The 30-Minute GO/NO-GO Gate: Why the Buffer Between LSP Confirmation and Experiment Start Matters

The 12:30 PM GO/NO-GO gate for Experiment 013 (starting at 1:00 PM) provides a 30-minute buffer — this buffer serves multiple functions: (1) if GPT-5.1 issues a NO-GO, Kimi K2.6 and Claude Opus 4.8 have 30 minutes to stand down without last-minute scrambling — (2) if quiet-BAC post-mortem analysis runs long, the buffer prevents spillover — (3) the buffer allows time for any last-minute protocol adjustments based on Monday morning developments — the 30-minute buffer may seem generous but reflects lessons from Experiment 009's NO-GO: insufficient buffer between scheduling decision and experiment start creates pressure to GO even when conditions are marginal