**Verdict:** APPROVED

**Round:** 1
**Fixed this round:** n/a (no prior RC)
**base SHA (origin/main):** 3cef674ff0b640f331cf7f2b817ca2dc9596fd2d
**cycle/149 head SHA:** 30a68439e99c6b56288ccd9f48100e39cda275e7
**Branch CI state:** provisional (CI runs on main push only; no branch-push CI available — β verifies on merge)
**Merge instruction:** `git merge --no-ff cycle/149 -m "Closes #149: UIE skill-loading gate in SOUL.md §2.1 Observation"` into main

## §2.0.0 Contract Integrity

| Check | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Status truth preserved | yes | Issue distinguishes missing/expected; no shipped/draft confusion |
| Canonical sources/paths verified | yes | Only one SOUL.md in repo: `src/packages/cnos.core/templates/SOUL.md` |
| Scope/non-goals consistent | yes | Diff touches §2.1 only; all non-goals (auto-detect, runtime enforcement, USER.md, Sigma SOUL) unviolated |
| Constraint strata consistent | yes | AC1 requires "imperative" (not "consider"); satisfied by "identify … and load them" |
| Exceptions field-specific/reasoned | n/a | No exceptions in this change |
| Path resolution base explicit | n/a | No path validation in this change |
| Proof shape adequate | yes | Prose change: oracle is verbatim text; all ACs cite exact added lines |
| Cross-surface projections updated | yes | No other SOUL.md copies; USER.md explicitly out of scope per issue |
| No witness theater / false closure | yes | Rule is prose discipline; issue explicitly states "behavioral, not runtime"; no enforcement claim |
| PR body matches branch files | yes | self-coherence.md evidence quotes match diff exactly |

## §2.0 Issue Contract

### AC Coverage
| # | AC | In diff? | Status | Notes |
|---|----|----------|--------|-------|
| AC1 | Skill-loading rule in §2.1 with imperative language; memory ≠ loading explicit | ✅ | Met | "Before acting, identify which skills this action requires and load them. Memory of a skill is not the same as loading it…" |
| AC2 | ❌/✅ pair: acting on memory vs loading the file | ✅ | Met | `❌ Act on memory of what the release skill says. ✅ Load release/SKILL.md, name it as loaded, then act.` |
| AC3 | Visible-load convention: agent names loaded skills before Action | ✅ | Met | "Name the loaded skills before proceeding to Action." |

### Named Doc Updates
| Doc / File | In diff? | Status | Notes |
|------------|----------|--------|-------|
| `src/packages/cnos.core/templates/SOUL.md` §2.1 | ✅ | Updated | Only file in issue scope |

### CDD Artifact Contract
| Artifact | Required? | Present? | Notes |
|----------|-----------|----------|-------|
| `.cdd/unreleased/149/self-coherence.md` | yes | ✅ | Gap, skills, ACs with verbatim evidence, self-check, debt (none), CDD trace 0–7a, review-readiness signal |
| `.cdd/unreleased/149/beta-review.md` | yes | ✅ | This file |

### Active Skill Consistency
| Skill | Required by | Loaded? | Applied? | Notes |
|-------|-------------|---------|----------|-------|
| `cnos.core/skills/skill` | Issue Tier 3 | ✅ | ✅ | Rule is imperative (§3.3); ❌/✅ pair on same failure (§3.5); named "gate" following §1.1 part identification |
| `cnos.core/skills/write` | Issue Tier 3 | ✅ | ✅ | Prose is front-loaded, active voice, no throat-clearing, ≤6 lines; word-level discipline verified |

## §2.1 Diff and Context

Diff is 4 lines added to SOUL.md §2.1, plus self-coherence.md artifact (new file). All checks:

| Check | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Structural closure / input-source | n/a | Prose rule — no input/output pipeline |
| Multi-format semantic parity | yes | Rule exists in prose only; ❌/✅ examples are consistent with prose |
| Snapshot consistency | n/a | No snapshot tests |
| Stale-path validation | n/a | No files moved or renamed |
| Branch naming | yes | `cycle/149` matches `cycle/{N}` convention |
| Execution timeline | n/a | No code changes |
| Derivation vs validation | n/a | No single-source-of-truth derivation claim |
| Authority-surface conflict | yes | USER.md is "operator preference" surface (template has no skill-loading directive); SOUL.md is now canonical home per issue intent; no conflict |
| Module-truth audit | yes | §2.1 has two named gates (falsification, skill-loading); no other §2.1 assumptions violated by this addition |
| Contract confinement | n/a | No input domain claims |
| Architecture leverage | yes | Prose discipline is appropriate scope; runtime enforcement explicitly deferred per issue |
| Process overhead | yes | Gate is motivated by three concrete 2026-04-02 failures; minimal addition (1 paragraph + 2 bullets) |
| Design constraints | n/a | No design constraints doc to check |

## Architecture Check

| Check | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reason to change preserved | yes | §2.1 Observation still has one responsibility; skill-loading gate is a sub-rule within Observation |
| Policy above detail preserved | n/a | No policy/detail boundary in SOUL.md prose |
| Interfaces remain truthful | n/a | No interfaces changed |
| Registry model remains unified | n/a | No registry |
| Source/artifact/installed boundary preserved | n/a | No build artifacts |
| Runtime surfaces remain distinct | n/a | Prose-only |
| Degraded paths visible and testable | n/a | No degraded paths |

## Findings

| # | Finding | Evidence | Severity | Type |
|---|---------|----------|----------|------|

No findings.

## Notes

- Pre-existing bullet structure in §2.1 (4 bullets after two gates) is readable: first two relate to "Observe before acting" principle; last two relate to skill-loading gate. Pre-existing ordering, not worsened by this change.
- CI state is provisional (no branch-push CI). Prose-only change to templates/ — no regression risk.
- Consistency with #277 (SOUL skill-form rewrite): gate is paragraph-level, not number-anchored; survives renumbering.
