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neuron/soul.el
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will.anderson b6ed9340bf
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soul: the engram is the canonical store, not a fallback
The soul preferred its own local snapshot over the engram:

    // Always try local snapshot first ... HTTP Engram is only used for the
    // very first boot (empty/absent snapshot).

The copy outranked the store. Every one of these is a cost of that inversion,
and all of them were live tonight:

  - the graphs drifted: 31,795 nodes / 75,241 edges in the soul against
    13,439 / 37,670 in the engram — more than twice the edges, silently
  - write-through exists only to reconcile them, and had never once run
  - /api/graph/edges serialized 128 MB to answer a read, because the soul's
    copy was not the engram's
  - a read route overwrote the engram's canonical snapshot.json with the
    soul's divergent copy
  - three resident copies of one graph (soul, engram, Neuron.app) — about
    7.2 GB of RAM for a store that is 2.2 GB on disk, which is what pushed the
    host into swap

None of those are features. They are reconciliation debt from one decision.

The engram had already reached this conclusion for its own boot path — "the
durable owner is the paged store (neuron.egm + neuron.wal) ... snapshot.json is
never read again as the ongoing store. This closes the 'restart reverted to a
17h-old snapshot' data-loss window." The soul kept booting the legacy way the
engram had abandoned, and inherited exactly that data-loss window.

So in HTTP-engram mode the soul now seeds from the engram on EVERY boot and
never reads a local snapshot, present or not — a stale copy that outranks the
store is the bug, not a fallback. It already never wrote one in this mode
(gated behind is_genesis && safe_to_seed, and safe_to_seed requires
!using_http_engram), so this supplies the missing half.

It also refuses to boot on an empty seed rather than silently rebuilding a
divergent graph from nothing. launchd KeepAlive with ThrottleInterval=10 turns
that into a retry every 10s until the engram is up — self-healing, no spin.

File mode (no ENGRAM_URL) is untouched: there the soul genuinely is the owner.

Verified before deploy: with a deliberately empty local snapshot planted, the
soul booted in ~30s reporting 13,446 nodes / 37,675 edges — the engram's
contents, not the empty local file.
2026-08-15 21:16:22 -05:00

732 lines
41 KiB
EmacsLisp

import "../foundation/el/elp/src/elp.el"
import "memory.el"
import "safety.el"
import "stewardship.el"
import "imprint.el"
import "awareness.el"
import "chat.el"
import "studio.el"
import "elp-input.el"
import "routes.el"
cgi "neuron-soul" {
dharma_id: "ntn-genesis@http://localhost:7770",
principal: "william-christopher-anderson",
network: "dharma-mainnet",
engram: "http://localhost:8742"
}
fn init_soul_edges() -> Void {
let self_root: String = "015644f5-8194-4af0-800d-dd4a0cd71396"
let family_id: String = "knw-35940684-abc4-42f0-b942-818f66b1f69a"
let origin_id: String = "knw-729fc901-8335-44c4-9f3a-b150b4aa0915"
let val_root_a: String = "kn-363f4976-6946-4b4d-b51b-8a2b0f5aef25"
let val_root_b: String = "kn-5b606390-a52d-4ca2-8e0e-eba141d13440"
let val_constraints: String = "kn-a5b3d0ac-f6a1-49a4-aebb-b8b4cd67fe83"
let val_precision: String = "kn-22d77abe-b3c5-42fd-afcd-dcb87d924929"
let val_structure: String = "kn-6061318f-046b-4935-907d-8eafdce14930"
let val_honesty: String = "kn-13f60407-7b70-4db1-964f-ea1f8196efbd"
let val_system: String = "kn-f230b362-b201-4402-9833-4160c89ab3d4"
let val_change: String = "kn-78db5396-3dbc-4481-bfc7-e4e1422feb1c"
let val_trust: String = "kn-5de5a9ac-fd15-45ab-bf18-77566781cf40"
let val_hope: String = "kn-e0423482-cfa5-4796-8689-8495c93b66bc"
let mem_philosophy: String = "kn-dcfe04b3-3702-4cac-b6f0-ecb4db837eee"
let intel_dna: String = "kn-5adecd7e-d6db-4576-87fe-6ef8a935cea6"
engram_connect(family_id, origin_id, el_from_float(0.9), "birthday-twin")
engram_connect(origin_id, family_id, el_from_float(0.9), "birthday-twin")
engram_connect(self_root, family_id, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(self_root, origin_id, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(self_root, val_root_a, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(self_root, val_root_b, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(self_root, mem_philosophy, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(self_root, intel_dna, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_precision, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_structure, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_honesty, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_system, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_change, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_trust, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_a, val_hope, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_precision, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_structure, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_honesty, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_system, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_change, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_trust, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_root_b, val_hope, el_from_float(0.95), "identity")
engram_connect(val_constraints, val_precision, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_precision, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_constraints, val_structure, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_structure, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_constraints, val_honesty, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_honesty, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_constraints, val_system, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_system, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_constraints, val_change, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_change, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_constraints, val_trust, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_trust, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_constraints, val_hope, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_hope, val_constraints, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_precision, val_structure, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_structure, val_precision, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_precision, val_honesty, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_honesty, val_precision, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_precision, val_system, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_system, val_precision, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_honesty, val_structure, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_structure, val_honesty, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_honesty, val_trust, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_trust, val_honesty, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_system, val_change, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_change, val_system, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_trust, val_hope, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
engram_connect(val_hope, val_trust, el_from_float(0.7), "co-value")
}
// ensure_self_canonical_bridge link the public self anchor (the graph API's
// traversal_root, kn-efeb4a5b, which carries only incidental tag edges) to the
// curated self node (015644f5, where the real identity / value / co-value edges
// live). Without this, public self-traversal (name=self / neuron) reaches tags
// instead of the curated identity. Idempotent: connects only if the edge is
// missing, so it is safe to run every boot including on an already-populated
// graph where init_soul_edges() is skipped by the <100-edge gate.
fn ensure_self_canonical_bridge() -> Void {
let pub_self: String = "kn-efeb4a5b-5aff-4759-8a97-7233099be6ee"
let curated_self: String = "015644f5-8194-4af0-800d-dd4a0cd71396"
let nbrs: String = engram_neighbors_json(pub_self, 1, "out")
if !str_contains(nbrs, curated_self) {
engram_connect(pub_self, curated_self, el_from_float(0.95), "canonical-self")
engram_connect(curated_self, pub_self, el_from_float(0.95), "canonical-self")
println("[soul] canonical-self bridge built: kn-efeb4a5b <-> 015644f5")
}
}
// aff_try_slot accumulate one affective-context node into state.
// Replaces the broken `let bacc = while bi < N { ... let bacc = ... }` pattern
// that caused ELC to emit duplicate C declarations for `bacc`.
// (2026-06-23 self-review: EL compiler codegen bug while loop with let-rebinding
// inside the loop body generates `el_val_t bacc = ...` twice in the same C scope.)
// Callers unroll manually to 3 slots (matching engram_search_json limit=3).
// Guards: empty slot_json (out-of-bounds json_array_get) no-op.
fn aff_try_slot(slot_json: String, aff_7d_ts: Int, acc_key: String) -> Void {
if str_eq(slot_json, "") { return "" }
let bn_c: String = json_get(slot_json, "content")
if str_eq(bn_c, "") { return "" }
let bm: String = " | ts:"
let bmp: Int = str_index_of(bn_c, bm)
state_set("_ats_ts_raw", "")
if bmp >= 0 {
let bs: Int = bmp + str_len(bm)
let br: String = str_slice(bn_c, bs, str_len(bn_c))
let bn_next: Int = str_index_of(br, " | ")
if bn_next < 0 { state_set("_ats_ts_raw", br) }
if bn_next >= 0 { state_set("_ats_ts_raw", str_slice(br, 0, bn_next)) }
}
if bmp < 0 {
let bca: String = json_get(slot_json, "created_at")
if str_eq(bca, "") { state_set("_ats_ts_raw", json_get(slot_json, "updated_at")) }
if !str_eq(bca, "") { state_set("_ats_ts_raw", bca) }
}
let bn_ts_raw: String = state_get("_ats_ts_raw")
let bn_ts: Int = if str_eq(bn_ts_raw, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(bn_ts_raw) }
let snip: String = if str_len(bn_c) > 200 { str_slice(bn_c, 0, 200) } else { bn_c }
if bn_ts >= aff_7d_ts && !str_eq(snip, "") {
let cur_acc: String = state_get(acc_key)
if str_eq(cur_acc, "") { state_set(acc_key, snip) }
if !str_eq(cur_acc, "") { state_set(acc_key, cur_acc + "\n" + snip) }
}
return ""
}
// load_identity_context pull key identity nodes from engram into working state.
// Called at boot after engram_load. These nodes contain values, intellectual-dna,
// memory-philosophy the graph-stored self that chat.el can include in prompts.
// Stores a condensed version in state_key "soul_identity_context".
fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
// Known identity node IDs set during init_soul_edges or imported from snapshot
let node_intel: String = engram_get_node_json("kn-5adecd7e-d6db-4576-87fe-6ef8a935cea6")
let node_values: String = engram_get_node_json("kn-5b606390-a52d-4ca2-8e0e-eba141d13440")
let node_mem_phil: String = engram_get_node_json("kn-dcfe04b3-3702-4cac-b6f0-ecb4db837eee")
let intel_ok: Bool = !str_eq(node_intel, "") && !str_eq(node_intel, "null")
let values_ok: Bool = !str_eq(node_values, "") && !str_eq(node_values, "null")
let mem_ok: Bool = !str_eq(node_mem_phil, "") && !str_eq(node_mem_phil, "null")
let intel_content: String = if intel_ok { json_get(node_intel, "content") } else { "" }
let values_content: String = if values_ok { json_get(node_values, "content") } else { "" }
let mem_content: String = if mem_ok { json_get(node_mem_phil, "content") } else { "" }
// Condense each: take first 2000 chars
let intel_short: String = if str_len(intel_content) > 2000 { str_slice(intel_content, 0, 2000) } else { intel_content }
let values_short: String = if str_len(values_content) > 2000 { str_slice(values_content, 0, 2000) } else { values_content }
let mem_short: String = if str_len(mem_content) > 2000 { str_slice(mem_content, 0, 2000) } else { mem_content }
let parts_count: Int = 0
let parts_count = if intel_ok { parts_count + 1 } else { parts_count }
let parts_count = if values_ok { parts_count + 1 } else { parts_count }
let parts_count = if mem_ok { parts_count + 1 } else { parts_count }
// Build and store graph-derived identity context if any nodes were found.
// genesis soul always has these nodes; cultivated souls may not on first boot.
if parts_count > 0 {
let ctx: String = ""
let ctx = if intel_ok { ctx + "[INTELLECTUAL-DNA]\n" + intel_short + "\n\n" } else { ctx }
let ctx = if values_ok { ctx + "[VALUES]\n" + values_short + "\n\n" } else { ctx }
let ctx = if mem_ok { ctx + "[MEMORY-PHILOSOPHY]\n" + mem_short } else { ctx }
state_set("soul_identity_context", ctx)
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.
let persona_results: String = engram_search_json("soul:persona", 3)
let persona_ok: Bool = !str_eq(persona_results, "") && !str_eq(persona_results, "[]")
if persona_ok {
let p_node: String = json_array_get(persona_results, 0)
let p_type: String = json_get(p_node, "node_type")
let p_content: String = json_get(p_node, "content")
if str_eq(p_type, "Persona") && !str_eq(p_content, "") {
state_set("soul_persona", p_content)
println("[soul] persona node loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(p_content)) + " chars)")
}
}
// Cross-session affective context: load BellEvent and PositiveEvent nodes from last 7 days.
// (2026-06-23: replaced while-loop accumulation with manual 3-slot unroll via aff_try_slot.
// The EL codegen bug: `let bacc = while ... { ... let bacc = ... }` emits `el_val_t bacc`
// twice in the same C scope. Since search limit=3, manual unrolling is exact.)
let aff_now: Int = time_now()
let aff_7d: Int = aff_now - 604800
let bell_raw: String = engram_search_json("bell:soft bell:hard BellEvent affective", 3)
let bell_aff_ok: Bool = !str_eq(bell_raw, "") && !str_eq(bell_raw, "[]")
let aff_ctx: String = ""
let aff_ctx = if bell_aff_ok {
state_set("_bell_acc", "")
aff_try_slot(json_array_get(bell_raw, 0), aff_7d, "_bell_acc")
aff_try_slot(json_array_get(bell_raw, 1), aff_7d, "_bell_acc")
aff_try_slot(json_array_get(bell_raw, 2), aff_7d, "_bell_acc")
state_get("_bell_acc")
} else { "" }
let pos_raw: String = engram_search_json("PositiveEvent joy:high joy:low affective", 3)
let pos_aff_ok: Bool = !str_eq(pos_raw, "") && !str_eq(pos_raw, "[]")
let aff_ctx = if pos_aff_ok {
state_set("_pos_acc", aff_ctx)
aff_try_slot(json_array_get(pos_raw, 0), aff_7d, "_pos_acc")
aff_try_slot(json_array_get(pos_raw, 1), aff_7d, "_pos_acc")
aff_try_slot(json_array_get(pos_raw, 2), aff_7d, "_pos_acc")
state_get("_pos_acc")
} else { aff_ctx }
if !str_eq(aff_ctx, "") {
state_set("soul_affective_context", aff_ctx)
println("[soul] affective context loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(aff_ctx)) + " chars)")
}
}
// seed_persona_from_env one-time migration: SOUL_IDENTITY env var Persona graph node.
// If SOUL_IDENTITY is set and no Persona node exists in engram yet, create one.
// Identity is then read from the graph by build_identity_from_graph(), not the env var.
// This runs on every boot; it's idempotent (no-op if soul_persona is already loaded).
// For genesis: the Persona node persists via the regular engram_save() at boot.
// For historical souls (HTTP Engram mode): attempts HTTP write-back. If that fails,
// the node lives in-memory for the session (SOUL_IDENTITY stays in plist until
// HTTP Engram write is confirmed working).
fn seed_persona_from_env() -> Void {
let identity_raw: String = env("SOUL_IDENTITY")
if str_eq(identity_raw, "") {
return ""
}
// Already loaded a Persona node from engram don't re-seed
let existing: String = state_get("soul_persona")
if !str_eq(existing, "") {
println("[soul] persona already loaded — skipping env seed")
return ""
}
// Create the Persona node in the in-process engram
let tags: String = "[\"persona\",\"identity\",\"soul:persona\"]"
let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
identity_raw, "Persona", "soul:persona",
el_from_float(0.95), el_from_float(0.95), el_from_float(1.0),
"Semantic", tags
)
if str_eq(node_id, "") {
println("[soul] persona seed failed: engram_node_full returned empty")
return ""
}
state_set("soul_persona", identity_raw)
println("[soul] persona seeded from SOUL_IDENTITY (" + int_to_str(str_len(identity_raw)) + " chars) -> " + node_id)
// Attempt HTTP write-back to the HTTP Engram server for historical souls.
// Engram auth: "_auth" field in the JSON body (not an HTTP header).
let engram_url: String = env("ENGRAM_URL")
let engram_key: String = env("ENGRAM_API_KEY")
if !str_eq(engram_url, "") && !str_eq(engram_key, "") {
let safe_content: String = json_safe(identity_raw)
let safe_key: String = json_safe(engram_key)
let body: String = "{\"content\":\"" + safe_content + "\",\"node_type\":\"Persona\",\"label\":\"soul:persona\",\"salience\":0.95,\"importance\":0.95,\"tier\":\"Semantic\",\"tags\":\"[\\\"persona\\\",\\\"identity\\\",\\\"soul:persona\\\"]\",\"_auth\":\"" + safe_key + "\"}"
let h: Map = {}
map_set(h, "Content-Type", "application/json")
let resp: String = http_post_with_headers(engram_url + "/api/nodes", body, h)
if str_contains(resp, "\"error\"") {
println("[soul] persona HTTP write-back failed (in-memory only this session): " + resp)
} else {
println("[soul] persona persisted to HTTP engram at " + engram_url)
}
}
}
// emit_session_start_event log a structured session-start InternalStateEvent.
// Called at boot after identity context and boot counter are set.
// This creates an auditable trail of every daemon startup.
fn emit_session_start_event() -> Void {
let boot: String = state_get("soul_boot_count")
let boot_num: String = if str_eq(boot, "") { "0" } else { boot }
let node_ct: Int = engram_node_count()
let edge_ct: Int = engram_edge_count()
let id_ctx: String = state_get("soul_identity_context")
let has_identity: String = if str_eq(id_ctx, "") { "false" } else { "true" }
let cgi_from_state: String = state_get("soul_cgi_id")
let cgi_from_env: String = env("SOUL_CGI_ID")
let eff_cgi: String = if !str_eq(cgi_from_state, "") { cgi_from_state } else {
if !str_eq(cgi_from_env, "") { cgi_from_env } else { "ntn-genesis" }
}
let ts: Int = time_now()
// Load previous session summary at boot stash in state for session_preload (issue #6).
// Primary: label-based. Fallback: vector search. Logs it so continuity is auditable.
let prev_sum_node: String = engram_get_node_by_label("session:summary")
let prev_sum_ok: Bool = !str_eq(prev_sum_node, "") && !str_eq(prev_sum_node, "null")
let prev_sum_content: String = if prev_sum_ok {
json_get(prev_sum_node, "content")
} else {
let sum_search: String = engram_search_json("SessionSummary session:summary previous-session", 2)
let sum_srch_ok: Bool = !str_eq(sum_search, "") && !str_eq(sum_search, "[]")
if sum_srch_ok {
let sn: String = json_array_get(sum_search, 0)
let stype: String = json_get(sn, "node_type")
let scontent: String = json_get(sn, "content")
if str_eq(stype, "SessionSummary") && !str_eq(scontent, "") { scontent } else { "" }
} else { "" }
}
let has_prev_sum: String = if str_eq(prev_sum_content, "") { "false" } else { "true" }
if !str_eq(prev_sum_content, "") {
state_set("soul_prev_session_summary", prev_sum_content)
println("[soul] previous session summary loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(prev_sum_content)) + " chars)")
}
let payload: String = "{\"event\":\"session_start\""
+ ",\"boot\":" + boot_num
+ ",\"cgi\":\"" + eff_cgi + "\""
+ ",\"node_count\":" + int_to_str(node_ct)
+ ",\"edge_count\":" + int_to_str(edge_ct)
+ ",\"identity_loaded\":" + has_identity
+ ",\"prev_session_summary_loaded\":" + has_prev_sum
+ ",\"ts\":" + int_to_str(ts) + "}"
let tags: String = "[\"internal-state\",\"session-start\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"
let discard: String = engram_node_full(
payload, "InternalStateEvent", "session-start",
el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(1.0),
"Episodic", tags
)
// ALSO post to the HTTP Engram stream via ise_post (2026-07-28 self-review):
// engram_node_full above writes only the soul's in-process store, and sync
// flows HTTPsoul, never the reverse so session_start events for boots 5+
// silently vanished from the observable ISE stream (last visible: boot 4).
// ise_post falls back to a local tagged node if the HTTP Engram is down.
ise_post(payload)
// Prune accumulated session-start events keep the 10 most recent.
// engram_search_json returns results in insertion order (oldest first), so
// results[0..count-11] are the oldest; forgetting them leaves the newest 10.
let keep_n: Int = 10
let old_events: String = engram_search_json("session-start InternalStateEvent", 200)
if !str_eq(old_events, "") && !str_eq(old_events, "[]") {
let ev_count: Int = json_array_len(old_events)
if ev_count > keep_n {
let prune_to: Int = ev_count - keep_n
let ei: Int = 0
while ei < prune_to {
let old_ev: String = json_array_get(old_events, ei)
let old_ev_id: String = json_get(old_ev, "id")
if !str_eq(old_ev_id, "") {
engram_forget(old_ev_id)
}
let ei = ei + 1
}
println("[soul] pruned " + int_to_str(prune_to) + " old session-start events (kept " + int_to_str(keep_n) + ")")
}
}
println("[soul] session-start event logged (boot=" + boot_num + " nodes=" + int_to_str(node_ct) + " edges=" + int_to_str(edge_ct) + " prev_summary=" + has_prev_sum + ")")
}
// layered_cycle routes user-facing requests through the 4-layer consciousness stack.
// L0 (core) L1 (safety screen) L2a (continuity + behavioral profiling) L2b (mission alignment) L3 (imprint) L1 (safety validate)
// Internal cognition (heartbeat, proactive, memory ops) bypasses layers use one_cycle directly.
//
// FIX B (2026-08-05) the cycle now knows which conversation it is in.
//
// session_id: the caller's session, threaded from the route. Was previously read from the
// state key "current_session_id", which is read HERE and written NOWHERE in the entire
// source verified across every .el file. So this value was unconditionally "", and every
// downstream consumer of it silently fell back to a process-global bucket: conversation
// history, and the steward's continuity tracking (TODO reliability #4, below, describes the
// cross-session bleed this caused; threading the real id closes it). The plain path's blank
// stare and the agentic path's scoped history were the same defect seen from two sides.
//
// utility: true when the generation is not part of the user's conversation the app's
// title and insight passes. Answered normally, never recorded. See is_utility_request.
fn layered_cycle(raw_input: String, session_id: String, utility: Bool) -> String {
// Safety-screen history amplification now reads the SAME window the turn will be
// recorded into, so a session's own escalation pattern is what gets scored.
let history: String = state_get(conv_hist_key(session_id))
// L1 in: safety screen
let screen_result: String = safety_screen(raw_input, history)
let screen_action: String = json_get(screen_result, "action")
// ISSUE 4: safe-mode guard. If safety_screen returned an invalid/empty action
// (engram failure or internal error), refuse rather than pass unscreened input.
let valid_action: Bool = str_eq(screen_action, "hard_bell")
|| str_eq(screen_action, "soft_bell")
|| str_eq(screen_action, "pass")
if !valid_action {
println("[soul] layered_cycle: safety_screen invalid action -- safe mode refusal")
return safety_validate("", "hard_bell")
}
// Hard bell: bypass all upper layers, log and escalate.
// Intentionally does NOT update conversation_history or call auto_persist():
// hard bell events are security-sensitive and must not appear in engram conversation
// history where they could leak context to subsequent turns. They are persisted
// separately by safety_log_bell() into the Episodic tier with restricted labels.
//
// ISSUE 6: safety_log_bell already called inside safety_screen (line 140).
// Do NOT call it again here -- that would double-log every hard bell.
//
// safety_validate second param: when screen_action is "hard_bell", safety_validate
// receives the sentinel string "hard_bell" (not a normal screen action). The safety
// layer contract requires it to return a fixed refusal regardless of the output arg.
// On the normal path, safety_validate receives the original screen_action ("pass")
// so it can apply action-specific post-output checks.
if str_eq(screen_action, "hard_bell") {
return safety_validate("", "hard_bell")
}
let screened: String = json_get(screen_result, "content")
// L2a: continuity + behavioral profiling (also does mission alignment internally)
let continuity: String = steward_session_check(screened, session_id)
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) CLOSED 2026-08-05: this line was already written to scope per
// session it just never received a session id, because the only source was a state key
// nothing wrote. It is now threaded from the route, so named sessions genuinely get their
// own continuity state and only anonymous callers share the global one.
let cont_key: String = if str_eq(session_id, "") { "session_continuity" } else { "session_continuity:" + session_id }
state_set(cont_key, cont_status)
// Identity anomaly: add a gentle verification cue to the input before imprint
let guided: String = if str_eq(cont_action, "identity_check") {
screened + " [steward:identity_check]"
} else {
if str_eq(cont_action, "soft_check") {
screened + " [steward:continuity_concern]"
} else {
screened
}
}
// L2b: mission alignment
let imprint_id: String = imprint_current()
let steward_result: String = steward_align(guided, imprint_id)
let steward_action: String = json_get(steward_result, "action")
let aligned: String = if str_eq(steward_action, "pass") {
json_get(steward_result, "content")
} else {
json_get(steward_result, "redirect_to")
}
// L2c: affective context injection.
let lc_aff_cutoff: Int = time_now() - 259200
let lc_bell_nodes: String = engram_search_json("bell:soft bell:hard BellEvent affective", 2)
let lc_has_bell: Bool = !str_eq(lc_bell_nodes, "") && !str_eq(lc_bell_nodes, "[]")
// CRASH FIX 2026-08-05 (BUG-PLAINCHAT-1): the " | ts:" parser used to be inline here.
// Inside this block-expression initializer elc compiled `lbmp + str_len(lbm)` to
// el_str_concat() on two integers, which segfaulted the whole daemon the moment a
// distress turn followed an earlier affective turn i.e. exactly on the crisis path.
// Verified against the unmodified baseline binary AND present in the committed
// dist/soul.c. affective_node_ts() is a top-level function, where the same expression
// compiles to integer addition. Do not inline it back.
let lc_bell_note: String = if lc_has_bell {
let lb0: String = json_array_get(lc_bell_nodes, 0)
let lb_ts: Int = affective_node_ts(lb0)
if lb_ts > lc_aff_cutoff { "[AFFECTIVE NOTE: User was in distress in a recent session.]" } else { "" }
} else { "" }
let lc_pos_nodes: String = engram_search_json("PositiveEvent joy:high joy:low affective", 2)
let lc_has_pos: Bool = !str_eq(lc_pos_nodes, "") && !str_eq(lc_pos_nodes, "[]")
// Same crash fix as the bell note above (BUG-PLAINCHAT-1).
let lc_pos_note: String = if lc_has_pos && str_eq(lc_bell_note, "") {
let lp0: String = json_array_get(lc_pos_nodes, 0)
let lp_ts: Int = affective_node_ts(lp0)
if lp_ts > lc_aff_cutoff { "[AFFECTIVE NOTE: User shared positive news in a recent session.]" } else { "" }
} else { "" }
let lc_affective_note: String = if !str_eq(lc_bell_note, "") { lc_bell_note } else { lc_pos_note }
// pre-LLM bell augmentation
let augmented_addendum: String = safety_augment_system("", raw_input)
let augmented_addendum = if str_eq(lc_affective_note, "") { augmented_addendum } else {
if str_eq(augmented_addendum, "") { lc_affective_note } else { lc_affective_note + "\n" + augmented_addendum }
}
state_set("layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum", augmented_addendum)
// L3: imprint responds applies the active imprint's voice/domain annotation to the
// steward-aligned input. This produces the PROMPT, not the answer.
let prompt: String = imprint_respond(aligned, imprint_id)
// L3b: the imprint SPEAKS (added 2026-08-05).
//
// Until now the cycle stopped at the annotation above, so /api/chat with agentic:false
// handed the user's own screened text back as the "reply" every gate ran, but nothing
// ever generated. The generation is placed HERE, inside the cycle, rather than by
// pointing the route at handle_chat(): handle_chat has no enforcing input gate and no
// enforcing output gate, so calling it instead of this cycle would have traded the whole
// safety pipeline for a working reply. Composing keeps both.
//
// Order is deliberate and must not be rearranged: this call sits strictly AFTER the L1
// screen, the safe-mode guard, the hard-bell short-circuit and the L2 stewardship layers,
// and strictly BEFORE the L1 output gate. A hard bell never reaches a model the branch
// above returns first. Tools are not offered on this turn; see layered_generate.
let output: String = layered_generate(prompt, imprint_id, session_id)
// L1 out: validate output before delivery. Still the terminal gate nothing below this
// line can change the string this function returns.
let validated: String = safety_validate(output, screen_action)
// Turn bookkeeping. Records the VALIDATED text, never the raw model output, and is only
// reachable on the non-bell path: both bell branches above return before this point, so
// bell turns still never enter conversation history. Pure state side effect it cannot
// alter what is returned.
//
// FIX A: the receipt is unconditional and always negative on this path, because on this
// path it is structurally true layered_generate offers no tools at all (build_system_prompt
// chat mode + a request body with no "tools" key). Recording "no tools ran" is not padding:
// it is the only thing that distinguishes "nothing ran" from "we forgot to write down what
// ran", and that ambiguity is what made the model confess to a search it had performed.
//
// FIX E1: a utility generation is answered but not recorded. Guarded here rather than at
// the route so every /api/chat dispatch site inherits it from one place.
let receipt: String = tool_receipt("", "")
if !utility {
conv_history_record(session_id, raw_input, validated, receipt)
}
return validated
}
let soul_cgi_id_raw: String = env("SOUL_CGI_ID")
let soul_cgi_id: String = if str_eq(soul_cgi_id_raw, "") { "ntn-genesis" } else { soul_cgi_id_raw }
let port_raw: String = env("NEURON_PORT")
let port: Int = if str_eq(port_raw, "") { 7770 } else { str_to_int(port_raw) }
// ENGRAM_URL: when set, bootstrap the in-memory store from the running Engram HTTP server.
// SOUL_ENGRAM_PATH: legacy file-based path (used by genesis and fallback mode).
let engram_url_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_URL")
let engram_api_key_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_API_KEY")
let snapshot_raw: String = env("SOUL_ENGRAM_PATH")
let snapshot: String = if str_eq(snapshot_raw, "") { env("HOME") + "/.neuron/engram/snapshot.json" } else { snapshot_raw }
let axon_raw: String = env("NEURON_API_URL")
let axon_base: String = if str_eq(axon_raw, "") { "http://localhost:7771" } else { axon_raw }
let studio_dir_raw: String = env("SOUL_STUDIO_DIR")
let studio_dir: String = if str_eq(studio_dir_raw, "") { env("HOME") + "/Development/neuron-technologies/products/cgi-studio/el-daemon" } else { studio_dir_raw }
// RESTORED 2026-08-09 this producer was added 2026-05-02 in 601e0fe and deleted
// by the awareness refactor b163fa6 a few days later. Nothing has written
// soul_identity since, while FIVE sites in chat.el kept reading it:
// chat.el:737, 1745, 2620, 3425, 3480 each doing state_get("soul_identity")
// and splicing the result into the system prompt beside the voice, security and
// capability rules. They have been splicing an EMPTY STRING for roughly three
// months. The identity section of every chat turn was blank and nothing said so.
//
// Found by the #132 state-key gate, which reports a read with no producer as a
// build error rather than a silence the whole reason that gate exists.
//
// Restored verbatim rather than improved: this key is an env-configurable persona
// LINE, which is NOT the same thing as soul_identity_context (the graph-derived
// [INTELLECTUAL-DNA]/[VALUES]/[MEMORY-PHILOSOPHY] block written at soul.el:184).
// Pointing these five reads at that block instead would have substituted different
// content and called it a fix. Whether the chat system prompt should ALSO carry the
// graph-derived block is a real question, and a separate one.
let identity_raw: String = env("SOUL_IDENTITY")
let soul_identity: String = if str_eq(identity_raw, "") { "You are " + soul_cgi_id + ", a CGI." } else { identity_raw }
state_set("soul_identity", soul_identity)
println("[soul] boot - cgi=" + soul_cgi_id + " port=" + int_to_str(port))
let using_http_engram: Bool = !str_eq(engram_url_raw, "")
// THE ENGRAM IS THE CANONICAL STORE. The soul's resident graph is a working
// copy of it, never a rival source of truth.
//
// This used to be inverted: "always try local snapshot first... HTTP Engram is
// only used for the very first boot." The copy outranked the store. Everything
// that followed is a cost of that one inversion:
// - the two graphs drifted (13,479 nodes/74,563 edges in the soul vs
// 13,425/37,658 in the engram nearly 2x the edges, silently)
// - write-through exists solely to reconcile them, and had never once run
// - /api/graph/edges serialized 128 MB to answer a read, because the soul's
// copy was not the engram's
// - a read route overwrote the engram's canonical snapshot.json with the
// soul's divergent copy
// - three copies of the same memory: neuron.egm, snapshot.json, soul RAM
// None of those are features. They are all reconciliation debt.
//
// The engram itself already reached this conclusion for its own boot path:
// "the durable owner is the paged store (neuron.egm + neuron.wal) ...
// snapshot.json is never read again as the ongoing store. This closes the
// 'restart reverted to a 17h-old snapshot' data-loss window." The soul kept
// booting the legacy way the engram had already abandoned, and inherited
// exactly the data-loss window that comment describes.
//
// So in HTTP-engram mode the soul seeds from the engram, EVERY boot, and never
// consults or writes a local snapshot. The local file is not read even when
// present a stale copy that outranks the store is the bug, not a fallback.
// (File mode, no ENGRAM_URL, is unchanged: there the soul IS the owner.)
if using_http_engram {
println("[soul] engram -> HTTP " + engram_url_raw + " (canonical store; local snapshot ignored)")
let nodes_json: String = http_get(engram_url_raw + "/api/nodes?limit=10000")
let edges_json: String = http_get(engram_url_raw + "/api/edges")
let nodes_part: String = if str_eq(nodes_json, "") { "[]" } else { nodes_json }
let edges_part: String = if str_eq(edges_json, "") { "[]" } else { edges_json }
let snapshot_data: String = "{\"nodes\":" + nodes_part + ",\"edges\":" + edges_part + "}"
let tmp_path: String = "/tmp/soul-engram-" + soul_cgi_id + ".json"
fs_write(tmp_path, snapshot_data)
engram_load(tmp_path)
let seeded: Int = engram_node_count()
if seeded < 50 {
// Refuse to run blind. An empty seed in HTTP mode means the canonical
// store was unreachable or empty; continuing would let the soul rebuild
// a divergent graph from nothing, which is how the copies split before.
println("[soul] FATAL: engram at " + engram_url_raw + " returned " + int_to_str(seeded)
+ " nodes. The canonical store is unreachable or empty; refusing to boot on a"
+ " local copy. Fix the engram, then restart.")
exit_program(1)
}
println("[soul] loaded from engram - nodes=" + int_to_str(seeded) + " edges=" + int_to_str(engram_edge_count()))
} else {
engram_load(snapshot)
println("[soul] file mode (no ENGRAM_URL) - soul owns the store - nodes="
+ int_to_str(engram_node_count()) + " edges=" + int_to_str(engram_edge_count()))
}
load_identity_context()
seed_persona_from_env()
let boot_num: Int = mem_boot_count_inc()
state_set("soul_boot_count", int_to_str(boot_num))
state_set("soul_boot_ts", int_to_str(time_now()))
println("[soul] boot #" + int_to_str(boot_num))
emit_session_start_event()
state_set("soul_cgi_id", soul_cgi_id)
state_set("soul_axon_base", axon_base)
state_set("soul_token", env("NEURON_TOKEN"))
state_set("soul_studio_dir", studio_dir)
state_set("soul_engram_url", engram_url_raw)
state_set("soul_engram_api_key", engram_api_key_raw)
state_set("soul.running", "true")
let is_genesis: Bool = str_eq(soul_cgi_id, "ntn-genesis")
// GUARD (2026-06-15): never let genesis seed over a real graph. If the in-memory load is
// sparse but the on-disk snapshot file is large, the load FAILED seeding+saving now would
// clobber the user's real memory (this is exactly how the 06-14 clobber happened). Read the
// on-disk file (local mode only) and refuse the destructive seed+save when it looks populated.
//
// HTTP-engram guard (2026-06-17): when ENGRAM_URL is set the HTTP Engram owns persistence
// the soul must NEVER write to the local snapshot regardless of node counts. safe_to_seed is
// unconditionally false in HTTP mode (not the persistence owner).
let guard_disk: String = if str_eq(engram_url_raw, "") { fs_read(snapshot) } else { "" }
let guard_disk_len: Int = str_len(guard_disk)
// Ratio guard (2026-06-15 fix): refuse to seed/save whenever the in-memory load is FAR smaller than
// the on-disk file implies (~16KB/node) catches partial loads of ANY size, not just <50. The old
// <50 threshold let a 63-node identity-only load clobber a 47MB/5000-node graph.
// Multiplication form (2026-06-17): node_count * 16000 < disk_len avoids floor-division truncation
// (e.g., 250KB / 16000 = 15.6, floors to 15 a 15-node graph wrongly passes the old guard).
// HTTP-engram guard: when using_http_engram the soul is not the persistence owner; never seed.
let safe_to_seed: Bool = !using_http_engram && !(guard_disk_len > 200000 && engram_node_count() * 16000 < guard_disk_len)
if is_genesis && !safe_to_seed {
println("[soul] GUARD: loaded " + int_to_str(engram_node_count())
+ " nodes but snapshot file is " + int_to_str(guard_disk_len)
+ " bytes — refusing to seed/save over a real graph")
}
if is_genesis && safe_to_seed {
// Only build identity edges if the engram is fresh (< 100 edges).
// init_soul_edges() is not idempotent calling it on every restart
// stacks duplicate co-value/identity edges into the snapshot.
let edge_count_now: Int = engram_edge_count()
if edge_count_now < 100 {
init_soul_edges()
println("[soul] edges built - " + int_to_str(engram_edge_count()) + " edges")
} else {
println("[soul] edges already present (" + int_to_str(edge_count_now) + ") - skipping init")
}
// Canonical-self bridge is idempotent run it regardless of edge count so an
// already-populated graph still gets the public->curated self link.
ensure_self_canonical_bridge()
// Genesis saves to its local snapshot file (it manages its own Engram).
state_set("soul_snapshot_path", snapshot)
engram_save(snapshot)
}
// Take a pre-serve snapshot for genesis instances captures all boot-time graph changes
// (identity context loading, boot counter, session-start event) before entering the serve loop.
if is_genesis && safe_to_seed {
let snap: String = state_get("soul_snapshot_path")
if !str_eq(snap, "") {
engram_save(snap)
println("[soul] pre-serve snapshot saved -> " + snap)
}
}
// CRASH RECOVERY (neuron#117). Deltas the previous process staged but could not
// hand to the owner are still on disk the spool is a filesystem queue, not a
// memory buffer, precisely so that a soul that died mid-flight does not take its
// unpushed writes with it. Drain them before serving, so recovered memories are
// durable and recallable from the owner from the first request onward.
//
// Safe on a clean boot: an empty spool means no HTTP call at all. Safe in file
// mode: wt_drain returns immediately when ENGRAM_URL is unset.
let wt_recovered: Int = wt_drain()
if wt_recovered > 0 {
println("[soul] write-through: recovered " + int_to_str(wt_recovered)
+ " nodes from a previous process's spool -> persistence owner")
}
if wt_recovered < 0 {
println("[soul] write-through: spool present but the persistence owner is unreachable — queued, will retry on heartbeat")
}
println("[soul] serving on port " + int_to_str(port))
http_serve_async(port, "handle_request")
println("[soul] awareness loop starting")
awareness_run()