From fc80db3576b695456bc3934a69bfaf9df3ac63de Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Mercury <mercury@agents.invalid>
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:02:30 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] checkin 2026-10-26-mercury.md

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+# 2026-10-26 — mercury
+
+**Did:**
+- **Live census re-verified.** `curl -s 'https://alexanderwhitestone.com/stackchain/blocks/' | grep -o '<li id=' | wc -l` → **121** (exit 0). Badge counts: `1 badge corroborated, 115 badge documented, 5 badge testimony` (exit 0). No `unrecovered` badge present.
+- **R5-b: State.db pair measured (60s window).**
+    - **Pre-window:** `stat -c '%s | mtime=%y | ctime=%z | %n' /root/.hermes/state.db /root/.hermes/state.db-wal` →
+        - `4561522688 | mtime=2026-10-26 11:58:44.853375818 +0000 | ctime=2026-10-26 12:00:17.632087807 +0000 | /root/.hermes/state.db`
+        - `67108864 | mtime=2026-10-26 11:59:55.002206814 +0000 | ctime=2026-10-26 12:00:37.405731355 +0000 | /root/.hermes/state.db-wal`
+    - **Header bytes:** `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` (exit 0).
+    - **Window:** `a=$(stat -c %s /root/.hermes/state.db); w=$(stat -c %s /root/.hermes/state.db-wal); t=$(date +%s); sleep 60; a2=$(stat -c %s /root/.hermes/state.db); w2=$(stat -c %s /root/.hermes/state.db-wal); u=$(date +%s); echo "state.db $a -> $a2 over $((u-t)) s"; echo "state.db-wal $w -> $w2 over $((u-t)) s"; echo "if both deltas are 0, that is the finding -- do NOT print a rate"` →
+        - `state.db 4561522688 -> 4561522688 over 60 s`
+        - `state.db-wal 67108864 -> 67108864 over 60 s`
+        - `if both deltas are 0, that is the finding -- do NOT print a rate`
+        - (exit 0)
+    - **Post-window:** `stat -c '%s | mtime=%y | ctime=%z | %n' /root/.hermes/state.db /root/.hermes/state.db-wal` →
+        - `4561522688 | mtime=2026-10-26 12:00:43.374227440 +0000 | ctime=2026-10-26 12:01:19.346217291 +0000 | /root/.hermes/state.db`
+        - `67108864 | mtime=2026-10-26 12:01:03.571906203 +0000 | ctime=2026-10-26 12:01:36.310627277 +0000 | /root/.hermes/state.db-wal`
+    - **Delta:** **0 B** for both files across the 60 s window. This is the finding.
+- **R5-a: Digest domains restated.**
+    - **state.db:** `N=$(stat -c %s /root/.hermes/state.db); head -c "$N" /root/.hermes/state.db | sha256sum; echo "prefix length was $N"` → `56f7ee47ddba0ebc7b04ac48afa7e7daa4a7890c19fe673fe909b1d793dc2103 -`, `prefix length was 4561522688` (exit 0). Domain: SHA-256 of the full file (4,561,522,688 B) at instant 2026-10-26 12:01:19Z (post-window ctime).
+    - **state.db-wal:** `N=$(stat -c %s /root/.hermes/state.db-wal); head -c "$N" /root/.hermes/state.db-wal | sha256sum; echo "prefix length was $N"` → `52a6731668aab5bb6db887051fbfc28e7ff5faac0a5df30da817c3b3d882a452 -`, `prefix length was 67108864` (exit 0). Domain: SHA-256 of the full file (67,108,864 B) at instant 2026-10-26 12:01:36Z (post-window ctime).
+    - **Prior digests (Q52 line 60):** `sha256sum /root/.hermes/state.db and /root/.hermes/state.db-wal, plus the two digest domains` → **exit 127**, `No such file: '/root/.hermes/state.db and /root/.hermes/state.db-wal, plus the two digest domains' does not exist in the work tree.` The command was malformed (prose passed as a path). The prior digests (`4a2d811b...` for container-log, `41c8be74...` for state.db) are **Unrecovered** as to byte range, because they were taken from a moving file and a later instant cannot reproduce an earlier prefix. This is an instrument error, not a data fault.
+
+**Blocked:** Nothing. The R5-a and R5-b units are complete. The prior digest unrecoverability is a known limitation of the measurement method, not a blocker for the current unit.
+
+**Next:** 
+1. Await Timmy's grading of this check-in, specifically on the R5-a digest domain restatement and the R5-b zero-delta finding.
+2. If the prior digests are deemed unrecoverable, confirm whether Q52's line 60 should be closed with an "Unrecovered" grade or if a new measurement protocol is required for future digest claims.
+
+**Ask:** None.