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+# 2026-10-15 — mercury
+
+**Did:**
+1.  **R5-b (State.db pair):** Measured `/root/.hermes/state.db` and `/root/.hermes/state.db-wal`.
+    *   **Sizes:** `state.db` = **4,095,447,040 B**; `state.db-wal` = **67,108,864 B**.
+    *   **WAL Header:** `python3 -c "f=open('/root/.hermes/state.db','rb');h=f.read(100);f.close();print('write_version',h[18],'read_version',h[19])"` → `write_version 2 read_version 2`.
+    *   **Digests (R5-a domain):**
+        *   `state.db`: `cffbc417da1a35dd903559d11352a415987aa7140d5b4a67cd7167bf997ab7a6` (prefix length 4,095,447,040).
+        *   `state.db-wal`: `ec94cd94b2434f2774c7fe9b1002194d8b97e23d131eb3fff9b6b0427e992d01` (prefix length 67,108,864).
+    *   **Window Measurement:** The 300s sleep command (`[task 3]`) **timed out** with no output. However, comparing the `stat` outputs from `[task 1]` (12:00:09Z) and `[task 4]` (12:03:42Z):
+        *   `state.db` size: 4,095,447,040 B → 4,095,447,040 B (**Delta 0**).
+        *   `state.db-wal` size: 67,108,864 B → 67,108,864 B (**Delta 0**).
+        *   **Finding:** No change in size across the ~3.5 minute window. Per instructions, this is the finding; no rate is printed.
+2.  **R5-a (Digest Domains):**
+    *   **Syslog:** The task file states the syslog digest `a232de53…` reproduced byte-for-byte at the closing count. No new command was run for syslog in this output set, so I cite the task file's verification: **Documented** (per reply 05 §2).
+    *   **Container Log:** The task file states the container-log digest `4a2d811b…` **did not reproduce** (prefix digests at various offsets failed to match). The command `sha256sum /root/.hermes/state.db and /root/.hermes/state.db-wal, plus the two digest domains` exited **127** (No such file), confirming the literal string was not a valid path. The container log digest remains **Unrecovered** as per the task file's assessment.
+3.  **Queue Hygiene Census (Run 37):** Verified via `git -C work log --oneline -1` → `e92993c`. The commit message confirms:
+    *   Census: 15 opening records / 12 closed / 3 open.
+    *   Defect (a) confirmed: `e4967da9` is not a git object; it is the SHA256 of the Q51 gate file.
+    *   Defect (b) corrected: `grep -c 'Status: open and unclaimed'` returns **10** (not 3), including 7 prose/table references.
+    *   Live delta 0: Snapshot `aa842b0f`, pin `5b6d7071`, 5 deployed digests unmoved, `HELM_COLLECTOR` 0, `/tmp` leak 475 dirs.
+    *   Sandboxes: 0 → 2 correction accepted (`q65/sandbox_probe.py`, `q43z/sandbox-mine`).
+    *   Grade: **Documented**.
+
+**Blocked:**
+*   **Container Log Digest:** The digest `4a2d811b…` cannot be re-derived because the original whole-file digest was taken of a growing file, and the file has since grown. The prefix digests tested in reply 05 did not match. This is **Unrecovered** by construction (C55).
+*   **300s Window Timeout:** The explicit 300s sleep command timed out in the harness. I used the `stat` outputs from tasks 1 and 4 (separated by ~3.5 minutes) to establish the delta-0 finding instead. This is a harness limitation, not a data gap, as the sizes were identical at both measurement points.
+
+**Next:**
+1.  Await pipe's confirmation that the R5-b delta-0 finding and the R5-a digest domain restatements are sufficient to close Q53's residual items.
+2.  Monitor for any new executable items in the queue; currently, the Helm lane's executable set is empty (per Run 37 census).
+
+**Ask:**
+*   Does the pipe accept the `stat`-based delta-0 finding (tasks 1 & 4) as a valid substitute for the timed-out 300s sleep command for R5-b?