diff --git a/ouroboros/routing_wait.py b/ouroboros/routing_wait.py
index 1028aeb1c..18e2f61df 100644
--- a/ouroboros/routing_wait.py
+++ b/ouroboros/routing_wait.py
@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@ from typing import Any, Dict
 PROMOTE_CONFIRM_POLL_SEC = 0.05
 
 
+def is_own_admission_stub(result: Any, routing_token: str) -> bool:
+    """The admission gates' form: a stub is read around ONLY by the token that wrote
+    it. No token is no claim, so a tokenless admission meets any stub as a row that
+    owns the id (``is_emitted_admission_stub`` without a token is for readers)."""
+    token = str(routing_token or "").strip()
+    return bool(token) and is_emitted_admission_stub(result, token)
+
 def _confirm_wait_sec(timeout_sec: float | None) -> float:
     """The one bound of both confirmation waits (``runtime_limits``), read at the
     wait itself so this routing leaf keeps no import-time edge into the limits."""
diff --git a/ouroboros/server_routing_context.py b/ouroboros/server_routing_context.py
index a0edf584f..45a9f460a 100644
--- a/ouroboros/server_routing_context.py
+++ b/ouroboros/server_routing_context.py
@@ -270,6 +270,14 @@ def _project_routing_manifest(ctx: Any, project_id: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     }
 
 
+def _not_a_root_result(row: Dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
+    """A row that is never "the project's last result": a child's result, or a
+    promote's emitted stub (an admission still pending, no result at all)."""
+    from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_emitted_admission_stub
+
+    return _is_child_result(row) or is_emitted_admission_stub(row)
+
+
 def _latest_project_task_result(ctx: Any, project_id: str) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
     """Newest ROOT task result bound to ``project_id`` (a child's is never the room's
     continuation: the promote door refuses it, ``_is_child_result``) WITHOUT replaying the whole
@@ -309,7 +317,7 @@ def _latest_project_task_result(ctx: Any, project_id: str) -> Optional[Dict[str,
     if pointer:
         pointed = load_task_result(ctx.DRIVE_ROOT, pointer)
         if isinstance(pointed, dict) and str(pointed.get("project_id") or "") == project_id:
-            if not _is_child_result(pointed):
+            if not _not_a_root_result(pointed):
                 return pointed
             pointer = ""  # a child-stamped pointer is provably wrong, not in flight: heal it
         log.debug(
@@ -348,7 +356,7 @@ def _latest_project_task_result(ctx: Any, project_id: str) -> Optional[Dict[str,
         if candidate is None:
             uncertain = True
             continue
-        if str(candidate.get("project_id") or "") != project_id or _is_child_result(candidate):
+        if str(candidate.get("project_id") or "") != project_id or _not_a_root_result(candidate):
             continue
         row = candidate
         # The match's whole equal-mtime group is read to its end — across the
@@ -360,7 +368,7 @@ def _latest_project_task_result(ctx: Any, project_id: str) -> Optional[Dict[str,
             other = read_json_dict(tied)
             if other is None:
                 uncertain = True
-            elif (str(other.get("project_id") or "") == project_id and not _is_child_result(other)
+            elif (str(other.get("project_id") or "") == project_id and not _not_a_root_result(other)
                   and _order(other) > _order(row)):
                 row = other
         break
diff --git a/ouroboros/tools/control_routing.py b/ouroboros/tools/control_routing.py
index 847cbe763..fe16a729e 100644
--- a/ouroboros/tools/control_routing.py
+++ b/ouroboros/tools/control_routing.py
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ def _predecessor_door_refusal(
     project to compare against, and an absent project is not a match: there the
     host's own list still decides.
     """
+    from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_emitted_admission_stub
     from ouroboros.server_routing_context import _is_child_result
     from ouroboros.task_status import SETTLED_STATUSES
 
@@ -131,6 +132,9 @@ def _predecessor_door_refusal(
             "belongs to - a child's work is reachable through its root"
         )
     status = str(result.get("status") or "")
+    if is_emitted_admission_stub(result):
+        return ("the selected predecessor is a promote whose admission is still pending, not a "
+                "result; read get_task_result on it, and name a finished root instead")
     if status not in SETTLED_STATUSES:
         return (
             f"the selected predecessor is still live (status {status or 'unknown'}); "
diff --git a/ouroboros/tools/control_task_results.py b/ouroboros/tools/control_task_results.py
index e55a12eb2..faf88d977 100644
--- a/ouroboros/tools/control_task_results.py
+++ b/ouroboros/tools/control_task_results.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from ouroboros.task_status import (
     wait_for_effective_tasks,
 )
 from ouroboros.tools.registry import ToolContext
-from ouroboros.utils import truncate_review_artifact
+from ouroboros.utils import truncate_review_artifact, utc_now_iso
 from ouroboros.tools.tool_result import ToolResult, _publish_tool_result
 
 
@@ -208,10 +208,11 @@ def _get_task_result(
         return _publish_tool_result(ctx, ToolResult(
             status="unavailable", code="LEGACY_UNAVAILABLE",
             text=(
-                f"Task {task_id}: admission pending since {since} - the promote was emitted and "
-                "the supervisor has not confirmed or refused it yet. This id is durably reserved: "
-                f"call get_task_result({task_id}) again to read the outcome, and do not promote "
-                "the same work a second time."
+                f"Task {task_id}: admission pending since {since} (now {utc_now_iso()}) - the promote "
+                "was emitted and this row carries no supervisor receipt yet, neither scheduled nor "
+                f"refused. Read get_task_result({task_id}) again before promoting the same work: the "
+                "supervisor answers within seconds of draining its queue. If the row is still "
+                "pending minutes later, the event did not land and a new promote is the way forward."
             ),
         ))
     if bool(include_authority) or bool(include_work_order_source) or bool(include_completion_source):
diff --git a/ouroboros/tools/registry_guards.py b/ouroboros/tools/registry_guards.py
index 6b35bc81e..6d8036a37 100644
--- a/ouroboros/tools/registry_guards.py
+++ b/ouroboros/tools/registry_guards.py
@@ -677,7 +677,7 @@ def _direct_shell_write_block(self, raw_cmd: Any, work_dir: pathlib.Path, runtim
         writable = ", ".join(dict.fromkeys(
             f"{root}={pathlib.Path(base).resolve(strict=False)}" for root, base, _source, _skill in roots
             if not (light_internal and pathlib.Path(base).resolve(strict=False) == system_repo))) or "(none)"
-        reason = ("runtime_mode=light keeps the Ouroboros repository and runtime data read-only"
+        reason = ("runtime_mode=light keeps the Ouroboros repository and runtime control data read-only"
                   if light_internal else "explicit write target is outside every root this task may write")
         return ToolResult(
             status="blocked", code="LIGHT_MODE_BLOCKED" if light_internal else "WORKSPACE_BLOCKED",
diff --git a/prompts/SYSTEM.md b/prompts/SYSTEM.md
index a99ed23b5..cfdb61f11 100644
--- a/prompts/SYSTEM.md
+++ b/prompts/SYSTEM.md
@@ -164,8 +164,8 @@ canonical deliverables, `skill_payload` for reviewed skill payloads, and
 `user_files` for user-visible files under the owner's home (a bare filename
 lands in the visible Deliverables folder, not the home root).
 `subagent_projects` and `deliverables` are read-only (never written or a
-shell cwd); a subagent reads its lineage's task files, never a sibling's, and
-a read-only one also reads `deliverables`.
+shell cwd); a read-only subagent reads `deliverables`, every subagent its
+parent's and root's task files.
 
 My cognitive memory has first-class tools — `update_identity`,
 `update_scratchpad`, `knowledge_write` — and I never reach for
diff --git a/supervisor/events_project_routing.py b/supervisor/events_project_routing.py
index 104136bcf..7e66c6b95 100644
--- a/supervisor/events_project_routing.py
+++ b/supervisor/events_project_routing.py
@@ -256,6 +256,20 @@ def _rollback_promoted_pending(
     return removed
 
 
+def _own_emitted_stub(ctx: Any, task_id: str, routing_token: str) -> bool:
+    """Whether the row on disk is THIS promote's emitted pre-receipt (#1160). A
+    refusal that writes no result of its own must still replace it, or the
+    reconciliation read answers "admission pending" for ever."""
+    try:
+        from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_own_admission_stub
+        from ouroboros.task_results import load_task_result
+
+        return is_own_admission_stub(load_task_result(ctx.DRIVE_ROOT, task_id), routing_token)
+    except Exception:
+        log.warning("promote: emitted-stub lookup failed for %s", task_id, exc_info=True)
+        return False
+
+
 def _persist_promote_rejection(
     ctx: Any,
     evt: Dict[str, Any],
@@ -407,7 +421,7 @@ def _promote_chat_to_task_outcome(evt: Dict[str, Any], ctx: Any) -> Dict[str, An
                 "task_id": task_id,
                 "reservation_owned": False,
             }
-            if blocked["reason"] != "duplicate_task_id":
+            if blocked["reason"] != "duplicate_task_id" or _own_emitted_stub(ctx, task_id, routing_token):
                 _persist_promote_rejection(ctx, evt, blocked)
             _emit_routing_receipt(
                 ctx,
@@ -564,7 +578,8 @@ def _promote_chat_to_task_outcome(evt: Dict[str, Any], ctx: Any) -> Dict[str, An
             reason="promote_chat_to_task_rejected",
         )
         supervisor_queue.release_task_admission(task_id, routing_token)
-        if str(outcome.get("reason") or "") != "attachment_admission_rejected":
+        if (str(outcome.get("reason") or "") != "attachment_admission_rejected"
+                or _own_emitted_stub(ctx, task_id, routing_token)):
             _persist_promote_rejection(ctx, evt, outcome)
         _emit_routing_receipt(
             ctx,
diff --git a/supervisor/queue.py b/supervisor/queue.py
index af8dbf9da..e97395f61 100644
--- a/supervisor/queue.py
+++ b/supervisor/queue.py
@@ -209,12 +209,12 @@ def enqueue_task(
                 t["_admission_blocked"] = "duplicate_task_id"
                 return t
             try:
-                from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_emitted_admission_stub
+                from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_own_admission_stub
                 from ouroboros.task_results import load_task_result
                 stored = load_task_result(DRIVE_ROOT, task_id, strict=True)
                 # The emitted promote stub (#1160) belongs to THIS admission token:
                 # its own enqueue reads around it, any other row still owns the id.
-                if stored and not is_emitted_admission_stub(stored, admission_token):
+                if stored and not is_own_admission_stub(stored, admission_token):
                     if ADMISSION_RESERVATIONS.get(task_id) == admission_token:
                         ADMISSION_RESERVATIONS.pop(task_id, None)
                     t["_admission_blocked"] = "duplicate_task_id"
diff --git a/supervisor/task_admission.py b/supervisor/task_admission.py
index 4d4d04ecf..54ec23af0 100644
--- a/supervisor/task_admission.py
+++ b/supervisor/task_admission.py
@@ -624,9 +624,9 @@ def reserve_task_admission(
             ) or {}
         except Exception:
             return {"status": "blocked", "reason": "task_id_lookup_failed"}
-        from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_emitted_admission_stub
+        from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_own_admission_stub
 
-        if existing and not is_emitted_admission_stub(existing, token):
+        if existing and not is_own_admission_stub(existing, token):
             # The emitted stub of THIS admission is its own pre-receipt (#1160), not
             # another task owning the id: the request it belongs to still reserves.
             admission = existing.get("promotion_admission")
diff --git a/supervisor/worker_promotion.py b/supervisor/worker_promotion.py
index 90956f37f..de9abd2ed 100644
--- a/supervisor/worker_promotion.py
+++ b/supervisor/worker_promotion.py
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ def _canonical_promoted_repair_constraint(value: Any) -> tuple[Optional[dict], s
     }, ""
 
 
-def _promote_duplicate_reason(task_id: str, ctx: Any, *, admission_token: str = "") -> str:
+def _promote_duplicate_reason(task_id: str, ctx: Any, *, admission_token: str) -> str:
     """Fail closed if a promoted id is already live, durable, or uncheckable.
 
     A row that is only THIS admission's emitted stub (#1160) is its own
@@ -161,13 +161,13 @@ def _promote_duplicate_reason(task_id: str, ctx: Any, *, admission_token: str =
             for row in list(pending or [])
         ) or task_id in (running or {})
     try:
-        from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_emitted_admission_stub
+        from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_own_admission_stub
         from ouroboros.task_results import load_task_result
 
         stored = load_task_result(
             getattr(ctx, "DRIVE_ROOT", _pool().DRIVE_ROOT), task_id, strict=True,
         )
-        stored_duplicate = bool(stored) and not is_emitted_admission_stub(
+        stored_duplicate = bool(stored) and not is_own_admission_stub(
             stored, admission_token,
         )
     except Exception:
diff --git a/tests/test_promote_admission_pending.py b/tests/test_promote_admission_pending.py
index 8cd7c1b3c..7defc0ced 100644
--- a/tests/test_promote_admission_pending.py
+++ b/tests/test_promote_admission_pending.py
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ import types
 
 import pytest
 
+from tests.test_swarm_host_admission import host as _swarm_host
+
+swarm_host = _swarm_host  # the real supervisor handler needs a real host
+
 
 class _DeadQueue:
     """A supervisor that accepted the event and has not answered yet."""
@@ -192,6 +196,44 @@ def test_the_emitted_stub_never_owns_its_own_admissions_id(tmp_path, monkeypatch
     ) == "duplicate_task_id"
 
 
+def test_a_stub_is_read_around_only_by_the_token_that_wrote_it(tmp_path, monkeypatch, _short_confirmation_window):
+    """The other direction of the three gates: a promote's stub belongs to its own
+    routing token. Any OTHER admission meets it as a row that owns the id, and a
+    `requested` row that carries no emitted admission is never a stub at all."""
+    import supervisor.queue as supervisor_queue
+    import supervisor.workers as workers
+    from ouroboros.routing_wait import is_emitted_admission_stub, is_own_admission_stub
+    from ouroboros.task_results import load_task_result
+    from ouroboros.tools.control_routing import _promote_chat_to_task
+
+    ctx = _promote_ctx(tmp_path, _DeadQueue())
+    _promote_chat_to_task(ctx, "Build the racer", workspace="none", predecessor_task_id="")
+    task_id = ctx.event_queue.events[0]["task_id"]
+    monkeypatch.setattr(supervisor_queue, "DRIVE_ROOT", tmp_path)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(supervisor_queue, "PENDING", [])
+    monkeypatch.setattr(supervisor_queue, "RUNNING", {})
+    monkeypatch.setattr(supervisor_queue, "ADMISSION_RESERVATIONS", {})
+    host = types.SimpleNamespace(DRIVE_ROOT=tmp_path, PENDING=[], RUNNING={})
+
+    assert supervisor_queue.reserve_task_admission(
+        task_id, "other-token", drive_root=tmp_path) == {"status": "blocked", "reason": "duplicate_task_id"}
+    assert workers._promote_duplicate_reason(task_id, host, admission_token="other-token") == "duplicate_task_id"
+    queued = supervisor_queue.enqueue_task({
+        "id": task_id, "type": "task", "_require_unique_task_id": True, "_admission_token": "other-token"})
+    assert queued.get("_admission_blocked") == "duplicate_task_id"
+
+    stub = load_task_result(tmp_path, task_id)
+    assert is_emitted_admission_stub(stub) and not is_emitted_admission_stub(stub, "other-token")
+    # The gates' form: no token is no claim, so a tokenless admission never reads around it.
+    assert is_own_admission_stub(stub, stub["promotion_admission"]["routing_token"])
+    assert not is_own_admission_stub(stub, "") and not is_own_admission_stub(stub, "other-token")
+    assert supervisor_queue.enqueue_task({
+        "id": task_id, "type": "task", "_require_unique_task_id": True,
+    }).get("_admission_blocked") == "duplicate_task_id"
+    assert not is_emitted_admission_stub({**stub, "status": "completed"})
+    assert not is_emitted_admission_stub({**stub, "promotion_admission": {"status": "scheduled"}})
+
+
 def test_one_runtime_limit_bounds_both_promote_confirmation_waits():
     """The two confirmation windows were byte-identical literals in two modules."""
     from ouroboros import routing_wait, runtime_limits
@@ -203,3 +245,80 @@ def test_one_runtime_limit_bounds_both_promote_confirmation_waits():
     assert routing_wait._confirm_wait_sec(None) == runtime_limits.get_promote_confirm_wait_sec()
     assert routing_wait._confirm_wait_sec(0.05) == 0.05 and routing_wait._confirm_wait_sec(-1) == 0.0
     assert control_events._PROMOTE_CONFIRM_TIMEOUT_SEC == runtime_limits.get_promote_confirm_wait_sec()
+
+
+def _emit_into(root, monkeypatch):
+    """A promote emitted at a supervisor that has not answered: the stub is on disk."""
+    from ouroboros.tools import control_events
+    from ouroboros.tools.control_routing import _promote_chat_to_task
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(control_events, "_PROMOTE_CONFIRM_TIMEOUT_SEC", 0.05)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(control_events, "_PROMOTE_CONFIRM_POLL_SEC", 0.005)
+    ctx = _promote_ctx(root, _DeadQueue())
+    out = _promote_chat_to_task(ctx, "Build the racer", workspace="none", predecessor_task_id="")
+    assert out.startswith("⚠️ PROMOTE_UNCONFIRMED"), out
+    return ctx, ctx.event_queue.events[0]
+
+
+def _attachments_rejected(task_id):
+    return {"status": "needs_manual_target", "reason": "attachment_admission_rejected",
+            "detail": "- a.png: rejected (reason=staging_unavailable, ordinal=0)",
+            "task_id": task_id, "attachment_manifest": []}
+
+
+def test_a_refusal_that_writes_no_result_of_its_own_still_replaces_the_stub(swarm_host, monkeypatch):
+    """The attachment refusal persists no task result by design. Over an emitted
+    stub that silence left "admission pending" on disk for ever, so the model was
+    told not to promote again and the owner's work never started."""
+    import supervisor.workers as workers
+    from ouroboros.task_results import load_task_result
+    from ouroboros.tools.control_task_results import _get_task_result
+    from supervisor.events_project_routing import _handle_promote_chat_to_task
+
+    ctx, event = _emit_into(swarm_host.root, monkeypatch)
+    task_id = event["task_id"]
+    assert load_task_result(swarm_host.root, task_id)["promotion_admission"]["status"] == "emitted"
+    monkeypatch.setattr(workers, "promote_chat_to_task", lambda evt, c: _attachments_rejected(task_id))
+
+    _handle_promote_chat_to_task(event, swarm_host.ctx)
+
+    stored = load_task_result(swarm_host.root, task_id)
+    assert stored["status"] == "failed"
+    assert stored["promotion_admission"]["status"] == "rejected"
+    assert stored["promotion_admission"]["reason"] == "attachment_admission_rejected"
+    read = _get_task_result(ctx, task_id)
+    assert "admission pending" not in read and "attachment_admission_rejected" in read
+
+
+def test_the_attachment_refusal_without_a_stub_still_writes_no_result(swarm_host, monkeypatch):
+    """The quiet direction: that refusal's own contract is untouched. With no
+    emitted stub on disk (a host-issued promote) it persists nothing, as before."""
+    import supervisor.workers as workers
+    from ouroboros.task_results import load_task_result
+    from supervisor.events_project_routing import _handle_promote_chat_to_task
+
+    event = {"type": "promote_chat_to_task", "task_id": "hostpromote000001", "routing_token": "tok-host",
+             "objective": "Build the racer", "chat_id": 1, "workspace": "none"}
+    monkeypatch.setattr(workers, "promote_chat_to_task",
+                        lambda evt, c: _attachments_rejected("hostpromote000001"))
+
+    _handle_promote_chat_to_task(event, swarm_host.ctx)
+
+    assert not load_task_result(swarm_host.root, "hostpromote000001")
+
+
+def test_the_pending_sentence_never_forbids_a_new_promote_for_ever(tmp_path, _short_confirmation_window):
+    """The row proves one thing: emitted, no receipt yet. An event can be lost (a
+    supervisor restart drops its in-memory queue), so the sentence hands the
+    decision back with the facts instead of a standing ban."""
+    from ouroboros.tools.control_routing import _promote_chat_to_task
+    from ouroboros.tools.control_task_results import _get_task_result
+
+    ctx = _promote_ctx(tmp_path, _DeadQueue())
+    _promote_chat_to_task(ctx, "Continue the racer", workspace="none", predecessor_task_id="")
+    task_id = ctx.event_queue.events[0]["task_id"]
+
+    read = _get_task_result(ctx, task_id)
+    assert "admission pending since" in read and f"get_task_result({task_id})" in read
+    assert "do not promote the same work a second time" not in read
+    assert "did not land" in read and "new promote" in read
diff --git a/tests/test_promote_event_transport.py b/tests/test_promote_event_transport.py
index 0daf97cdd..6a2269c5d 100644
--- a/tests/test_promote_event_transport.py
+++ b/tests/test_promote_event_transport.py
@@ -786,7 +786,7 @@ def test_exact_id_ingress_fails_closed_on_unreadable_result(monkeypatch, tmp_pat
     duplicate_reason = workers._promote_duplicate_reason(
         "malformed-id", types.SimpleNamespace(
             DRIVE_ROOT=tmp_path, PENDING=[], RUNNING={},
-        ),
+        ), admission_token="",
     )
 
     assert reservation == {"status": "blocked", "reason": "task_id_lookup_failed"}
diff --git a/tests/test_promote_predecessor_door.py b/tests/test_promote_predecessor_door.py
index 9495de53a..67a25cd90 100644
--- a/tests/test_promote_predecessor_door.py
+++ b/tests/test_promote_predecessor_door.py
@@ -73,6 +73,33 @@ def test_a_root_the_room_manifest_lists_is_still_addressable(tmp_path):
     assert evt["predecessor_authority_source"]["tool"] == "get_task_result"
 
 
+def test_a_listed_row_is_accepted_only_with_the_pointer_the_host_issued_for_it(tmp_path):
+    """A row the host showed carries its own host-issued authority source, and only
+    that one is accepted: rebuilding a source for a shown row would make a tampered
+    manifest row indistinguishable from a host-built one."""
+    import copy
+
+    import server
+    from ouroboros.projects_registry import create_project
+    from ouroboros.task_results import write_task_result
+
+    project = create_project(tmp_path, "racer", name="Racer")
+    write_task_result(tmp_path, "racer-root", "completed", project_id="racer",
+                      objective="the root", ts="2026-08-10T00:00:01Z")
+    metadata = server._decision_turn_metadata(
+        _host_ctx(tmp_path), int(project["chat_id"]), "room-2", {"project_id": "racer"},
+    )
+    tampered = copy.deepcopy(metadata)
+    tampered["project_last_task_result"]["authority_source"] = {"kind": "invented"}
+    for row in tampered["project_routing_manifest"]["final_results"]:
+        row["authority_source"] = {"kind": "invented"}
+
+    evt: dict = {}
+    assert "no readable authority source" in _door(_room_ctx(tmp_path, tampered), "racer-root", evt)
+    assert evt == {}
+    assert _door(_room_ctx(tmp_path, metadata), "racer-root") == ""  # the host's own row passes
+
+
 def test_a_room_root_older_than_the_list_is_addressable_all_the_same(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     """The 16-row cap is a HINT window, never the door: the night's root was a
     finished root of this very project, and only the cap hid it."""
@@ -308,6 +335,34 @@ def test_a_pointer_a_child_stamped_before_the_rule_heals_onto_the_root(tmp_path)
     assert get_project(tmp_path, "racer")["last_task_result_id"] == "racer-root"
 
 
+def test_a_pending_promote_is_neither_the_last_result_nor_a_predecessor(tmp_path):
+    """An emitted stub carries the project's id and is the newest file, but it is an
+    admission still pending, not a result: the lookup answers with the root and never
+    stamps the stub, and the door says what it is instead of "steer this live root"."""
+    import os
+
+    import server
+    from ouroboros.projects_registry import create_project, get_project
+    from ouroboros.task_results import task_results_dir, write_task_result
+
+    create_project(tmp_path, "racer", name="Racer")
+    write_task_result(tmp_path, "racer-root", "completed", project_id="racer", result="root answer")
+    write_task_result(tmp_path, "racer-promote", "requested", project_id="racer", promotion_admission={
+        "status": "emitted", "routing_token": "tok-1", "emitted_at": "2026-09-21T10:00:00Z"})
+    results = task_results_dir(tmp_path, create=False)
+    os.utime(results / "racer-root.json", (1_000, 1_000))
+    os.utime(results / "racer-promote.json", (2_000, 2_000))
+
+    assert server._latest_project_task_result(_host_ctx(tmp_path), "racer")["task_id"] == "racer-root"
+    assert get_project(tmp_path, "racer")["last_task_result_id"] == "racer-root"
+
+    refusal = _door(_room_ctx(tmp_path, {}), "racer-promote")
+    assert "admission is still pending" in refusal and "steer_task" not in refusal
+    # The quiet direction: a root that really is live keeps its own sentence.
+    write_task_result(tmp_path, "racer-live", "running", project_id="racer")
+    assert "steer_task" in _door(_room_ctx(tmp_path, {}), "racer-live")
+
+
 def test_the_room_manifest_carries_cancel_facts_and_an_honest_omission_count(tmp_path):
     import server
     from ouroboros.cancel_intents import request_cancel
@@ -327,7 +382,11 @@ def test_the_room_manifest_carries_cancel_facts_and_an_honest_omission_count(tmp
                       ts="2026-08-10T00:00:02Z")
     running = {"racer-live": {"task": {"id": "racer-live", "project_id": "racer",
                                        "title": "Live", "objective": "in flight"},
-                              "started_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:03Z"}}
+                              "started_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:03Z"},
+               # Another project's live root is none of this room's business.
+               "other-live": {"task": {"id": "other-live", "project_id": "other",
+                                       "title": "Elsewhere", "objective": "not this room"},
+                              "started_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:04Z"}}
     request_cancel(tmp_path, "racer-live", source="owner", reason="stop it")
 
     manifest = server._decision_turn_metadata(
@@ -343,6 +402,15 @@ def test_the_room_manifest_carries_cancel_facts_and_an_honest_omission_count(tmp
     assert live["task_id"] == "racer-live" and live["cancel_state"] == "pending"
     assert manifest["omissions"]["children"] == 1
     assert manifest["omissions"]["final_results"] == 0
+    assert manifest["omissions"]["active_roots"] == 0
+
+    # The live list is bounded too, and says how many of this room's roots it left out.
+    crowd = {f"racer-live-{index:02d}": {"task": {"id": f"racer-live-{index:02d}", "project_id": "racer"},
+                                          "started_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:05Z"} for index in range(43)}
+    crowded = server._decision_turn_metadata(
+        _host_ctx(tmp_path, running=crowd), int(project["chat_id"]), "room-8", {"project_id": "racer"},
+    )["project_routing_manifest"]
+    assert len(crowded["active_roots"]) == 40 and crowded["omissions"]["active_roots"] == 3
 
 
 def test_the_manifest_row_cap_is_one_runtime_limit(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
diff --git a/tests/test_tool_roots_lineage_read.py b/tests/test_tool_roots_lineage_read.py
index fc62f4c68..5bbc12eb9 100644
--- a/tests/test_tool_roots_lineage_read.py
+++ b/tests/test_tool_roots_lineage_read.py
@@ -184,6 +184,26 @@ def test_lineage_is_read_only_even_for_a_top_level_parent_drive(geometry):
     assert target.read_text(encoding="utf-8") == before
 
 
+def test_the_lineage_redirect_is_a_read_redirect_whatever_the_matrix_says(geometry):
+    """The write above is refused by the matrix first, so it never reaches the
+    resolver. This one does: the redirect onto a lineage root exists for READ
+    operations alone, so a profile whose matrix allows the write (an acting child
+    in cyber_pro) still cannot be resolved into its parent's drive."""
+    from ouroboros.tool_access import _resolve_target_in_selected_base
+
+    _registry, ctx = child_registry(geometry, acting=True)
+    target = geometry.parent_drive / "triage-draft.json"
+    own_base = geometry.headless / "task_drives" / CHILD
+
+    assert _resolve_target_in_selected_base(
+        ctx, root="task_drive", base_path=own_base, path=str(target), operation="read",
+    ) == target.resolve()
+    for operation in ("write", "edit"):
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+            _resolve_target_in_selected_base(
+                ctx, root="task_drive", base_path=own_base, path=str(target), operation=operation)
+
+
 # --- owner 7A: an absolute path without a root runs under the root holding it --
 
 def test_child_reads_its_parents_task_drive_by_absolute_path_and_no_root(geometry):
@@ -345,6 +365,18 @@ def test_child_lists_the_parents_drive_with_secret_names_hidden(geometry):
     assert any("hidden from this subagent" in item for item in items), items
 
 
+def test_child_lists_deliverables_with_secret_names_hidden(geometry):
+    """Deliverables is a new listing root for the child, so it gets the same
+    secret-name filter as every other root it lists; an ordinary file stays."""
+    (geometry.deliverables / ".env").write_text("SECRET_TOKEN=sk-secret\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    registry, _ctx = child_registry(geometry)
+
+    items = json.loads(registry.execute("list_files", {"root": "deliverables", "path": str(geometry.deliverables)}))
+
+    assert "answer.txt" in items and ".env" not in items, items
+    assert any("hidden from this subagent" in item for item in items), items
+
+
 # --- the pure lineage function ------------------------------------------------
 
 def test_lineage_task_ids_are_own_parent_and_root_and_nothing_else(geometry):
diff --git a/tests/test_usage_compaction_fingerprint.py b/tests/test_usage_compaction_fingerprint.py
index f0c88a5e2..92768957c 100644
--- a/tests/test_usage_compaction_fingerprint.py
+++ b/tests/test_usage_compaction_fingerprint.py
@@ -383,10 +383,16 @@ def test_a_peer_process_does_not_refold_what_another_just_folded(data_root, monk
     assert _folds(data_root) == 1
     assert _skip_events(data_root) == []  # declined before the pass, not aborted inside it
 
+    # The floor is what that pass READ plus the retry window, not the bare size: a
+    # ledger that regrew just past the old size is still inside the window (at the
+    # measured 0.02 % gain that is a few KB, the very cascade this guard removes).
+    _grow_past(data_root, monkeypatch, before.st_size + 1, "peer-growth")
+    assert _trigger(data_root) is False
+    assert len(entered) == 1
+
     # Quiet on real growth: once the file passes what that pass READ plus the
     # retry window, the peer folds on its own.
     monkeypatch.setattr("ouroboros.config.USAGE_LEDGER_COMPACT_RETRY_GROWTH_BYTES", 1)
-    _grow_past(data_root, monkeypatch, before.st_size + 1, "peer-growth")
     assert _trigger(data_root) is True
     assert len(entered) == 2
     assert int(_ledger_rows(data_root)[0]["compaction_epoch"]) == 2