diff --git a/apps/dashboard/src/lib/observatory/cognitive-palette.ts b/apps/dashboard/src/lib/observatory/cognitive-palette.ts
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/apps/dashboard/src/lib/observatory/cognitive-palette.ts
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+/**
+ * Cognitive Bioluminescent Cortex — the ONE source of truth for the dashboard's
+ * invented visual language (design council: Opus 4.8 × GPT-5.5, Jul 8 2026).
+ *
+ * The dashboard is a dark local brain in a jar. Routes are organs viewed through
+ * different instruments. This is NOT purple-on-black. The base is blackwater +
+ * oil-film + enzymatic light + scarlet immune heat. Every color MEANS something
+ * on a Vestige-only substrate (the discipline test): retention is oxygen, trust
+ * is membrane thickness, causality is a retrograde axon, suppression is scar.
+ *
+ * Rule of the language: magenta is reserved EXCLUSIVELY for backward causality
+ * (RSB). Indigo appears ONLY as bitemporal transaction-time parallax. Neither is
+ * ever a route accent. Purple, as a flat brand chrome, does not exist here.
+ *
+ * All values are linear-ish sRGB hex; the helpers return 0..1 rgb for WGSL
+ * uniforms. Keep this file free of Svelte/DOM imports so shaders + adapters +
+ * components can all share it.
+ */
+
+/** Parse '#rrggbb' → [r,g,b] in 0..1. Falls back to blackwater on bad input. */
+export function rgb01(hex: string): [number, number, number] {
+	const m = /^#?([0-9a-fA-F]{6})$/.exec(hex.trim());
+	if (!m) return [0x02 / 255, 0x03 / 255, 0x07 / 255];
+	const v = parseInt(m[1], 16);
+	return [((v >> 16) & 0xff) / 255, ((v >> 8) & 0xff) / 255, (v & 0xff) / 255];
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Base medium — the blackwater the whole organism lives in.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+export const MEDIUM = {
+	blackwater: '#020307', // absolute background; NEVER tinted purple
+	anaerobic: '#07100D', // nutrient medium, green-black low field
+	cyanFog: '#0B171B', // deep cyan-black parallax fog
+	sediment: '#11140A' // old-memory amber-black sediment
+} as const;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Living memory / FSRS retention — the oxygen gradient.
+// sediment → amber debt → healthy green → luciferin white as retention rises.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+export const RETENTION = {
+	luciferin: '#E9FFB7', // >= 0.86 newly retrievable, hot white-green
+	healthy: '#A8FF5E', // 0.65–0.86 stable
+	recall: '#29F2A9', // active recall / excitation wave (activation > p90)
+	bridge: '#1BD6FF', // remote association / semantic bridge
+	latent: '#315CFF', // deep latent, low activation but structurally present
+	debt: '#8A4B18', // 0.25–0.45 forgetting debt / dehydrated trace
+	extinction: '#2A160B' // < 0.25 near-extinction sediment
+} as const;
+
+/** Ordered retention stops (low→high) for a continuous WGSL ramp. */
+export const RETENTION_RAMP: readonly string[] = [
+	RETENTION.extinction,
+	RETENTION.debt,
+	RETENTION.healthy,
+	RETENTION.luciferin
+];
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Trust / verifier / immune system — membranes and macrophages.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+export const IMMUNE = {
+	trustMembrane: '#F4F1D0', // high-trust warm ivory edge
+	caution: '#FFD166', // caution verdict / yellow immune flare
+	veto: '#FF3B30', // veto / contradiction injury
+	suppressionScar: '#B90D2B', // permanent red-black suppression lacquer
+	labile: '#FF7A1A' // reversible labile suppression window
+} as const;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Causality / RSB — the signature. Magenta lives ONLY here.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+export const CAUSAL = {
+	forward: '#00F5D4', // forward recall signal
+	retrograde: '#FF2DF7', // backward causal backfill axon — RSB ONLY
+	receiptSpark: '#FFFFFF' // one-frame causal-receipt proof spark at edge write
+} as const;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Bitemporal / audit — growth rings. Indigo lives ONLY here.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+export const BITEMPORAL = {
+	validRing: '#6BFFB8', // valid-time growth ring
+	txShadow: '#7C6CFF', // transaction-time shadow (indigo, parallax only)
+	supersession: '#FFB000' // supersession amber cut-line
+} as const;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// System health / stats — vitals.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+export const VITALS = {
+	throughput: '#9DFFEB', // cool system flow
+	backlog: '#FF4FD8' // backlog pressure — ONLY when queue growth is real
+} as const;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Retention → color (continuous). Mirrors the WGSL ramp so CPU labels and GPU
+// cells agree. `r` is retrievability 0..1.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+export function retentionColor(r: number): [number, number, number] {
+	const t = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, r));
+	// piecewise across the 4 ramp stops
+	const stops = RETENTION_RAMP.map(rgb01);
+	const seg = t * (stops.length - 1);
+	const i = Math.min(stops.length - 2, Math.floor(seg));
+	const f = seg - i;
+	const a = stops[i];
+	const b = stops[i + 1];
+	return [a[0] + (b[0] - a[0]) * f, a[1] + (b[1] - a[1]) * f, a[2] + (b[2] - a[2]) * f];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Event type → the impulse color it injects into the organism. Drives the Feed
+ * bloodstream, the LiveBridge reactions, and per-organ event pulses. Only real
+ * VestigeEvent variants appear here (the discipline test lives at the source).
+ */
+export const EVENT_IMPULSE: Record<string, string> = {
+	MemoryCreated: RETENTION.healthy, // cells condense from nutrient noise
+	SearchPerformed: CAUSAL.forward, // cyan chemoattractant wave
+	ActivationSpread: RETENTION.recall, // green/teal excitation along real paths
+	ImportanceScored: BITEMPORAL.supersession, // gold-white enzyme deposit
+	RetentionDecayed: RETENTION.debt, // amber dehydration front
+	ConnectionDiscovered: CAUSAL.forward, // a new axon grows
+	DeepReferenceCompleted: RETENTION.luciferin, // the reasoning organ lights
+	BackfillFired: CAUSAL.retrograde, // magenta retrograde axon
+	CausalReceipt: CAUSAL.retrograde,
+	MemorySuppressed: IMMUNE.suppressionScar, // macrophage engulfs the cell
+	MemoryUnsuppressed: IMMUNE.labile,
+	MemoryPromoted: RETENTION.luciferin,
+	MemoryDemoted: RETENTION.debt,
+	MemoryPrOpened: IMMUNE.caution, // translucent immune proposal capsule
+	MemoryPrDecided: IMMUNE.trustMembrane,
+	HookVerdictRecorded: IMMUNE.veto,
+	TraceEvent: CAUSAL.forward,
+	DreamStarted: BITEMPORAL.txShadow,
+	DreamCompleted: BITEMPORAL.validRing,
+	Rac1CascadeSwept: IMMUNE.suppressionScar
+};
+
+/** Impulse rgb for a VestigeEvent type (blackwater fallback for unknowns). */
+export function eventImpulse01(type: string): [number, number, number] {
+	return rgb01(EVENT_IMPULSE[type] ?? MEDIUM.blackwater);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Trust → membrane thickness (world units, matched to the metaball edge width in
+ * the field pass). complete evidence = continuous thick ring; low trust = thin
+ * perforated ring. `trust` is 0..1.
+ */
+export function membraneWidth(trust: number): number {
+	const t = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, trust));
+	return 0.003 + (0.018 - 0.003) * t;
+}
diff --git a/apps/dashboard/src/lib/observatory/route-scene.ts b/apps/dashboard/src/lib/observatory/route-scene.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef96e0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/dashboard/src/lib/observatory/route-scene.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+/**
+ * RouteSceneModel — the shared contract between a route's data adapter and its
+ * RouteStage WebGPU organ (design council Opus 4.8 × GPT-5.5, Jul 8 2026).
+ *
+ * The discipline test is enforced HERE, in the type system: every visual
+ * primitive MUST carry a `source` provenance (a real memory id, event, receipt,
+ * or a named real scalar). A hero that can't name its source doesn't ship.
+ * Swap the backend value for Math.random() and `source` becomes a lie the code
+ * review catches.
+ *
+ * Adapters (`*-scene.ts`) turn API/WebSocket responses into this model; the
+ * RouteStage renders it through the shared engine + cognitive field pass. Pure
+ * data — no Svelte/DOM/GPU imports.
+ */
+
+/** The organs of the Cognitive OS — one per transformed route. */
+export type RouteOrgan =
+	| 'reasoning'
+	| 'timeline'
+	| 'feed'
+	| 'schedule'
+	| 'duplicates'
+	| 'contradictions'
+	| 'patterns'
+	| 'memories'
+	| 'explore'
+	| 'importance'
+	| 'activation'
+	| 'dreams'
+	| 'intentions'
+	| 'blackbox'
+	| 'memory-prs'
+	| 'stats'
+	| 'settings';
+
+/**
+ * Provenance for a primitive — the discipline-test receipt. Every node/edge/
+ * event/label points to something REAL. `kind` says what backend fact backs it.
+ */
+export interface Provenance {
+	kind: 'memory' | 'event' | 'receipt' | 'pair' | 'trace' | 'pr' | 'pattern' | 'scalar';
+	/** The real id (memory id, receipt id, run id, pair key, …). */
+	id: string;
+	/** For kind:'scalar' — the named metric + its real value (e.g. 'dueForReview'). */
+	scalar?: { name: string; value: number };
+}
+
+/** A living cell — a memory or record rendered in the organism. */
+export interface RouteNode {
+	source: Provenance;
+	/** Stable index in the GPU buffer (assigned by the adapter). */
+	index: number;
+	label: string;
+	/** FSRS retrievability 0..1 — the oxygen level. Drives hue + cracking. */
+	retention: number;
+	/** FSRS stability in days — drives radius (sqrt) + sedimentation depth. */
+	stability?: number;
+	/** ISO last-access — drives live decay recompute (fsrs.ts). */
+	lastAccessed?: string;
+	/** 0..1 activation concentration — halo opacity + chemotaxis. */
+	activation?: number;
+	/** 0..1 trust / verifier confidence — membrane thickness. */
+	trust?: number;
+	/** suppression count (>0 = scarred). */
+	suppression?: number;
+	tags: string[];
+	type: string;
+}
+
+/** A tension-bearing fiber (axon), not a line. Weight tightens it. */
+export interface RouteEdge {
+	source: Provenance;
+	sourceIndex: number;
+	targetIndex: number;
+	weight: number;
+	/** Real connection type — 'causal' fires the retrograde grammar. */
+	kind: string;
+}
+
+/** A discrete cognitive event to animate (from the live feed or a receipt). */
+export interface RouteEvent {
+	source: Provenance;
+	/** VestigeEvent type — maps to an impulse color (cognitive-palette). */
+	type: string;
+	/** Target node index if the event binds to a cell, else -1. */
+	targetIndex: number;
+	/** Monotonic frame it fired (assigned by the LiveBridge / adapter). */
+	frame: number;
+	/** Free scalar (energy, confidence, cascade count, …). */
+	energy: number;
+}
+
+/** A named proof the organ can etch as an MSDF scar / open on click. */
+export interface RouteReceipt {
+	source: Provenance;
+	label: string;
+	/** Node indices this receipt lights (evidence, path, pair). */
+	nodeIndices: number[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * The full scene an organ renders. `scalars` holds route-level real metrics
+ * (endangered fraction, due count, similarity threshold, …) that drive global
+ * field behavior. Every entry traces to a real backend fact.
+ */
+export interface RouteSceneModel {
+	organ: RouteOrgan;
+	nodes: RouteNode[];
+	edges: RouteEdge[];
+	events: RouteEvent[];
+	receipts: RouteReceipt[];
+	/** Route-level real metrics (name → value). */
+	scalars: Record<string, number>;
+	/** True when the organ has real data; false → honest empty state. */
+	alive: boolean;
+}
+
+/** An empty, honest scene — the field breathes, nothing is invented. */
+export function emptyScene(organ: RouteOrgan): RouteSceneModel {
+	return { organ, nodes: [], edges: [], events: [], receipts: [], scalars: {}, alive: false };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Dev-only discipline assertion: every node/edge/event/receipt must carry a
+ * `source`. Call in adapters (behind import.meta.env.DEV) so a screensaver
+ * primitive — one with no real provenance — trips the review before it ships.
+ */
+export function assertProvenance(scene: RouteSceneModel): void {
+	const bad: string[] = [];
+	const check = (arr: { source?: Provenance }[], what: string) => {
+		arr.forEach((p, i) => {
+			if (!p.source || !p.source.kind || (!p.source.id && !p.source.scalar)) {
+				bad.push(`${what}[${i}]`);
+			}
+		});
+	};
+	check(scene.nodes, 'node');
+	check(scene.edges, 'edge');
+	check(scene.events, 'event');
+	check(scene.receipts, 'receipt');
+	if (bad.length > 0) {
+		throw new Error(
+			`[discipline-test] ${scene.organ}: ${bad.length} primitive(s) without real provenance: ${bad
+				.slice(0, 8)
+				.join(', ')}. Every hero primitive must point to a real memory/event/receipt/scalar.`
+		);
+	}
+}