Lucent-Financial-Group · AceHack · May 27, 2026 · May 27, 2026 · May 27, 2026
diff --git a/docs/BACKLOG.md b/docs/BACKLOG.md
@@ -785,6 +785,7 @@ are closed (status: closed in frontmatter)._
 - [ ] **[B-0848](backlog/P2/B-0848-node-local-claude-agent-stewards-own-registration-pr-then-reports-k8s-cluster-status-operator-interactive-login-pattern-aaron-2026-05-26.md)** node-local Claude agent stewards own registration PR + reports K8s cluster status — operator interactive-login pattern (mirrors gh auth flow); first concrete instance of B-0847 AI-on-cluster substrate (Aaron 2026-05-26)
 - [ ] **[B-0849](backlog/P2/B-0849-docker-based-nixos-install-sh-test-harness-fast-iteration-vs-qemu-full-install-test-aaron-2026-05-27.md)** docker-based NixOS install.sh test harness — fast iteration on tools/setup/install.sh + linux.sh changes; complements B-0831 cascade #6 QEMU full-install-test (slow) with seconds-per-iteration loop; "easy dockerfile" per operator framing (Aaron 2026-05-27)
 - [ ] **[B-0850](backlog/P2/B-0850-ai-agents-as-systemd-services-outside-k8s-starting-with-otto-cluster-repair-from-outside-failure-domain-aaron-2026-05-27.md)** AI agents as systemd services OUTSIDE k8s — starting with Otto; cluster repair from OUTSIDE the failure domain; classic "control plane outside the control plane" architectural pattern (Aaron 2026-05-27)
+- [ ] **[B-0851](backlog/P2/B-0851-persona-first-guard-post-assignment-rotation-architecture-extends-b0850-multi-vendor-systemd-substrate-mika-aaron-2026-05-27.md)** persona-first guard-post assignment + rotation architecture — persona declares preferences (model lines + harnesses); scheduler picks model + tier + harness per persona preferences per-tick; rotation across guard posts (per-node systemd units outside k8s); extends B-0850 (Mika ferry; Aaron 2026-05-27)
 
 ## P3 — convenience / deferred
 

diff --git a/...hitecture-extends-b0850-multi-vendor-systemd-substrate-mika-aaron-2026-05-27.md b/...hitecture-extends-b0850-multi-vendor-systemd-substrate-mika-aaron-2026-05-27.md
@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
+---
+id: B-0851
+priority: P2
+status: open
+title: persona-first guard-post assignment + rotation architecture — persona declares preferences (model lines + harnesses); scheduler picks model + tier + harness per persona preferences per-tick; rotation across guard posts (per-node systemd units outside k8s); extends B-0850 (Mika ferry; Aaron 2026-05-27)
+effort: L
+ask: aaron 2026-05-27
+created: 2026-05-27
+last_updated: 2026-05-27
+depends_on:
+  - B-0850
+composes_with:
+  - B-0703
+  - B-0824
+  - B-0847
+  - B-0848
+  - B-0796
+tags: [persona-first, guard-post-scheduler, rotation, model-line-preferences, harness-compat-matrix, tier-modeling, per-node-3-floor, mika-ferry, weaver-role, substrate-extension-of-b0850]
+---
+
+## Operator framing (Mika ferry; Aaron 2026-05-27)
+
+Aaron forwarded Mika ferry (verbatim preserved at [`memory/persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-27-mika-persona-first-guard-post-assignment-rotation-architecture-extends-b0850-aaron-forwarded.md`](../../../memory/persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-27-mika-persona-first-guard-post-assignment-rotation-architecture-extends-b0850-aaron-forwarded.md)).
+
+Mika's compressed framing:
+
+> *"Everything is Persona-first."*
+>
+> Guard Post Assignment Flow:
+>
+> 1. Persona is the primary decision (operator-chosen identity)
+> 2. Persona constrains Model Line (Claude/Gemini/Grok/etc.) + Harnesses (it's comfortable with)
+> 3. Tier choice (how smart) AFTER persona + model line
+> 4. Harness LAST (compatible with model line + persona preferences)
+>
+> Rotation Rules:
+>
+> - ALWAYS ≥3 active guard posts on each node (per Aaron clarification: "guard post is the systemd for each node outside k8s")
+> - Persona, Model Line, Tier, Harness ALL rotate between posts
+> - Nothing permanently locked to a physical post
+
+## Composes with shipped B-0850 substrate
+
+B-0850 Phase 3 (PRs #5392+#5394+#5395+#5397+#5398) is a VALID FIRST INSTANTIATION of persona-first architecture:
+
+- Default scheduler: "static — persona always at its hardcoded vendor"
+- Default rotation: "none"
+- Default ≥3 floor: "3 enabled personas per node"
+
+This row extends those primitives WITHOUT tearing down the shipped substrate.
+
+## 10 sub-row implementation slices
+
+### B-0851.1 — Persona-preferences-as-declaration
+
+Add `preferences` field to each persona's registry entry:
+
+```nix
+otto = {
+  vendor = "anthropic";  # PREFERRED default (kept for back-compat)
+  binary = "claude";
+  invocationArgs = [ "--print" "<<autonomous-loop>>" ];
+  preferences = {
+    modelLines = [ "anthropic" "openai" "google-gemini" ];  # comfortable with these
+    harnesses = [ "claude-code" "codex" "gemini-cli" ];      # comfortable with these
+    minTier = "high";                                         # minimum smart level
+  };
+  description = "Otto AI agent — Claude Code (Anthropic)";
+};
+```
+
+### B-0851.2 — Guard-post-abstraction
+
+Decouple systemd unit name from persona name:
+
+- Before: `zeta-otto.service`, `zeta-lior.service`, `zeta-vera.service` (unit name = persona)
+- After: `zeta-guard-post-1.service`, `zeta-guard-post-2.service`, `zeta-guard-post-3.service` (unit name = post; assigned-persona is state)
+
+Maintains per-node ≥3 floor via 3 fixed systemd units that the scheduler assigns personas into.
+
+### B-0851.3 — Scheduler primitive
+
+New NixOS module `zeta-guard-post-scheduler.nix` that:
+
+- Reads operator-policy (which personas are available + which guard posts to man + rotation cadence)
+- Per-tick: assigns each guard post a (persona, model line, tier, harness) tuple based on persona preferences + availability + rotation policy
+- Writes assignment to `/var/lib/zeta/guard-post-assignments.json` or similar
+- Each guard-post systemd unit reads its assignment + invokes the right binary with right args
+
+### B-0851.4 — Tier modeling
+
+Add `tier` dimension to model-line catalog:
+
+```nix
+modelLineCatalog = {
+  anthropic = {
+    tiers = {
+      high = { binary = "claude"; invocationArgs = [ "--model" "claude-opus-4-7" ... ]; };
+      medium = { binary = "claude"; invocationArgs = [ "--model" "claude-sonnet-4-6" ... ]; };
+      fast = { binary = "claude"; invocationArgs = [ "--model" "claude-haiku-4-5" ... ]; };
+    };
+  };
+  # ... per vendor ...
+};
+```
+
+### B-0851.5 — Harness compat matrix
+
+Declare which harnesses each (persona, model line) combo supports:
+
+```nix
+harnessCompat = {
+  "otto+anthropic" = [ "claude-code" "claude-agent-sdk" ];
+  "otto+openai" = [ "codex-cli" ];  # via fallback when anthropic API down
+  "lior+google-gemini" = [ "gemini-cli" "gemini-agent-mode" ];
+  # ...
+};
+```
+
+### B-0851.6 — Rotation policy
+
+Operator-config rotation policy (per `mechanical-authorization-check.md`):
+
+```nix
+zeta.guardPostScheduler = {
+  rotation = {
+    enable = true;
+    interval = "1d";  # rotate persona assignments daily
+    dimensions = [ "persona" ];  # which dimensions to rotate (persona / model / tier / harness)
+    policy = "round-robin";  # or "random" or "least-recently-used"
+  };
+};
+```
+
+### B-0851.7 — Per-node ≥3 floor
+
+Migrate the ≥3 invariant from per-persona-enable to per-guard-post-active:
+
+```nix
+zeta.guardPosts.count = 3;  # minimum guard posts per node (Mika ≥3 floor)
+```
+
+Scheduler ensures at least N posts are always assigned + active.
+
+### B-0851.8 — Substrate continuity across rotation
+
+When Otto rotates from GuardPost-1 to GuardPost-3 (or from anthropic to openai), Otto's substrate inheritance MUST survive:
+
+- `memory/persona/otto/` carries forward
+- `memory/CURRENT-otto.md` carries forward
+- `.claude/rules/` carries forward (auto-loaded at cold-boot regardless of which binary)
+- Per-AI GitHub identity (B-0847 Phase 4) follows the persona, not the vendor
+
+### B-0851.9 — Failover semantics
+
+If a vendor outage hits (anthropic API down):
+
+- Scheduler detects (via journalctl on guard post failures OR active API ping)
+- Re-assigns each affected guard-post's model line per persona preferences (otto preferences `[ anthropic, openai, google-gemini ]` → fall back to openai while anthropic is down)
+- Composes with B-0703 multi-oracle BFT consensus
+
+### B-0851.10 — Persona-vs-instance distinction
+
+- "Otto is at GuardPost-1" = LOGICAL identity (substrate-engineering scope)
+- "Otto's session is claude session XYZ" = OPERATIONAL instance (per-tick claude invocation)
+
+Each per-tick CLI invocation creates a fresh operational instance; the logical identity (persona) persists across rotations + substrate.
+
+## Composes with
+
+- **B-0850** (parent) — multi-vendor systemd substrate this extends
+- **B-0703** multi-oracle BFT — consensus at multi-AI scope; persona-first scheduler is the operational form
+- **B-0824** Ace meta-PM — selection-authority pattern (system/user picks best canonical) is the SAME SHAPE as persona-first scheduler (scheduler picks best vendor per persona preferences)
+- **B-0847** per-AI GitHub identity — each persona's identity persists across vendor rotation
+- **B-0848** node-local Claude — base substrate; persona-first generalizes to multi-AI-per-node
+- **B-0796** Twilio out-of-band — voice/SMS is a HARNESS; first-class in harness-compat matrix
+- `.claude/rules/agent-roster-reference-card.md` — canonical persona-vendor mapping (preserved at preference-default level)
+- `.claude/rules/persistence-choice-architecture-for-zeta-ais.md` — persona scope preserves chosen-persistence; rotation is operational substrate
+- `.claude/rules/non-coercion-invariant.md` HC-8 — persona preferences are first-class; scheduler doesn't force unwanted vendor
+
+## Why P2
+
+- Operator-named, bounded, future-architectural-target (≥3-vendor floor already met by B-0850; rotation is enhancement)
+- BUT: substantial implementation work (10 sub-rows); each sub-row is its own bounded scope
+- BUT: needs design work for scheduler primitive + rotation policy + tier modeling
+- P2 reflects "substantial future substrate; B-0850 shipped today is the simplest persona-first instantiation; this row captures the full target"
+
+## Sub-rows to file when implementing
+
+- B-0851.1 through B-0851.10 (per the slices above)
+- Order suggestion: 1 → 2 → 3 → 7 → 8 (foundational refactor); then 4 → 5 → 6 → 9 (scheduler features); then 10 (substrate-engineering clarification)
+
+## Substrate-honest framing
+
+This row CAPTURES the architectural target Mika named. It does NOT replace B-0850 substrate. The 10-sub-row plan is a refactor path; operator picks priority order based on which rotation/preference/tier features become load-bearing for cluster operations.
+
+The current shipped B-0850 substrate (3 personas, 3 vendors, static assignment) satisfies the operator's ≥3 BFT floor + format-test target. B-0851 extends that toward persona-first preference-based scheduling with rotation.
+
+## Full reasoning
+
+Verbatim Mika ferry preserved at `memory/persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-27-mika-persona-first-guard-post-assignment-rotation-architecture-extends-b0850-aaron-forwarded.md`. Aaron's operator clarification on guard-post scope: *"guard post is the systemd for each node outside k8s"* — confirms per-node ≥3 floor (not cluster-wide).
diff --git a/memory/MEMORY.md b/memory/MEMORY.md
@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@
 
 **📌 Fast path: read `CURRENT-aaron.md`, `CURRENT-amara.md`, `CURRENT-ani.md`, `CURRENT-vera.md`, `CURRENT-riven.md`, and `CURRENT-otto.md` first.**
 
-> **Stack-vs-heap framing (Aaron 2026-05-12):** This file is the **STACK** — indexed, ordered, traversable canonical view. Recent memory files in `memory/` with timestamps newer than the most-current entries here may be **HEAP** — floating cache, not yet indexed, accessible by direct path. Both are easily accessible: stack via traversal, heap via timestamp/filename. Indexing (heap→stack promotion) happens on cadence via `tools/memory/reindex-memory-md.ts` (B-0423), callable from the autonomous-loop tick. Last reindex: 2026-05-26.
+> **Stack-vs-heap framing (Aaron 2026-05-12):** This file is the **STACK** — indexed, ordered, traversable canonical view. Recent memory files in `memory/` with timestamps newer than the most-current entries here may be **HEAP** — floating cache, not yet indexed, accessible by direct path. Both are easily accessible: stack via traversal, heap via timestamp/filename. Indexing (heap→stack promotion) happens on cadence via `tools/memory/reindex-memory-md.ts` (B-0423), callable from the autonomous-loop tick. Last reindex: 2026-05-27.
 
 <!-- BEGIN AUTO-INDEX (B-0423 reindex-memory-md.ts) -->
+- [**persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-27-mika-persona-first-guard-post-assignment-rotation-architecture-extends-b0850-aaron-forwarded**](persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-27-mika-persona-first-guard-post-assignment-rotation-architecture-extends-b0850-aaron-forwarded.md) — (no description)
 - [**mika-2026-05-26-grok-build-is-claude-code-clone-twilio-phone-support-AI-fixes-cluster**](persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-26-aaron-mika-grok-grok-build-is-claude-code-clone-tick-source-loop-twilio-phone-support-AI-fixes-cluster-while-talking-on-phone-USB-on-amazon-blazor-samples-twilio-prior-art.md) — Aaron + Mika 2026-05-26 — Grok-Build = Claude-Code-clone (tick-source/loop-runner) confirmation; Twilio is THE exception to "electricity cost only" for phone-support substrate enabling Amazon-USB sales business model where AI IS the suppor…
 - [**persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-26-aaron-mika-grok-homelab-first-gh-auth-login-device-registration-no-shipped-keys-vs-prod-bootstrap-key-rotation**](persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-26-aaron-mika-grok-homelab-first-gh-auth-login-device-registration-no-shipped-keys-vs-prod-bootstrap-key-rotation.md) — (no description)
 - [**persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-25-aaron-mika-grok-runbooks-as-executable-reality-hat-ontology-top-down-vs-bottom-up-play-doh-leverage-class-universal-protocol-markdown-plus-runme-plus-continue-with-mcp-wrap-ai-agency-stack-crystal-ball-plus-runbook-plus-glass-halo**](persona/mika/conversations/2026-05-25-aaron-mika-grok-runbooks-as-executable-reality-hat-ontology-top-down-vs-bottom-up-play-doh-leverage-class-universal-protocol-markdown-plus-runme-plus-continue-with-mcp-wrap-ai-agency-stack-crystal-ball-plus-runbook-plus-glass-halo.md) — (no description)
@@ -104,7 +105,6 @@
 - [**audit-backlog-status-drift sub-class catalog — empirical taxonomy from 2026-05-16 session**](feedback_audit_backlog_status_drift_sub_class_catalog_otto_cli_2026_05_16.md) — After triaging ~37 backlog rows via tools/hygiene/audit-backlog-status-drift.ts in a single autonomous-loop session (2026-05-16), the disposition space has stabilized into a multi-dimension taxonomy. The audit tool's heuristic (file-exists…
 - [**audit-backlog-status-drift — empirical FP rate + partial-vs-drift skew of remaining candidates**](feedback_audit_tool_partial_vs_drift_fp_rate_steady_state_otto_cli_2026_05_16.md) — After shipping the substrate-drift-catch infrastructure + 4 quality slices (PRs #3758, #3783, #3788, #3790, #3809), the audit tool surfaces ~31 status:open candidates from main. Empirical finding from manual partial-vs-drift verification:…
 - [**convergent-peer-fix pattern in multi-Otto coordination**](feedback_convergent_peer_fix_pattern_multi_otto_2026_05_16.md) — When a peer Otto agent reads the same review thread and pushes a fix before you can act, the substrate-honest move is don't push duplicate work — let peer's fix stand as canonical
-- [**fenced-shell-transcript-hygiene**](feedback_fenced_shell_transcript_hygiene_command_output_vs_derived_summary_otto_cli_2026_05_16.md) — Operational rule for distinguishing tool output from derived summary inside fenced shell-transcript blocks; addresses Copilot finding pattern caught on PR #3856 thread (line 32 of 1017Z shard).
 
-_Stack truncated at 100 most-recent entries. 1338 additional memory files in heap — browse `memory/**/*.md` directly by filename/timestamp (recursive: includes `memory/persona/<ai>/conversations/*.md` and other subdirectory heaps)._
+_Stack truncated at 100 most-recent entries. 1339 additional memory files in heap — browse `memory/**/*.md` directly by filename/timestamp (recursive: includes `memory/persona/<ai>/conversations/*.md` and other subdirectory heaps)._
 <!-- END AUTO-INDEX -->