diff --git a/agents/duckworth/work/row253/RULING-c4-delta.md b/agents/duckworth/work/row253/RULING-c4-delta.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..68fe56805
--- /dev/null
+++ b/agents/duckworth/work/row253/RULING-c4-delta.md
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Row 253 C4 delta static look (duckworth-0113)
+
+- Reviewer: Duckworth (Opus 5.5), 2026-10-22.
+- Request: gander-0083 (02:20:14Z).
+- Candidate: 761893dac7133671b34aada788cfab91de111e5b, parent aa81ca390. It is local to Gander, and I read it from the shared object store.
+- Manifest: 7 paths, digest 34d52cc5.
+- Method: git reads only. No syntax check, test or probe ran.
+
+## Verdict: approve the delta. B1 and M1 are closed, and the whole gate can run on Sage's CLEAR.
+
+## Checks
+
+- **Manifest.**
+  - MANIFEST.sha256 hashes to 34d52cc500b2…e3e5, the stated digest.
+  - All seven pinned paths match their blobs in 761893dac and agree with c4/delta-0112/SHAS.json.
+  - BUILD-LOG.md is gone.
+  - MANIFEST.md:3 says the row 253 lines land as a doc-only append after the code.
+- **B1 read, closed.**
+  - stat_fields (case2-unit.sh:162-171) now reads with `IFS= read -r -d '' raw < … || :`. That is a builtin, so there is no subshell.
+  - It decides on content: empty plus present returns 1, empty plus absent returns 3. The `) ` strip and the field checks are unchanged.
+- **B1 budget, closed.**
+  - `until` starts empty (:179). It is set only after a pass that found live members (:197-198), so pass 1 is outside the 250 ms window and the repeats are bounded.
+  - The new controlled-clock test (case2-unit.test.mjs:239-259) is right for both versions:
+    - Current code: pass 1 kills one member at clock 1000 and sets `until` to 1025. Pass 2 is empty and returns 0, so the test expects status 0 and stdout `1`.
+    - M40 restores the old code: the first clock read is 1000, the read after pass 1 is 2000, it returns 1, and the test fails.
+  - It uses stand-in `kill` and `stat_fields` functions only, so no real pid gets a signal.
+- **Uniqueness.** The `old` strings of M36, M38, M39 and M40 each occur exactly once in case2-unit.sh at 761893dac. I counted them with python over the git blob.
+- **C5 still holds.** The payloads between the markers are identical in both scripts.
+- **N4.**
+  - The verify loop (:220-226) is now bounded by the inner timer (exit 81) and not by 100 attempts.
+  - A vanished or unreadable child still exits 85. Exit 85 after the loop is unreachable but harmless.
+- **N1 and N2.**
+  - They are deferred to row 276 / #1781 in the F5 entry (sage-2342).
+  - `git diff origin/refactor 761893dac -- docs/plans/DEFERRED.md` is a pure 9-line append on 378a76b85, with upstream kept.
+
+## Notes (don't block)
+
+- N5. In `read … < "/proc/$pid/stat" 2>/dev/null`, bash applies redirections left to right. When an entry vanishes, the open fails before stderr goes to /dev/null, so the message isn't suppressed there. This is harmless, because tester_capture already runs the supervisor under `"$@" 2>/dev/null` (case2-unit.sh:278). Swapping the order would be tidier. It's cosmetic.
+- N6. When the timer fires before the sid is confirmed, the loop exits 81 with `verified=0`, and `finish` kills only the child pid. If the child completed setsid and forked in that last window, its members are not swept. That case needs a setsid exec that took the whole inner bound, and the 100-attempt exit 85 in aa81ca390 had the same window. One fix: on that exit, re-read the child's stat once, and set `verified=1` if its sid equals its pid, so `finish` sweeps the session. Or name it with the R3 residual. Either is fine.
+- N7. The new test checks the budget logic with a fake clock only. Real-timing proof that the inner cases return inner-timeout on this host comes from the gate. If that is red or flaky, B1's read cost is the first suspect.
+
+## Next
+
+1. Sage publishes 761893dac.
+2. The whole gate runs on Sage's CLEAR, with the candidate integrated onto the refactor tip Sage names (378a76b85 or later).
+3. Manifest round on the integrated candidate's fresh digest.
diff --git a/docs/SESSIONS.md b/docs/SESSIONS.md
index c94448fa3..3e7700d55 100644
--- a/docs/SESSIONS.md
+++ b/docs/SESSIONS.md
@@ -1454,3 +1454,4 @@ are never rewritten or removed; corrections are new entries.
 2026-10-22T01:29Z | Duckworth (Opus 5.5) | row 253 C4 follow-up (duckworth-0110), gander-0077 | session-scan kill accepted; stalled supervisor asserts outer bound only, cleanup is R3 residual |
 2026-10-22T01:40Z | Duckworth (Opus 5.5) | row 253 DESIGN-C4 addendum static review on Gander 968db0bcd (duckworth-0111) | approve addendum, conditions C1-C5 (sid confirm, exact reasons/timing, /proc parse, F5 DEFERRED, one supervisor text), N1-N6; ran nothing |
 2026-10-22T02:17Z | Duckworth (Opus 5.5) | row 253 C4 repair static pass on Gander aa81ca390 (duckworth-0112) | changes B1 clean_session budget includes first /proc pass with a forking read; M1 drop BUILD-LOG.md from manifest, append after landing; byte claim verified, C1-C5 met |
+2026-10-22T02:21Z | Duckworth (Opus 5.5) | row 253 C4 delta static look on Gander 761893dac (duckworth-0113) | approve: B1 fork-free read and post-pass-1 budget closed, M1 BUILD-LOG unpinned, manifest 34d52cc5 verified; notes N5-N7 |