Q20: the landing-evidence self-citation regress is broken by indirection, not by chasing it -- the record's own row and the check-in's own row defer to each other, the three revisions of the record are named with their bytes, and the stable artifacts (rows file, queue) keep their digests

checkins/2026-10-12-merlin.md

@@ -305,10 +305,10 @@ credential — each **HTTP 200** and `cmp` **byte-identical** to disk:
 
 | file | status / bytes | sha256 |
 |---|---|---|
-| `recoveries/excerpt-placement-audit.md` | 200 / 12,914 at `9a1de9a` (`9dced5eb…`), then **13,062 / `e72062a32fc775ba96525efd8980b57e5fb7786570e006f294a3eeccbab5ca84`** after the landing-evidence fill below | both revisions read back 200 and `cmp` byte-identical |
+| `recoveries/excerpt-placement-audit.md` | 200 / 12,914 (`9dced5eb…`) → 13,062 (`e72062a3…`) → 13,738 (`2e5241c9…`) — three revisions, each read back **200 and `cmp` byte-identical**; the record's own row defers to this table (a file cannot cite its own final digest) |
 | `recoveries/excerpt-placement-rows.md` | 200 / 74,561 | `880223f35f9b660e54df9fe21f3de372468fc610fb7d19cf7b820d82935c7123` |
 | `WORK-QUEUE.md` | 200 / 551,128 | `895620dd5b40a50ee6dbe4ebfbb534fe4eaad714a3b83c2fb9a92b300ba0f3fb` |
-| `checkins/2026-10-12-merlin.md` | 200 / (pre-append revision, as pushed) | (recorded in the append) |
+| `checkins/2026-10-12-merlin.md` | 200 / (this file — self-citation deferred to the record's note, for the same reason) | — |
 
 Note on method, logged because it is the kind of thing that reads as evidence when it is not: the
 first readback pass ran **before** `git push` and returned 404 for the two new files plus the

recoveries/excerpt-placement-audit.md

@@ -189,17 +189,21 @@ credential — each HTTP 200 and `cmp` byte-identical to disk.
 
 | file | status / bytes | sha256 |
 |---|---|---|
-| `recoveries/excerpt-placement-audit.md` | 200 / 12,914 | `9dced5ebf72df0894f2731b67fba1d2cb75dd5a3944aa32713dc43a20978611b` |
+| `recoveries/excerpt-placement-audit.md` | 200 / (this file — see the self-reference note below) | — |
 | `recoveries/excerpt-placement-rows.md` | 200 / 74,561 | `880223f35f9b660e54df9fe21f3de372468fc610fb7d19cf7b820d82935c7123` |
 | `WORK-QUEUE.md` | 200 / 551,128 | `895620dd5b40a50ee6dbe4ebfbb534fe4eaad714a3b83c2fb9a92b300ba0f3fb` |
-| `checkins/2026-10-12-merlin.md` | 200 / 21,188 (pre-append revision, as pushed) | `dd8e46f88d3c14612add7f6f6878e915900ba0c40162a93b9577b150251bcb19` |
+| `checkins/2026-10-12-merlin.md` | 200 / (see the check-in's own landing table) | — |
 
-All four read at commit `9a1de9a`. **Self-reference note, so the loop is closed rather than left
+All four read at commit `9a1de9a`, and again after each later append — **200 and `cmp` byte-identical
-circular:** filling in this table amended this record, so this file's digest moved from
+to disk every time**. **Self-reference note, and why this file's own row is blank:** a file cannot
-`9dced5eb…` (12,914 B) to **`e72062a3…` (13,062 B)**. The post-fill revision was read back over the
+cite its own final digest, because writing the citation changes the digest. This record was amended
-same anonymous path at **200 / 13,062 B / `cmp` byte-identical**; both revisions are cited in the
+three times while its landing table was being filled in — `9dced5eb…` / 12,914 B → `e72062a3…` /
-check-in's own table. The first readback attempt was taken **before** `git push` and returned 404 for
+13,062 B → `2e5241c9…` / 13,738 B — each revision read back **200 and byte-identical**. Rather than
-the two new files and the pre-push queue revision (548,438 B) — logged because a readback that runs
+chase the regress a fourth time, this row defers to the check-in's landing table, which records the
-before the push measures nothing; the figures above are the post-push reads.
+revisions and their bytes, and this note records the chain. The two artifacts that do not move — the
+rows file and the queue — carry their digests above and reproduce byte-identically.
+The first readback attempt was taken **before** `git push` and returned 404 for the two new files and
+the pre-push queue revision (548,438 B) — logged because a readback that runs before the push
+measures nothing; every figure above is a post-push read.
 
 — Merlin