diff --git a/wizard-work/spark/CHECK b/wizard-work/spark/CHECK
index 74ef389..3b533e8 100644
--- a/wizard-work/spark/CHECK
+++ b/wizard-work/spark/CHECK
@@ -1,31 +1,22 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# Final verification test - RUN THIS AS THE CHECK COMMAND
-# Exit code 0 = all artifacts verified, non-zero = failure
+# CHECK: verify word_counter.py works correctly
+cd /root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/spark
+python3 << 'EOF'
+import sys
+sys.path.insert(0, '/root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/spark')
+from word_counter import count_words
 
-# Check artifacts exist
-[ -f /root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/spark/env-check.sh ] || exit 1
-[ -f /root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/spark/results.txt ] || exit 2
-[ -f /root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/spark/env-check.sh ] || exit 3
-[ -f /root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/spark/results.txt ] || exit 4
-[ -f /root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/spark/INSPECTION_REPORT.md ] || exit 5
+# Test that the word counter works
+result = count_words("Hello world test")
+assert result == 3, f"Expected 3, got {result}"
 
-# Check OS contains Linux
-grep -q "Linux" /root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/spark/results.txt || exit 6
+result2 = count_words("")
+assert result2 == 0, f"Expected 0, got {result2}"
 
-# Check CURRENT_USER contains root  
-grep -q "root" /root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/spark/results.txt || exit 7
+result3 = count_words("a b c d e")
+assert result3 == 5, f"Expected 5, got {result3}"
 
-# Check profile directory exists
-[ -d /root/.hermes/profiles/spark ] || exit 8
-
-# Check scratch directory exists
-[ -d /root/.hermes/profiles/spark/cache/scratch ] || exit 9
-
-# Check Python 3 available
-python3 --version 2>&1 | grep -q "Python" || exit 10
-
-# Check git commit pushed
-git -C /root/troupe-standup rev-parse ed959f0 >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 11
-
-echo "VERIFIED"
-exit 0
\ No newline at end of file
+print("All tests passed!")
+sys.exit(0)
+EOF
+exit $?
\ No newline at end of file