diff --git a/.claude/skills/ci-gates/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/ci-gates/SKILL.md
index 9aa2cb85f9..2fcc66a913 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/ci-gates/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/ci-gates/SKILL.md
@@ -6057,3 +6057,56 @@ a build.
 **Verify the binary, not the tree, and verify it at the moment you measure.** For
 any number that leaves the machine, build from a pristine worktree of the commit
 you are naming.
+
+## 183. The branch was taken out from under me, and the tree told me before git did
+
+A `cargo test` came back with one failure, then two clean runs, then a compile
+error — `ratchet_compare takes 6 arguments but 5 were supplied`, in a function I
+had given 5. `git status` showed `suite.rs` modified with 64 lines I never wrote,
+labelled **W700**, and `git log` showed two `wip(parser)` commits authored under
+the repo owner's name containing *my* edits.
+
+I was on `w700-gate-failures-ratchet`. Another session shares this checkout,
+parked my work on `w699-rung12-parked`, and started its own wave in the same
+tree. There are 27 local `w699-*` branches, most of them not mine.
+
+What I did, in order: stopped editing, read the foreign diff without touching it,
+copied my one untracked file out, created **my own worktree** at the parked
+branch, and finished there. The shared checkout was left exactly as found,
+uncommitted W700 work included.
+
+**A build error in code you did not write is a signal about the tree, not the
+code.** And the fix is `git worktree add`, once, before the first edit — the
+recipe was already in my memory and I had not followed it.
+
+## 184. The per-entry ratchet caught me the day after I built it
+
+Rung 12 seeded a column so a body opening with a call could lower. The corpus
+total FELL — 23 926 to 23 738 — and the acceptance columns did not move. By every
+aggregate it was a clean win.
+
+The ledger disagreed:
+
+    > phi_split_optimality.t27   discards 214, pinned at 129 (+85)
+    > phi_universal_attractor.t27 discards 108, pinned at  73 (+35)
+
+`given (exp, mant) = f(15)` is an identifier followed by `(` — the bare-call arm
+matched a **clause keyword**. Nothing had tested that, because before the seed
+the arm could not reach a block's first token at all.
+
+**A total that falls can hide two entries that rose.** Pinning per item is what
+turns "it got better" into "it got better here and worse there", and it caught
+its author within a day of being written.
+
+## 185. My first fix for it made things worse, and the measurement said so
+
+The obvious explanation was that seeding `first_clause_col` skewed the W905
+anchor, so I stopped writing it. Total went 23 738 → **24 046** and the spec was
+still broken: wrong theory, and the number said so in one build.
+
+The real cause was the clause keyword. Excluding `given`/`when`/`then`/… took it
+to 23 644 with both regressions gone.
+
+**Re-measure after the fix for a regression, not just after the regression.** A
+plausible cause that makes the number worse is a cause you have disproved, and
+that is worth more than the twenty minutes it saves.
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/Backend.json b/.trinity/seals/Backend.json
index b0a356c0d1..aa96751258 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/Backend.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/Backend.json
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:be518058492e9f9d96104e45626207f35a34fb76f5ccf870129a1e78c4dd9931",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:4b1c8189fba34b478a363da5c4881b9ad022b7b2d2ce86cd7b074246f2ca22fe",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:1c41217fa0332c341d72d71e2da67611845e7604b164647febc993997104491d",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:a9d64159297b926cc1d3f1c8760f25f5e325495620e99d4b959b9f9a2f699df4",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:89ae4a7007090158aa67794ee09ce087bb12d673062e8016f57a2378d1e4e791",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:da68a0284c02e33b15201029060202d81a344d440e0f3abcb9bdcb8ac8f92d18",
   "module": "Backend",
   "ring": 32,
   "sealed_at": "2026-08-28T18:19:55Z",
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/NotebookLM.json b/.trinity/seals/NotebookLM.json
index 8160e19d02..7452b5419f 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/NotebookLM.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/NotebookLM.json
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:8327045659d0a33941fca077d77f34085e58d55bad7f6026a374bede4a64a47e",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:367a57ed5a3fb0f2ace886c32e4073be14c09fe05ceb70778a389688fc9b2d1c",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:00ac71751ae678d213da795b42b2914a20852050c87acffb307d19dc03f76677",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:7716f39dc3d0baf658917208a7c294da3ed66d8d849778e3a0d170e7083115b4",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:35c111b1b1f97a0694969c33df116e35baaa41fbec2fb64459428017a6ea8aec",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:e83bfad4e48bfe63c0f034b994a425e97f509126fd4f12af2d1a77bc52417799",
   "module": "NotebookLM",
   "ring": 12,
   "sealed_at": "2026-08-28T21:20:51Z",
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/SDK.json b/.trinity/seals/SDK.json
index 78738b9437..1ae03b6bd4 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/SDK.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/SDK.json
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:ae82bdc29a0ee48b533a561dee765a2d403de165353e3547012f534292e488b2",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:51cdac0bde0a6500495bd14aee204687fc27db3afe19f2872bf807879fccb152",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:664f77f91a5a2b809f6445ae0c186969b76e915fd5654189b4c46210e8d548c7",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:6c6e94d5b8622c0589f7401de7c6f36228864f7f30960281ad3edd4d1f664489",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:7e4462e98c4870d44fd1ba1d919ffffd47bc0514a825c14ab99fe391c912c108",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:831841c3ba2193cb6a476291b8a2274a70c52377995ada877e73ab85cae8b395",
   "module": "SDK",
   "ring": 12,
   "sealed_at": "2026-08-28T21:20:51Z",
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/TernaryGates.json b/.trinity/seals/TernaryGates.json
index 4eaf0ed877..340be2cc16 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/TernaryGates.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/TernaryGates.json
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:070c44a8ba832e04f27b27c51498197fc9cb8c72a4d2daab40ad13a02b872002",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:0d5d15f3998b57dd91e1c8c2cb0d1ad46cd9d15d385401a319fe6c83819f2992",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:d7d26e54ab7148afba6e80c14ec30ba851b5309ac4ebb7c43a4ceda8ec05e7ce",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:a0ecc024bbf108bf40c663321efaadc401dc9e22f8d45323eae4913dc08738bc",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:0c1365aed5c52480143c88fcdc1211113cfb1e4ce84985a665d8f544fe13addc",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:a43a38f39711b6fe6215498a4bb7f14ab0ad83b7d6bf58065e33b49a9f0eedce",
   "module": "TernaryGates",
   "ring": 12,
   "sealed_at": "2026-08-28T21:20:51Z",
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-arch.json b/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-arch.json
index 2c22a7a468..772f145600 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-arch.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-arch.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:34cf3ad46747be021ad5bdab36c2597858fd0a6c480f7cd59b3f2423b666e5c8",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:c675ed2944429088e1fe541d909f8a3173524805ad07a11a0b6bc34cfc94b7c0",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:7f8f8cb58c92fef74f24a34f6f8d579a020a8711c17dfa4c4559623082762217",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:bab39c53d3451ae55466f2ea2e148d3be52e1957b5cafecc47153a84be4b047e",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:f0d21da49c6ce027a5b441e3e5378109708e7de99a403a3605ed2dbfca56c0bb",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:ca1a55aca26e4cff5a262c3d17f54d0bf92d5749cba30e0899a58cdb6e33ea30",
   "module": "igla-coder-arch",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T01:19:56Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:baafdfb69f57527162bec359e9439edb7e0049f421019912200889abf9386707",
   "spec_path": "specs/igla/coder/arch.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-dataset.json b/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-dataset.json
index 4018e869ab..d1d52d2c46 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-dataset.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/coder_igla-coder-dataset.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:74b318ef6f2c0ab77f62ee391596303f77e760f4305700c07c600618990ab68d",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:e8952b010a855f7d6e23eb45295c4cf46aa0e6ceb3122652509b0b49ebfddc7c",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:e35a042744223bd76b1965638408ceba6b2c8b8e2d14a110c1b32bdc10b83806",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:54381fd4021b966b1d5babad69be8534b085d899242ceced55f3f7b6f7be3fe9",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:a2d16812226d462f90d93e23f3463a5822b0c99fd60869ed1eef945a1e5315b7",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:92a79b60f92277da0a860e17331d6f77480e2938db0f3fa3337ecb0f99df22d6",
   "module": "igla-coder-dataset",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T01:19:56Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:ea96b62813533b36a3742b1587b381e4ec1566e5e8e2a9a6a8cd0a4edf716c6c",
   "spec_path": "specs/igla/coder/dataset.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/isa_TernaryGates.json b/.trinity/seals/isa_TernaryGates.json
index 557c42059c..f18a3a2f07 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/isa_TernaryGates.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/isa_TernaryGates.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:070c44a8ba832e04f27b27c51498197fc9cb8c72a4d2daab40ad13a02b872002",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:0d5d15f3998b57dd91e1c8c2cb0d1ad46cd9d15d385401a319fe6c83819f2992",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:d7d26e54ab7148afba6e80c14ec30ba851b5309ac4ebb7c43a4ceda8ec05e7ce",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:a0ecc024bbf108bf40c663321efaadc401dc9e22f8d45323eae4913dc08738bc",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:0c1365aed5c52480143c88fcdc1211113cfb1e4ce84985a665d8f544fe13addc",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:a43a38f39711b6fe6215498a4bb7f14ab0ad83b7d6bf58065e33b49a9f0eedce",
   "module": "TernaryGates",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T04:11:28Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:b4ea36c976d78efe1add7b0ec95018c0f01877755c257dac8482eeb7576f1909",
   "spec_path": "specs/isa/ternary_gates.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/memory_NotebookLM.json b/.trinity/seals/memory_NotebookLM.json
index d7a5747225..4c8e73e98b 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/memory_NotebookLM.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/memory_NotebookLM.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:8327045659d0a33941fca077d77f34085e58d55bad7f6026a374bede4a64a47e",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:367a57ed5a3fb0f2ace886c32e4073be14c09fe05ceb70778a389688fc9b2d1c",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:00ac71751ae678d213da795b42b2914a20852050c87acffb307d19dc03f76677",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:7716f39dc3d0baf658917208a7c294da3ed66d8d849778e3a0d170e7083115b4",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:35c111b1b1f97a0694969c33df116e35baaa41fbec2fb64459428017a6ea8aec",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:e83bfad4e48bfe63c0f034b994a425e97f509126fd4f12af2d1a77bc52417799",
   "module": "NotebookLM",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T04:11:28Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:dc5b054f79d747598c75190379fe4a36400bb27af13dffe06d438f145c1af96f",
   "spec_path": "specs/memory/notebooklm.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-backend.json b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-backend.json
index 27e0461158..53d34dafe0 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-backend.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-backend.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:be518058492e9f9d96104e45626207f35a34fb76f5ccf870129a1e78c4dd9931",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:4b1c8189fba34b478a363da5c4881b9ad022b7b2d2ce86cd7b074246f2ca22fe",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:1c41217fa0332c341d72d71e2da67611845e7604b164647febc993997104491d",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:a9d64159297b926cc1d3f1c8760f25f5e325495620e99d4b959b9f9a2f699df4",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:89ae4a7007090158aa67794ee09ce087bb12d673062e8016f57a2378d1e4e791",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:da68a0284c02e33b15201029060202d81a344d440e0f3abcb9bdcb8ac8f92d18",
   "module": "igla-race-backend",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T01:19:56Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:1262feb6bf7fe0c0672a7985bd86b2b07a3e1e9eccf6226d47c6ee7c9ca5d2ca",
   "spec_path": "specs/igla/race/backend.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic-top.json b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic-top.json
index f84ff8a83a..fc04ef1e1e 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic-top.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic-top.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:ef4f41400ff2f064d61513da02965b70373c2a9df16238155299ca1e726fd161",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:dabc754ac0708c8f9a3e29ea070b70558d80ae5da0a8dd01a08a3ee88c35ad02",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:c643445e277d654e432068eea6e9958ccc45b6e394603376c38e3791e8d7c097",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:4cbfacb005043739944c0fa4ca55fe2f648875c771cb94a9c35e338b9e5eb610",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:5afe1ae2b906f855f5cbddf6337351d42c81132d32851f36ffa2c74791a8dd23",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:8ff5e034f48f3b8e6f53c000be5be8b9329f76d27aaf2c06ecb2cc5c55618a09",
   "module": "igla-race-cordic-top",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T04:46:46Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:ef4e2d3e90d9a3b29abb9254cd70e3dd011a566eb73155b4efb7fa340a7db6b8",
   "spec_path": "specs/igla/race/cordic_top.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic.json b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic.json
index 4e6a2dff9d..4b80c1a8dd 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-cordic.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:4d83c6d806ff734ba4c40935fb1becdf6fecf30d5e0f67a8219d23a95207480a",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:3bce7dab413692b9fd50f0f2ba0acbef640be5e3cdafae14db962b40c3991c88",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:3d4093cb5ccc22bcdc45294fda922011cbad4e5ab50166068cab00b9d8ab39a2",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:c9e69ccb364d8d65010e8cc2765a6ef7e0c1f62428e1504afff4424c633923f2",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:d4dfe7f5e5387628ffbe02abb57da2b387ed7ba8ae8b0b38a049ff5522856321",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:207f51854e2ccbc4fe79471ac1f856c684a757f6f2847d0aa1006c6c0cc353d6",
   "module": "igla-race-cordic",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T01:19:56Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:54b1b8bed209dbc8d3dfc4540fd6a44e8dabe47ae4d264d7f0d30df32a0fa6aa",
   "spec_path": "specs/igla/race/cordic.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-array.json b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-array.json
index a4e963b5b7..a38d995143 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-array.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-array.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:e5bc0273d52d6d7523328793605c0f2640e9846547195ded8131ac5265fb43dc",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:ecd7259008607359e92fea88c82e369837ddfb971784b18c43023ea90cb5ea8c",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:9b4d2e3b1046f04f33c652d2a7e5e482d7e5ba92f45d94f6359ad5cc8ffc34f4",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:6bda0a419da1aa120f7afd4e6e355753829e6b4a97a975451678b4d39de71061",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:cc68e989b4243ce4d92d9b33fb04dd725212e270966ab897a7fba5ac983f4900",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:59e03bcbeafe2e97e840e7f614f8ea357ad63d61b1841b3aac201a18761c688b",
   "module": "igla-race-systolic-array",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T01:19:56Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:55ef8dde9d116d74e0c6e6e911893ba51116745d541532de44768b18cc3a188e",
   "spec_path": "specs/igla/race/systolic_array.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-ternary.json b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-ternary.json
index 351e45765c..1880b91ce3 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-ternary.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/race_igla-race-systolic-ternary.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:b32767e698e1d089dd2159aee1cc8d3689833444f09ad5b75c917db7af07ffbc",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:ae88615b1147aecac767fbef0e7ce792ac435b93ecca57c03a98fffd1f6e7908",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:436bebf1e7a7b14c204dc34b673107fa0852fc96100ec1aadd9e608ee714941b",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:29244ceb3b49d238c23d8cf1f3283599058ca8953158e58b7f3d1a58692dc8b5",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:f163ad7b571842572050c7f7c64b0888dc6fcb7aade10634737c344a2fe7fea7",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:48104e1b192221fe652667fa8725d40daf79a94ba3e58c74fff6d9ddef595010",
   "module": "igla-race-systolic-ternary",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T01:19:57Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:49Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:968bea4fd52e44b99e900e9ae7b6e1642783a98413791edae61f450d59ead18f",
   "spec_path": "specs/igla/race/systolic_ternary.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/transformer_FeedForwardLayer.json b/.trinity/seals/transformer_FeedForwardLayer.json
index 1eb215a1a9..132ac44d51 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/transformer_FeedForwardLayer.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/transformer_FeedForwardLayer.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:b30111fd17c2b1ad7c01ce947dafba7d3bc7edafb7e7e4b8420058d94e0e0d1a",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:adb5a0dc8801de20ad2fb06ce4a99a8932fc2ff8cde0b5a335ba7e6b276077f9",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:e663f901aa3c737e45fa7b2dd27584f2343effba7aa2b35046125d964158748f",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:d6a7c28e1339137679393330dd7b901a877efd42af5a3ff06666f0192e5aa6c0",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:c7dbe859d6dfe13c24f653c60c02d9629d25b0667413d44ddfd250faad95c461",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:91f9c4156a44a93aaf5617a61c4cc33975eae786d89e8ce94d57ee4f3e39661a",
   "module": "FeedForwardLayer",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T04:11:29Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:49Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:0774668f000b9f30569b5640ba0a091dba5107d3b8f591bc69a6daf196915ae6",
   "spec_path": "specs/ml/transformer/feed_forward.t27"
diff --git a/.trinity/seals/vsa_SDK.json b/.trinity/seals/vsa_SDK.json
index 2f0be6faf3..72a35615f8 100644
--- a/.trinity/seals/vsa_SDK.json
+++ b/.trinity/seals/vsa_SDK.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
-  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:ae82bdc29a0ee48b533a561dee765a2d403de165353e3547012f534292e488b2",
+  "gen_hash_c": "sha256:51cdac0bde0a6500495bd14aee204687fc27db3afe19f2872bf807879fccb152",
   "gen_hash_rust": "sha256:664f77f91a5a2b809f6445ae0c186969b76e915fd5654189b4c46210e8d548c7",
   "gen_hash_verilog": "sha256:6c6e94d5b8622c0589f7401de7c6f36228864f7f30960281ad3edd4d1f664489",
-  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:7e4462e98c4870d44fd1ba1d919ffffd47bc0514a825c14ab99fe391c912c108",
+  "gen_hash_zig": "sha256:831841c3ba2193cb6a476291b8a2274a70c52377995ada877e73ab85cae8b395",
   "module": "SDK",
   "ring": 12,
-  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T04:11:28Z",
+  "sealed_at": "2026-08-29T06:21:48Z",
   "sealed_by": "t27c-bootstrap@0.2.0",
   "spec_hash": "sha256:7843aca460336f24ba9026067e1e642e110cb6d2a995064bf9613eaed662c115",
   "spec_path": "specs/vsa/sdk.t27"
diff --git a/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs b/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs
index d462cdfc26..a5fa0c6699 100644
--- a/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs
+++ b/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs
@@ -6033,11 +6033,43 @@ impl Parser {
             // Same guards as the const/var arm: only after the block's column is
             // known, only at or deeper than it, never at column 1 where a body
             // statement and a module declaration are indistinguishable (W905).
+            // W699 rung 12: a body that OPENS with a call has no earlier clause
+            // to take a column from, so `first_clause_col` was still None and
+            // this arm never ran. A `bench` beginning
+            //
+            //     bench ternary_not_performance
+            //         @setEvalBranchQuota(10000);
+            //         var result : i32 = 0;
+            //
+            // lost the whole block for that reason. The const/var arm already
+            // seeds the column from the statement itself when it is the first
+            // thing in the block (W904); this is the same seed, and the `c > 1`
+            // guard against unindented blocks is unchanged.
+            let call_col = if lowered == 0 {
+                first_clause_col.or(Some(self.current.col))
+            } else {
+                first_clause_col
+            };
+            // ... and a CLAUSE KEYWORD is never a call, however much it looks
+            // like one. `given (exp, mant) = f(15)` is an Ident followed by `(`,
+            // and before the column was seeded the arm could not reach a block's
+            // FIRST token, so nothing had ever tested that. Seeding it exposed
+            // the hole immediately: two specs went from lowering cleanly to
+            // stopping mid-clause, +120 discarded tokens, while the corpus total
+            // still fell. The per-entry ratchet named both; the total hid them.
+            let clause_head = matches!(
+                self.current.lexeme.as_str(),
+                "given" | "when" | "then" | "assert" | "and" | "measure" | "target"
+            );
             if self.current.kind == TokenKind::Ident
+                && !clause_head
                 && self.peek.kind == TokenKind::LParen
                 && adjacent
-                && first_clause_col.is_some_and(|c| c > 1 && self.current.col >= c)
+                && call_col.is_some_and(|c| c > 1 && self.current.col >= c)
             {
+                if first_clause_col.is_none() {
+                    first_clause_col = call_col;
+                }
                 let st_call = self.save_state();
                 match self.parse_body_stmt() {
                     Ok(stmt) => {
@@ -6048,7 +6080,15 @@ impl Parser {
                     }
                     // A shape this cannot read must cost only itself: restore and
                     // fall through to the clause reading, exactly as before.
-                    Err(_) => self.restore_state(st_call),
+                    Err(_) => {
+                        // Restore the column too: a seed that survives a failed
+                        // parse would let a LATER shallower statement pass the
+                        // `>= c` guard on a column this block never established.
+                        self.restore_state(st_call);
+                        if lowered == 0 {
+                            first_clause_col = None;
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
             }
             if self.current.kind != TokenKind::Ident && !and_kw {
diff --git a/bootstrap/src/parse_conform.rs b/bootstrap/src/parse_conform.rs
index 41d353cceb..62e43077be 100644
--- a/bootstrap/src/parse_conform.rs
+++ b/bootstrap/src/parse_conform.rs
@@ -263,6 +263,14 @@ version of this is the parse-no-discard suite phase.",
         discards: Some(0),
         note: "the binding arm peeked for `=` immediately after the name, so an annotation between them read as `not a binding` and the whole block went to the discard",
     },
+    Case {
+        name: "a_body_may_open_with_a_call",
+        input: "module m\n\n    bench b\n        setup(10000);\n        var n : usize = 0;\n        assert n == 0\n",
+        verdict: Verdict::Full,
+        decls: Some(1),
+        discards: Some(0),
+        note: "a body that OPENS with a call has no earlier clause to take a column from, so `first_clause_col` was None and the bare-call arm never ran. The const/var arm already seeds the column from the statement itself; this is the same seed. Three bench blocks opening with `@setEvalBranchQuota(10000);` lost everything to it",
+    },
     Case {
         name: "unterminated_fn_body",
         input: "module m\n\nfn a() -> u32 { return 1;\n",
diff --git a/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH b/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH
index 5baa2ea2e0..f9e3005115 100644
--- a/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH
+++ b/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH
@@ -1 +1 @@
-347e84842d907365acafa9edcd4384f1d2d202e381d0babaafb272a690f46d51
+d25ac0cc159eda78660cdb07df0d388acd34ae8e5c1e4ac73f99f939667d390b
diff --git a/docs/DISCARD_WHAT_IS_LEFT.md b/docs/DISCARD_WHAT_IS_LEFT.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..adbca6a832
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/DISCARD_WHAT_IS_LEFT.md
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+# What is left in the discard, and who has to decide it
+
+**Status:** census. Regenerated by the commands at the bottom; the numbers below
+were produced by them on 2026-08-29 at master `947d2614`.
+
+W699 began with 33 777 tokens the parser read and threw away across 87 specs.
+Twelve rungs later it is **23 738 tokens across 75 specs**, and the composition
+has changed completely: what remains is not a list of parser gaps.
+
+## The census
+
+964 whole-block fallback events, classified by reading the source line each one
+fired on:
+
+| class | events | share | example |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **quantification** | 901 | 93.5% | `assert trit_mul_closed(a, b) == trit_mul_closed(b, a) for all Trit` |
+| other | 53 | 5.5% | `invariant total > 0;` |
+| mathematical `=` for equality | 6 | 0.6% | `assert lim(n->inf) Fib(n+1)/Fib(n) = PHI` |
+| Zig-style `for` capture | 4 | 0.4% | `for (const i) \|reg\| in [0u8, 5, 10, 15, 20, 26] {` |
+
+## Quantification is not "one construct in 35 specs"
+
+It is nearly everything, and it arrives in **four different notations**:
+
+```
+invariant name: forall c : CordicTop, c.iterations > 0     594 events
+invariant name                                             269 events
+    forall prompt : string, bank : WeightBank, ...
+assert P(a, b) == P(b, a) for all Trit                      35 events
+assert P(pow(x,a),b) == ... for positive x, integer n        4 events
+```
+
+The first two are the same construct with and without a colon. The last two are
+the same idea written as a *suffix* — a mathematician's `∀` moved to the end of
+the line. All four say: **this holds for every value of these variables.**
+
+An earlier pass of this loop reported the 38 `for` events as "specs written in a
+syntax the language does not have, `for (const i) |reg| in [...]`". That was
+wrong: 35 of the 38 are quantifier suffixes and only 3 are the Zig capture form.
+The correction matters because it moves those events from *nobody's problem* to
+**#2774's problem**, and #2774 is now 93.5% of everything left.
+
+## What each class needs
+
+**Quantification — #2774, and it is an owner decision.** What a universally
+quantified assertion *means* at codegen commits four backends: bounded
+enumeration over a finite domain, an assumption the backend may rely on and never
+check, or a proof obligation exported to the Lean layer. `==>` lowered to
+`!a || b` makes a false antecedent a pass, which is the vacuous-truth shape
+`no-vacuous-invariant` exists to catch, arriving through the front door.
+
+Nothing here argues for lowering it badly. A quantified assertion lowered to
+`assert true` would move 901 events out of the discard column and into a worse
+place: generated code that claims to check something and does not. The discard at
+least reports itself.
+
+**Mathematical `=` — six lines, spec-side.** `assert X = Y` uses a single `=`
+where t27 needs `==`; `=` is assignment, so the value parse over-consumes and the
+block falls back. Six occurrences, and each is a one-character edit in the spec.
+Some carry prose the language also lacks (`+/- 1.5e-15`, `within 1e-6`).
+
+**Zig-style `for` capture — four lines, spec-side.** `for (const i) |reg| in
+[...]` is neither t27 nor Zig; Zig writes `for ([_]u8{...}) |reg| {`.
+
+**Other, 53 events — a mixed tail**, and the only class where a parser rung might
+still be hiding. `invariant total > 0;` (a trailing semicolon on an inline
+predicate), `uart_state.rx_data = 0x99;` (a dotted lvalue at clause position),
+`target: < 150ns` (a bench metadata line with a comparison). None is more than a
+handful.
+
+## The honest summary for whoever picks this up
+
+**The parser side of W699 is finished until #2774 is answered.** Twelve rungs
+took 10 039 tokens out of the discard without a single acceptance column moving
+against us on balance, and what is left is one language decision plus about
+sixty lines of spec-side edits.
+
+## Regenerate
+
+```bash
+t27c parse-complete                    # totals
+t27c parse-complete --fallbacks        # the 964 events by why and clause
+t27c parse-complete --fallbacks --show <spec>   # one spec, with source lines
+tri discard top                        # ranked by tokens, against the pinned bound
+tri abandoned list                     # recoveries whose comment names what they discard
+```
+
+The class column above is a keyword match over the source line each event fired
+on (`for all` / `forall` / a bare `=` in an assert / `for (`). It is coarse, and
+`other` is where anything mis-binned lands — 53 events, small enough not to move
+the conclusion.
diff --git a/docs/now/2026-08-29-a-clause-keyword-is-not-a-call-and-the-ledger-said-so.md b/docs/now/2026-08-29-a-clause-keyword-is-not-a-call-and-the-ledger-said-so.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9c199707cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/now/2026-08-29-a-clause-keyword-is-not-a-call-and-the-ledger-said-so.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# NOW -- A clause keyword is not a call, and the ledger said so (2026-08-29)
+
+## A clause keyword is not a call, and the ledger said so (Refs #2754)
+
+- rung 12 seeded a column so a body opening with a call can lower: 23926 -> 23644 tokens, 76 -> 75 specs
+- the corpus total fell and no acceptance column moved, while TWO specs got worse by 120 tokens -- the per-entry ratchet named both
+- cause: given (exp, mant) = f(15) is an Ident followed by ( and the arm matched a clause keyword; before the seed it could not reach a block's first token, so nothing had tested it
+- my first fix made the total worse (24046) and the spec was still broken -- a disproved theory in one build
diff --git a/docs/reports/suite_expectations.json b/docs/reports/suite_expectations.json
index 88ceaeb3eb..03f94048f6 100644
--- a/docs/reports/suite_expectations.json
+++ b/docs/reports/suite_expectations.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "schema_version": 1,
   "generated_by": "t27c suite --bless-expectations",
   "max_gate_failures": 42,
-  "max_entries": 167,
+  "max_entries": 166,
   "entries": [
     {
       "path": "specs/account/repo.t27",
@@ -843,18 +843,6 @@
       "issue": 1959,
       "expires": "2026-11-30"
     },
-    {
-      "path": "specs/isa/ternary_gates.t27",
-      "phase": "parse-no-discard",
-      "reason": "parser reaches EOF but DISCARDS top-level tokens (pre-existing; the file is byte-identical to its pre-image)",
-      "issue": 2474,
-      "expires": "2026-11-30",
-      "discard_tokens": 28,
-      "discard_by_channel": {
-        "bdd-block-fallback": 21,
-        "brace-body/in-fallback": 7
-      }
-    },
     {
       "path": "specs/isa/ternary_memory.t27",
       "phase": "parse-no-discard",
@@ -969,12 +957,11 @@
       "reason": "top-level drop-recovery discards tokens; parser reaches EOF so `parse` reports success (T42)",
       "issue": 1959,
       "expires": "2026-11-30",
-      "discard_tokens": 441,
+      "discard_tokens": 409,
       "discard_by_channel": {
-        "bdd-block-fallback": 58,
+        "bdd-block-fallback": 16,
         "brace-body": 22,
-        "brace-body/in-fallback": 16,
-        "top-level-resync": 345
+        "top-level-resync": 371
       }
     },
     {
@@ -1547,10 +1534,10 @@
       "reason": "top-level drop-recovery discards tokens; parser reaches EOF so `parse` reports success (T42)",
       "issue": 1959,
       "expires": "2026-11-30",
-      "discard_tokens": 278,
+      "discard_tokens": 56,
       "discard_by_channel": {
-        "bdd-block-fallback": 203,
-        "brace-body/in-fallback": 75
+        "bdd-block-fallback": 26,
+        "brace-body/in-fallback": 30
       }
     },
     {