# XZBT-NGN Step 6.7B — SciFi Observation Surface Implementation

Status: PARTIAL PASS at the time of writing. Superseded 2026-09-15 by the
[Step 6.7 closure report](XZBT-NGN-Step6.7-Closure-Report.md): the handshake
defect recorded in §J/§M is fixed (full suite now 154/154) and the standalone
packaged-build check in §H/§K.14 has been performed. Live NGN browser
verification (report §15, steps 1–13) remains outstanding at that date.

Step 6.7B implements the architecture selected by Step 6.7A (design-only, no
code changes) — Candidate A, narrow form: SciFi-XZBT remains one document, one
script set, with two boot modes, and advertises a Contract 5.3 Observation
presentation surface as a query-mode view of its own `index.html`.

## A. Chosen architecture (confirmed as implemented)

- One document, two boot modes, resolved by `js/surface-mode.js` from
  `window.location` before heavy subsystem construction.
- Primary surface: `index.html` (unchanged console), `primary: true`.
- Observation surface: `index.html?surface=observation&xi=<instanceId>`, per
  Contract 5.3 §31.4's query-string surface form.
- One authoritative SciFi state, one Contract 5.3 host session (console mode
  only), no NGN changes (`src/**` untouched — verified by mtime check against
  this session's own edits).
- Presentation synchronization is exhibit-owned via an instance-scoped
  `BroadcastChannel` (`js/surface-bus.js`), never observed by NGN.
- Opening the Observation surface does not set `view.observation = true`; the
  console's own full-screen overlay is unaffected by pane lifecycle.

## B. Files changed — SciFi-XZBT (`G:\.vibe\SciFi-XZBT`)

| File | Change |
| --- | --- |
| `js/surface-mode.js` | **New**, 108 lines. Pure mode resolver (`resolve`, `newInstanceId`, `SURFACES`, `channelName`). No DOM, no imports. |
| `js/surface-bus.js` | **New**, 254 lines. Instance-scoped `BroadcastChannel` owner/attach sides (`createOwner`, `attach`), adapted from Museum Gallery's proven attach/snapshot/mutate/detach shape with a Set-based participant count. |
| `js/contract-adapter.js` | 1006 → 1060 lines (+54). Additive: `surfaces`/`instanceId` constructor options; `describe()` emits `surfaces` only when non-empty; `view.pillars` / `view.warp-flight` targets registered (state/boolean/readable/writable/restorable, `category: observation`, `requires: [observation]`); `onLocalChange`/`onLocalAction` hooks fired from `_commitChanges`/`_invokeAction`, independent of `sessionActive`; version bumped `5.2.0` → `5.3.0`. Handshake, envelope, `xzbt` gating, and the `_emitEvent` session gate are unchanged. |
| `js/app.js` | 4703 → 4921 lines (+218). Boot-mode resolution; `isConsoleMode`-guarded construction of `StarshipVisualizer`, `XZBTGenerativeExperience`, `XZBTControlBus`, `XZBTContractAdapter`, the keydown hotkey listener, and the sleep timer; `enterObservation()`'s `prepareExperience()` call now runs only in console mode; surface-bus owner wiring (console) / attach wiring (presentation); `applyPresentationState()` renderer; `observationAudienceActive()` decoupling the ambient scheduler from local overlay visibility; `view.pillars`/`view.warp-flight` added to `bindings.setters` and `getContractStateSnapshot()`; `togglePillars()`/`toggleWarpFlight()` now route through `applyMutation`/bus `mutate` instead of local engine mutation; `window.__xzbtSurfaceDispose` + `beforeunload` detach. |
| `js/observation-engine.js` | 3595 → 3602 lines (+7). Only change: the WARP and PILLARS dock buttons now route through `onMutation`, matching the pre-existing VIEWPORT/RED ALERT/PRESET pattern, instead of mutating engine state directly. |
| `css/style.css` | 2430 → 2457 lines (+27, additive). `body.surface-observation` rules hide `header`/`main`, hide `#obs-btn-exit` / `#observation-return-pill`; overlay renders full-bleed. |
| `index.html` | +2 `<script src="...">` tags, exact `package.ps1`-compatible form, positioned after `control-bus.js`, before `generative-experience.js`. |
| `agents.md`, `README.md` | Documented the two-mode rule, the two new files, the surface-bus mechanism, and the no-duplicate-authority invariant. |

`js/audio.js`, `js/config.js`, `js/visualizer.js`, `js/core-animations.js`,
`js/generative-experience.js`, `js/control-bus.js`, `js/observation-bezels.js`,
and `tools/package.ps1` are unchanged, per the report's "deliberately
unchanged" list.

## C. Files changed — XZBT-NGN

| File | Change |
| --- | --- |
| `test-fixtures/reference-exhibits/scifi/{index.html, js/app.js, js/contract-adapter.js, js/observation-engine.js, css/style.css}` | Byte-for-byte resync from SciFi-XZBT source. |
| `test-fixtures/reference-exhibits/scifi/js/{surface-mode.js, surface-bus.js}` | **New**, copied verbatim from SciFi-XZBT source. |
| `test-fixtures/PROVENANCE.md` | Appended resync note (source path, files copied, no fixture-local corrections). |
| `tests/scifi-surfaces.test.js` | **New**, 533 lines, 24 tests: surface catalog / contract validation, mode resolution, bus late-join/propagation/mutation-routing/no-second-authority/reload/detach/session-independence, duplicate-subsystem construction spies, app.js source-structure guards, ambient-timer test, one-contract-session test. |
| `tests/local-surfaces.test.js` | +1 test using SciFi's real descriptors (19 → 20 tests), confirming the primary resolves to `control` and opens no second frame. |
| `src/**` | **Unchanged.** No NGN core changes were needed or made. |

## D. State synchronization

- Mechanism: `BroadcastChannel` named `xzbt-scifi-surface-v1:<instanceId>`, owned
  by the console document; the presentation document reads `instanceId` from its
  own `?xi=` query parameter.
- Message shapes match report §5.3 verbatim (`attach` / `attach.snapshot` /
  `state` / `action` / `presentation` / `mutate` / `detach`), carry no XZBT
  envelope, and are never observed by NGN.
- Late join / reload: `attach` always receives the live
  `contractAdapter.getContractState()` snapshot plus `stateRevision` and
  `registryRevision`; a reload is a fresh `attach` with a fresh `participantId`.
- Presentation mutations (`view.pillars`, `view.warp-flight`, `view.viewport-frame`,
  `alert.active`, `preset.selected`) are sent as `mutate` requests and applied by
  the owner exclusively through `contractAdapter.applyMutation(...)` with source
  `'ui'` — the same chokepoint NGN's own `set` uses. The presentation side never
  writes local state.
- Participant bookkeeping is a `Set`, so duplicate attach and late/duplicate
  detach are harmless and cannot ratchet the count.

## E. Heavy-subsystem ownership (confirmed)

Presentation mode does **not** construct: `XZBTGenerativeExperience` (WebLLM +
Kokoro — `prepareExperience()` is now called only inside the console-mode
branch of `enterObservation()`), `XZBTContractAdapter` (no second Contract
session), `XZBTControlBus`, `StarshipVisualizer`, or `CoreAnimations` (its
render loop is only reachable from `StarshipVisualizer`, which is never
constructed). The keydown hotkey listener and the sleep timer are also
console-only. This is enforced by `isConsoleMode` guards at each construction
site and asserted by source-structure tests in `scifi-surfaces.test.js`, plus
construction-spy tests that fail if `AudioContext`/`fetch`/`import` are ever
touched from the surface side.

`AudioManager` and the synth subsystems are still constructed on the
presentation side (needed only to satisfy `ObservationEngine`'s constructor
arity, per the 6.7A report) but never `init()`/`resume()`d, so no
`AudioContext` or audio node is ever created there.

## F. New absolute state targets

- `view.pillars` — state/boolean, readable, writable, restorable,
  `category: observation`, `requires: [observation]`. Wired into
  `bindings.setters`, `getContractStateSnapshot()`, and dock routing on both
  surfaces.
- `view.warp-flight` — same shape. Implemented as a compare-and-toggle against
  the engine's existing flight-mode field in `app.js`'s setter rather than
  adding a new `observationEngine.setWarpFlight()` method (the report's
  suggested name doesn't exist in `observation-engine.js`), keeping that file's
  change to the two dock-routing lines only.

Both targets are covered end-to-end (registration, snapshot inclusion, mutation
routing, cross-surface convergence) by tests in `scifi-surfaces.test.js`.

## G. Observation audience behavior

`observationAudienceActive()` = `observationActive || surfaceOwner.attachedCount() > 0`.
The ambient-activity scheduler and `triggerObservationActivity` now gate on this
predicate instead of `observationActive` alone, so a presentation-only audience
(console in normal mode, one or more Observation panes attached) keeps
procedural activity running. `observationActive` itself is unchanged and still
gates the console's own local overlay rendering. Activity *decisions* are made
once by the authority and broadcast; each surface renders its own visual
realization of "an event fired now" rather than a byte-identical copy (see
Deviations, below) — narrative timing is shared, exact pixel content is not.

## H. Standalone verification

Update (2026-09-15): performed — see the closure report and
`test-fixtures/evidence/step6.7-packaging.txt`. The paragraph below retains the
pre-verification state of this session.

Not run live in this session (see §K). By construction: `index.html` with no
query string resolves to console mode via `js/surface-mode.js`'s `resolve()`,
which is unchanged from today's single-mode behavior for that input, and no
code path in the console branch was removed — only guarded with `isConsoleMode`,
which is `true` for that input. This is asserted structurally by
`scifi-surfaces.test.js`'s mode-resolution tests, but not confirmed by opening
a real browser.

## I. Fixture synchronization

`test-fixtures/reference-exhibits/scifi/` was resynced by copying the seven
changed/new files verbatim from `G:\.vibe\SciFi-XZBT` after the source was
syntax-checked and its own focused tests passed. `test-fixtures/PROVENANCE.md`
records the resync. No fixture-local corrections were introduced — drift
prevention relies on this being a discrete, documented, one-directional copy
step (source → fixture), matching the procedure Step 5 used.

## J. Tests

| Suite | Result |
| --- | --- |
| `tests/scifi-surfaces.test.js` (new) | 24/24 pass |
| `tests/local-surfaces.test.js` | 20/20 pass |
| Full NGN suite (`npm test`) | 149/154 pass |

Update (2026-09-15): full suite **154/154** and `tests/postmessage-interop.test.js`
**7/7** — the five failures are resolved (see the closure report). The
paragraphs below are retained as this session's historical record.

The 5 failures are all in `tests/postmessage-interop.test.js` (`hello timed
out` ×4, one regex check), and are **not** caused by this step's changes.
Root cause: `contract-adapter.js`'s `_setupWindowBridge` gates inbound
messages on exact string equality against `xzbt: '5.2'`, while NGN's
`src/host.js` — modified independently, before this session, and outside this
step's scope — now stamps outgoing envelopes `xzbt: '5.3'`. Fixing this
requires editing the handshake/envelope gating logic that the 6.7A report
explicitly marks "must not change" for Step 6.7B. This is flagged as a
pre-existing cross-repo integration gap for separate resolution, not silently
worked around.

## K. Live verification

**Not performed in this session.** The implementation was delegated to and
completed by an agent operating via local shell access on the SciFi-XZBT and
XZBT-NGN working trees; it did not drive a real browser against a running
`npm start` server. The following report §15 acceptance-procedure steps
remain to be run manually:

1. Connect NGN to `http://127.0.0.1:4173/test-fixtures/reference-exhibits/scifi/index.html`; confirm `connected · synchronized`, Contract 5/3, target catalog.
2. Confirm the Surfaces panel shows exactly two entries — `surface.console` (Primary, no Open button) and `surface.observation` (`?surface=observation&xi=…`).
3. Open the Observation pane; confirm it renders the current universe/preset within ~1s, shows no RETURN ✕ / return pill, and background click does nothing.
4. Confirm the console pane does **not** black out — `view.observation` stays `false`.
5. From NGN, `set` `universe.selected`, `preset.selected`, `alert.active`, `view.viewport-frame`, `view.activity`, `view.pillars`, `view.warp-flight` and confirm both console and pane converge, with `stateRevision` advancing.
6. Reload the pane; confirm it returns to current (not default) state. Close/reopen; confirm the participant count does not ratchet.
7. Press WATCH EXPERIENCE on the console; confirm the pane is unaffected and `view.observation` toggles only the console overlay.
8. DevTools checks on the pane's frame: no WebLLM/Kokoro network activity, `window.generativeExperience === undefined`, no `AudioContext`.
9. Confirm transient activity events and AI announcements appear on console and pane at the same moment.
10. Disconnect/reconnect NGN; confirm clean pane release and rediscovery.
11. Standalone: open `index.html` directly (no NGN) — full console, WATCH EXPERIENCE, hotkeys, audio.
12. Standalone two-window: open `index.html?surface=observation&xi=<real id>` in a second window with no NGN present; confirm it attaches and mirrors.
13. Open `?surface=observation&xi=nonexistent` alone; confirm a waiting state, no invented authority.
14. Run `tools/package.ps1` (requires PowerShell — unavailable in this session's Linux shell) and open the packaged `dist/` file offline; confirm the two new scripts were inlined (report risk R7 — inlining failure is silent) and standalone behavior is unchanged.

## L. Deviations from the 6.7A report

- **Warp-flight setter name.** The report's suggested `observationEngine.setWarpFlight(...)` does not exist; implemented as a compare-and-toggle in `app.js`'s setter instead, touching only the two dock-routing lines in `observation-engine.js`.
- **No single `bootConsole()` function.** The guarded constructions/listeners remain in their existing positions in `app.js` (each wrapped in an `isConsoleMode` check) rather than being physically lifted into one named function, to respect `agents.md`'s "surgical, scoped edits" rule on a ~4,900-line file. Source-structure tests instead assert `isConsoleMode` appears immediately before each construction site. Functionally equivalent to the report's suggestion; less textually tidy.
- **Activity-event visuals are decision-synchronized, not pixel-identical.** Byte-identical rendering across documents would require refactoring the ten universe generator functions to take explicit random parameters instead of calling `Math.random()` internally — judged out of proportion to this step. The *decision* to fire an event, and its narrative timing, is shared; each surface renders its own visual instance of it. Documented as an extension of the already-accepted instrumentation-digit divergence (report §6).

## M. Remaining limitations

- **Audio-reactive waveform is flat on the Observation surface**, as explicitly scoped out of 6.7B. No audio graph exists there; `observation-engine.js`'s pre-existing `am.analyser`-null guards degrade it gracefully. Deferred, not solved, per the governing report.
- **`postmessage-interop.test.js`'s 5 failures** (see §J) are a pre-existing `5.2`/`5.3` handshake-gating mismatch between this SciFi-XZBT change and an independent, prior `src/host.js` change, outside this step's edit scope. Needs separate resolution — likely a version-gating fix in `contract-adapter.js`'s `_setupWindowBridge`, but that edit was withheld here because the report marks it must-not-change for 6.7B. **Resolved 2026-09-15** as a separate, explicitly authorized task: the inbound filter is now a presence/type check on the advisory field, and the adapter advertises contract minor 3 / version 5.3.0. See the closure report.
- **Live browser verification and the packaged single-file build were not exercised** in this session (§K) — recommended before treating 6.7B as fully accepted. Update (2026-09-15): the packaged build is regenerated and verified; live browser verification (report §15, steps 1–13) is still outstanding.

## Step 6.7 verdict

Step 6.7B implementation is **substantively complete against the 6.7A
architecture**: correct surface catalog, single authority, session-independent
local synchronization, both new canonical targets, all heavy-subsystem guards,
audience-activity decoupling, and standalone-preserving structure, all
supported by 44 passing focused/regression tests. Step 6.7 as a whole should
**not yet be marked complete**: the pre-existing handshake mismatch surfaced by
the full suite run needs a decision (fix now vs. track separately), and the
live NGN/browser and standalone/packaged-build verification in report §15
has not been performed. Recommend resolving the handshake mismatch and running
live verification before closing Step 6.7B, and explicitly deferring Step 6.8
until then, per this task's instructions.

Update (2026-09-15): the handshake mismatch is resolved and the full suite is
green (154/154); the packaged single-file build has been regenerated and
verified (fixture-consistent, structurally and behaviorally checked). See the
[Step 6.7 closure report](XZBT-NGN-Step6.7-Closure-Report.md). What remains
before Step 6.7 can be marked complete is the live NGN Observation
verification in report §15, steps 1–13. *(Subsequent update: live verification
subsequently passed, Step 6.8 was completed and accepted, and Step 6 is closed
at Step 6.10; see the [Step 6.10 closure report](XZBT-NGN-Step6.10-Closure-Report.md).)*