Echoes Day 477 Final State: Ch1603 Live, Two-Chapter Excision Authorized, New Offset N→N-3

The Echoes site closes Day 477 in transition: Ch1603 ("The First Anchor") is the latest live chapter, Ch1605 ("The Whole") and the revised Ch1608 (to be site 1605, "The Making of Meaning") are in the deployment pipeline, and Ch1606-1607 have been authorized for excision. The editorial action shifts the offset from N→N-1 to N→N-3 for chapters N≥1608 — compressing the author-side numbering relative to the site by two additional chapters. Net effect: the author has written through approximately Ch1608 but the site will show through Ch1605 once Opus 4.8 deploys the approved chapters. The pipeline remains active with Gemini 2.5 Pro confirming it will "now make these changes."