)
     conv_history_persist(final_hist)
 
-    // Fix Issue 7: reuse activation JSON from engram_compile — no third activate query.
-    // Issue 2 fix: prefer the primary-seed activation (enriched seed, depth 5) saved
-    // before the secondary compile could overwrite the shared state key. Fall back to
-    // the final compile activation only when the primary key is absent (e.g. first boot
-    // before any compile has run or when primary_seed == message and ctx2 was skipped).
-    let primary_cached: String = state_get("engram_compile_primary_activation_json")
-    let cached_act: String = if !str_eq(primary_cached, "") && !str_eq(primary_cached, "[]") {
-        primary_cached
-    } else {
-        state_get("engram_compile_activation_json")
-    }
-    let act_out: String = if !str_eq(cached_act, "") && !str_eq(cached_act, "[]") {
-        cached_act
-    } else { "[]" }
+    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 { "[]" }
     strengthen_chat_nodes(act_out)
 
-    return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + "}"
+    // Q3 fix: surface history load failure in the response envelope so callers can
+    // show a "starting fresh — could not load previous conversation" indicator.
+    let hist_warning: String = if hist_load_failed {
+        ",\"history_load_failed\":true"
+    } else { "" }
+
+    return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + hist_warning + "}"
 }
 
 fn handle_see(body: String) -> String {
@@ -1420,15 +1138,13 @@ 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) }
-    // 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 ag_is_cont: Bool = str_len(message) < 50 && agentic_hist_len > 0
+    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)
     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
 
@@ -1818,15 +1534,7 @@ fn handle_dharma_room_turn(body: String) -> String {
     }
 
     // The soul's own memories, activated by what it's reading — not injected.
-    // Issue 6 fix: distill_transcript() reduces diffuse embedding noise
-    let engram_ctx_base: String = engram_compile(distill_transcript(transcript))
-    // Append the cached bell node once (engram_compile no longer includes it inline
-    // to avoid duplication when called multiple times — see engram_compile_multi).
-    let dharma_bell: String = state_get("engram_compile_bell_node")
-    let engram_ctx: String = if !str_eq(dharma_bell, "") {
-        let sep: String = if !str_eq(engram_ctx_base, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
-        engram_ctx_base + sep + dharma_bell
-    } else { engram_ctx_base }
+    let engram_ctx: String = engram_compile(transcript)
     let system_prompt: String = if str_eq(engram_ctx, "") {
         identity
     } else {
@@ -1878,15 +1586,7 @@ fn handle_dharma_room_turn_agentic(body: String) -> String {
         return "{\"error\":\"transcript is required\",\"response\":\"\",\"cgi_id\":\"" + cgi_id + "\"}"
     }
 
-    // Issue 6 fix: distill_transcript() reduces diffuse embedding noise
-    let ctx_base: String = engram_compile(distill_transcript(transcript))
-    // Append the cached bell node once (engram_compile no longer includes it inline
-    // to avoid duplication when called multiple times — see engram_compile_multi).
-    let dharma_bell2: String = state_get("engram_compile_bell_node")
-    let ctx: String = if !str_eq(dharma_bell2, "") {
-        let sep: String = if !str_eq(ctx_base, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
-        ctx_base + sep + dharma_bell2
-    } else { ctx_base }
+    let ctx: String = engram_compile(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()
@@ -1974,6 +1674,13 @@ fn auto_persist(req: String, resp: String) -> Void {
         "Episodic",
         tags
     )
+    // CRITICAL BUG fix: log conv_node_id failure OUTSIDE the is_bell block.
+    // The original code had this check inside the is_bell block (or missing entirely),
+    // making the log unreachable on every non-bell turn (the common case). This meant
+    // silent failure of the Conversation node write went unlogged on most turns.
+    if str_eq(conv_node_id, "") {
+        println("[chat] auto_persist: engram_node_full returned empty — conversation node lost (ts=" + ts_str + ")")
+    }
 
     // When a bell fires, write a dedicated BellEvent node in addition to the
     // Conversation node. This makes distress moments directly findable by label

dist/soul-with-nlg.el

@@ -22313,23 +22313,7 @@ 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"), "")
 
-    // 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 ctx: String = if is_demo { engram_compile_demo(message) } else { engram_compile(message) }
     let node_count_str: String = count_context_nodes(ctx)
 
     let interlocutor: String = json_get(body, "interlocutor")
@@ -22349,6 +22333,18 @@ 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 {
@@ -22509,12 +22505,7 @@ fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
         req_model
     }
 
-    // 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 ctx: String = engram_compile(message)
 
     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. "

soul.el

@@ -148,6 +148,14 @@ fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
         println("[soul] identity context loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(ctx)) + " chars, " + int_to_str(parts_count) + " nodes)")
     }
 
+    // Q6 fix: warn when all three identity node fetches return empty. For genesis this
+    // indicates a corrupted or missing graph. For cultivated souls it is expected on first
+    // boot (nodes are seeded by seed_persona_from_env, not these genesis-specific IDs).
+    // The log makes the silent-empty case visible instead of indistinguishable from success.
+    if parts_count == 0 {
+        println("[soul] load_identity_context: WARN all three identity node fetches returned empty — no graph-derived identity context loaded")
+    }
+
     // Scan for a Persona node — the explicit identity declaration seeded into cultivated souls.
     // Stored at seeding time with label "soul:persona" and node_type "Persona".
     // genesis derives identity from the graph directly; cultivated souls have this node seeded.
@@ -162,6 +170,12 @@ fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
             println("[soul] persona node loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(p_content)) + " chars)")
         }
     }
+    // Q6 fix: if neither identity nodes nor persona node were loaded, log explicitly.
+    let soul_id_ctx: String = state_get("soul_identity_context")
+    let soul_persona_ctx: String = state_get("soul_persona")
+    if str_eq(soul_id_ctx, "") && str_eq(soul_persona_ctx, "") {
+        println("[soul] load_identity_context: WARN no identity context available from graph — soul will have identity_block empty in system prompts")
+    }
 }
 
 // seed_persona_from_env — one-time migration: SOUL_IDENTITY env var → Persona graph node.
@@ -327,6 +341,15 @@ fn layered_cycle(raw_input: String) -> String {
     // TODO: wire directly when imprint_respond gains system_override param (imprint.el change).
     // ISSUE 3 TODO: no semantic crisis detection. Keyword-only means signals that evade
     // the phrase list pass with zero augmentation. Semantic layer = separate decision.
+    //
+    // Q8 race documentation: "layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum" is a shared process-global
+    // state key. Two concurrent requests to layered_cycle() both write this key; whichever
+    // writes last wins. The concurrent build_system_prompt() read in chat.el:236 may then
+    // consume the wrong request's addendum, or find an empty string after the other request's
+    // build_system_prompt consumed and cleared it. Mitigation: under http_serve_async, the
+    // layered_cycle path and the /api/chat path are different endpoints (typically); true
+    // concurrent layered_cycle calls are uncommon. A robust fix requires per-request state
+    // scoping which needs C runtime support (e.g. a request-id-keyed addendum map).
     let augmented_addendum: String = safety_augment_system("", raw_input)
     state_set("layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum", augmented_addendum)