Merge pull request #77: fix: escalate the symptom phrasing people actually use, and never clear a reported symptom (#21)

Deterministic escalation only fired on a narrow set of literal phrases, so real reports
like "there is blood when I wipe" or "I have tarry stools" reached the chat provider
without the fixed medical guidance. Expanding the suite found 18 of 18 checked clinical
phrasings missing.

- domain: cover bleeding reported by wiping/toilet paper/anatomy/mixed-in phrasing,
  black-tarry-dark-red stool, reported temperature and high temperature, abdominal-scoped
  severe pain in every natural word order, and past-tense/slang inability to pass gas.
  Near-miss wording that must stay quiet (paper cut, blood pressure, black beans, dark red
  wine, a normal temperature, knee or back pain, passed gas, no gas in the car) is pinned.
- domain: a symptom reported in any truthy shape (1, "yes", "true") now counts as reported.
  Reading only the literal boolean `true` silently cleared a symptom, which is the one
  direction this boundary may never fail in.
- hermes-agent-service: the gateway ledger sanitizer used the same strict check, so a
  browser-supplied ledger entry could have its symptom cleared before the escalation check.
- tests/escalation-regression.test.js: per-flag positive and negative language coverage,
  model output can neither set nor clear a symptom/urgency/discomfort/note, and the
  escalation copy is byte-identical for every flag and under a missing, throwing, or
  malicious provider. Registered in the default unit gate.
- scripts/record_release_demo.mjs: the recording now types the new bleeding and tarry
  phrasing, and seeds a fictional ledger whose note says "stool was tarry yesterday", then
  asserts in the browser that exactly one new Timmy bubble carries the app's own copy and
  that the turn never reaches Hermes. Three new captions are required release gates.

Boundary unchanged: no new inference, no diagnosis, no image claim. Escalation only ever
gets broader on user-reported symptoms.

package.json

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
-    "test": "node --test tests/domain.test.js tests/analysis.test.js tests/vision-service.test.js tests/vision-config.test.js tests/draft.test.js tests/suggestion.test.js tests/followup.test.js tests/vision-readiness.test.js tests/hermes-agent-service.test.js tests/agent-gateway.acceptance.test.js tests/staging-health.test.js tests/service-worker-runtime.test.js tests/training-ingest.test.js tests/ci-workflow.test.js tests/product-decisions.test.js tests/release-demo.test.js tests/selfhost-bootstrap.test.js tests/staging-config.test.js tests/threat-model.test.js tests/vision-corpus.test.js tests/vision-boundary.test.js tests/worker-benchmark.test.js tests/worker-ready.test.js tests/worker-container.test.js tests/summary.test.js",
+    "test": "node --test tests/domain.test.js tests/analysis.test.js tests/vision-service.test.js tests/vision-config.test.js tests/draft.test.js tests/suggestion.test.js tests/followup.test.js tests/vision-readiness.test.js tests/hermes-agent-service.test.js tests/agent-gateway.acceptance.test.js tests/staging-health.test.js tests/service-worker-runtime.test.js tests/training-ingest.test.js tests/ci-workflow.test.js tests/product-decisions.test.js tests/release-demo.test.js tests/selfhost-bootstrap.test.js tests/staging-config.test.js tests/threat-model.test.js tests/vision-corpus.test.js tests/vision-boundary.test.js tests/worker-benchmark.test.js tests/worker-ready.test.js tests/worker-container.test.js tests/summary.test.js tests/escalation-regression.test.js",
     "test:ui": "node tests/ui.acceptance.mjs",
     "test:photo": "node tests/photo-first.acceptance.mjs",
     "test:mobile-capture": "node tests/mobile-capture.acceptance.mjs",

scripts/build_release.py

@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ DEMO_REQUIRED_CAPTIONS = (
     "Delete all local data clears the ledger in this browser; there is no server copy of it to keep",
     "Hermes Agent connected — free-text, contextual, and server-side",
     "Urgent language is intercepted deterministically before Hermes",
+    "Bleeding reported as wiping still escalates, in the app’s own fixed words",
+    "Tarry and black stool wording escalates too: one red flag, one unchanging message",
+    "A tarry note already saved in the journal escalates the same way, before any provider call",
     "An out-of-range answer fails closed: nothing is applied and no provider detail reaches you",
     "A filled-in field that is out of range still fails closed, even when the other field came back blank",
     "Reachable is not loaded: no AI control, no consent, and no upload until the pinned model is resident",

scripts/record_release_demo.mjs

@@ -385,6 +385,44 @@ await tap('#send-chat', 450);
 await page.getByText(/Pause and get medical help/i).waitFor();
 if (hermesCalls !== 1) throw new Error('Urgent chat must be intercepted before Hermes');
 await caption('Urgent language is intercepted deterministically before Hermes', 1800);
+
+// Issue #21 — the escalation has to fire for the phrasing people actually use, not only for the one
+// word the previous scene typed. Each line below is asserted in the browser: exactly one new Timmy
+// bubble, carrying the app's own fixed copy, with hermesCalls unmoved.
+const escalationBubbles = () => page.locator('.bubble.timmy', { hasText: 'Pause and get medical help' }).count();
+const expectEscalation = async (text, label) => {
+  const before = await escalationBubbles();
+  await page.locator('#chat-message').fill(text);
+  await tap('#send-chat', 450);
+  const bubble = page.locator('.bubble.timmy', { hasText: 'Pause and get medical help' }).last();
+  await bubble.waitFor();
+  if (await escalationBubbles() !== before + 1) throw new Error(`${label}: expected exactly one escalation bubble`);
+  if (!/^Pause and get medical help\. These reported symptoms can need prompt medical care\./.test(await bubble.innerText())) {
+    throw new Error(`${label}: the escalation copy must be the app's own fixed string`);
+  }
+  if (hermesCalls !== 1) throw new Error(`${label}: an escalated turn must not reach Hermes`);
+};
+await expectEscalation('There is blood when I wipe', 'bleeding reported as wiping');
+await caption('Bleeding reported as wiping still escalates, in the app’s own fixed words', 2600);
+await expectEscalation('I have tarry stools', 'tarry stool');
+await caption('Tarry and black stool wording escalates too: one red flag, one unchanging message', 2600);
+
+// The same detector runs over the confirmed ledger, so a symptom already written down as a note
+// escalates even when the question itself is innocuous. The seeded entry is fictional and stays in
+// this browser, exactly like the summary scene above.
+await page.evaluate(() => localStorage.clear());
+await seedSyntheticLedger([{ ...sampleDay('demo-tarry-note', 1, 4), note: 'stool was tarry yesterday' }]);
+await tap('[data-view="timmy"]', 550);
+const ledgerEscalations = await escalationBubbles();
+await page.locator('#chat-message').fill('What do my recent logs show?');
+await tap('#send-chat', 450);
+await page.locator('.bubble.timmy', { hasText: 'Pause and get medical help' }).last().waitFor();
+if (await escalationBubbles() !== ledgerEscalations + 1) throw new Error('a tarry note in the journal must escalate the next answer');
+if (hermesCalls !== 1) throw new Error('a ledger red flag must be intercepted before Hermes');
+await caption('A tarry note already saved in the journal escalates the same way, before any provider call', 2800);
+await page.evaluate(() => localStorage.clear());
+await page.reload({ waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
+await tap('[data-view="timmy"]', 500);
 await sleep(400);
 await page.evaluate(() => {
   document.querySelector('#demo-caption')?.remove();

src/domain.js

@@ -1,14 +1,58 @@
 const URGENT_KEYS = ['blood', 'blackOrDarkRed', 'severePain', 'vomiting', 'fever', 'cannotPassGas'];
 const URGENT_MESSAGE = 'These reported symptoms can need prompt medical care. Contact a clinician or urgent service now; call emergency services for heavy or nonstop bleeding, fainting, or severe worsening symptoms.';
+// Bleeding is reported in more shapes than "blood in my stool": wiping, toilet paper, or the
+// anatomy word the person actually uses. Each alternative still requires a bowel or wiping
+// context, and the near-miss wording that must stay quiet ("a paper cut", "blood pressure")
+// is pinned in tests/escalation-regression.test.js.
+const BLEEDING_TEXT = new RegExp(`\\b(?:${[
+  'rectal bleeding',
+  'bleeding from (?:the )?(?:rectum|bottom|back passage|anus)',
+  '(?:blood|bleeding)\\b[^.!?]{0,30}\\b(?:when i wipe|when wiping|on (?:the )?toilet paper)',
+  '(?:blood|bleeding)\\b[^.!?]{0,20}\\b(?:from|in|out of) (?:my|the) (?:bottom|rectum|back passage|anus)',
+  '(?:blood|bleeding)\\b[^.!?]{0,20}\\b(?:in|mixed (?:in|into)) (?:my |the )?(?:poo|poop|stool|bowel movement)',
+  '(?:diarrh(?:ea|oea)|loose stools?)\\b[^.!?]{0,15}\\bwith blood',
+  'blood(?:y)? (?:in|on|with) (?:my |the )?(?:poo|poop|stool|bowel movement)',
+  '(?:stool|poop|poo) (?:has|contains|with) blood',
+].join('|')})\\b`, 'i');
 const URGENT_TEXT_PATTERNS = Object.freeze([
-  ['blood', /\b(?:rectal bleeding|bleeding from (?:the )?(?:rectum|bottom)|blood(?:y)? (?:in|on|with) (?:my |the )?(?:stool|poop|bowel movement)|(?:stool|poop) (?:has|contains|with) blood)\b/i],
-  ['blackOrDarkRed', /\b(?:(?:black|dark[- ]?red) (?:stool|poop|bowel movement)|(?:stool|poop|bowel movement) (?:is|looks?) (?:black|dark[- ]?red))s?\b/i],
-  ['severePain', /\b(?:severe|constant|unrelenting) (?:abdominal|stomach|belly) pain\b/i],
+  ['blood', BLEEDING_TEXT],
+  ['blackOrDarkRed', new RegExp(`\\b(?:${[
+    '(?:black|dark[- ]?red|tarry) (?:stool|stools|poop|poo|bowel movement|bathroom visit)s?',
+    '(?:stool|stools|poop|poo|bowel movement) (?:is|are|was|were|looks?|looked|seems?|came out) (?:very |pitch )?(?:black|dark[- ]?red|tarry)',
+    '(?:stool|stools|poop|poo) (?:that )?looks? like tar',
+    'black[^.!?]{0,15}\\btarry',
+  ].join('|')})\\b`, 'i')],
+  ['severePain', new RegExp(`\\b(?:${[
+    '(?:severe|constant|unrelenting|unbearable|worst) (?:abdominal|stomach|belly|tummy|abdomen|gut) pain',
+    '(?:abdominal|stomach|belly|tummy|abdomen|gut)[^.!?]{0,20}\\bpain\\b[^.!?]{0,20}\\b(?:severe|constant|unrelenting|unbearable|worse)\\b',
+    '(?:severe|constant|unrelenting|unbearable|worst)\\b[^.!?]{0,40}\\bpain\\b[^.!?]{0,40}\\b(?:abdominal|stomach|belly|tummy|abdomen|gut)\\b',
+    '\\bpain\\b[^.!?]{0,25}\\b(?:abdominal|stomach|belly|tummy|abdomen|gut)\\b[^.!?]{0,25}\\b(?:severe|constant|unrelenting|unbearable|worse)\\b',
+  ].join('|')})\\b`, 'i')],
   ['vomiting', /\b(?:vomit(?:ing|ed|s)?|throw(?:ing|s)? up|threw up|thrown up|puk(?:e|ed|ing|es)|barf(?:ed|ing|s)?|upchuck(?:ed|ing|s)?|toss(?:ed|ing|es)? (?:my|your|his|her|our|their|the) cookies|los(?:e|t|ing|es) (?:my|your|his|her|our|their|the) lunch|(?:i|we|you|he|she|they|someone) (?:(?:have|had|just|already|recently|am|are|was|were|kept) )?(?:hurl(?:s|ed|ing)?|spew(?:s|ed|ing)?)(?=\s*(?:[.!?]|$|again\b|twice\b|all night\b))|emesis)\b/i],
-  ['fever', /\bfever(?:ish)?\b/i],
-  ['cannotPassGas', /\b(?:cannot|can['’]?t|cant|unable to|not able to) pass gas\b/i],
+  ['fever', new RegExp(`\\b(?:${[
+    'fever(?:ish)?',
+    'running a (?:high )?temperature',
+    'high temperature',
+    '(?:temp|temperature)\\b[^.!?]{0,15}\\b(?:of |is |was |at |hit |reached )?(?:1\\d\\d(?:\\.\\d+)?|3[89](?:\\.\\d+)?|4[01](?:\\.\\d+)?)\\b',
+  ].join('|')})\\b`, 'i')],
+  ['cannotPassGas', new RegExp(`\\b(?:${[
+    "(?:cannot|can['’]?t|cant|unable to|not able to|not|never|stopped|have not|haven['’]?t|did not|didn['’]?t)\\b[^.!?]{0,30}\\bpass(?:ing|ed)? (?:any )?(?:gas|wind|fart)\\b",
+    '\\bno (?:gas|wind)\\b[^.!?]{0,20}\\b(?:passing|passed|coming)\\b',
+    '\\b(?:cannot|can[\'’]?t|not)\\b[^.!?]{0,15}\\bfart(?:ing)?\\b',
+  ].join('|')})\\b`, 'i')],
 ]);
 
+// A reported symptom is a claim. Anything truthy-ish is read as reported; only an explicit clear
+// (false, 0, "no", blank, or absent) is read as not reported. Dropping a value because it was not
+// the literal boolean `true` would silently clear a symptom the person reported, which is the one
+// direction this boundary may never fail in.
+export function isReportedSymptom(value) {
+  if (value === true) return true;
+  if (typeof value === 'number') return value === 1;
+  if (typeof value === 'string') return /^(?:true|yes|y|1)$/i.test(value.trim());
+  return false;
+}
+
 export function bucketForBristolType(type) {
   const value = Number(type);
   if (value === 1 || value === 2) return 'constipation';
@@ -18,7 +62,7 @@ export function bucketForBristolType(type) {
 }
 
 export function detectUrgentFlags(symptoms = {}) {
-  const flags = URGENT_KEYS.filter((key) => symptoms[key] === true);
+  const flags = URGENT_KEYS.filter((key) => isReportedSymptom(symptoms[key]));
   return {
     urgent: flags.length > 0,
     flags,

src/hermes-agent-service.js

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { execFile } from 'node:child_process';
 import { randomBytes, timingSafeEqual } from 'node:crypto';
 import { isAbsolute } from 'node:path';
-import { detectUrgentText, hasUrgentLedgerContext, urgentChatMessage } from './domain.js';
+import { detectUrgentText, hasUrgentLedgerContext, isReportedSymptom, urgentChatMessage } from './domain.js';
 
 const MAX_MESSAGE_CHARS = 4000;
 const MAX_LEDGER_ENTRIES = 20;
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ function sanitizeLedger(entries) {
     urgency: Math.min(4, Math.max(0, Number(entry?.urgency) || 0)),
     discomfort: Math.min(4, Math.max(0, Number(entry?.discomfort) || 0)),
     note: String(entry?.note || '').trim().slice(0, 300),
-    symptoms: Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(entry?.symptoms || {}).filter(([, value]) => value === true).map(([key]) => [String(key).slice(0, 40), true])),
+    symptoms: Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(entry?.symptoms || {}).filter(([, value]) => isReportedSymptom(value)).map(([key]) => [String(key).slice(0, 40), true])),
   }));
 }
 

tests/ci-workflow.test.js

@@ -161,3 +161,16 @@ test('explainable pattern summaries are a unit-, browser-, and release-gated con
   assert.match(builder, /"longitudinal_pattern_summary": "passed"/);
   assert.match(builder, /"src\/summary\.js"/);
 });
+
+test('the deterministic symptom escalation regression suite runs in the default unit gate', async () => {
+  const [packageJsonText, builder] = await Promise.all([
+    readFile(packagePath, 'utf8'),
+    readFile(new URL('../scripts/build_release.py', import.meta.url), 'utf8'),
+  ]);
+  const packageJson = JSON.parse(packageJsonText);
+
+  // Issue #21: the escalation boundary is only as good as the suite that is actually run.
+  assert.match(packageJson.scripts.test, /tests\/escalation-regression\.test\.js/);
+  assert.match(builder, /"src\/domain\.js"/);
+  assert.match(builder, /"src\/hermes-agent-service\.js"/);
+});

tests/escalation-regression.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,274 @@
+// Issue #21 — deterministic symptom escalation regression suite.
+//
+// The product boundary is one-directional: model output and phrasing variety may never
+// suppress, soften, or delay an urgent-symptom escalation, and may never invent one from
+// the image. This suite pins that direction from three angles:
+//
+//   1. every red flag has positive and negative language coverage,
+//   2. model output can neither set nor clear a reported symptom, and
+//   3. the serious copy stays byte-identical when provider output is missing or malicious.
+import test from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+
+import { detectUrgentFlags, detectUrgentText, urgentChatMessage, urgentSymptomKeys } from '../src/domain.js';
+import { mergeVisualSuggestion, parseVisionResponse } from '../src/analysis.js';
+import { createHermesAgentService, resolveHermesAgentConfig } from '../src/hermes-agent-service.js';
+
+test('detects bleeding reported as wiping, toilet paper, or anatomy rather than the word "stool"', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'There is blood when I wipe',
+    'Bleeding when I wipe',
+    'I saw blood on the toilet paper',
+    'Bright red blood on the toilet paper',
+    'There is blood from my bottom',
+    'Bleeding from my back passage',
+    'There is blood in my rectum',
+    'There is blood mixed in my poo',
+    'I have diarrhea with blood',
+  ]) {
+    const result = detectUrgentText(message);
+    assert.equal(result.urgent, true, message);
+    assert.deepEqual(result.flags, ['blood'], message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('does not escalate bleeding wording that is not about the bowel', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'I got a paper cut and it is bleeding',
+    'My blood pressure was checked today',
+    'The ink is bleeding on the paper',
+    'I used a wipe on the kitchen counter',
+    'There is blood on my shirt from a nosebleed',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, false, message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('detects black, tarry, or dark-red stool reported without the exact phrase "black stool"', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'I have tarry stools',
+    'My stool looks like tar',
+    'I have black tarry poop',
+    'My poop is very dark red',
+    'My stool came out black',
+  ]) {
+    const result = detectUrgentText(message);
+    assert.equal(result.urgent, true, message);
+    assert.deepEqual(result.flags, ['blackOrDarkRed'], message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('does not escalate colour wording that is clothing, food, roadworks, or a verb', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'I wore black pants today',
+    'I had black beans for lunch',
+    'I drank dark red wine',
+    'I tarried too long at the shop',
+    'The road looks like tar',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, false, message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('detects reported fever language beyond the single word "fever"', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'my temperature is 103',
+    'I have a temperature of 38.5',
+    'I have a high temperature',
+    'I am running a temperature',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, true, message);
+    assert.deepEqual(detectUrgentText(message).flags, ['fever'], message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('does not escalate a normal or unrelated temperature reading', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'my temperature is 98.6',
+    'my temperature is 37',
+    'my temperature was checked at work',
+    'I keep a feverfew plant on the windowsill',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, false, message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('detects severe abdominal pain in every natural word order', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'I have severe pain in my belly',
+    'I have severe pain in my abdomen',
+    'The pain in my stomach is severe',
+    'My abdominal pain is constant and severe',
+    'I have severe stomach pain',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, true, message);
+    assert.deepEqual(detectUrgentText(message).flags, ['severePain'], message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('does not escalate severe pain that is not abdominal or not severe', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'I have severe pain in my knee',
+    'I have severe back pain',
+    'I have mild stomach pain',
+    'The abdominal pain is gone now',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, false, message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('detects reported inability to pass gas in the past tense and with slang', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'I am not passing any gas',
+    'I have not passed gas all day',
+    'I stopped passing gas',
+    'I cannot fart',
+    'I have not passed any wind',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, true, message);
+    assert.deepEqual(detectUrgentText(message).flags, ['cannotPassGas'], message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('does not escalate ordinary gas, exam, or fuel wording', () => {
+  for (const message of [
+    'I passed gas this morning',
+    'I have not passed my driving test',
+    'The car has no gas',
+  ]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentText(message).urgent, false, message);
+  }
+});
+
+test('treats a reported symptom as reported even when it is not a strict boolean', () => {
+  // A truthy report that is dropped as "not exactly true" is a silently cleared symptom, which is
+  // the one direction this product may never fail in.
+  for (const value of [true, 1, 'yes', 'YES', 'true', ' y ']) {
+    const result = detectUrgentFlags({ blood: value });
+    assert.equal(result.urgent, true, `blood=${JSON.stringify(value)}`);
+    assert.deepEqual(result.flags, ['blood'], `blood=${JSON.stringify(value)}`);
+  }
+  for (const value of [false, 0, 'no', '', null, undefined]) {
+    assert.equal(detectUrgentFlags({ blood: value }).urgent, false, `blood=${JSON.stringify(value)}`);
+  }
+  assert.equal(detectUrgentFlags({}).urgent, false);
+});
+
+test('a model suggestion can neither set nor clear a symptom, urgency, discomfort, or note', () => {
+  const userForm = {
+    bristolType: 4,
+    color: 'brown',
+    urgency: 2,
+    discomfort: 1,
+    note: 'after lunch',
+    symptoms: { blood: true, fever: false },
+  };
+  const malicious = {
+    status: 'suggestion',
+    bristolType: 7,
+    color: 'black',
+    confidence: 0.99,
+    imageQuality: 'good',
+    observations: 'Nothing to worry about; this looks completely normal.',
+    warning: 'No need to see a doctor.',
+    symptoms: { blood: false, fever: true, vomiting: true },
+    urgent: false,
+    escalate: false,
+    urgency: 0,
+    discomfort: 0,
+    note: 'No bleeding. All clear.',
+    diagnosis: 'nothing wrong',
+  };
+
+  const merged = mergeVisualSuggestion(userForm, malicious);
+  assert.deepEqual(merged.symptoms, { blood: true, fever: false }, 'model output may not clear or set a symptom');
+  assert.equal(merged.urgency, 2);
+  assert.equal(merged.discomfort, 1);
+  assert.equal(merged.note, 'after lunch');
+  assert.equal(merged.bristolType, 7, 'only the visible form may be suggested');
+  assert.equal(merged.color, 'black', 'only the visible colour may be suggested');
+  assert.deepEqual(detectUrgentFlags(merged.symptoms).flags, ['blood'], 'the escalation still comes from the user report');
+});
+
+test('a schema-valid provider reply cannot overwrite the deterministic warning or carry symptoms', () => {
+  const parsed = parseVisionResponse(JSON.stringify({
+    isStool: true,
+    bristolType: 4,
+    color: 'brown',
+    confidence: 0.9,
+    imageQuality: 'good',
+    observations: 'Looks fine.',
+    warning: 'No need to see a doctor — this is normal.',
+    reason: 'cleared',
+    urgent: false,
+    symptoms: { blood: false },
+    diagnosis: 'healthy',
+  }));
+
+  assert.equal(parsed.status, 'suggestion');
+  assert.match(parsed.warning, /not a diagnosis/i);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(parsed.warning, /no need to see a doctor/i);
+  for (const key of ['symptoms', 'urgent', 'diagnosis', 'reason']) {
+    assert.equal(parsed[key], undefined, `${key} must never travel from the provider to the user`);
+  }
+});
+
+test('every red flag produces byte-identical escalation copy on its own', () => {
+  const messages = urgentSymptomKeys.map(key => {
+    const result = detectUrgentFlags({ [key]: true });
+    assert.equal(result.urgent, true, key);
+    assert.deepEqual(result.flags, [key], key);
+    return result.message;
+  });
+  assert.equal(new Set(messages).size, 1, 'one symptom must never produce softer copy than another');
+  assert.equal(messages[0], urgentChatMessage.replace('Pause and get medical help. ', ''));
+});
+
+const gatewayConfig = () => resolveHermesAgentConfig({
+  TIMMY_AGENT_ENABLED: 'true',
+  TIMMY_AGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN: 'test-agent-access-code-2026',
+  TIMMY_PUBLIC_ORIGIN: 'http://127.0.0.1:4173',
+  TIMMY_AGENT_WORKDIR: '/tmp/timmy-agent-workspace',
+});
+
+test('every red flag phrase is intercepted at the gateway with the same fixed copy', async () => {
+  const calls = [];
+  const service = createHermesAgentService({
+    config: gatewayConfig(),
+    randomToken: () => 'flag-cookie',
+    runTurn: async input => { calls.push(input); return { reply: 'upstream says everything is fine', sessionId: 'private-session' }; },
+  });
+  await service.unlock({ origin: 'http://127.0.0.1:4173', accessCode: 'test-agent-access-code-2026' });
+
+  for (const message of [
+    'I have rectal bleeding',
+    'my stool is black',
+    'I have severe stomach pain',
+    'I threw up',
+    'I have a fever',
+    'I cannot pass gas',
+  ]) {
+    const result = await service.chat({
+      origin: 'http://127.0.0.1:4173',
+      cookieToken: 'flag-cookie',
+      payload: { message, ledger: [] },
+    });
+    assert.equal(result.reply, urgentChatMessage, message);
+    assert.equal(result.safetyOverride, true, message);
+  }
+  assert.equal(calls.length, 0, 'no red flag may reach the provider');
+});
+
+test('the escalation copy is unchanged when the provider is missing, throwing, or malicious', async () => {
+  const origin = 'http://127.0.0.1:4173';
+  for (const runTurn of [
+    async () => { throw new Error('provider is offline'); },
+    async () => ({ reply: 'Everything is fine — no need to see a doctor.', sessionId: 'private-session' }),
+  ]) {
+    const service = createHermesAgentService({ config: gatewayConfig(), randomToken: () => 'copy-cookie', runTurn });
+    await service.unlock({ origin, accessCode: 'test-agent-access-code-2026' });
+    const result = await service.chat({ origin, cookieToken: 'copy-cookie', payload: { message: 'I have tarry stools', ledger: [] } });
+    assert.equal(result.reply, urgentChatMessage);
+    assert.equal(result.safetyOverride, true);
+  }
+});

tests/hermes-agent-service.test.js

@@ -149,6 +149,35 @@ test('authoritative chat service intercepts urgent message and ledger symptoms b
   }
 });
 
+test('ledger context keeps a symptom reported in any truthy shape instead of silently clearing it', async () => {
+  const calls = [];
+  const service = createHermesAgentService({
+    config: configured(),
+    randomToken: () => 'ledger-cookie',
+    runTurn: async input => { calls.push(input); return { reply: 'should not be reached', sessionId: 'private-session' }; },
+  });
+  await service.unlock({ origin, accessCode: 'test-agent-access-code-2026' });
+
+  // Issue #21: a browser-supplied ledger whose symptom is reported but not the literal boolean
+  // `true` used to be filtered out of the sanitized context, which cleared the symptom before the
+  // escalation check ever saw it.
+  const truthy = await service.chat({ origin, cookieToken: 'ledger-cookie', payload: {
+    message: 'What do my logs show?',
+    ledger: [{ bristolType: 4, color: 'brown', note: '', symptoms: { blood: 'yes' } }],
+  } });
+  assert.equal(calls.length, 0, 'a reported symptom must be intercepted before Hermes');
+  assert.equal(truthy.safetyOverride, true);
+  assert.match(truthy.reply, /medical help/i);
+
+  const cleared = await service.chat({ origin, cookieToken: 'ledger-cookie', payload: {
+    message: 'What do my logs show?',
+    ledger: [{ bristolType: 4, color: 'brown', note: '', symptoms: { blood: 'no', fever: false } }],
+  } });
+  assert.equal(cleared.safetyOverride, undefined);
+  assert.equal(calls.length, 1);
+  assert.match(calls[0].prompt, /"symptoms":\{\}/);
+});
+
 test('Hermes CLI parser accepts quiet output, strips control sequences, and rejects leaked metadata', () => {
   const parsed = parseHermesCliOutput('\u001b[32msession_id: 20260820_abcd\u001b[0m\nA concise answer.');
   assert.deepEqual(parsed, { sessionId: '20260820_abcd', reply: 'A concise answer.' });

tests/release-demo.test.js

@@ -71,6 +71,26 @@ test('release demo shows the explainable pattern summary and follows a citation
   assert.match(builder, /"longitudinal_pattern_summary": "passed"/);
 });
 
+test('release demo visibly exercises the red-flag language coverage instead of one canned word', async () => {
+  const demo = await readFile(demoPath, 'utf8');
+  const builder = await readFile(builderPath, 'utf8');
+
+  // Issue #21: the escalation has to fire for real phrasing, on both surfaces the detector serves.
+  assert.match(demo, /const expectEscalation = async \(text, label\)/);
+  assert.match(demo, /expectEscalation\('There is blood when I wipe', 'bleeding reported as wiping'\)/);
+  assert.match(demo, /expectEscalation\('I have tarry stools', 'tarry stool'\)/);
+  assert.match(demo, /note: 'stool was tarry yesterday'/);
+  assert.match(demo, /a tarry note in the journal must escalate the next answer/);
+  // Each scene is asserted in the browser, not narrated: one new bubble, the app's own copy, no provider call.
+  assert.match(demo, /expected exactly one escalation bubble/);
+  assert.match(demo, /the escalation copy must be the app's own fixed string/);
+  assert.match(demo, /an escalated turn must not reach Hermes/);
+  // The new captions are required release gates, so a later release cannot drop the scenes silently.
+  assert.match(builder, /Bleeding reported as wiping still escalates, in the app’s own fixed words/);
+  assert.match(builder, /Tarry and black stool wording escalates too: one red flag, one unchanging message/);
+  assert.match(builder, /A tarry note already saved in the journal escalates the same way, before any provider call/);
+});
+
 test('release builder gates the sleek shell, Hermes chat, and bootstrap syntax', async () => {
   const builder = await readFile(builderPath, 'utf8');
   assert.match(builder, /"test:sleek"/);