# β review — cycle/393

**Issue:** cnos#393
**Mode:** design-and-build, γ+α+β-collapsed-on-δ
**Branch:** `cycle/393`
**Base SHA:** `origin/main` at `e531dba0`
**Head SHA at R1:** `04bb3a6b` (α self-coherence commit)

## Round 1

### Verdict: **APPROVED — unconditionally**

All 7 ACs PASS mechanically. Cross-skill mesh is bidirectional and each patch carries the empirical anchors named by the issue body. Implementation-contract conformance (self-applying Rule 7) verified row-by-row.

### Contract Integrity

| # | Row | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identity truth: `git config user.email` = `beta@cdd.cnos` at review time | ✅ verified before each review pass |
| 2 | Canonical-skill freshness: `origin/main` at `e531dba0` (session start = current; no advance during cycle) | ✅ |
| 3 | Pre-merge gate equivalence: markdown-only diff; no validator-CI surface (`scripts/validate-skill-frontmatter.sh` would still pass — all four touched SKILL.md files preserve their YAML frontmatter unchanged; verified via diff) | ✅ |
| 4 | γ artifact completeness: `.cdd/unreleased/393/gamma-scaffold.md` present on `origin/cycle/393` at canonical path | ✅ at SHA `413b2385` |

### Issue Contract (AC mapping)

| AC | β verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| **AC1** | PASS | `rg "α MUST NOT change the implementation-contract\|Implementation contract is δ" src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md` → 2 hits (heading + body). Empirical anchor paragraph cites both cnos#389 and cnos#391 explicitly. |
| **AC2** | PASS | `rg "Implementation-contract coherence\|Rule 7" src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/beta/SKILL.md` → 3 hits. Empirical anchor cites cnos#389 R1 + cnos#391 R1 behavior-only APPROVE failures by name. |
| **AC3** | PASS | `rg "## Implementation contract" src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/gamma/SKILL.md` → 2 hits (the template block + a body reference). All 7 axes enumerated (Language, CLI integration target, Package scoping, Existing-binary disposition, Runtime dependencies, JSON/wire contract preservation, Backward-compat invariant). Rule "**γ MUST NOT dispatch with empty / 'TBD' rows**" named explicitly in bold. |
| **AC4** | PASS | `rg "inward membrane\|implementation-contract enrichment" src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/operator/SKILL.md` → 7 hits. Section opens with "δ is also a **two-sided membrane**" and an ASCII diagram. References `gamma/SKILL.md` §2.5 Step 3b (Patch C) by name + path. |
| **AC5** | PASS | cnos#366 body re-read after `mcp__github__issue_write` update; carries new "Update — 2026-05-21 (cnos#393 close-out)" callout, Phase 4 opens with "δ is **two-sided** — **outward** ... **AND inward**" framing, Phase 4 deliverable bullet for `delta/SKILL.md` reads "boundary complex with two-sided membrane: **outward** ... **AND inward** ... Includes the inward-membrane surface from #393", #393 appears as the 5th Phase 4 input bullet, and the sub-issue list shows "Phase 4 — δ split (gates on Phase 3; bundles #371 + #373 + #384 + #393 inputs; carves two-sided membrane: outward + inward)." |
| **AC6** | PASS — particular rigor (per dispatch) | Each patch's file cites the other three role-skill files by path + section anchor: see § Cross-reference mesh evidence below. 12 mesh edges total (4 patches × 3 other-patches-each); 0 self-references in mesh logic. |
| **AC7** | PASS — particular rigor (per dispatch) | Each of the 4 patches carries an "**Empirical anchor.**" paragraph naming cnos#389 + cnos#391 by issue number. `grep -c "#389"` per file: 1, 1, 1, 2 (operator double-counts because of Phase 4 cross-reference). `grep -c "#391"` per file: 1, 1, 1, 2. All four also cite cnos#392 as the proof-of-concept cycle. |

### Cross-reference mesh evidence (AC6 detail, particular rigor)

β re-verified the mesh by greppping each pair of files. The mesh is **bidirectional** — every patch cites every other patch (with the obvious exception of the patch citing itself, which would be circular):

| From / To | α §3.6 | β Rule 7 | γ §2.5 template | δ §3a |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| α §3.6 (Patch A) | — (self) | ✓ line 356 | ✓ line 354 | ✓ line 355 |
| β Rule 7 (Patch B) | ✓ line 173 | — (self) | ✓ lines 165, 174 | ✓ line 175 |
| γ §2.5 template (Patch C) | ✓ line 372 | ✓ line 374 | — (self) | ✓ lines 363, 370 |
| δ §3a (Patch D) | ✓ line 288 | ✓ line 291 | ✓ lines 264, 283 | — (self) |

Total mesh edges: 12 (each off-diagonal cell is ≥1). No FAIL row. Mesh is **directed-acyclic in justification** (each rule is locally self-justifying via the empirical anchors; mesh is for discoverability, not logical justification — this is correctly recorded in α's `design-notes.md` §Cross-reference plan and α's `self-coherence.md` §Cross-reference mesh evidence).

### Empirical-anchor evidence (AC7 detail, particular rigor)

| File | #389 cited | #391 cited | #392 cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| `alpha/SKILL.md` (Patch A) | ✓ "cnos#389 (α implemented V in Python despite cnos being Go-native..." | ✓ "cnos#391 (α placed the Go port in a separate binary at the wrong package path..." | ✓ "cnos#392 was the first cycle where δ pinned the contract at dispatch..." |
| `beta/SKILL.md` (Patch B) | ✓ "cnos#389 R1 (Python-not-Go)..." | ✓ "cnos#391 R1 (wrong package scoping + separate binary)..." | ✓ "cnos#392 was the first cycle where δ pinned the contract..." |
| `gamma/SKILL.md` (Patch C) | ✓ "cnos#389 (Python-not-Go)..." | ✓ "cnos#391 (wrong package scoping + separate binary)..." | ✓ "cnos#392 was the first cycle where δ pinned..." |
| `operator/SKILL.md` (Patch D) | ✓ (×2: in body and in Phase 4 cross-ref) | ✓ (×2) | ✓ "cnos#392 was the first cycle where δ pinned..." |

All four anchors complete. AC7 PASS.

### Diff Context

```
.cdd/unreleased/393/gamma-scaffold.md     | new file, 116 lines
.cdd/unreleased/393/design-notes.md        | new file, 276 lines
.cdd/unreleased/393/self-coherence.md      | new file, 129 lines
src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md     | +22 lines (Patch A: §3.6)
src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/beta/SKILL.md      | +28 lines (Patch B: Rule 7)
src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/gamma/SKILL.md     | +51 lines (Patch C: §2.5 subsection)
src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/operator/SKILL.md  | +49 lines (Patch D: §3a)
```

All hunks are additive. No deletions of existing rule text. Backward-compat verified:

- α `### 3.1.`–`### 3.5.` headings present (5/5).
- β `### 1.`–`### 6.` headings present (6/6).
- γ `Step 3b — Subscribe and dispatch α and β` heading present and unchanged.
- operator `## 3. Gate` + `## 4. Override` headings both present and unchanged.

### Architecture

The 4-patch mesh is structurally clean:

- **Locally self-justifying** — each rule has empirical anchors (#389, #391, #392) that justify it independently.
- **Discoverability mesh** — each rule cites the other three for navigation; future α/β/γ sessions loading any one find the others.
- **No circular logical dependency** — α's rule doesn't *depend on* β's rule to make sense; it just *points at* it. β's rule doesn't depend on α's to make sense; it just points back. The mesh is bibliographic, not deductive.
- **Forward-compatible with Phase 4** — Patch D explicitly names itself a "design-prerequisite anchor" for Phase 4 of cnos#366 and notes the relocation target (`delta/SKILL.md`). Phase 4's cycle inherits a clean handoff: the doctrine is pinned, the surface is named, only the relocation remains.

The "δ as two-sided membrane" framing is well-grounded: `COHERENCE-CELL-NORMAL-FORM.md` describes δ-as-outward (receipt + verdict → boundary decision); `RECEIPT-VALIDATION.md` ditto; the inward face was implicit in every cycle's operator action but had no named surface until cnos#392 made it ad-hoc and cnos#393 makes it doctrine.

### Findings

**None.** No RC findings. No advisory findings. No name-overpromise findings (per Rule 6b). The 4 patches faithfully implement the 4 patches the issue body specifies, with the cross-skill mesh and empirical anchors required by AC6 + AC7.

One minor authorial observation worth noting (not a finding — does not require change):

- The issue body says "Rule 8" for α; α's actual numbering convention is `3.N` not "Rule N." α correctly translated to §3.6 to match α's convention; cross-references in β/γ/operator use "α §3.6" not "α Rule 8." Faithful translation, not deviation. α called this out explicitly in `self-coherence.md` §Debt; β acknowledges and approves.

### Implementation-contract conformance check (self-applying Rule 7)

The cycle's own implementation contract was operator-pinned in the dispatch:

| Axis | Pinned | Diff conforms? |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Markdown | ✅ all diff hunks are markdown additions |
| CLI integration target | N/A | ✅ no commands added |
| Package scoping | `src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/{alpha,beta,gamma,operator}/SKILL.md` | ✅ `git diff --stat origin/main..HEAD -- src/` lists exactly these 4 files |
| Existing-binary disposition | N/A | ✅ no binaries |
| Runtime dependencies | None | ✅ no deps added |
| JSON/wire contract | N/A | ✅ no schemas / wire formats touched |
| Backward compat | Existing rules preserved; additive | ✅ verified by enumerating preserved headings above |

All 7 axes conform. β APPROVES under Rule 7.

### Merge readiness

- Cycle branch `origin/cycle/393` is current at `04bb3a6b`.
- Origin/main unchanged at `e531dba0` since cycle start.
- No CI gates fire for markdown-only diff in this repo.
- γ-artifact-of-record present (`.cdd/unreleased/393/gamma-scaffold.md`).
- All 7 ACs PASS.
- β identity verified: `beta@cdd.cnos`.
- Pre-merge non-destructive merge-test: `git merge --no-ff --no-commit origin/cycle/393` on a clean main produces a clean fast-forward-equivalent merge (no conflicts; markdown-only diff against unchanged base).

**β APPROVES merge.**

In the collapsed-on-δ mode for this cycle, the actual merge to main happens in step 9 of the lifecycle (`git checkout main && git merge --no-ff cycle/393`), per the dispatch.
