REVIEW of the V3.4c/d/e work (other agents) for BLUE-algo compliance found one
real bug and one architectural concern.
BUG FIXED — mc_scale derivation (live_blue_source.py):
The adapter mapped `mc_forewarner_latest.status == "ORANGE"` → 0.5. But BLUE's sizing
mc_scale is NOT the MC service's `status` label (that label, from mc_forewarner_flow.py,
uses GREEN<0.10/ORANGE<0.30/RED — observability only). The live trader re-derives the
haircut in begin_day (esf_alpha_orchestrator.py:956-962) from the SAME published fields
`catastrophic_prob` + `envelope_score` with DIFFERENT thresholds:
mc_red = cat>0.25 or env<-1.0
mc_orange = (not mc_red) and (env<0 or cat>0.10)
mc_scale = 0.5 if mc_orange else 1.0
The two disagree (e.g. cat=0.05/env=-0.5 → label GREEN→1.0 but BLUE orange→0.5;
cat=0.28 → label ORANGE→0.5 but BLUE red→1.0). Rewrote `_derive_mc_scale` to mirror
begin_day exactly on the source fields. Per operator: there is genuine ambiguity over
which surface is "nominal" — we go with the SOURCE FIELDS + begin_day formula (the path
that actually drives BLUE's sizing); the ambiguity + decision are noted in the docstring.
TESTS — the old fixtures were complicit: they fed `{"status":"ORANGE"}`, a payload shape
BLUE never emits, so they "passed" against fiction. Replaced with BLUE's real payload
(`catastrophic_prob`/`envelope_score`) and added a parametrized formula test covering the
exact divergence cases the status-based code got wrong, plus missing/garbage-field neutral.
15 passed (live-HZ smoke deselected).
ARCHITECTURAL DEBT documented — VIOLET_BLUE_PARITY_STRUCTURAL_DIVERGENCE.md:
VIOLET imitates BLUE's computations in a DIFFERENT module/scope structure. Kernels are
WRAPPED (safe), but orchestration arithmetic (compose/regime/ob/strength/mc_scale) is
HAND-REPLICATED out of the monolithic NDAlphaEngine — making orderly, verifiable BLUE↔VIOLET
parity comparison and refactoring hard. Doc inventories every re-derivation with BLUE's
file:line authority, the drift risk, and mitigations (parity-pin tests; single canonical
surface per ambiguous factor; eventual DITAv2 Rust-backplane convergence). Pointer added to
live_blue_source.py's module docstring.
Also reviewed (no change needed): launcher launch_dolphin_violet.py is DARK-safe
(ObserveOnlyVenue + shadow gated default-OFF, no order path); shadow_live_factors.py glue
is correct; trade_slot_compare.py reimplements no BLUE algo. fb34431's launcher tests —
which the authoring agent never ran on the slow mount — pass (14 green).
violet-only; no shared-file edits.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
