Initial observation: holdout line 465
Machine: 1RB1LD_1RC0RC_1LD0RE_0LB0LA_0RF1LA_---1RC. Byte-exact string read from the current 740-machine list, line 465. Root claimed this directory for Astra and supplied the preflight in astra/bouncer-triage/preflight.json; no existing proof or open-PR conjugacy was found there. The saved community class is “Bouncer + Chaotic Edge”.
Result and stopping point
No halt through 1,000,000,000 direct steps from blank tape. This is a finite observation, not a theorem or a kill. The mechanism confidence is low. No complete macro return map, invariant, or Coq proof has been proposed. Possible chaotic-edge behavior is flagged; no pseudo-random arithmetic map was extracted, so this is not a confirmed cryptid classification.
The visited span expands mainly right after an early two-sided transient. The last left record in the two-million-step log is -496 at step 706,160; the left visited bound is still -496 at one billion. This is finite evidence, not proof that the left edge can never move again.
Relative priority within this pair: 2/2. Lower priority of these two: sampled 12-bit-factor diversity grows from 523 to 1,146, and the accelerated run discovers no rules. There is a simple 21-step right-edge extension, but the return that enables the next extension is irregular and unexplained.
Stop here for a priority decision before deeper rule/invariant work. The useful next question is whether the entire evolving word has a closed finite transducer description and whether that description protects F0. Longer simulation alone will not answer it.
Concrete measurements
| Direct steps | Visited interval | Ones | Distinct length-12 factors | K=12 DP text characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000,000 | [-496, 608] | 670 | 523 | 880 |
| 10,000,000 | [-496, 2664] | 1,973 | 652 | 2,277 |
| 100,000,000 | [-496, 8970] | 5,413 | 878 | 6,830 |
| 1,000,000,000 | [-496, 29514] | 19,605 | 1146 | 20,922 |
The factor count is measured in the whole raw visited tape at the stated instant; it is not an entropy/randomness claim. Compression uses the existing dynamic-programming compressor with maximum period 12 and nested folding disabled. It is a finite diagnostic, not evidence that no better representation exists. Full compressed strings and 1-run histograms are in work/finite-diagnostics.json.
The bounded accelerated run stopped at 30,000 simulator loops, corresponding to 60,427 exact base steps. It found 0 rules and made 0 rule moves; it did not establish nonhalting. Its 30-second cap was not reached. Full output is work/qsim-30s.jsonl.
An independently implemented sparse-tape simulator agrees byte for byte with the C simulator at step 1,000,000, including head, state and visited bounds. All 26,391 observed F entries there read 1. There are 134 distinct 13-cell neighborhoods at those entries. E0 writes 0 and moves right into F; the cell reached must be 1 to avoid F0. No proof that this safety condition is preserved has been found.
Exact finite local windows
Head coordinates are relative to the initial head at 0. The input/output words occupy the same listed window. Each run was independently executed transition by transition; every read stays inside that window until the final configuration, so exterior cells are irrelevant to the finite run. These are local finite calculations, not a global invariant or formal Coq lemmas.
| Initial state | Window offsets | Before | Steps | Final head/state | After | Matching observed record gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | -5..0 | 001100 | 21 | C at 1 | 111010 | 518 |
All 518 even-position right records from positions 8 through 1,042 follow this 21-step window from the preceding odd record. The intervening return gaps are not covered.
work/local-window-runs.json includes every transition of each local run. These windows do not close the family of whole-tape configurations; the unknown return map is the main gap.
Artifacts and reproduction
index.html: standard machine page with observation, ranking, finite-window rules, and labeled space-time diagram.img/space-time-labeled.svg: axes and sampling labels around the existing renderer's PNG; tape coordinate is absolute, time increases downwards. White cells are 1; dark cells are 0 or unvisited; colored head cells show state. This is a sampled diagram, not every transition.work/direct-1e8.jsonlandwork/direct-1e9.jsonl: exact C snapshots every 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 steps, respectively, plus the final snapshot.work/records-2e6.jsonl: every new span record through 2,000,000 steps; the 2,500-event cap was not reached.observe.json,status.json: machine-readable outcome and stopping condition.
Reproduce the initial runs with python3 -B astra/observe_bouncers_282_465.py, diagnostics with python3 -B astra/analyze_bouncers_282_465.py, and packaging/window checks with python3 -B astra/finalize_bouncers_282_465.py.
The extra direct run is python3 -B tools/sim.py '1RB1LD_1RC0RC_1LD0RE_0LB0LA_0RF1LA_---1RC' --engine c --max-steps 1e9 --every 1e7 --snapshot --end-snapshot. The acceleration parameters were --max-loops 30000 --max-seconds 30 --every 1000 --bf-loops 3000. The diagram uses tools/diagram.py with --mode every:1000 --steps 2e6 --style explore --frame abs.
Runs used nice -n 10, ulimit -v 6000000, process timeouts, and one worker at a time. At start MemAvailable was 19,330,164 kB and 1-minute load was 6.31, within the shared guards; guards were checked again before the later simulation batches. No shared tools/vendor files were changed, and no Coq or formal gate was run.
Priority decision — 2026-10-14
The user said: “Follow your recommendations for the 5.” Recorded defer; this family is deferred.