Jedi DirectX predicate: original-byte recovery blocked

This bounded task stops at original-byte acquisition, before static launcher analysis or any guest launch. The failing DirectX predicate remains unknown. No localized emulator/host defect is proven and no production source was changed. The accepted predecessor's ordinary Play transition still ends at the original DirectX 5.0 requirement dialog. It was not retested on the new box.

Verified staging

Only assigned running box bx_wbedea9e was used, through Boat API exec. Exact source fe49a84e745015ecdbe752e028235924ef4324dc was cloned remotely; all 7403 tracked blobs were checked against Git blob identities both before and after work, with clean checkout status. Dependencies were installed with npm ci. Canonical build gates passed and the module matches 728e1de80ec20a284fc41b339895ee8ac29f16e4ded83325b27576cfacd4466c (1,878,508 bytes).

Workflow deviation: the first module search used rg --files, which omitted ignored artifacts, followed by a shallow directory search. A broader find subsequently located the accepted module at /home/user/wine-assembly/scratch/runs/20261021-army-integrated-gameplay-scroll/provenance/wine-assembly.wasm. The remote build had already completed. It was redundant, contrary to the requested recover-before-build constraint. Its exact identity is verified; no replacement module or source behavior was introduced. Future recovery should include ignored evidence paths before starting a build.

Predecessor remote commit 4f0844c013c46afd446428578d75f5ec8afca515 and its accepted original-layout/installation proof were reused. Its 1,925,047-byte archive transferred to the new box with SHA-256 fea97ead7fe1b0f4f9bba0264d8073e5956857150dba2d97a2b1a4a62190f9cb. All 87 seals verified. Of the 361 observed-tree mappings, 187 resolve to available exact-source or included payload bytes. The other 174 reference original package files and cannot be restored without those originals. The observed registry exports and restore recipes are present. No partial installed tree was presented as an installation and no installer was rerun.

Concrete blocker

The package required by recover-layout.py is jedidemo.exe, 21,195,858 bytes, SHA-256 8aae38165e08b68bb63cfd21b8c28ed1d4d8f1bb400a0162588d5b86acdc827e. A filesystem search under local /home/user and /tmp found neither that package nor Jedi.exe. Old-box paths are recipes, not files on the new box. The old stopped box was not accessed or resumed.

Remote acquisition results on 2026-10-21, around 16:06–16:09 UTC:

A local HEAD check and remote archive HTTP/metadata connectivity checks also timed out. The initial long Boat exec returned no JSON to the client; its remote curl log independently records the completed timeout. The alternate 3dfxzone download listing returned only a JavaScript verification/redirect page, including after its provided redirect, not original bytes. The Frag-Net listing links back to Archive.org. No download completed and no unverified substitute was run. This is an acquisition blocker, not evidence of a runtime/API failure.

The retained predecessor launch trace was inspected: FindFirst finds C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDRAW.DLL and DSOUND.DLL, each 1024 bytes, followed by the requirement dialog. That trace does not establish the failing API, branch, or expected-versus-actual value. Source inspection found the existing static-DX version-resource path, but without original code or a targeted trace it does not justify attributing the dialog to it. No version/registry fabrication, launcher bypass, original patch, or direct-engine launch occurred.

Probes used: 0 of 2. Regression and installed-launch retest were not run: there is no proven correction and the original installed launcher is absent. Gameplay, engine handoff, input/audio and FPS remain unqualified.

Evidence and recoverable handoff

Local run: scratch/runs/20261021-jedi-directx-predicate. Tracked evidence: docs/reviews/jedi-directx-predicate-20261021/. The new evidence.tgz is 299,823 bytes, SHA-256 994e37183e275bb7222546a9f3d2af3a962f55f814be98db50fe4fb5c5bb4bf2. It contains the source inventory, build/install/download logs, recovery recipes, missing-mapping census, original inventory, and retained launch trace. python3 verify.py beside it checks its sealed contents without a runtime.

Remote source/dependencies/module: /home/user/jedi-source. Remote task staging: /home/user/jedi-predicate, including predecessor.tgz, fully extracted predecessor evidence, recover-layout.py, restore.py, original-inventory.json, and this task's sealed evidence.tgz. To unblock this same diagnosis, recover the exact pinned original package onto the assigned authorized runtime; use the predecessor's hash-verifying source recovery and observed-tree restore recipes, then inspect original static code before spending a launch probe. restore.py expects original basenames with their inventory spelling; the faithful-layout output alone has lowercase nested paths and is not directly its ORIGINAL_FILES argument.

Box bx_wbedea9e is left RUNNING, expiry 2026-10-21T18:01:57.547Z; coordinator owns shutdown and receives ownership back. No workers, replacement tasks, SSH, new/resumed boxes, main merge, public deploy, or unrelated worktree edits. Local work stays below the 64 MiB cap, with prewrite checks against 2,915,041,280 bytes of free-space reserve.