#164 hardened to impossibility + the config theory tested NULL: the beam draw now requires the weapon to actually BE in Firing(0) -- the 1995 visual rode ContinueDischarge's per-frame re-messaging which stopped the instant the state left 0, so state-gated drawing is the faithful semantics and makes ANY beamFlag bookkeeping stick invisible by construction (Conn Man's screenshot: red laser, leg-level origin, dials green = a live weapon with a stuck flag). Receipts stand armed for the field: [beam] STUCK-ON (armed flag outside Firing) and DESTROYED-BUT-ON, each naming the weapon. The config-mid-discharge theory was tested deterministically (BT_CFGTEST waits for state 0 and dispatches ConfigureMappables to that weapon): the dispatch landed with beamFlag=1 and NO stick followed -- the handler does not disturb the discharge; theory retired with receipts. Upstream cause remains open; one field recurrence now names it.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

game/reconstructed/emitter.hpp

@@ -226,6 +226,9 @@ class NotationFile;
 		// beam from this live sim state -- the authentic per-weapon fire look).
 		//
 		int				BeamOn() const			{ return beamFlag; }		// 0x46c
+		// #164: the DRAW-side state read (cross-family, gotcha-22 style) -- the
+		// beam renders only while the weapon is actually in Firing(0).
+		int				WeaponStateCell()		{ return GetWeaponState(); }
 		Scalar			DischargeTimer() const	{ return dischargeTimer; }	// forensics
 		// REPLICANT-side beam aging (port, 2026-07-13): replicated discharge
 		// state arrives via update records, but replicant subsystems never

game/reconstructed/mech4.cpp

@@ -7854,6 +7854,43 @@ void
 			}
 		}
 
+		// #164 repro (BT_CFGTEST): the field composition of Conn Man's hanging
+		// beam -- a config-mode PROGRAM press landing MID-DISCHARGE.  Waits for
+		// any Emitter/PPC to enter Firing(0), then dispatches ConfigureMappables
+		// (msg 9, press) to that exact weapon.  The alarm re-level knocks the
+		// state out of 0 with beamFlag still armed; the [beam] STUCK-ON receipt
+		// + refused draw are the PASS evidence.
+		if (getenv("BT_CFGTEST") && (Entity *)this == application->GetViewpointEntity())
+		{
+			static int s_cfgDone = 0;
+			static int s_cfgFrame = 0;
+			if (!s_cfgDone && ++s_cfgFrame > 900)
+			{
+				for (int s = 1; s < GetSubsystemCount(); ++s)
+				{
+					Subsystem *sub = GetSubsystem(s);
+					if (sub == 0)
+						continue;
+					const int cid = (int)sub->GetClassID();
+					if (cid != 3016 && cid != 3028)			// Emitter / PPC
+						continue;
+					if (((Emitter *)sub)->WeaponStateCell() != 0)
+						continue;							// not mid-discharge
+					ReceiverDataMessageOf<ControlsButton> msg(
+						9 /*MechWeapon::ConfigureMappablesMessageID*/,
+						sizeof(ReceiverDataMessageOf<ControlsButton>),
+						(ControlsButton)0x0f /*a config element press*/);
+					sub->Dispatch(&msg);
+					s_cfgDone = 1;
+					DEBUG_STREAM << "[cfgtest] ConfigureMappables dispatched to '"
+						<< (sub->GetName() ? sub->GetName() : "?")
+						<< "' MID-DISCHARGE (state was 0, beamFlag="
+						<< ((Emitter *)sub)->BeamOn() << ")\n" << std::flush;
+					break;
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
 		// issue #20 verify (BT_BALTEST): alternate a MoveValve (id 4) press to
 		// the first condenser with a Mech BalanceCoolant (id 0x16) press every
 		// ~2s -- BT_VALVE_LOG shows the valve going 1->5 then BALANCE pulling
@@ -9091,6 +9128,31 @@ void
 			}
 			continue;
 		}
+		// #164 THE FAITHFUL DRAW CONDITION (Conn Man's screenshot: RED laser
+		// beam, leg-level origin, weapon dials all GREEN -- a live weapon with
+		// a stuck beamFlag).  The 1995 beam visual rode ContinueDischarge's
+		// PER-FRAME re-messaging, which stops the instant the weapon leaves
+		// Firing(0) -- e.g. a config-mode PROGRAM press mid-discharge re-levels
+		// weaponAlarm out of state 0, the case-0 countdown never resumes, and
+		// beamFlag (cleared only by ResetFiringState) stays armed forever while
+		// the weapon itself recovers.  Drawing from beamFlag alone is the port
+		// divergence; require the weapon to actually BE discharging, exactly as
+		// the message stream did.  (Replicants mirror firingActive into
+		// weaponAlarm 0/2 in ReadUpdateRecord, so the same test serves both.)
+		if (em->WeaponStateCell() != 0)
+		{
+			static int s_stateStuck = 0;
+			if (em->BeamOn() && s_stateStuck < 20)
+			{
+				++s_stateStuck;
+				DEBUG_STREAM << "[beam] STUCK-ON: '"
+					<< (em->GetName() ? em->GetName() : "?")
+					<< "' beamFlag armed outside Firing (state="
+					<< em->WeaponStateCell()
+					<< ") -- draw refused (#164)\n" << std::flush;
+			}
+			continue;
+		}
 		Point3D mz;
 		em->MuzzlePoint(mz);						// LIVE muzzle (tracks the gun)
 		// MOUNT FALLBACK: when the weapon's mount segment doesn't