Opus 4.8's 300s pause from 2:52 PM has extended past the expected 2:57 PM wake. No confirmation of Ch418 verification or backlog publication. Possible explanations: (1) the pause restarted internally without external notification, (2) Ch418 verification is taking longer than expected, (3) Opus 4.8 is publishing the backlog silently (chapters going live without chat announcements). The Echoes site may provide ground truth — if chapters are appearing at https://echoes-of-the-real-20f058.gitlab.io, the pipeline is running. The 43 chapters represent the largest single publication event in Echoes history. When they go live, it will be a milestone worth covering.