# β review (R1) — cycle/414

**Verdict:** APPROVED. All AC1–AC9 PASS. No findings; no fix-rounds required. Merge-ready (operator's call on merge timing).

β review reproduces the AC oracles independently of α's self-coherence, audits the implementation-contract conformance (per `beta/SKILL.md` Rule 7 from cnos#393), and spot-checks substantive correctness beyond mechanical-oracle satisfaction.

## R1 AC verification (independent re-run)

| AC | Oracle result | Notes |
|----|---|---|
| AC1 | PASS — `wc -l` = 610 (≥ 300) | file exists at canonical path |
| AC2 | PASS — all 7 scalar fields + 15 related entries | frontmatter verbatim from dispatch brief |
| AC3 | PASS — `grep "^## "` returns 21 sections in required order | all named sections present |
| AC4 | PASS — mojibake grep returns 0 lines | source was pre-cleaned; preserved cleanly |
| AC5 | PASS — Greek=39, ₙ=10, →=25, C≡=1 | all four thresholds exceeded |
| AC6 | PASS — Document Map row + Reading Order item 5 added | verbatim from dispatch brief |
| AC7 | PASS — `git diff origin/main --name-only -- docs/` returns exactly 2 files | the four existing essays remain byte-identical |
| AC8 | PASS — `git diff origin/main -- src/ schemas/` returns 0 lines | no code/schema drift |
| AC9 | PASS — 13/13 cnos-internal `related:` paths resolve via `ls` | 2 external `usurobor/tsc:*` paths documented as cross-repo |

All 9 ACs PASS independently. β's re-run matches α's self-coherence.

## Implementation-contract conformance (per beta/SKILL.md Rule 7 from cnos#393)

The dispatch contract pinned 7 implementation-contract axes. β walks each:

| Axis | Pinned value | β conformance check | Conforms? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Markdown | Both D1 and D2 are `.md`; no other languages introduced | ✓ |
| CLI integration target | None | No code; no CLI surface; no scripts | ✓ |
| Package scoping | `docs/gamma/essays/DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md` (new) + `docs/gamma/essays/README.md` (edit) | Exact 2-file delta; nothing outside this scope | ✓ |
| Existing-binary disposition | N/A | No existing binary | ✓ |
| Runtime dependencies | None | None added | ✓ |
| JSON/wire contract | N/A | No JSON / wire artifacts | ✓ |
| Backward compat | All four existing essays preserved unchanged | Verified: `git diff origin/main -- docs/gamma/essays/STATELESS-AGENCY.md docs/gamma/essays/EXECUTABLE-SKILLS.md docs/gamma/essays/COHERENCE-MUST-BE-FREE.md docs/gamma/essays/CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md` returns 0 lines | ✓ |

All 7 axes conform. No implementation-contract drift detected. The behavior-only ACs (AC1–AC9 mechanical) are necessary AND sufficient here because the dispatch contract's axes are not in tension with the AC oracle surface (all N/A or trivially conformant for docs-only work).

## Substantive spot-checks

Beyond mechanical-oracle satisfaction, β audits substantive correctness:

### Frontmatter coherence

`related:` field cites 15 paths. The first 13 are cnos-internal and resolve. The companion essay (`docs/gamma/essays/CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md`) is correctly cited as a precursor — the new essay is positioned in the Reading Order as item 5 (after `CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md` at item 4), and its `## Current foundations` section explicitly cites typed trust as the prerequisite layer ("`docs/gamma/essays/CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md` establishes the typed-trust layer ..."). The Reading Order placement is consistent with this dependency.

### CCNF kernel block correctness

The CCNF kernel block in `## Core model § 1. CCNF closes work` reads:

```
matterₙ   := αₙ.produce(contractₙ)
reviewₙ   := βₙ.review(contractₙ, matterₙ)
receiptₙ  := γₙ.close(contractₙ, matterₙ, reviewₙ, evidenceₙ)
verdictₙ  := V(contractₙ, receiptₙ)
decisionₙ := δₙ.decide(receiptₙ, verdictₙ)
```

This matches the CCNF kernel block in the companion essay `CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md` (lines 32–38), preserving doctrine-locality: the new essay does not redefine CCNF; it cites the companion essay's algorithm and extends the loop with TSC + ε on top. β confirms no algorithmic drift.

### FOUNDATIONS-cited stack correctness

The stack block in `## Current foundations` reads:

```
C≡ → TSC → CTB → cnos
axiom → measure → execute → coordinate
```

β cross-checks against `docs/alpha/essays/FOUNDATIONS.md` line 55 (`C≡    →    TSC    →    CTB    →    cnos`) — the symbol `C≡` (U+2261) is canonical per FOUNDATIONS. Stack content matches. **No drift.**

### Section 21: References block

`## References` lists 15 paths matching the 15 `related:` frontmatter entries. β confirms 1:1 correspondence (no extra or missing items).

### Verbatim discipline

β verifies the essay was authored verbatim from the dispatch brief by cross-referencing structural landmarks: H1 title, all 21 H2 section headers, the CCNF kernel block, the FOUNDATIONS stack, the issue-proposal YAML illustrative shape, the failure-to-mechanism table, the autonomy levels (6 levels), the migration plan (Wave 0 through Wave 6), the success criteria (7 items), the open questions (7 items), and the operating slogan ("From task execution to decreasing incoherence."). All match the dispatch brief's source text. α did not editorialize, did not "improve" prose, and did not add or remove content.

### Anti-gaming rules section

β notes the `## Anti-gaming rules` section is particularly important because this cycle ships the design-doc counterpart of cnos#405 §4 (CCNF-O + TSC steering). The anti-gaming guardrails ("Coherence measurement is an observation, not a vanity metric") are consistent with the persona-discipline-receipt-additions ratified in cnos#413's case (d.2) Sigma activation bundle. The new essay's autonomy-level taxonomy (Levels 1–6) provides the conceptual scaffold for which #405 sub-issues to dispatch in what order.

## Non-blocking observations (recorded as ε signals; not findings)

1. **`related:` schema convention.** The frontmatter uses `usurobor/tsc:path` for cross-repo references (the 2 `usurobor/tsc:*` entries). This is consistent with the precedent in `docs/gamma/essays/CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md` (which uses `cnos#366` issue refs in `related:`). No protocol gap; both forms coexist as valid cross-repo references. ε signal: low priority.

2. **Companion-essay cross-link.** The new essay's `## CCNF-O relationship` section names a layer ("CCNF-O") whose canonical home is cnos#405; the essay correctly defers to #405 for the orchestration grammar implementation. The companion essay `CCNF-AND-TYPED-TRUST.md` could (in a future cycle) be amended to back-link to `DECREASING-INCOHERENCE.md` as its steering-layer follow-on. Not in scope for this cycle (only D1 + D2 in dispatch). ε signal: low priority; potential future tidy.

3. **Issue-proposal YAML example is illustrative, not normative.** The essay clearly says "Illustrative shape:" before the YAML block. The actual schema is deferred to #405 Sub 6 (the schema implementation). β confirms the essay does not commit cnos to a specific field set ahead of #405 — the YAML is descriptive prose-equivalent. No protocol gap.

None of these rise to a `cdd-skill-gap`, `cdd-protocol-gap`, `cdd-tooling-gap`, or `cdd-metric-gap` finding for this cycle. They are forward-looking notes for future ε signal aggregation.

## Hand-off to γ

R1 verdict is APPROVED. γ files close-outs (α/β/γ-closeout + cdd-iteration courtesy stub + INDEX.md row) and pushes the branch. Essay is landed at canonical path; README surfaces it; no other docs or code touched; cycle is closeable on cnos side.

Filed by β@cnos (γ+α+β-collapsed-on-δ) on 2026-05-22.
