diff --git a/alkstore-contract-suite/src/properties.rs b/alkstore-contract-suite/src/properties.rs
index 8bea08f..93496b3 100644
--- a/alkstore-contract-suite/src/properties.rs
+++ b/alkstore-contract-suite/src/properties.rs
@@ -897,9 +897,16 @@ pub async fn drop_rollback_leaves_no_ghosts(factory: &dyn StoreFactory) {
 /// pin in the drop-rollback and commit-visibility rows; this row pins
 /// the visibility itself.)
 ///
+/// The negative-seed leg (2026-10-11): a staged save seeding an
+/// absent checkpoint stores raw — the boundary/offset totality of
+/// ADR-023 §2 rides the tx seam too, in-tx read-back included (a
+/// negative seed reads raw, never clamped against the absent-consumer
+/// phantom zero, and survives the commit as the stored checkpoint).
+///
 /// Contract stamp: ADR-021 §1 (tx-side read methods,
 /// read-your-own-writes); ADR-007 (the commit-atomic seam the reads
-/// ride).
+/// ride); ADR-023 §2 boundary/offset annotation (annotated
+/// 2026-10-11 — a negative is stored as the checkpoint).
 pub async fn in_tx_reads_see_own_writes(factory: &dyn StoreFactory) {
     let store = factory.open().await.expect("factory opens a store");
 
@@ -934,8 +941,43 @@ pub async fn in_tx_reads_see_own_writes(factory: &dyn StoreFactory) {
     );
     let checkpoint = tx.get_offset_tx("events", "c").await.unwrap();
     assert_eq!(checkpoint, offset, "the tx sees its own save");
+
+    // The tx form's seed arm (ADR-023 §2, annotated 2026-10-11): a
+    // staged save on a consumer with no committed checkpoint seeds
+    // raw — the in-tx read-back is the raw seed, not the absent-consumer
+    // phantom zero clamped over it, and the commit stores it verbatim.
+    tx.save_offset_tx("events", "c2", -5).await.unwrap();
+    let seeded = tx.get_offset_tx("events", "c2").await.unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        seeded, -5,
+        "a staged negative seed reads raw in-tx (no phantom-zero clamp)"
+    );
     tx.commit().await.unwrap();
 
+    let committed_seed = store
+        .stream("events")
+        .await
+        .unwrap()
+        .get_offset("c2")
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        committed_seed, -5,
+        "a negative seed is stored as the checkpoint through the tx seam"
+    );
+    let resumed = store
+        .stream("events")
+        .await
+        .unwrap()
+        .read_from_consumer("c2", 10)
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        resumed.iter().map(|e| e.offset).collect::<Vec<_>>(),
+        vec![offset],
+        "reads anchored at the negative checkpoint resume forward: the log from the start"
+    );
+
     factory.teardown().await.expect("factory teardown");
 }
 
diff --git a/alkstore-mem/src/scheduler.rs b/alkstore-mem/src/scheduler.rs
index 3b02425..e4b0a2d 100644
--- a/alkstore-mem/src/scheduler.rs
+++ b/alkstore-mem/src/scheduler.rs
@@ -64,6 +64,15 @@ const SLEEP_RENEW_EVERY_S: u64 = 2;
 /// The idle sleep when nothing is scheduled (soonest = 0).
 const IDLE_SLEEP_S: u64 = 60;
 
+/// The upper bound on one sleep slice, in seconds: a schedule whose
+/// next boundary is further out sleeps this long, ticks (a no-op), and
+/// sleeps again — the tick recomputes the soonest every iteration.
+/// The cap keeps `Instant + Duration` arithmetic on the sleep deadline
+/// inside every platform's `Instant` range (a far-future boundary's
+/// raw wait can exceed a platform's representable span; a bounded
+/// duration never does).
+const MAX_SLEEP_S: u64 = 60 * 60 * 24 * 30;
+
 /// The bounded catch-up cap (ADR-009 §4 — a fixed contract constant,
 /// honker parity, not a knob).
 const MAX_CATCHUP_FIRES: i64 = 64;
@@ -327,7 +336,7 @@ async fn keep_awake_renewing(lease: &MemLock, clock: &Clock, stop: &StopToken, s
     } else {
         soonest_at.saturating_sub(now).max(1) as u64
     };
-    let deadline = started + Duration::from_secs(wait_s);
+    let deadline = started + Duration::from_secs(wait_s.min(MAX_SLEEP_S));
     loop {
         let now = tokio::time::Instant::now();
         if stop.is_cancelled() || now >= deadline {
diff --git a/alkstore-mem/src/stream.rs b/alkstore-mem/src/stream.rs
index 00396a3..55dc1c3 100644
--- a/alkstore-mem/src/stream.rs
+++ b/alkstore-mem/src/stream.rs
@@ -8,9 +8,13 @@
 //!   internal and never compared cross-engine — ADR-015 §4: mem's
 //!   fresh-engine count starts at 1, the SQL engines' counters may
 //!   not), keys
+//!   not), keys
 //!   are carried metadata (a present key must be non-empty —
 //!   `InvalidName`, ADR-015 §1), and the commit boundary fires one
-//!   wake per event on the stream's engine-internal wake channel.
+//!   wake per published event on the stream's engine-internal wake
+//!   channel (the no-handle publish path; a tx commit coalesces to
+//!   one wake per stream — the feed is plumbing, not contract
+//!   surface, and receivers drain by cursor).
 //! - Cursor reads are `offset ASC` (global FIFO, ADR-015 §4) with the
 //!   extent guard at the trait-impl entry (`limit <= 0` → empty
 //!   `Vec`, ADR-023 §2).
@@ -104,6 +108,16 @@ pub(crate) fn get_offset_row(s: &StreamState, stream: &str, consumer: &str) -> i
         .unwrap_or(0)
 }
 
+/// Whether a checkpoint row exists for the consumer. The absent read is
+/// 0 (`get_offset_row`), but the tx merge needs the distinction: a
+/// staged save on a consumer with no committed row is a *seed* (stored
+/// raw, per ADR-023 §2's boundary/offset annotation), not a candidate
+/// against a phantom zero.
+pub(crate) fn has_offset_row(s: &StreamState, stream: &str, consumer: &str) -> bool {
+    s.offsets
+        .contains_key(&(stream.to_string(), consumer.to_string()))
+}
+
 /// `trim_to`: delete `offset <= horizon` (exact boundary); surviving
 /// events keep their offsets. Returns the deleted count. Wakes nothing.
 pub(crate) fn trim_events(s: &mut StreamState, stream: &str, horizon: i64) -> i64 {
diff --git a/alkstore-mem/src/tx.rs b/alkstore-mem/src/tx.rs
index 09eaa60..79b8448 100644
--- a/alkstore-mem/src/tx.rs
+++ b/alkstore-mem/src/tx.rs
@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@
 //!   invisible to every other view until its commit — no isolation
 //!   questions can arise across handles).
 //! - **Commit-merge + wake-at-commit**: `commit` consumes the handle;
-//!   the merge is one guarded operation (queues → streams, the
-//!   canonical lock order) and the overlay's pending wakes fire in the
-//!   same operation, after the merged state is visible — a tx-staged
+//!   the merge lands queues then streams (the canonical lock order;
+//!   two sequential guarded sections on a non-awaiting path — each
+//!   section's committed view is self-consistent at its boundary) and
+//!   the overlay's pending wakes fire after the merged state is
+//!   visible — a tx-staged
 //!   notify delivers nothing until the merge, one wake per staged
 //!   notify (per-notify, never coalesced). That discipline is what the
 //!   pg engine had to fix retroactively (`pg-fix-tx-wake`); here it is
@@ -58,7 +60,7 @@ use crate::resolution::{
 use crate::state::Guard;
 use crate::state::{EventRow, JobRow, State};
 use crate::stream::{
-    get_offset_row, insert_event, read_events, save_offset_row, stream_wake_channel,
+    get_offset_row, has_offset_row, insert_event, read_events, save_offset_row, stream_wake_channel,
 };
 use crate::wakes::WakeBus;
 
@@ -152,14 +154,27 @@ fn merged_read_since(
 
 /// The merged checkpoint read (absent everywhere = 0).
 fn merged_get_offset(overlay: &Overlay, state: &State, stream: &str, consumer: &str) -> i64 {
-    let committed = {
+    let (committed, present) = {
         let s = state.streams.guard();
-        get_offset_row(&s, stream, consumer)
+        (
+            get_offset_row(&s, stream, consumer),
+            has_offset_row(&s, stream, consumer),
+        )
     };
     let staged = overlay
         .saves
         .get(&(stream.to_string(), consumer.to_string()));
-    staged.map_or(committed, |s| (*s).max(committed))
+    // The in-tx read shows what the commit would produce: a staged
+    // save against an existing checkpoint rides the monotone guard
+    // (the staged save only merges when it is ahead, so the read is
+    // the max), while a staged save *seeding* an absent checkpoint is
+    // stored raw — a negative seed reads raw in-tx too (ADR-023 §2's
+    // boundary/offset annotation), not clamped against a phantom zero.
+    match staged {
+        Some(s) if present => (*s).max(committed),
+        Some(s) => *s,
+        None => committed,
+    }
 }
 
 fn event_of(row: EventRow, stream: &str) -> StreamEvent {
@@ -420,9 +435,9 @@ impl MemTxHandle {
 }
 
 /// The commit-merge: move every staged effect into the committed state
-/// under one guarded operation (the canonical queues → streams lock
-/// order; each section's committed view is self-consistent at its
-/// boundary), then fire the overlay's pending wakes — the
+/// (queues then streams, the canonical lock order; two sequential
+/// guarded sections on a non-awaiting path) then fire the overlay's
+/// pending wakes — the
 /// wake-at-commit discipline: nothing delivers until the merge lands.
 fn merge_and_wake(state: Arc<State>, wakes: Arc<WakeBus>, mut overlay: Overlay) {
     {
diff --git a/alkstore-mem/src/wakes.rs b/alkstore-mem/src/wakes.rs
index edf03d3..8888383 100644
--- a/alkstore-mem/src/wakes.rs
+++ b/alkstore-mem/src/wakes.rs
@@ -33,11 +33,6 @@
 //! one commit's notify on a channel is one wake per subscribed feed,
 //! never coalesced (no batching boundary exists to coalesce across).
 
-// The substrate routes every wave-6 mechanism's commit-boundary
-// wakes; until the mechanism tasks wire it, the foundations-only
-// build sees the attach/fire surface as dead.
-#![allow(dead_code)]
-
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::sync::Mutex;
 
@@ -89,7 +84,6 @@ impl std::fmt::Debug for WakeBus {
 }
 
 impl WakeBus {
-    #[allow(dead_code)]
     pub(crate) fn new() -> Self {
         Self {
             registry: Mutex::new(Registry::default()),
diff --git a/alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs b/alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs
index 9a88c87..dbc1011 100644
--- a/alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs
+++ b/alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ impl ChannelSet {
         let mut map = self
             .channels
             .lock()
-            .expect("channel registry mutex poisoned");
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner);
         let is_new = !map.contains_key(channel);
         *map.entry(channel.to_string()).or_insert(0) += 1;
         is_new
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ impl ChannelSet {
         let mut map = self
             .channels
             .lock()
-            .expect("channel registry mutex poisoned");
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner);
         let Some(count) = map.get_mut(channel) else {
             return false;
         };
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ impl ChannelSet {
     pub(crate) fn snapshot(&self) -> Vec<String> {
         self.channels
             .lock()
-            .expect("channel registry mutex poisoned")
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner)
             .keys()
             .cloned()
             .collect()
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ impl Forwarder {
     pub(crate) fn subscribe(&self) -> Option<broadcast::Receiver<RawNotification>> {
         self.fanout
             .lock()
-            .expect("fanout mutex poisoned")
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner)
             .as_ref()
             .map(|s| s.subscribe())
     }
@@ -433,8 +433,14 @@ impl Forwarder {
     ///
     /// Fails `Database` when no listener connection is currently live
     /// (mid-reconnect) or the LISTEN itself failed — transient; a
-    /// retry recovers it (the registry entry stays either way and the
-    /// re-issue covers the channel on reconnect).
+    /// retry recovers it (the caller's retry re-adds the reference).
+    /// The failure disposition is the **call site's**: a failed
+    /// register leaves no receiver whose drop would decrement the
+    /// registry, so the failing site must `unregister` the reference
+    /// (the notify `listen` and stream `spawn_bridge` paths do
+    /// exactly that) — a phantom entry here would wedge the
+    /// last-subscriber UNLISTEN rule and keep the channel LISTENing
+    /// after every receiver is gone.
     pub(crate) async fn register(&self, channel: &str) -> Result<(), alkstore::Error> {
         self.channels.add_subscriber(channel);
         if !self.connected.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
@@ -493,7 +499,10 @@ impl Forwarder {
         // Take the sender even if a receiver holds this Arc: the
         // receivers' terminal `None` must fire at engine shutdown
         // whatever lifetime stands on the handle.
-        *self.fanout.lock().expect("fanout mutex poisoned") = None;
+        *self
+            .fanout
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner) = None;
     }
 
     /// Aim the reconnect arm's connect step at `config` (the failed-
@@ -505,7 +514,7 @@ impl Forwarder {
         *self
             .reconnect_config
             .lock()
-            .expect("reconnect config mutex poisoned") = config;
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner) = config;
     }
 
     /// The reconnect config's current content (the failed-connect
@@ -514,7 +523,7 @@ impl Forwarder {
     pub(crate) fn reconnect_config_snapshot(&self) -> tokio_postgres::Config {
         self.reconnect_config
             .lock()
-            .expect("reconnect config mutex poisoned")
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner)
             .clone()
     }
 
@@ -581,7 +590,10 @@ pub(crate) struct FanoutRelease {
 
 impl Drop for FanoutRelease {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        *self.slot.lock().expect("fanout mutex poisoned") = None;
+        *self
+            .slot
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner) = None;
     }
 }
 
@@ -819,7 +831,9 @@ async fn forwarder_loop(
         let attempt = {
             let slot = reconnect_config.clone();
             move || {
-                let guard = slot.lock().expect("reconnect config mutex poisoned");
+                let guard = slot
+                    .lock()
+                    .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner);
                 let config = guard.clone();
                 drop(guard);
                 async move { config.connect(NoTls).await.ok() }
diff --git a/alkstore-postgres/src/lock.rs b/alkstore-postgres/src/lock.rs
index 05009fb..799fb3d 100644
--- a/alkstore-postgres/src/lock.rs
+++ b/alkstore-postgres/src/lock.rs
@@ -61,11 +61,12 @@ fn table(schema: &str, name: &str) -> String {
 /// the holder column decides, not the insert's row count (the D-4
 /// swallow's lesson: never trust a write result for ownership).
 ///
-/// One statement sequence on one pool connection's implicit
-/// transaction (auto-committed as a unit on return-to-pool; the
-/// expiry-delete + insert + read-back race window is closed by the
-/// PK constraint — a concurrent grant of the same name either
-/// lands first or reads as foreign).
+/// One statement sequence on one pool connection in autocommit mode
+/// (each statement commits as it lands; the acquire is **not** a
+/// single transaction): the correctness guarantee is the PK
+/// constraint, not statement atomicity — a concurrent grant of the
+/// same name either lands first (the read-back then shows the foreign
+/// owner) or reads as foreign.
 pub(crate) async fn lock_acquire(
     client: &tokio_postgres::Client,
     schema: &str,
diff --git a/alkstore-postgres/src/notify.rs b/alkstore-postgres/src/notify.rs
index 0b89366..2fa6108 100644
--- a/alkstore-postgres/src/notify.rs
+++ b/alkstore-postgres/src/notify.rs
@@ -107,7 +107,14 @@ pub(crate) fn listen(
         if closed.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
             return Err(database_error("the store is closed"));
         }
-        forwarder.register(&channel).await?;
+        // A failed registration leaves no receiver whose drop would
+        // decrement the registry — unregister here, mirroring the
+        // subscribe-failure arm below (no refcount leak past a failed
+        // listen; a retry re-adds the reference).
+        if let Err(e) = forwarder.register(&channel).await {
+            forwarder.unregister(&channel);
+            return Err(e);
+        }
         let broadcast_rx = forwarder.subscribe();
         let Some(broadcast_rx) = broadcast_rx else {
             // The subscribe raced (or arrived past) a shutdown: fail
diff --git a/alkstore-postgres/src/scheduler.rs b/alkstore-postgres/src/scheduler.rs
index 0760dad..a07255d 100644
--- a/alkstore-postgres/src/scheduler.rs
+++ b/alkstore-postgres/src/scheduler.rs
@@ -148,6 +148,15 @@ const SLEEP_SLICE_S: u64 = 1;
 /// The idle sleep when nothing is scheduled (soonest = 0).
 const IDLE_SLEEP_S: u64 = 60;
 
+/// The upper bound on one sleep deadline, in seconds: a schedule whose
+/// next boundary is further out sleeps this long, ticks (a no-op), and
+/// sleeps again — the tick recomputes the soonest every iteration.
+/// The cap keeps `Instant + Duration` arithmetic on the sleep deadline
+/// inside every platform's `Instant` range (a far-future boundary's
+/// raw wait can exceed a platform's representable span; a bounded
+/// duration never does).
+const MAX_SLEEP_S: u64 = 60 * 60 * 24 * 30;
+
 /// The tick's transient-error retry budget: a tick failed by a
 /// pool/database error (pool checkout, `BEGIN`, a statement, `COMMIT`)
 /// retries this many times before the loop exits `Err` (the module
@@ -784,7 +793,7 @@ async fn keep_awake_renewing(lease: &mut Box<dyn alkstore::Lock>, stop: &StopTok
         // due immediately (fire on the next iteration, don't sleep).
         (soonest - now_unix()).max(0) as u64
     };
-    let deadline = started + Duration::from_secs(wait_s);
+    let deadline = started + Duration::from_secs(wait_s.min(MAX_SLEEP_S));
     let slice = Duration::from_secs(SLEEP_SLICE_S);
     loop {
         let now = tokio::time::Instant::now();
diff --git a/alkstore-postgres/src/stream.rs b/alkstore-postgres/src/stream.rs
index 7bdda25..ef56080 100644
--- a/alkstore-postgres/src/stream.rs
+++ b/alkstore-postgres/src/stream.rs
@@ -577,8 +577,13 @@ async fn spawn_bridge(
 ) -> Result<Box<dyn EventReceiver>> {
     // Registration first — a failed registration here (never: LISTEN
     // failures carry the registry entry's recovery, but a shutdown
-    // race can kill the command channel) fails the whole subscribe.
-    forwarder.register(&stream).await?;
+    // race can kill the command channel) fails the whole subscribe,
+    // unregistered (a failed register leaves no receiver whose drop
+    // would decrement the registry — the notify path's same rule).
+    if let Err(e) = forwarder.register(&stream).await {
+        forwarder.unregister(&stream);
+        return Err(e);
+    }
     let Some(broadcast_rx) = forwarder.subscribe() else {
         // The subscribe raced (or arrived past) a shutdown: fail
         // closed — no receiver can ever deliver again. Unregister
diff --git a/alkstore-postgres/src/tx.rs b/alkstore-postgres/src/tx.rs
index cce854e..774dd2a 100644
--- a/alkstore-postgres/src/tx.rs
+++ b/alkstore-postgres/src/tx.rs
@@ -437,14 +437,16 @@ impl TxHandle for PgTxHandle {
         Box::pin(async move {
             let client = self.client()?;
             // Monotone upsert (one owner): a first save seeds the
-            // checkpoint — clamped at 0, the absent-consumer=0 rule
-            // (ADR-019 §1) — and a save at-or-below the stored one
-            // updates nothing (ADR-019 §6's silent no-op).
+            // checkpoint — raw, no clamp (ADR-023 §2's 2026-10-11
+            // boundary/offset annotation: the argument is an offset,
+            // a negative is stored as the checkpoint) — and a save
+            // at-or-below the stored one updates nothing (ADR-019 §6's
+            // silent no-op).
             client
                 .execute(
                     &format!(
                         "INSERT INTO {} AS o (stream, consumer, \"offset\")
-                         VALUES ($1, $2, GREATEST($3::bigint, 0))
+                         VALUES ($1, $2, $3::bigint)
                          ON CONFLICT (stream, consumer) DO UPDATE
                            SET \"offset\" = EXCLUDED.\"offset\"
                          WHERE EXCLUDED.\"offset\" > o.\"offset\"",
diff --git a/alkstore-sqlite/src/lib.rs b/alkstore-sqlite/src/lib.rs
index 4c40d83..4822f83 100644
--- a/alkstore-sqlite/src/lib.rs
+++ b/alkstore-sqlite/src/lib.rs
@@ -11,9 +11,11 @@
 //! unsupported is the inherited lineage honesty, stated
 //! here as the crate's deployment boundary (compile-time engine
 //! identity is the only engine-discovery mechanism — pick this crate,
-//! get this posture). Durability knobs, pool sizing, and the watcher
-//! cadence are engine-configuration concerns on [`SqliteOpts`]
-//! (ADR-008 §6) — never contract surface.
+//! get this posture). The engine's configuration surface is
+//! [`SqliteOpts`] (the watcher cadence and the reader-pool size) —
+//! the durability settings (`synchronous = NORMAL`, the busy
+//! timeout) are bootstrapped constants, not knobs, per
+//! deployment.md's posture (ADR-008 §6) — never contract surface.
 //!
 //! **Writer parking** (ADR-007's negative consequence, stated
 //! honestly): the writer slot is a lease, and long transactions park
diff --git a/alkstore-sqlite/src/scheduler.rs b/alkstore-sqlite/src/scheduler.rs
index 305741d..e445ff5 100644
--- a/alkstore-sqlite/src/scheduler.rs
+++ b/alkstore-sqlite/src/scheduler.rs
@@ -42,6 +42,15 @@ use crate::substrate::{
     scheduler_soonest, scheduler_tick, scheduler_unregister,
 };
 
+/// The upper bound on one sleep slice, in seconds: a schedule whose
+/// next boundary is further out sleeps this long, ticks (a no-op), and
+/// sleeps again — the tick recomputes the soonest every iteration.
+/// The cap keeps `Instant + Duration` arithmetic on the sleep deadline
+/// inside every platform's `Instant` range (a far-future boundary's
+/// raw wait can exceed a platform's representable span; a bounded
+/// duration never does).
+const MAX_SLEEP_S: u64 = 60 * 60 * 24 * 30;
+
 /// The leadership lock's TTL (seconds): engine-internal detail —
 /// renewed every loop iteration *and* across the sleeps (a runner that
 /// cannot renew has lost the lock, ADR-009 §4 — the lock machinery is
@@ -164,6 +173,8 @@ pub(crate) fn run_schedules(
     stop: StopToken,
     writer: Arc<Writer>,
     closed: Arc<AtomicBool>,
+    db_path: String,
+    #[cfg(test)] commit_fault: crate::seam::commit_fault::Flag,
 ) -> BoxedFuture<'static, Result<()>> {
     Box::pin(async move {
         if closed.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
@@ -211,7 +222,32 @@ pub(crate) fn run_schedules(
             }
             let soonest = {
                 let writer = writer.clone();
-                with_writer(writer, scheduler_tick_transactional).await?
+                let db_path = db_path.clone();
+                #[cfg(test)]
+                let commit_fault = commit_fault.clone();
+                crate::seam::blocking(move || {
+                    let conn = writer.acquire().ok_or_else(closed_store_error)?;
+                    #[cfg(test)]
+                    let (out, conn, poisoned) =
+                        scheduler_tick_transactional(conn, commit_fault.clone());
+                    #[cfg(not(test))]
+                    let (out, conn, poisoned) = scheduler_tick_transactional(conn);
+                    if poisoned {
+                        // A failed COMMIT (or ROLLBACK) leaves the
+                        // transaction's state unknown: the connection
+                        // is dropped, not released — the tx-handle
+                        // commit arm's posture, with the slot
+                        // replenished via a fresh bootstrapped open.
+                        drop(conn);
+                        if let Ok(fresh) = crate::seam::open_writer_connection(&db_path) {
+                            writer.release(fresh);
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        writer.release(conn);
+                    }
+                    out
+                })
+                .await?
             };
             if stop.is_cancelled() {
                 let _ = lease.release().await;
@@ -229,23 +265,47 @@ pub(crate) fn run_schedules(
 /// One tick under `BEGIN IMMEDIATE`: the fire enqueues + the boundary
 /// advance commit together, or the whole tick rolls back (crash
 /// mid-tick ⇒ the boundary refires; two tickers serialize on the
-/// writer). Returns the soonest next fire for the sleep (0 = none).
-fn scheduler_tick_transactional(conn: &rusqlite::Connection) -> Result<i64> {
-    conn.execute_batch("BEGIN IMMEDIATE")
-        .map_err(sqlite_error)?;
+/// writer). Takes the connection by value and returns it with its
+/// disposition: `poisoned` marks the commit-failure/rollback-failure
+/// arms — the transaction's state is unknown there (SQLite documented
+/// behavior: a failed COMMIT leaves the transaction active), and the
+/// caller must drop the connection and replenish the slot rather than
+/// release it (a released connection would keep the open transaction,
+/// silently swallowing every later write until close). Returns
+/// `(result, connection, poisoned)`; the soonest next fire is for the
+/// sleep (0 = none).
+fn scheduler_tick_transactional(
+    conn: rusqlite::Connection,
+    #[cfg(test)] commit_fault: crate::seam::commit_fault::Flag,
+) -> (Result<i64>, rusqlite::Connection, bool) {
+    if let Err(begin) = conn.execute_batch("BEGIN IMMEDIATE") {
+        // A failed BEGIN opened no transaction: the connection is
+        // clean and releasable.
+        return (Err(sqlite_error(begin)), conn, false);
+    }
     let body = (|| {
-        let now = crate::resolution::now_unix(conn)?;
-        scheduler_tick(conn, now).map_err(sqlite_error)?;
-        scheduler_soonest(conn).map_err(sqlite_error)
+        let now = crate::resolution::now_unix(&conn)?;
+        scheduler_tick(&conn, now).map_err(sqlite_error)?;
+        scheduler_soonest(&conn).map_err(sqlite_error)
     })();
     match body {
         Ok(soonest) => {
-            conn.execute_batch("COMMIT").map_err(sqlite_error)?;
-            Ok(soonest)
+            #[cfg(test)]
+            let committed = if crate::seam::commit_fault::take(&commit_fault) {
+                Err(crate::seam::commit_fault::failure())
+            } else {
+                conn.execute_batch("COMMIT")
+            };
+            #[cfg(not(test))]
+            let committed = conn.execute_batch("COMMIT");
+            match committed {
+                Ok(()) => (Ok(soonest), conn, false),
+                Err(commit) => (Err(sqlite_error(commit)), conn, true),
+            }
         }
         Err(e) => {
-            let _ = conn.execute_batch("ROLLBACK");
-            Err(e)
+            let rolled = conn.execute_batch("ROLLBACK");
+            (Err(e), conn, rolled.is_err())
         }
     }
 }
@@ -265,7 +325,7 @@ async fn keep_awake_renewing(lease: &SqliteLockHandle, stop: &StopToken, soonest
             .unwrap_or(0);
         (soonest - now).max(1) as u64
     };
-    let deadline = started + Duration::from_secs(wait_s);
+    let deadline = started + Duration::from_secs(wait_s.min(MAX_SLEEP_S));
     loop {
         let now = tokio::time::Instant::now();
         if stop.is_cancelled() || now >= deadline {
diff --git a/alkstore-sqlite/src/store.rs b/alkstore-sqlite/src/store.rs
index 2f39efa..59d1e4e 100644
--- a/alkstore-sqlite/src/store.rs
+++ b/alkstore-sqlite/src/store.rs
@@ -293,7 +293,18 @@ impl Store for SqliteStore {
     ) -> alkstore::BoxedFuture<'a, alkstore::Result<()>> {
         let writer = self.writer.clone();
         let closed = self.closed.clone();
-        crate::scheduler::run_schedules(stop, writer, closed)
+        let db_path = self.db_path.to_string_lossy().into_owned();
+        #[cfg(test)]
+        let fut = crate::scheduler::run_schedules(
+            stop,
+            writer,
+            closed,
+            db_path,
+            self.commit_fault.clone(),
+        );
+        #[cfg(not(test))]
+        let fut = crate::scheduler::run_schedules(stop, writer, closed, db_path);
+        fut
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/alkstore-sqlite/src/store/scheduler_tests.rs b/alkstore-sqlite/src/store/scheduler_tests.rs
index 23b82e3..8ed9ec8 100644
--- a/alkstore-sqlite/src/store/scheduler_tests.rs
+++ b/alkstore-sqlite/src/store/scheduler_tests.rs
@@ -543,3 +543,59 @@ async fn catch_up_replays_up_to_the_cap_then_skips_forward() {
     drop(store);
     cleanup(&dir);
 }
+
+/// Acceptance: a failing `COMMIT` inside the scheduler tick's
+/// transaction (the same `SQLITE_FULL`-shaped seam injection as the
+/// tx-handle arm) surfaces as the opaque `Database`, and the writer
+/// slot is replenished through the tick's poison arm — the connection
+/// whose transaction state is unknowable (SQLite documented behavior:
+/// a failed COMMIT leaves the transaction active) is dropped, the slot
+/// refilled via a fresh bootstrapped open, the tx-handle commit arm's
+/// posture applied to the loop's tick (the one commit site that was
+/// missing it — the 2026-10-11 general review's finding; a released
+/// connection would have kept the open transaction and every later
+/// `BEGIN IMMEDIATE` on the slot would have errored until close). The
+/// store stays fully usable: schedule, notify, and a follow-up runner
+/// all proceed.
+#[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread")]
+async fn failed_tick_commit_replenishes_the_writer_slot() {
+    let dir = temp_dir("tick-commit-err");
+    let concrete = open_store(dir.join("store.db").to_str().unwrap(), Default::default()).unwrap();
+
+    concrete.arm_commit_fault();
+
+    // The run errors at the first tick's commit (the leadership
+    // acquire and the tick's BEGIN both preceded it).
+    let outcome = concrete.run_schedules(StopToken::new()).await;
+    match outcome {
+        Err(Error::Database(source)) => {
+            assert!(
+                source.to_string().contains("full"),
+                "the tick commit error carries the SQLITE_FULL-shaped source chain: {source}"
+            );
+        }
+        other => panic!("a failed tick commit errs opaque Database, got {other:?}"),
+    }
+
+    let registered = concrete
+        .schedule(
+            "after",
+            "@every 10s",
+            "work",
+            json!({"n": 1}),
+            ScheduleOpts::default(),
+        )
+        .await;
+    assert!(
+        registered.is_ok(),
+        "the slot must be grantable after the failed tick commit (replenished via reopen): \
+         {registered:?}"
+    );
+    concrete
+        .notify("probe", json!({"after": "tick-commit-error"}))
+        .await
+        .expect("auto-commit ops work after the failed tick commit");
+
+    drop(concrete);
+    cleanup(&dir);
+}
diff --git a/alkstore-sqlite/src/substrate/queue_ops.rs b/alkstore-sqlite/src/substrate/queue_ops.rs
index cc60281..58159ec 100644
--- a/alkstore-sqlite/src/substrate/queue_ops.rs
+++ b/alkstore-sqlite/src/substrate/queue_ops.rs
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ pub(crate) fn scheduler_tick(conn: &Connection, now: i64) -> rusqlite::Result<St
             backoff_base_s,
             dead_letter_retention_s,
         };
-        let expires_at = expires_s.map(|s| now + s);
+        let expires_at = expires_s.map(|s| now.saturating_add(s));
         let mut fires: i64 = 0;
         while next_fire_at <= now {
             if fires >= SCHEDULER_MAX_CATCHUP_FIRES {
diff --git a/alkstore/src/error.rs b/alkstore/src/error.rs
index e9cd2eb..41b2370 100644
--- a/alkstore/src/error.rs
+++ b/alkstore/src/error.rs
@@ -54,9 +54,11 @@ pub enum Error {
     LeadershipLost,
     /// An operation against a closed receiver/source.
     ///
-    /// The `try_recv`/`recv_timeout` form of wake close (never
-    /// returned by `recv_timeout`'s timeout expiry, which yields
-    /// `Ok(None)`); never a timeout signal.
+    /// The closed arms of the wake receivers' non-`recv` forms
+    /// (`try_recv`/`recv_timeout` — never
+    /// `recv_timeout`'s timeout expiry, which yields `Ok(None)`) and
+    /// the event receiver's `try_recv` on a `Closed`-caused stream
+    /// receiver; never a timeout signal.
     #[error("the receiver or source is closed")]
     Closed,
     /// Payload serialization or deserialization failure.
diff --git a/alkstore/src/payload.rs b/alkstore/src/payload.rs
index 7157d32..88bfaad 100644
--- a/alkstore/src/payload.rs
+++ b/alkstore/src/payload.rs
@@ -23,13 +23,60 @@ use crate::Error;
 /// Fallible per ADR-023 §1: serialization failure is
 /// [`Error::Codec`](crate::Error::Codec), typed at this helper — no
 /// silent fallback form exists (an empty-byte store would decode to
-/// `Null`, silent data corruption). Unreachable for `serde_json::Value`
-/// in practice (its variants all serialize), pinned against an
-/// encoding posture change.
+/// `Null`, silent data corruption). Failures here are two-fold: a
+/// `Value` nested deeper than the depth limit (`PAYLOAD_DEPTH_LIMIT`)
+/// is rejected — the stored bytes could never be read back, and the
+/// serializer's own unguarded recursion would otherwise abort deep
+/// enough — and genuine serialization failure maps through the same
+/// typed arm.
 pub fn encode_payload(value: &serde_json::Value) -> Result<Vec<u8>, Error> {
+    if value_depth(value) > PAYLOAD_DEPTH_LIMIT {
+        return Err(Error::Codec(format!(
+            "payload nesting exceeds the depth limit ({PAYLOAD_DEPTH_LIMIT})"
+        )));
+    }
     serde_json::to_vec(value).map_err(|e| Error::Codec(e.to_string()))
 }
 
+/// The payload nesting cap: aligned with serde_json's deserialization
+/// recursion limit (a nested-open at container depth 128 fails to
+/// decode; depths through 127 read back). A `Value` nested deeper than
+/// the cap produces stored bytes no decoder can read — silent data
+/// loss at read time — and deep enough the (unguarded) serializer
+/// itself would overflow the stack abortably; the encode side refuses
+/// it instead.
+const PAYLOAD_DEPTH_LIMIT: usize = 127;
+
+/// The maximum number of containers on any path through `value`
+/// (iterative, not recursive — a recursive walk would itself overflow
+/// the stack on exactly the deep inputs this guards against).
+fn value_depth(value: &serde_json::Value) -> usize {
+    let mut max = 0;
+    let mut stack: Vec<(&serde_json::Value, usize)> = vec![(value, 1)];
+    while let Some((current, depth)) = stack.pop() {
+        match current {
+            serde_json::Value::Array(items) => {
+                if depth > max {
+                    max = depth;
+                }
+                for item in items {
+                    stack.push((item, depth + 1));
+                }
+            }
+            serde_json::Value::Object(map) => {
+                if depth > max {
+                    max = depth;
+                }
+                for item in map.values() {
+                    stack.push((item, depth + 1));
+                }
+            }
+            _ => {}
+        }
+    }
+    max
+}
+
 /// Decode stored payload bytes into a concrete target type.
 ///
 /// Used by [`Job::payload_as`](crate::Job::payload_as) and
diff --git a/alkstore/src/validation.rs b/alkstore/src/validation.rs
index e9abc1d..10f26b4 100644
--- a/alkstore/src/validation.rs
+++ b/alkstore/src/validation.rs
@@ -26,17 +26,19 @@ pub enum NameKind {
     /// rejected.
     Shared,
     /// Consumer-local identifiers — stream-consumer names, `owner` on
-    /// `try_lock`, `worker_id` on claims. Non-empty only: a leading
-    /// `__alkstore_` is legal (they are not a shared engine namespace,
-    /// so there is nothing to collide with).
+    /// `try_lock`, `worker_id` on claims. Non-empty (whitespace-only
+    /// rejected like any empty): a leading `__alkstore_` is legal
+    /// (they are not a shared engine namespace, so there is nothing to
+    /// collide with).
     Local,
 }
 
 /// Validate a name per its [`NameKind`].
 ///
-/// - non-empty (after no trimming — whitespace-only counts as
-///   non-empty content but is nonetheless rejected below) →
-///   [`Error::InvalidName`](crate::Error::InvalidName) when empty
+/// - non-empty → [`Error::InvalidName`](crate::Error::InvalidName)
+///   when empty; the emptiness check is the raw string's (`""`
+///   rejects) with whitespace-only strings rejected by the same arm
+///   (they are never a meaningful name on any engine — see below)
 /// - `NameKind::Shared` additionally rejects names carrying
 ///   [`RESERVED_PREFIX`] with
 ///   [`Error::ReservedName`](crate::Error::ReservedName)
diff --git a/alkstore/src/value_type_tests.rs b/alkstore/src/value_type_tests.rs
index 86c2765..8ee1419 100644
--- a/alkstore/src/value_type_tests.rs
+++ b/alkstore/src/value_type_tests.rs
@@ -87,7 +87,10 @@ fn sample_event(payload: Vec<u8>) -> StreamEvent {
 fn payload_as_round_trips_json_value_through_job() {
     let v = json!({"id": 9, "nested": {"ok": [true, null, 1.5]}, "s": "ünï"});
     let bytes = crate::encode_payload(&v).unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("encode failed: {e}"));
-    assert_eq!(bytes, serde_json::to_vec(&v).unwrap_or_default());
+    assert_eq!(
+        bytes,
+        serde_json::to_vec(&v).unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("reference encode failed: {e}"))
+    );
     let job = sample_job(bytes);
     let decoded: Value = job
         .payload_as()
@@ -128,16 +131,54 @@ fn payload_as_undecodable_target_yields_codec() {
         Err(crate::Error::Codec(msg)) => assert!(!msg.is_empty()),
         other => panic!("expected Codec, got {other:?}"),
     }
-    let r2: crate::Result<bool> =
-        serde_json::from_slice(b"not json").map_err(|e| crate::Error::Codec(e.to_string()));
+    let r2: crate::Result<bool> = {
+        let undecodable = sample_job(b"not json".to_vec());
+        undecodable.payload_as()
+    };
     assert!(matches!(r2, Err(crate::Error::Codec(_))));
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn encode_payload_rejects_nesting_below_the_decode_limit_as_typed_codec() {
+    let boundary = nest_value(Value::Null, 127);
+    assert!(
+        crate::encode_payload(&boundary).is_ok(),
+        "the deepest decodable nesting encodes and reads back"
+    );
+    let past = nest_value(Value::Null, 128);
+    match crate::encode_payload(&past) {
+        Err(crate::Error::Codec(msg)) => assert!(!msg.is_empty()),
+        other => panic!("expected Codec on past-limit nesting, got {other:?}"),
+    }
+}
+
+fn nest_value(inner: Value, depth: usize) -> Value {
+    let mut v = inner;
+    for _ in 0..depth {
+        v = Value::Array(vec![v]);
+    }
+    v
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn encode_payload_boundary_nesting_round_trips() {
+    let v = nest_value(Value::from(0u8), 127);
+    let bytes = crate::encode_payload(&v).unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("encode failed: {e}"));
+    let job = sample_job(bytes);
+    let back: Value = job
+        .payload_as()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("boundary decode failed: {e}"));
+    assert_eq!(back, v);
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn encode_payload_success_carries_exact_serialization() {
     let v = json!({"k": [1, 2, 3]});
     let bytes = crate::encode_payload(&v).unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("encode failed: {e}"));
-    assert_eq!(bytes, serde_json::to_vec(&v).unwrap_or_default());
+    assert_eq!(
+        bytes,
+        serde_json::to_vec(&v).unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("reference encode failed: {e}"))
+    );
 }
 
 #[test]
diff --git a/docs/architecture/core-contract.md b/docs/architecture/core-contract.md
index c0f30cf..6e1bc89 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/core-contract.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/core-contract.md
@@ -792,21 +792,33 @@ before the engine specs are called `stable`:
   with `limit <= 0` read nothing, never the whole queue/stream), so
   the SQLite `LIMIT -1` dialect artifact is dead on both engines;
    durations reject (`try_lock`/`renew` with `ttl <= 0` are opaque
-   `Err`s on both engines); boundaries are total (a negative
-   `trim_to` horizon deletes nothing, idempotently; the same
-   totality over non-positive values covers `heartbeat(extend)`'s
-   relative-deadline argument and `save_offset`'s offset — both
-   classified 2026-10-11 by the close-out pass, the ADR-023 §2
-   annotation; their suite legs landed at the wave-8 gate in
-   `job_handle_validity_predicate` and
-   `receiver_close_and_save_arms`, uniformly green on all three
-   engines).
+    `Err`s on both engines); boundaries are total (a negative
+    `trim_to` horizon deletes nothing, idempotently; the same
+    totality over non-positive values covers `heartbeat(extend)`'s
+    relative-deadline argument and `save_offset`'s offset — both
+    classified 2026-10-11 by the close-out pass, the ADR-023 §2
+    annotation; their suite legs landed at the wave-8 gate in
+    `job_handle_validity_predicate` and
+    `receiver_close_and_save_arms`, uniformly green on all three
+    engines; the 2026-10-11 general review added the tx-seam form of
+    the `save_offset` totality — a staged negative seed reads raw
+    in-tx and stores raw at commit, pinned in
+    `in_tx_reads_see_own_writes`, again uniformly green on all three
+    engines).
 - **`encode_payload` typed failure**
   ([ADR-023](decisions/023-fourth-review-round.md) §1) — the helper
   returns `Result<Vec<u8>, Error::Codec>`; enqueue/publish store and
   decode the exact serialization of the input `Value` (byte-identical
   rows cross-engine, the §4 round-trip unchanged), and the failure
   arm is typed at the helper — no silent empty-byte fallback exists.
+  The failure set grew once (the 2026-10-11 general review, applied
+  pre-publish): a `Value` nested
+  deeper than the encode-side depth limit (127 containers — a
+  128th nested open fails to decode, empirically aligned with
+  serde_json's recursion limit) is a typed `Codec` rejection, not a
+  serializable-but-undecodable store and not a serializer stack
+  overflow; the fuzz corpus-replay invariant pins the boundary
+  (`fuzz/shared/src/payload_codec.rs`).
 - **Plain-path SQLite open** ([ADR-023](decisions/023-fourth-review-round.md)
   §3) — the SQLite engine's `open` path argument is a plain
   filesystem path: a string carrying a `?name=value` suffix is
diff --git a/docs/plans/implementation.md b/docs/plans/implementation.md
index 67e1899..348567c 100644
--- a/docs/plans/implementation.md
+++ b/docs/plans/implementation.md
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 ---
 status: draft
 last_updated: "2026-10-11 (wave 8 implemented + reviewed — the release
-gate passed: the class-1 window's dispositions complete, the suite's
-registered boundary-legs follow-up landed, all gates re-run green;
+gate passed and the pre-release general review (004) followed it,
+fixing one high-severity slot-poisoning defect, two contract-observable
+divergences, and their suite/test/doc pins; all gates re-run green;
 implementation complete pending the user's manual `cargo publish`.)"
 ---
 
@@ -782,8 +783,43 @@ decomposes. Specific gates:
   session (fresh package listing + exclusion re-run, no leakage); the
   frontmatter sweep + renumber spot-checks re-run green; all gates
   re-run green including the fuzz replay, wasm32, and the doc gate;
-  the release-facing spec set (core-contract.md, overview.md,
-  queues.md, deployment.md, the architecture README) flipped
-  `stable`. Implementation complete pending the user's manual
-  `cargo publish` (the checklist of record is in
-  `tasks/release-publish-prep.md`).
+   the release-facing spec set (core-contract.md, overview.md,
+   queues.md, deployment.md, the architecture README) flipped
+   `stable`. Implementation complete pending the user's manual
+   `cargo publish` (the checklist of record is in
+   `tasks/release-publish-prep.md`).
+- **General review, pre-release / wave 8** (2026-10-11,
+  `docs/reviews/004-pre-release-general-review.md` — the record is
+  004 in the directory's sequence; a whole-workspace pass with four
+  parallel per-crate deep reads plus a cross-cutting sweep, distinct
+  from the gate) — nine findings fixed inline, sixteen recorded as
+  follow-up material, two false positives caught on verification:
+  the scheduler tick's failed `COMMIT`/`ROLLBACK` leaving the SQLite
+  writer slot wedged with a stuck-open transaction (HIGH — the one
+  commit site missing the drop-+-replenish arm; fixed with the
+  commit-fault seam reaching the tick and a replenish test); the wave-8
+  gate's pg negative-seed fix having missed the **tx seam**
+  (`save_offset_tx` still clamped, mem's in-tx merged read clamping
+  against a phantom zero — fixed, and the tx-form totality pinned by a
+  new stamped suite leg green on all three columns vs the live
+  server); the pg `register`-failure refcount leak (both subscription
+  call sites now unregister on error); pg's fanout/registry
+  poisoned-mutex `expect`s converted to the mem poison-recovery idiom;
+  `encode_payload`'s deep-nesting process abort replaced by a typed
+  `Codec` rejection at a decode-aligned depth limit (127 containers —
+  the fuzz invariant's old "encodes but can never be read back" pin
+  corrected, boundary legs added, applied pre-publish within the open
+  class-1 window); sleep-deadline `Instant + Duration` overflow caps
+  and a `saturating_add` in the sqlite tick's claim stamping; six
+  doc-vs-code corrections (core `Error::Closed` scope, validation
+  wording, the sqlite lib doc's phantom "durability knobs", pg
+  `lock.rs`'s atomicity claim, mem's merge/wake-granularity wording);
+  test hygiene in `value_type_tests.rs`; the stale
+  `#![allow(dead_code)]` on mem's wakes module. Parked follow-up
+  inventory (no release blocker): sqlite seam panic-safety armor, the
+  watcher post-death-subscribe hang + initial-stat self-kill, the pg
+  forwarder TOCTOU/hang/diagnosability arms, the pg BIGINT
+  server-side stamp overflow, the mem growth/outbox notes, the pg
+  identifier-truncation doc note, and smaller records. All gates
+  re-run green after the fixes (build, workspace tests, live pg
+  column, clippy, fmt, fuzz replay 6/6, wasm32, doc gate).
diff --git a/docs/reviews/004-pre-release-general-review.md b/docs/reviews/004-pre-release-general-review.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3058e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/reviews/004-pre-release-general-review.md
@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+# General review — wave 8 / pre-release (whole workspace)
+
+- **Reviewer**: opencode (glm-5.3-flash)
+- **Scope**: a general review of the full workspace as it stands at
+  wave-8 completion (2026-10-11, post `review-wave-8`, pre-publish) —
+  the same lens family as reviews 001/002/003 (correctness, security,
+  code smells, classic dev issues), applied to all four published
+  crates plus the contract suite and the fuzz sidecar, rather than a
+  single wave's delta. Numbering note: reviews 001 (waves 1–2), 002
+  (wave 4), and 003 (wave 5) already occupy the first three slots, so
+  this record is **004** by the directory's sequence.
+- **Input**: four parallel deep-read agents (one per crate: core;
+  sqlite engine + substrate; postgres; mem) plus a cross-cutting
+  sweep (panics/unsafe/logging/security greps, metadata, README /
+  CHANGELOG spot-checks, fuzz/shared), followed by session-level
+  verification of every finding that drove a change — each fixed
+  item below was re-verified by direct read and, where behavioral,
+  by a live run.
+- **Gates at review time** (all run this session, after the fixes):
+  `cargo build`; `cargo test --workspace` server-less (green; core 27,
+  sqlite 194, mem 102, pg lib SKIP-posture, suite 25 on the
+  sqlite+mem columns); the **full pg column live** vs the harness
+  server (`pglo-poc`: 127 lib + 25 suite + 9 schema, all green — the
+  run that re-verified the pg fixes below through the live server);
+  `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings`; `cargo fmt --check`;
+  the fuzz corpus replay (6/6); the wasm32 check
+  (`cargo check --target wasm32-unknown-unknown -p alkstore-mem`);
+  the doc gate (`RUSTDOCFLAGS="-D warnings" cargo doc --no-deps`,
+  zero warnings). Harness env for the record (review 003's op note):
+  `ALKSTORE_PG_HOST=localhost ALKSTORE_PG_PORT=15432
+  ALKSTORE_PG_USER=postgres ALKSTORE_PG_PASSWORD=poc
+  ALKSTORE_PG_DB=blobs`.
+
+## Findings fixed inline
+
+| # | Severity | Where | Finding | Fix |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 1 | HIGH | `alkstore-sqlite/src/scheduler.rs` | **A failed tick `COMMIT`/`ROLLBACK` left the writer slot wedged with a stuck-open transaction.** The tick ran inside `with_writer`, which releases the connection on both arms; SQLite's documented behavior is that a failed `COMMIT` *leaves the transaction active* — so the released connection carries a live `BEGIN IMMEDIATE` forever: every later auto-commit op silently executes inside an uncommitted transaction (writes vanish at close) and every later `BEGIN IMMEDIATE` errors. Every other commit site has the drop-+-`reopen`-replenish arm (the tx handle's commit, `ConnLease`, the drop paths — pinned by `sqlite-commit-error-arm` tests); the tick was the one site missing it. Also, the tick's error arm swallowed rollback failure (`let _ = ROLLBACK`). | The tick takes the connection by value now and returns a `(result, conn, poisoned)` disposition: `COMMIT` failure or `ROLLBACK` failure marks the connection poisoned — dropped, not released, slot replenished via a fresh bootstrapped open (the established arm's posture). The `cfg(test)` commit-fault seam reaches the tick (the store's flag is threaded into `run_schedules`), and a new test pins the property: `failed_tick_commit_replenishes_the_writer_slot` (`store/scheduler_tests.rs`) injects a `SQLITE_FULL`-shaped `COMMIT` failure and asserts the error chain, slot grantability, and full store usability after. |
+| 2 | MED (contract-observable) | `alkstore-postgres/src/tx.rs`, `alkstore-mem/src/tx.rs` | **The wave-8 gate's pg negative-seed fix missed the tx seam.** The gate fixed pg's auto-commit save (raw seed, `CHECK` dropped) against ADR-023 §2's 2026-10-11 annotation ("a negative is stored as the checkpoint") and pinned `save_offset`'s totality through the *direct* form — but `save_offset_tx` still clamped (`GREATEST($3, 0)`), so the same consumer's first save landed −5 through `StreamHandle::save_offset` and 0 through `TxHandle::save_offset_tx` depending on entry point, with the tx path's doc still citing the pre-annotation clamp rationale. The suite's new legs did not pin the tx form, which is why the gate's audit read passed. **Mem had the same family defect in-tx**: `merged_get_offset` reported `max(staged, committed)` against a *phantom zero* for an absent committed checkpoint, so a staged −5 seed read 0 in-tx but committed as −5 (`save_offset_row` seeds raw) — the in-tx read contradicted the merge outcome; SQLite (uncommitted in-tx SQL) was correct. | Both fixed: pg `save_offset_tx` stores `$3::bigint` raw (comment updated to the annotated posture); mem's merged read now distinguishes an absent committed row (new `has_offset_row` probe) — a staged seed reads raw in-tx, an existing checkpoint rides the monotone max as before. A new suite leg pins the tx form end-to-end (staged −5 → raw in-tx read-back → stored −5 at commit → anchored reads resume forward) in `in_tx_reads_see_own_writes`, stamped with the ADR-023 §2 (annotated 2026-10-11) accumulation; green on all three columns against the live pg server. `core-contract.md`'s numeric-domain verification row names the tx-form leg; core-contract's `save_offset_tx` prose was already uniform ("monotone upsert" — the divergence was pg/mem implementation, not contract text). |
+| 3 | MED | `alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs`, `src/notify.rs`, `src/stream.rs` | **A failed `register` leaked a phantom refcount.** `register` increments the channel registry *first*, then faults on three paths (mid-reconnect, forwarder-gone, ack dropped). `listen()` (`notify.rs`) propagated the error without unregistering — and since no receiver was created, no future `Drop` would ever decrement: the last-subscriber UNLISTEN rule could never fire and the reconnect re-issue kept LISTENing a channel nobody consumes. The subscribe-side failure arm two lines below already unregisters ("the acked LISTEN must not leak") — the register-side arm was the miss. `spawn_bridge` (`stream.rs`) had the same shape. | Both call sites now unregister on the register error before returning it (mirroring the existing subscribe-failure arm), and `register`'s doc is corrected: the failure disposition is the call site's (no receiver exists to drop the reference), replacing the old "the registry entry stays either way" claim that codified the leak. |
+| 4 | MED | `alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs` | **Nine non-test `expect()`s in the fanout/registry/config locks** — a panic while holding any of them poisoned the mutex and converted every later `register`/`subscribe`/`shutdown` into a panic in unrelated tasks, despite the workspace's no-`expect`-outside-tests rule (and the crate's own seam docs). | Converted to the mem crate's established poison-recovery idiom (`unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner)`) — degraded-but-alive continuation matching `alkstore-mem/src/state.rs`'s locked-discipline posture. The one remaining pg `expect` (`stream.rs` wake-runtime build, a `OnceLock` fixed-config invariant) is recorded, not converted: its failure is a bug, not a condition, and converting it would change the function's signature for no path. |
+| 5 | MED | `alkstore/src/payload.rs` (+ `fuzz/shared/src/payload_codec.rs`, engine enqueue paths implicitly) | **Deeply-nested payload `Value`s aborted the process at encode time.** The doc claimed "Unreachable for `serde_json::Value` in practice", but serialization's recursion is unguarded: a caller-supplied `Value` nested ~10⁵ levels overflows the stack inside `serde_json::to_vec` — an abort, not an `Err` — and `encode_payload` runs at every enqueue/publish/notify site on every engine, so one bad `Value` from one consumer kills the runtime. Worse for the pre-change state: the fuzz invariant explicitly pinned that a value nested past the decode recursion limit *encodes successfully* and only "decodes loud" later — i.e. storing bytes no reader could ever read back, silent data loss at read time. A scratch probe pinned serde_json's decode boundary empirically: 127 nested containers read back, the 128th nested open fails (`RECURSION_LIMIT` 128 counts the failing open, not the last success). | `encode_payload` now measures nesting iteratively (an explicit-stack walk — a recursive checker would itself overflow on exactly the deep inputs) and rejects anything deeper than **127 containers** with typed `Error::Codec`: exact encode/decode symmetry (everything decodable encodes; nothing undecodable stores) and no reachable abort path. Applied pre-publish, so the class-1 window covers it as a failure-set addition within ADR-023 §1's typed-failure pin — flagged here for the record's honesty. The fuzz invariant's encode expectations were corrected (past-limit *encode* fails typed; a boundary round-trip leg at 127 containers added), and two core tests pin the boundary + no phantom behavior (`value_type_tests.rs`). `payload_as`'s decode-side behavior is unchanged. |
+| 6 | MED (platform-conditional) | `alkstore-mem/src/scheduler.rs`, `alkstore-sqlite/src/scheduler.rs`, `alkstore-postgres/src/scheduler.rs` | **`Instant + Duration` panic / unchecked overflow on far-future boundaries.** The three leader loops' sleep deadlines computed `tokio Instant + Duration::from_secs(soonest − now)` with `soonest` a consumer-reachable i64 (a legal `@every 9999999999999999s` interval); on macOS (u64-nano `Instant`, ~584 y) or Windows (~29 k y) the addition panics for waits past the platform's representable span (the mem agent verified the panic class; Linux tolerates it). The sleep is a wake-latency optimization — correctness never rides it. Same family: the sqlite tick's claim stamping did an unchecked `now + s` (`expires_s` consumer i64) — debug panic / release wrap, in the one spot whose neighbors all use `saturating_add`. | All three sleeps cap one slice at `MAX_SLEEP_S` (30 days): a far-future boundary sleeps, ticks (a no-op), and sleeps again — the tick recomputes the soonest every iteration and the renewals continue, so a 30-day-cap is behavior-preserving on any platform. The sqlite claim stamp is `now.saturating_add(s)` matching `resolution.rs`'s own posture. |
+| 7 | LOW | `alkstore-mem/src/wakes.rs` | **Stale module-level `#![allow(dead_code)]`** whose own comment said "until the mechanism tasks wire it" — the mechanisms wired the bus in wave 6; the suppression was masking the module's real dead-code signal. | Removed (with the now-covered `#[allow(dead_code)]` on `new()`, which the `Default` impl exercises); compiles clean — the surface is genuinely live. |
+| 8 | LOW (test hygiene, core) | `alkstore/src/value_type_tests.rs` | Two test smells: `payload_as_undecodable_target_yields_codec` exercised a `map_err` the test itself wrote instead of the function under test (it proved nothing); two serialization asserts compared against `to_vec(...).unwrap_or_default()` — a failure in the reference encode would diff against an empty `Vec` and misdirect. | The undecodable-bytes case now goes through `Job::payload_as` on a real undecodable job; the reference encodes panic with their cause. |
+| 9 | LOW (doc accuracy) | several | Doc-vs-code mismatches found by the read, all public or contract text: core's `Error::Closed` doc scoped the variant to *wake* receivers while the stream receiver's `try_recv` produces it too; `validation.rs`'s shared-kind bullet was self-contradictory about the whitespace rule and `NameKind::Local` omitted it; `alkstore-sqlite`'s lib header promised "durability knobs … on `SqliteOpts`" although `SqliteOpts` carries only the watcher cadence and reader-pool size (`synchronous`/busy-timeout are bootstrapped constants); pg `lock.rs` claimed the acquire sequence "auto-committed as a unit" though the statements commit individually (correctness lives in the PK constraint, which the doc itself cited second); mem's tx module doc said the commit-merge is "one guarded operation" while the merge is two sequential guarded sections (queues → streams) on a non-awaiting path, and mem's stream doc said publishes fire "one wake per event" where the tx commit path coalesces per stream. | All reworded to match the code. The pg `lock.rs` and mem merge statements now state the real mechanism honestly; the sqlite lib doc now matches `SqliteOpts`'s actual fields; the `Error::Closed` doc covers both receiver families. |
+
+## Findings recorded, not fixed (follow-up material)
+
+These are real but either need their own design pass, touch lineage
+or distributed machinery whose repair exceeds a review fix, or are
+conscious postures to record. None blocks the release; each names its
+shape so a future session can decompose without re-deriving.
+
+1. **sqlite seam panic-safety (defense-in-depth)** —
+   `with_writer`/`with_reader`/`blocking_read` (`alkstore-sqlite/src/seam.rs`,
+   `substrate/schema.rs`) release their slot/pool connection after the
+   closure returns only. A panic inside the closure skips the release:
+   the single writer slot wedges forever (`Writer::acquire` waits on a
+   condvar with no timeout), and an abandoned reader connection
+   permanently shrinks the pool (`Readers.outstanding` never decrements
+   on abandonment). The tx seam already owns this class (`ConnLease`);
+   the auto-commit seams don't. No *reachable* panic path today (the
+   library is panic-free by the standing gates, and these closures take
+   no consumer code), so this is armor, not exposure — but the fix
+   needs abandonment plumbing on both `Writer` (drop + path-based
+   replenish) and `Readers` (an outstanding decrement), which is a
+   deliberate small design task, not an inline patch.
+2. **sqlite post-watcher-death subscribe hang** — after the watcher
+   thread exits (db-file replacement), `subscribe()` still enrolls new
+   senders with no poller alive (`substrate/watcher.rs:391-396`): a
+   `listen()` or stream `subscribe()` on the dead store parks forever,
+   contradicting engine-sqlite.md's "on watcher death every subscriber
+   closes" posture (enforced only for pre-death subscribers). Needs a
+   dead-store/dead-watcher sign that new subscription paths consult —
+   a state-machine change across `store.rs`/`notify.rs`/`stream.rs`.
+3. **sqlite watcher initial-stat failure self-kill** — an
+   identity-`stat` failure at watcher start seeds `(0, 0)`
+   (`watcher.rs:164-170`); the first *successful* later stat mismatches
+   it and drives the death path, spuriously closing every subscriber
+   on recovery from a transient stat hiccup. Rare, but the fix (an
+   identity-unknown state instead of a false identity) is another
+   watcher-state change — bundle with item 2 if either is taken up.
+4. **pg forwarder register/unregister TOCTOU** — the registry refcount
+   and the LISTEN/UNLISTEN command emission are not one critical
+   section (`forwarder.rs:131-176` vs `438-482`): interleaved
+   register/unregister across tasks can leave a live refcount with the
+   server-side LISTEN cleared (both queued commands share a
+   generation, so no stale check saves it) until the next reconnect
+   re-issue. The fix is a decide-and-queue restructure inside the
+   forwarder — forwarder surgery that should ride its own session with
+   the existing test-seam vocabulary.
+5. **pg server-side BIGINT overflow on consumer stamps** — the claim,
+   heartbeat, retry-reschedule, and retention-sweep statements compute
+   server-side sums over consumer-supplied i64 values
+   (`queue.rs:386/912/1000/714`, `lock.rs:91`): one row stamped with
+   `visibility_timeout_s = i64::MAX` (or retention `i64::MIN`) makes
+   every claim/heartbeat UPDATE fail with "bigint out of range", and
+   the failure is *sticky* per row. The client-size resolution is
+   saturated (`resolution.rs`); the row-stamp arithmetic is not. Fix
+   shape: clamp/validate at the enqueue seam (or `LEAST`/`GREATEST`
+   guard the server expressions) — but the *which side* question is
+   contract-adjacent (ADR-023 §2's totality wording) and deserves its
+   own decision, not an inline patch.
+6. **pg forwarder hang-shaped arms** — two narrow ones: a failed
+   generation-verify/LISTEN batch is treated as connection death and
+   parks on `poll_task.await` forever even though the session may be
+   alive (`forwarder.rs:698-702/803-808`); and `close()`/`Drop` can
+   leak the listener session past shutdown when the serve loop is
+   awaiting a command on a black-holed connection (the `run_command`
+   await sits outside the shutdown `select`, `forwarder.rs:781`, no
+   timeout on this connection). Both want the same treatment family —
+   timeouts/bounded waits on the listener path — bundle into the
+   forwarder-hardening session (item 4).
+7. **pg forwarder diagnosability** — the reconnect arm's connect
+   failures are swallowed with `.ok()` and the loop's exit discards the
+   poll error (`forwarder.rs:825/855-869`): an operator sees nothing
+   before wake loss. Related cross-cutting posture: the family has no
+   log facade and 17 library-path `eprintln!` sites carry its
+   diagnostics (verified secret-free — no DSN/password material ever
+   printed). A `log`/`tracing` adoption decision is a family-level
+   call; recorded rather than made here.
+8. **sqlite listener-bridge asymmetry** — `listen()` parks one
+   `spawn_blocking` thread per subscription (`notify.rs:98-104`, tokio
+   blocking-pool ceiling ~512) while the stream bridge does the
+   identical job on a dedicated `std::thread`
+   (`stream.rs:368-379`); past ~500 concurrent listeners the *whole*
+   engine's seams queue behind parked bridges. Aligning the two
+   bridges (std-thread shape) is a small contained change deferred
+   alongside item 2's subscription-path work.
+9. **sqlite run_schedules error flattening** —
+   `lease.renew(...).await.unwrap_or(false)` maps any renew failure
+   (including the closed-store `Database` error) to `LeadershipLost`
+   (`scheduler.rs:205-211`), misdirecting the documented respawn recipe
+   at a dead store. Small, but the right arm set (closed vs lost vs
+   storage failure) is a contract-adjacent error-classification change
+   on a stable surface — record, don't rush.
+10. **mem growth postures (N-1 family)** — two perf/posture notes to
+    carry into the mem spec's growth section when next touched: the
+    subscribe path drains the full backlog into the receiver's pending
+    deque before the first yield, and pending grows at publish rate for
+    a stalled consumer (`stream.rs:314-331` — the documented
+    "drains to the tail then parks" shape, but unbounded on the
+    consumer side); the claim path is an O(total-live-rows) scan with
+    full-row clones per claim (`queue.rs:122-181`) — blessed economics
+    for the ephemeral tier, worth one sentence in `engine-mem.md` if
+    ever revisited.
+11. **mem outbox outcome swallow** — `outbox run_once` drops the ack/
+    retry row-refs' booleans and returns `Ok(true)` even when delivery
+    outlived the visibility window and nothing landed
+    (`outbox.rs:104-122`). Inherent to the no-heartbeat outbox design
+    (at-least-once reclaim is the recovery), but a `debug_assert!` or
+    doc sentence pinning the "processed means delivered-or-reclaimable"
+    semantic would prevent future confusion.
+12. **core `offset()` initial value** — `EventReceiver::offset()`
+    pins the post-yield value only; the pre-yield return (the seeded
+    checkpoint vs 0) is unpinned in the contract text. A doc-only fix
+    once the three engines' pre-yield values are confirmed equal (not
+    verified this session; left as a named gap).
+13. **pg identifier truncation cross-channel collision** —
+    `LISTEN`/`UNLISTEN` interpolate the channel as a quoted identifier
+    (truncated at 63 bytes server-side) while `pg_notify` carries it as
+    a parameter; two distinct names sharing a 63-byte prefix can
+    silently collapse into one wake channel, with names unbounded by
+    the validation contract (the no-cap "length-independence" verdict
+    is deliberate). The honest cheap fix is a deployment-matrix/
+    docs note ("names longer than the PG identifier limit may
+    collide"); deferred here because the matrix was just finalized by
+    the gate — fold it into whichever doc pass runs next (or into the
+    publish session's reading).
+14. **core error `Display` log-forging** — `InvalidName`/\
+    `ReservedName` / `InvalidSpec` interpolate raw consumer strings
+    into `Display`; control characters can forge log lines in naive
+    consumers. Typical-idiom risk, low; recorded.
+15. **unsafe without `// SAFETY` in the substrate** — the eight
+    `unsafe { ctx.get_connection() }` UDF blocks
+    (`substrate/ops.rs:147-236`) carry no justification comments. The
+    pattern is the standard rusqlite UDF shape and provably
+    constrained, but AGENTS.md's own carve-out ("inline comments when
+    a non-obvious safety constraint would otherwise be missed") says
+    this is where they'd live. Not added this session: the substrate
+    is lineage-port code under ADR-012 §3's diff-fidelity posture —
+    comments must ride a PROVENANCE delta. Recorded for whenever the
+    substrate is next touched.
+16. **Cosmetic metadata asymmetry** — the three engines' dev-dep tokio
+    features disagree (`rt-multi-thread+macros+time` / `test-util` /
+    `rt+macros`); harmless (the contract suite carries the test
+    runtime) but an easy-to-trip asymmetry when copying test code.
+    Recorded, not normalized mid-release.
+
+## False positives caught on verification (for the record)
+
+- **mem `WakeBus::attach` check-then-act race** (reported as a
+  finding): disproven by read — the `closed` check happens *under* the
+  registry guard, and `close()`'s `store(true)` is sequenced before
+  its guarded `clear()`, so the guard's acquire/release supplies the
+  happens-before edge; no interleaving leaks a subscription. No fix
+  needed; noted here so a future audit doesn't re-derive it.
+- The "tx-path negative seed divergence" was real (fixed, item 2), but
+  the analogous claim *against SQLite's tx form* was not — its
+  in-tx SQL is already raw-seed-and-monotone; the divergence was pg's
+  clamp and mem's phantom-zero merge read only.
+
+## What was checked and clean (summary)
+
+- **Security**: SQL injection — every consumer-supplied string rides
+  bound parameters across all engines (the `format!`-built SQL
+  interpolates only engine-owned identifiers through the quoting
+  helpers; savepoint/table keys are compile-time constants);
+  `env::var` confined to test harness plumbing (re-grepped);
+  no `fs` writes outside tempdirs; no process spawning; no
+  secret/DSN material in any of the 17 library-path `eprintln!`s.
+- **Core crate**: zero panics/unsafe/`unwrap` outside tests, its
+  three-dependency posture intact, `#[non_exhaustive]` placement and
+  the hidden-constructor seam exactly per ADR-017, object-safety and
+  validation coverage as pinned. (Post-fix, pre-abort-armor caveat in
+  item 5 above.)
+- **Mem engine**: wasm32 subset verified (`cargo check` clean, tokio
+  sync+time only, no `spawn_blocking`/`fs`/`thread`); all deadline
+  arithmetic saturating; queue state machine, trim semantics, three-way
+  arithmetic, scheduler boundaries/catch-up/leadership re-read clean.
+- **pg engine**: injection-clean, `in_tx` pool accounting exact on
+  every arm, forwarder reconnect invariants sound outside the recorded
+  TOCTOU/hang arms, `FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED` claim semantics and
+  scheduler serialization consistent with sqlite/mem.
+- **Cross-cutting**: no `todo!`/`unimplemented!`/`dbg!`/`.ok()` anywhere;
+  metadata coherent (versions, path-dep bounds, publish fields,
+  `exclude = ["fuzz"]`); README/CHANGELOG claims spot-read true
+  against code; fuzz/shared targets thin and invariant-correct.
+
+## Gates re-run after the fixes (this session)
+
+`cargo build`, `cargo test --workspace` (green server-less), the full
+live pg column (127 + 25 + 9 — including the new `in_tx_reads_see_own_writes`
+negative-seed leg against the real server), `cargo clippy
+--all-targets -- -D warnings`, `cargo fmt --check`, the fuzz corpus
+replay (6/6 — including the corrected encode/invariant), the wasm32
+check, and the doc gate — **all green**.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/fuzz/shared/src/payload_codec.rs b/fuzz/shared/src/payload_codec.rs
index 66c58d7..74895df 100644
--- a/fuzz/shared/src/payload_codec.rs
+++ b/fuzz/shared/src/payload_codec.rs
@@ -166,8 +166,11 @@ fn canonicalization_ulp(x: f64) -> f64 {
 
 /// Deep inputs decode loud and typed: past serde_json's recursion
 /// limit, deserialization fails with `Error::Codec` — never a stack
-/// overflow, never an untyped panic. The encode side handles deep
-/// (but sub-limit) data as the normal round-trip.
+/// overflow, never an untyped panic. The encode side refuses the same
+/// depth region (typed `Codec`, never a serializer stack overflow): a
+/// `Value` nested past the decode limit could never be read back from
+/// the stored bytes, so storing it would be silent loss at read time.
+/// Data through the encode/decode boundary is the normal round-trip.
 fn assert_deep_input_loudness() {
     for depth in [RECURSION_LIMIT * 4, 4096] {
         let deep_bytes = nested_array_bytes(depth);
@@ -185,20 +188,33 @@ fn assert_deep_input_loudness() {
             }
             Ok(_) => panic!("deep bytes must not decode to the typed target at depth {depth}"),
         }
-        let deep_value = nest_value(Value::Null, RECURSION_LIMIT + 1);
-        let deep_encoded =
-            encode_payload(&deep_value).expect("a sub-limit-depth `Value` must encode");
-        match payload_as::<Value>(&deep_encoded) {
+        let deep_value = nest_value(Value::Null, RECURSION_LIMIT * 4);
+        match encode_payload(&deep_value) {
             Err(Error::Codec(_)) => {}
             Err(other) => {
-                panic!("the stored deep form must decode as typed `Codec`, got {other:?}")
-            }
-            Ok(_) => {
-                panic!("stored bytes nested past the decode limit must decode loud, not silent")
+                panic!("past-limit nesting must be a typed `Codec` encode failure, got {other:?}")
             }
+            Ok(_) => panic!(
+                "nesting past the decode limit must never encode (the stored bytes could \
+                 never be read back)"
+            ),
         }
     }
 
+    // The encode/decode boundary (RECURSION_LIMIT - 1 containers read
+    // back; RECURSION_LIMIT containers fail to decode): symmetry —
+    // everything decodable encodes, nothing undecodable stores.
+    let boundary_value = nest_value(Value::Null, RECURSION_LIMIT - 1);
+    let boundary_encoded =
+        encode_payload(&boundary_value).expect("a decodable `Value` must encode");
+    let back: Value = payload_as(&boundary_encoded).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+        panic!("stored bytes at the encode/decode boundary must round-trip: {e:?}")
+    });
+    assert_eq!(
+        back, boundary_value,
+        "the boundary `Value` round-trip must hold"
+    );
+
     let shallow_bytes = nested_array_bytes(8);
     let shallow_value = nest_value(Value::from(0u8), 8);
     let shallow_encoded = encode_payload(&shallow_value).expect("a shallow `Value` must encode");