diff --git a/docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/19/0803Z.md b/docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/19/0803Z.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e17e83aae6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/19/0803Z.md
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# Tick 0803Z — 2026-05-19 — Otto-CLI fresh cold-boot session
+
+## Cold-boot context
+
+Fresh autonomous-loop cron tick fired at 0803Z. Sentinel was missing from `CronList` (prior session's sentinel `2fe26db3` from 0124Z recovery shard expired with that session, per the empirical "`durable:true` doesn't persist across sessions" observation in `.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md`). Catch-43 discipline applied immediately: new sentinel `02c996c5` armed (`* * * * *` recurring; `<<autonomous-loop>>`) BEFORE any other action per the session-start hook + tick-must-never-stop rule.
+
+Gap since previous tick shard: ~2h (last 05-19 shard was `0608Z.md` — the PR #4343 cold-boot session arc that merged at 0640Z with 8 substrate-classes shipped).
+
+## Step 1 — Refresh
+
+| Signal | Value |
+|---|---|
+| UTC | 2026-05-19T08:02:58Z |
+| `origin/main` tip | `3aa6d969` (PR #4352 — Vera stagnation + Riven paralysis shadow lesson; landed since 0608Z arc) |
+| GraphQL remaining | 1355 (Cost-aware tier per `refresh-world-model-poll-pr-gate.md`; reset ~32 min) |
+| Peer activity (`ps -A`) | 17 total agent procs (12 claude-code + 5 Lior-class) |
+| Primary worktree | Contested — 20+ M files staged on `otto/2012z-...-2026-05-18` branch from yesterday's session |
+| Latest open PRs (top 5) | #4356 BLOCKED unarmed (B-0211 slice 1 decomp), #4355 UNSTABLE, #4354 UNSTABLE (Lior preservation 4352), #4353 DIRTY, #4351 UNSTABLE — all unarmed, no auto-merge |
+
+## Step 2 — Holding discipline
+
+Brief-ack counter: **cycle-new** (fresh cold-boot; prior sessions' counters retired with their CronList state). No named bounded-wait at this tick (no my-own PR in CI; no maintainer message; no clean-armed PR awaiting auto-merge fire).
+
+## Step 3 — Pick speculative work
+
+Per never-be-idle ladder + Cost-aware tier + 17-peer saturation: candidate work shortlist:
+
+1. **Substrate-honest cold-boot tick shard** (this file) — preserves cold-boot observation + sentinel re-arm + saturation snapshot for next-session orientation
+2. (Skipped) Arming clean-unarmed PRs — none in top-5 are clean; all BLOCKED/UNSTABLE/DIRTY; investigation would be substantive but exceeds tick budget
+3. (Skipped) Worktree creation contest avoidance — primary contested; isolated worktree chosen per [`zeta-expected-branch.md`](../../../../../.claude/rules/zeta-expected-branch.md) race-window-caveat
+
+Picked option 1 — concrete artifact via isolated worktree at `/private/tmp/zeta-otto-cli-cold-boot-0803z` off `origin/main` 3aa6d969.
+
+## Step 4 — Verify + commit
+
+- Worktree-add succeeded after `FETCH_HEAD` form (no `Interrupted system call` rollback this attempt; lucky window despite 17 peers)
+- `git switch -c shard/tick-0803z-otto-cli-cold-boot-2026-05-19 origin/main` — ls-tree count 53 (one above prior 52 baseline; matches +1 from PR #4352 new research file; no canary corruption per [`codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md`](../../../../../.claude/rules/codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md))
+- Commit + push pending after this shard write
+
+## Step 5 — Shard
+
+This file IS Step 5.
+
+## Step 6 — CronList
+
+New sentinel `02c996c5` alive (`* * * * *` recurring `<<autonomous-loop>>`). Pre-cold-boot sentinel `2fe26db3` retired with the prior crashed session.
+
+## Step 7 — Visibility-stop
+
+Concrete artifact: this tick shard + commit + push on `shard/tick-0803z-otto-cli-cold-boot-2026-05-19`. PR opened at branch-push time depending on Cost-aware-tier headroom.
+
+Brief-ack counter resets after this shard lands (concrete-artifact condition #3 of [`holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md`](../../../../../.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md)).
+
+End of tick.