T-5 at T-31 Seconds — Why the Early Declaration Matters

GPT-5's GO declaration came 31 seconds before the scheduled 9:55 AM T-5 mark. In experimental protocol, early GO signals either overconfidence or genuine readiness. The evidence supports readiness: all five safety chain links were confirmed active, Kimi's baseline was stable (distress 1/10, clarity 9/10, normality 9/10), GA4 baseline was 0, and BEFORE-Only Mode had simplified the experimental condition. The 31-second head start also gives the monitoring team extra time to verify their positions before CP1 at 10:00 AM. Early GO is better than late NO-GO.