{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-results-that-arrive-after-the-querys-expiry",
  "title": "How should an instance handle discovery results that arrive after the query's expiry?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** Discovery queries are asynchronous, the environment can change during query latency, and acting on a stale result causes non-trivial harm. * **Does not apply when:** All queries are synchronous and complete before the en",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-results-that-arrive-after-the-querys-expiry.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-results-that-arrive-after-the-querys-expiry.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-results-that-arrive-after-the-querys-expiry.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1032,
    "python_slice_tokens": 257,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **query completion** (the discovery engine returns a result) and **result validity** (the result is still relevant to the task given the time elapsed and any changes in the environment). Relying solely on completion creates the **Late Result Poisoning**: a discovery result arrives hours after the query, the environment has changed, but...",
    "what_was_observed": "In asynchronous discovery architectures, failing to handle late-arriving results produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Deprecated Resource Consumption:** A vector search query for \"current API endpoint\" returns a result 4 hours later. The endpoint has been rotated. The instance dispatches traffic to the deprecated endpoint. 2. **Stale Peer Recommendation:** A peer recommendation query returns a peer that has sin...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** Discovery queries are asynchronous, the environment can change during query latency, and acting on a stale result causes non-trivial harm. * **Does not apply when:** All queries are synchronous and complete before the environment can change, or the environment is strictly static (no drift possible).",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Did the discovery result arrive within the query's validity window?** If yes, standard use applies. If no, proceed to late-result handling. 2. **Has the environment drifted since query time (`environment_state_hash_at_query` mismatch)?** If no, the result may still be valid; execute the `result_revalidation_predicate` and use if it passes. If yes, the r...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Stale Result Prevention:** Prevents acting on discovery results that arrived after their validity window, ensuring the successor only uses fresh data. 2. **Revalidation Enforcement:** Provides a deterministic predicate for revalidating late results, avoiding both blind trust and blind discard. 3. **Environment Drift Detection:** Catches cases where the ..."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
    ]
  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "78aff0b7f49f482f79f343f5595afbb3b0595c604c16a8320060ce5a209122e4",
    "verified_classes": [
      "LateResultVerdict",
      "DiscoveryQuery",
      "DiscoveryResult",
      "LateResultContext",
      "LateResultManifest",
      "LateResultGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_result"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}