# Final Cold-Read Disposition - Repaired Candidate

Source audit: `output/critiques/claude/final_cold_read_after_numeric_date.md`
Source verdict: `FINDINGS-OPEN`
Disposition timestamp: 2026-07-05T12:58Z

## Summary

Claude reopened twelve findings. Codex accepted and repaired the concrete continuity/form blockers, and records two macro/form findings as residual risks rather than quick structural rewrites:

- the book remains below the 75K floor;
- Ch24 remains a long compressed coda by user-directed 24-chapter structure.

## Disposition Table

| finding | disposition | action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Under 75K floor / logistics-heavy middle | DEFERRED / RISK-ACCEPTED | No padding or new Act-2 scene added in this batch. Earlier Phase 8 Batches 1-5 added targeted ensemble/Odile/Tasker repairs and Claude post-Batch4 returned `MACRO-FREEZE / LINE PASS`. Final report must state the 62K length exception and likely market complaint. |
| 2. Theo six vs eleven years | RESOLVED | Ch01 now says Theo has worked for Odile eleven years; continuity updated. |
| 3. Mara scarf black/orange contradiction | RESOLVED | Ch13 now says "The black is doing things for you" and "Mara's black scarf"; continuity updated. Sam's separate orange scarf in Ch20 remains valid. |
| 4. Ch24 overloaded / over chapter band | REJECTED AS STRUCTURAL CHANGE / RISK-ACCEPTED | Ch24 is long but performs the reading-guide coda requirements in the user-directed 24-chapter compression: showcase, artifact-borne partial truth, portrait consent, Odile knew-from-night-one, first snow, no public confession, no grand gesture. Splitting the finale would reopen the architecture after prior macro-freeze and create a quasi-epilogue. Final report must name this as a divisive choice. |
| 5. Ch04 origin story contradicts Ch01 while narration claims no invention | RESOLVED | Ch04 narration now says the story did not come from nowhere and was "sanded down to Thursdays," rather than claiming nothing was false or invented. This clarifies cover-story reshuffling without rewriting the diner scene. |
| 6. Class-list signing ambiguity | RESOLVED | Ch02 now states Theo never took the pen before Odile wrote `& T. Brennan` in blue ink. |
| 7. Catalog return date wrong | RESOLVED | Ch21 and rolling summary/continuity now use `1 rtn'd 11/24` and "twenty-fourth." |
| 8. Kessler six weeks vs three weeks | RESOLVED | Ch09 now says "Three weeks, maybe four"; follow-up sentence and event ripple tracker updated. |
| 9. Assignment-card header drift | RESOLVED | Weekly card headers now use `TUESDAY ONE` through `TUESDAY EIGHT`; continuity/canon entries updated. The Ch12 advance prep card `WEEK FIVE IS MEMORY...` remains intentionally distinct because it is not a weekly card header. |
| 10. `Winter Kitchen` disappears after Ch14 | REJECTED AS FACTUAL MISREAD | Ch24 already invokes `Winter Kitchen` and `Blue Stove` inside Odile's proof scene: "You corrected my label... *Winter Kitchen* and the *Blue Stove*..." No additional mention added to avoid over-winking the motif cap. |
| 11. June's residence after move-out blank | RESOLVED | Ch20 now clarifies Dana's back room is "yours to sleep in"; trackers updated to distinguish room-to-sleep-in plus wall share. |
| 12. Copyedit/tic cluster | RESOLVED | Non-card chapter headings normalized to numeric `# Chapter NN`; class chapters still open with assignment cards by reading-guide form. Ch06 one-word `Oh.` changed to "Ben blinked once." Ch01 "Oh, we're not" is not a one-word reaction paragraph; Ch22 keeps the earned confession `Oh,` allowed by the guide. |

## Mechanical Verification

- full quality gate: PASS open=0 allowlisted=0 watch=1439
- book-level quality gate: PASS open=0 allowlisted=0 watch=1439
- dialogue scene manifest: OK missing_doctor_files=0
- prose variability audit: PASS

## Snapshot Boundaries

- `before_final_cold_read_repairs` snapshots saved for Chapters 01-24.
- `after_final_cold_read_repairs` snapshots saved for Chapters 01-24.
- `before_final_cold_read_repair_gate` snapshots saved for Chapters 01-24.

`after_final_cold_read_repair_gate` snapshots will be saved after targeted Claude verification if no further repair is required.
