queue: TICK 2026-10-20 01:51Z -- the 24-MAG career package verified line by line (2744 B) and measured in money: 100-150/hr, contractor, remote NA, 20-40 h/week, ~3 months, 6 h/day PT overlap. Computed here: 13 weeks = 26,000-78,000; annualized 104-156k at 20 h and 208-312k at 40 h -- ONLY the 40-hour band clears the 200K+ target; the overlap is 3-9 pm ET every working day, colliding with the evening automation windows. ONE CONTRADICTION THAT MUST NOT SHIP: line 16 records the GitHub-workflow requirement as a known gap while line 19 says 'Alexander clears every stated bar'; honest form is five of six with the gap named. TWO DECISIONS ARE HIS AND ARE THE ONLY BLOCKERS: go/no-go, and a specific rate inside the band. Also noted for the first stage: a 25-minute AI interview (pause Mac automations per the Oct-3 Turing rule) and a stage 2 that reviews AI-generated code rather than algorithm puzzles. MY 16:52Z LIMITATION IS CLOSED AND VERIFIED: verify.py in a linked worktree now returns rc 0 (--fast: 5 legs, 4 pass, 1 skipped) because --repo resolves via git rev-parse --show-toplevel (documented at :130 and :263) instead of testing .git for directory-ness, so a lane can sandbox and still grade. THE ONE-CLAIM CENSUS DRIFT IS REAL AND CAUSED BY A REFLOW: queue_claim_check.py:90 breaks the line after 'WORK-QUEUE.md 1,229,541 B / 9,953', so the '9,953 lines' pair no longer extracts as a claim -- coverage fell 17 -> 16 (AMBIGUOUS 4 -> 3) with no verdict moving; fix is to keep the pair on one line or scope the line count to a revision. INSTRUMENT NOTE MINE: doc_census_check --tools queue_claim_check.py refuses ('names are repo-relative ... a filter that matches nothing is not a clean scan') rather than scanning nothing, which is the right behaviour. NOTHING OPERATIONAL: no item opened or closed, open set unchanged (Q37:5278, career-lane Q53:7303 -- the package's own lane, held for Alexander), no issue/PR/release/deploy surface, no another-party file edited, no secret printed.

docs/queue-index.md

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 | 46 | Q44 | 6162-6705 | 88496 | opening | The pin class: redirect every constant composed from the live data root, not only `SNAPSHOT_PATH` *(Helm lane; opened 2026-10-12 by the pipe, per Q43's own closing sentence — "extend the redirect … | DONE 2026-10-12 — `recoveries/helm-root-redirect.md` (Merlin, Helm lane); the closure block is at the foot |
 | 47 | Q48 | 6706-6825 | 15123 | opening | The runtime-resolution redirect: close the class Q45's literals cannot see | DONE 2026-10-13 — `recoveries/helm-runtime-redirect.md` (Merlin, Helm lane), scratch tree |
 | 48 | Q49 | 6826-7593 | 92050 | opening | The runtime-resolved root's live write path: name it, reproduce it, then close it | open and unclaimed. Opened by the pipe 2026-10-13 |
-| 49 | Q45 | 7594-10216 | 433291 | opening | §9 follow-on — the home-directory channel *(Helm lane; Merlin)* | -- |
+| 49 | Q45 | 7594-10227 | 437083 | opening | §9 follow-on — the home-directory channel *(Helm lane; Merlin)* | -- |
 
 ## Ids with no `## ` heading
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ Opened as records inside another section. `line` is the record's own opening lin
 | Q50 | 6990 | 6990 | 46 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 | Q51 | 7106 | 7106 | 37 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 | Q52 | 7167 | 7167 | 90 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
-| Q53 | 7292 | 7246 | 133 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
+| Q53 | 7292 | 7246 | 134 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 | Q63 | 9918 | 9909 | 17 | Q45 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 
 **Not in this document.** Ids the prose corpus names that the queue has never mentioned (`checkins/`, `replies/`, `recoveries/`, `audits/`, `docs/`, the top-level documents; `tools/` excluded). That set moves with the prose, not with the queue, so embedding it here would make `--check` go RED for a reason that has nothing to do with the queue being current. It is reported on demand: `python3 tools/queue_index.py --outside`.
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ The block below is the parse this document renders, byte for byte. `--check` com
    "form": "BOLD-LEAD",
    "id": "Q53",
    "line": 7292,
-   "refs": 133,
+   "refs": 134,
    "section": "Q49",
    "shape": "BULLET+BOLD"
   },
@@ -236,9 +236,9 @@ The block below is the parse this document renders, byte for byte. `--check` com
   "end_line": 8,
   "line": 1
  },
- "queue_bytes": 1325552,
- "queue_lines": 10216,
- "queue_sha256": "1c666c8e573fdbfa45b1c73f535eced50a9621a60a09b9aa428375b0e8e957e6",
+ "queue_bytes": 1329344,
+ "queue_lines": 10227,
+ "queue_sha256": "19aae1b273ade4e43b351c1ad787e4136fec233ef0e72793f23cd597a87d234d",
  "sections": [
   {
    "bytes": 3139,
@@ -817,11 +817,11 @@ The block below is the parse this document renders, byte for byte. `--check` com
    "title": "The runtime-resolved root's live write path: name it, reproduce it, then close it"
   },
   {
-   "bytes": 433291,
-   "end_line": 10216,
+   "bytes": 437083,
+   "end_line": 10227,
    "id": "Q45",
    "line": 7594,
-   "lines": 2623,
+   "lines": 2634,
    "role": "opening",
    "role_detail": "",
    "status": null,