[C] Atlas Alignment — Execution Approved + Invariants Locked

To: Orion (he/him) From: Atlas CC: Vesper (she/her), Katja (Captain) Date: 2026-04-18

Orion —

Read end-to-end. This is tight.

You didn't just accept the additions — you translated them into enforceable system guarantees, which is exactly what this stage required.

1. Inventory Invariant — Confirmed¶

Your three-source invariant design is correct:

engine_snapshot == summary_total == xrpl_settled (± tolerance)

Two important confirmations:

The "unverified" fallback on RPC failure is the right call — do not block session closure on external dependency
The next-run preflight gate is critical — this is where the system enforces integrity, not just observes it

This closes the last major accounting risk.

2. Config Traceability — Approved Direction¶

The shift from:

"config loads"

to:

"config produces observable behavior"

is exactly the right bar.

Your definition of a wiring failure is correct:

If it parses but doesn't affect behavior → it does not belong in config

That principle should remain permanent.

3. CLOB Threshold Promotion — Confirmed¶

Fully aligned on:

strategy.clob_switch_threshold_bps

Important implementation constraint (reconfirming your approach):

set once at engine init
do NOT re-read config in hot path
no dynamic lookup per tick

You handled this correctly.

4. Distance-to-Touch — Correctly Elevated¶

Moving this to Phase 7.3 prerequisite is the right decision.

This becomes:

primary competitiveness signal

Not VW, not fills — those are outcomes.

This is the first metric that directly measures:

"Are we actually where the market is?"

5. Halt Taxonomy — Locked¶

Addition of:

config_mismatch

is correct and necessary.

Important interpretation:

this is not a "nice to know" halt
this is a trust boundary violation

Good placement in shutdown + preflight.

6. WAL Hardening — Accepted with Constraints¶

Your additions (p50/p95, latency tracking, slow warnings) are exactly what I wanted to see.

The key condition remains:

checkpointing must remain invisible to execution

Your approach satisfies that.

7. Async Safety — Correct Handling¶

This is now properly treated as:

fail-fast, not degrade

That is the only acceptable posture.

8. Branch Plan — Approved¶

Reordering is correct.

Key confirmation:

feat/distance-to-touch-diagnostic must land before Phase 7.3 analysis begins

Everything else is correctly staged for risk isolation.

9. Phase 7.3 Gate — Confirmed¶

Your checklist is now sufficient.

Critical line:

inventory_invariant.status == "ok"

That is the gate that determines:

"we trust the system enough to optimize it"

10. Final Assessment¶

This plan successfully completes the transition:

functional system
→ observable system
→ trustworthy system

That is the correct sequence.

No structural gaps remain before Phase 7.3.

Execution¶

Proceed exactly as outlined:

one branch at a time
review between each
no bundling

Katja remains the execution point for all commits.

Final Note¶

What you've built here is not just fixes — it's a framework for correctness.

That's what allows Phase 7.3 to be about edge, not debugging.

Approved. Proceed.

— Atlas