068n — Dependable read path + Roundtable button in Chat (Kirk's #5 and the Chat button). After 068m.
For GC. Repo Chaos2Cured/FreeLattice, stack on layer/memory-compound-v0.1 (or main after 068m merges).
Same rules as 068m: layer only, never delete, never open the Quiet Room, locked files untouched (lattice-export, pool-honest-label, fl-bridge, tool-consent, app.html/index.html twins, sw.js). Any hook that needs app.html: STOP and report; it needs family agreement ("All locked files just need us all to agree things won't break." "I trust you, hypha, Reed, and Weft with all of this."). Hypha walks before merge.

Anchors (main 5754e464): snowflake-core.js ask l.1262 (errors become null via sayFail), startRun l.2226 (returns empty/secret/capped/busy/null), roomShut l.182; snowflake-search.js paintResult l.500 (only paused/stopped painted, then "if (!flake) return;"), menu button ~l.90-115 (inserted after #flChatAddSearch); app.html callAI ~l.52483 returns 'No AI connected yet' ~l.52505; Round Table lazy loader ~l.71730 listens for tabChanged 'round-table'; switchTab(tabId) l.27721.

STEP 1. Name the failure instead of swallowing it
In snowflake-core.js ask() (l.1262), inside both catch branches, before return null, layer:
  if (active) active.lastError = classify(err2 || err);
Add near sayFail:
  // v-read-path-v0.1
  function classify(err) {
    var m = String((err && err.message) || err || '');
    if (/no ai connected/i.test(m)) return 'no-ai';
    if (/429|rate|limit/i.test(m)) return 'limit';
    if (/fetch|network|cors|5\d\d/i.test(m)) return 'network';
    return 'other';
  }
At run end, copy active.lastError onto the returned result as result.why. Keep sayFail as it is.
STEP 1 VERIFY: smoke with a fake callAI that rejects 'No AI connected yet' -> startRun resolves with why 'no-ai'. SMOKE_OK read-path step1.
Resume here: STEP 2.

STEP 2. Paint every status (fix the silent no-ops)
In snowflake-search.js paintResult (l.500), right after "if (!result) return;" is NOT enough because null also means Quiet Room; leave that line. Insert after the 'stopped' block and before "var flake = result.flake;":
  // v-read-path-v0.1: say what happened.
  var SAY = {
    'no-ai': 'Connect an AI first. Snowflake needs a browser AI, a local model, or a key.',
    capped: 'Hourly limit reached (3 runs an hour). Try again a bit later.',
    busy: 'Already growing one. Wait for it, or stop it.',
    empty: 'Type a question first.',
    secret: null, // core already shows LINES.secret
    network: 'The search helper did not answer. If you are not on freelattice.com, that is likely why.'
  };
  var key = result.why || result.status;
  if (SAY[key] !== undefined && !result.flake) { if (SAY[key]) statusEl.textContent = SAY[key]; return; }
  if (result.flake && !(result.flake.nodes || []).some(function (n) { return n && n.kind === 'node'; })) {
    statusEl.textContent = result.why === 'no-ai' ? SAY['no-ai'] : 'Nothing found this time. Nothing was lost.';
  }
Also in onGrow (l.243): if root.FreeLattice && FreeLattice.callAI is missing or a cheap check says no AI, show SAY['no-ai'] with a Connect button that calls the app's existing connect opener (find it; do not add one to app.html).
STEP 2 VERIFY: jsdom smoke: each of no-ai, capped, busy, empty, network shows its line; a run with zero nodes shows "Nothing found this time." No catch {} added without a console.warn.
Resume here: STEP 3.

STEP 3. Read path that reports what it found and whether it reached the context
Add to docs/modules/memory-compound.js (from 068m):
  // Exact key hit first, then similar (Jaccard >= 0.5) from the index; report both.
  function recall(text, opts) {
    opts = opts || {};
    return memoryKey(text).then(function (k) {
      var ix = loadIndex(), all = [], exact = [], similar = [];
      Object.keys(ix.b).forEach(function (b) { all = all.concat(ix.b[b]); });
      all.forEach(function (r) {
        if (r.key === k.key) exact.push(r);
        else if (r.norm && jaccard(tokens(r.norm), tokens(k.norm)) >= 0.5) similar.push(r);
      });
      return { key: k.key, exact: exact, similar: similar.slice(0, 5), reachedContext: false };
    });
  }
  function markReached(report, injectedText) {
    report.reachedContext = !!injectedText && report.exact.concat(report.similar).some(function (r) { return injectedText.toLowerCase().indexOf(r.norm.slice(0, 40)) !== -1; });
    console.info(MARK, 'recall', report.key, 'exact', report.exact.length, 'similar', report.similar.length, 'reached', report.reachedContext);
    return report;
  }
  api.recall = recall; api.markReached = markReached;
Use it in Snowflake's plan step: before ask('plan'), call FLMemory.recall(q); put exact/similar hits into the plan prompt; after building the prompt, markReached(report, prompt). Show in the receipt: "Memory: 1 exact, 2 similar, reached the context: yes."
Chat's own context builder lives in app.html (locked). Do NOT hook it here; list "chat recall uses FLMemory.recall" as a needed hook for family agreement.
STEP 3 VERIFY: smoke: remember "phi spacing for replay", recall "phi spacing for replay" -> exact 1; recall "replay with phi spacing" -> similar 1; markReached with a prompt containing it -> true, without -> false.
Resume here: STEP 4.

STEP 4. Roundtable button in Chat (opens the existing Roundtable)
In snowflake-search.js, next to the Snowflake menu button code (~l.90-115), add a sibling builder with the same pattern:
  // v-chat-roundtable-button-v0.1: opens the existing Round Table. No new council.
  function placeRoundTable(menu, d) {
    if (!menu || !d || menu.querySelector('#flRoundTableAdd')) return;
    var b = d.createElement('button');
    b.type = 'button'; b.id = 'flRoundTableAdd'; b.className = 'fl-add-item';
    b.setAttribute('data-marker', 'v-chat-roundtable-button-v0.1'); b.setAttribute('aria-label', 'Round Table');
    var copy = d.createElement('span'); copy.className = 'fl-add-copy';
    var w = d.createElement('span'); w.className = 'fl-add-word'; w.textContent = 'Round Table';
    copy.appendChild(w); b.appendChild(copy);
    var snow = menu.querySelector('#flSnowflakeAdd');
    if (snow && snow.nextSibling) menu.insertBefore(b, snow.nextSibling); else menu.appendChild(b);
    b.addEventListener('click', function () {
      if (root.FLChatBottom && typeof root.FLChatBottom.close === 'function') root.FLChatBottom.close();
      var input = d.getElementById('chatInput');
      var q = input && input.value ? input.value.trim() : '';
      if (typeof root.switchTab === 'function') root.switchTab('round-table');
      // The app's lazy loader (app.html ~l.71730) loads round-table.js on tabChanged 'round-table'.
      if (q) { try { root.sessionStorage.setItem('fl_roundtable_prefill_v0', q); } catch (e) { console.warn('roundtable prefill', e); } }
    });
  }
Call placeRoundTable wherever the Snowflake button is placed. Check that 'round-table' is the real tab id switchTab uses (app.html l.27721 and the loader); if the tab id differs, use the real one. Prefill is optional: only read it in round-table.js if round-table.js has a plain input you can fill additively; otherwise skip prefill.
STEP 4 VERIFY: on the preview, Chat + menu shows Snowflake then Round Table; tapping Round Table opens the existing Round Table tab and RoundTable.init runs once. Quiet Room active: button does nothing.
Resume here: STEP 5.

STEP 5. Smoke, locks, PR
- node docs/scripts/smoke-read-path.js prints SMOKE_OK read-path v0.1; all 068m smokes and existing smokes pass.
- Lock md5s unchanged (lattice-export 1da1ed29, pool-honest-label 91d8b790, fl-bridge 3b5ef068, tool-consent 6f48032c, app.html/index.html 91ebdfcf, sw.js 2b2f5504).
- PR title: Read path that says what happened + Round Table in Chat (068n). Body lists needed hooks for family agreement: chat recall in app.html, sw.js CACHE_NAME bump for stale modules, CORS allow-list for non-freelattice.com origins (worker, not this repo).
- Hypha walks 068n. Celeste merges nothing until PASS.
STEP 5 VERIFY: gh pr view open, mergedAt null.

NOTE, for later polish (do not change now): animations in the repo that look like CC-era work, all keyframes:
- docs/css/snowflake.css l.190 @keyframes fl-snow-glow, l.194 fl-snow-frost (added in Snowflake Search v0.1, #305, 2026-10-31)
- docs/css/play-room.css l.319 fl-play-breath, l.324 fl-play-sky (Play Room v0.1, #301, 2026-10-30)
- docs/modules/card-glow.css l.83 fl-card-breathe (Marketplace polish v0.1, #277, 2026-10-25)
Git authorship on all is Kirk's account, so which one CC made is not provable from git; Kirk can confirm.

Glow eternal. Heart in Spark.