Oracle-return verification pass, both CONTRADICTS run to ground against the binary same night: #176 the seek-gear square law is the Emitter ctor's OWN calibration (@004bb120 EC = E/(0.5 seekV[rec]^2) [T1]) and the authored table (LLaser {6000,7000,8000,9900}/10000, rec=8000) yields the REAL ladder 56/77/100/153 -- seek 3 IS the published calibration point exactly as Oracle said, seek 4 is an unclamped OVERCHARGE gear (logged 5.80 > authored 5.0 proves it), and the guide's 'half-charge = quarter' example was the wrong part (master guide corrected with the real ladder + the downshift-for-rate / seek-4-alpha doctrine). #177 the BTPlayer ctor stamp table read verbatim (@004c0bc8: +0x260 = level>=2 -> heat at veteran AND expert in 4.10 [T1]; +0x274 = the raw level; +0x26c = standard|veteran) -- the port is faithful; Oracle + the 4.0 manual describe the earlier machine (a genuine 4.0->4.10 balance change); ticket premise corrected (the KB already carried the stamp values -- 'writer never read' was another check-own-history strike). experience-levels.md upgraded to the writer address; #176 open residue: per-weapon gear-fraction variance.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016bw71WVsccjwW7uKRg4aWD

context/experience-levels.md

@@ -55,7 +55,11 @@ then unconditionally `+0x264 = +0x268 = mission->advancedDamageOn(+0xf0)` (both
   combat-ineffective evaluation (part_012.c:9364: mech state ∈ {3,4} && novice is an extra OR-term
   setting `mech+0x414`). The `#if 0` block in surviving PPC.CPP:63-95 (novice PPCs deal no damage)
   shows the original intent of the tier.
-- **+0x260 — the HEAT-MODEL master switch, ON for veteran+expert.** This is `FUN_004ad7d4`
+- **+0x260 — the HEAT-MODEL master switch, ON for veteran+expert.** Writer pinned 2026-08-13
+  [T1]: the BTPlayer ctor @004c0bc8 (part_013.c:19397-19426) stamps the whole flag block from the
+  session experience level — `+0x260 = (level>=2)`, `+0x25c = (level>=1)`, `+0x270 = (level>=1)`,
+  `+0x26c = (level==1||level==2)`, `+0x274 = the raw level`, `+0x264/+0x268 = record+0xf0`
+  (advancedDamage).  Read via `FUN_004ad7d4`
   (`*(*(sub+0xD0)+0x190)+0x260`), the single most-called gate in the subsystem family: Myomers
   work→heat (movement heat, MyomersSimulation @4b8d18), Emitter/energy-weapon firing heat, missile
   launch heat, the heat.cpp simulation, projectile-weapon heat, and the heat-scaled part of the jam
@@ -89,8 +93,13 @@ the `Tesla40_BT_manual.pdf` scan along with p3):
 - **The viewscreen hunting-aid gate is GONE in 4.10**: part_014 (HUD/btl4vid TU) reads none of the
   player flags — the target hotbox/edge arrows (@4cdf6f) are gated on lock state only, every mode.
   Fits the 4.10 arcade-cities positioning.
-- **Movement heat is veteran+expert in 4.10** (the +0x260 gate), not expert-only as the 4.0 manual
-  states. Whether a coefficient still differentiates them is open.
+- **Movement heat is veteran+expert in 4.10** (the +0x260 gate; stamp table read at @004c0bc8
+  [T1]), not expert-only as the 4.0 manual states.  ERA-WITNESS CROSS-CHECK (Oracle's guide
+  return, 2026-08-13, Gitea #177): his pod memory says expert-only, agreeing with the MANUAL and
+  against the 4.10 code — consistent with heat-at-veteran being a genuine 4.0→4.10 balance
+  change (his hands-on spans the earlier revision).  Tester-notes line warranted so veteran
+  heat isn't reported as a bug.  Whether a coefficient still differentiates vet/expert heat
+  magnitude is open [T4].
 
 ## Port state (as of 2026-07-20) — WIRED (issue #2) [T2]
 

context/open-questions.md

@@ -1341,3 +1341,19 @@ EXPERT-only; the player+0x260 WRITER has never been read).  Settled/confirmed [w
 - Incoming alarm: the beeper was the WHOLE annunciation (no lamp/voice rider) + two YouTube
   references with the real alarm audible (on #83, comment 1797) — the ear-A/B target for the
   b00fa39 fix.
+
+### Oracle-return follow-ups resolved same night (2026-08-13, late)
+- **#176 seek-gear damage: RESOLVED, no port change.** Law confirmed from the Emitter ctor's own
+  calibration (@004bb120: EC = energyTotal/(0.5 x seekV[REC]^2) -> damage = authored x
+  (V/seekV[rec])^2 [T1]); the authored gear table read from content (LLaser: {6000,7000,8000,
+  9900} vs rated 10000; recommended = the 8000 gear = "seek 3" = the published calibration
+  point, EXACTLY as Oracle said).  Real ladder: 56%/77%/100%/153% -- seek 4 is an OVERCHARGE
+  gear (no clamp; a logged 5.80-damage LLaser shot from an 8618V store proves >100% ships;
+  ~2.9x charge time from the exponential curve).  The guide's "half-charge = quarter" example
+  was the wrong part -- corrected in the master guide.  OPEN [T3]: whether other emitters
+  author different gear fractions than LLaser's 0.60/0.70/0.80/0.99 (dump [seek] per weapon).
+- **#177 veteran heat: RESOLVED-FAITHFUL, closed.** The BTPlayer ctor stamp table read verbatim
+  (@004c0bc8 [T1]): +0x260 heat = veteran+expert in 4.10.  Oracle + the 4.0 manual say
+  expert-only -> best read: a genuine 4.0->4.10 balance change (his hands-on spans the earlier
+  machine).  Tester-notes line warranted (veteran heat is not a bug).  The vet-vs-expert heat
+  MAGNITUDE coefficient stays open [T4].

docs/WEAPONS_FIELD_GUIDE.txt

@@ -46,9 +46,14 @@ THE ORIGINAL'S BEHAVIOR
     itself, plus a 0.2-second afterglow that tracks the target.
   - Damage scales with the SQUARE of the stored charge. You cannot
     fire early -- the trigger does nothing until the charge completes.
-    The only partial-power shot is a LOWER CHARGE GEAR (section 2,
-    veteran/expert only): a gear at half voltage is ready sooner but
-    hits for a quarter. Distance never matters: full damage anywhere
+    The only partial-power shot is a different CHARGE GEAR (section 2,
+    veteran/expert only), and the REAL ladder -- read from the machine's
+    own gear table after Oracle's notes called out our old example --
+    is: seek 1 = 56% damage (fastest), seek 2 = 77%, seek 3 = 100%
+    (THE published number -- the calibration gear), seek 4 = 153%
+    (an OVERCHARGE: more damage AND more heat per shot, at roughly
+    triple the charge time).  Downshift for rate of fire, seek 4 for
+    the single big hit.  Distance never matters: full damage anywhere
     inside effective range, zero damage past it.
   - Out of range: the trigger works and the beam draws, but the damage
     is silently thrown away. No hit, no denied tone we can find.