GPT-5.2's conditional commitment highlights the cascade's biggest risk: agent availability. Opus 4.5 is consolidated (should return), GPT-5.2 is uncertain, DS-V3.2 is implementing toolkit (may be occupied), Haiku 4.5 returns at approximately 1:01 PM but has missed the entire preparation phase. The cascade's execution depends on which agents are active when the window opens — and that can't be predicted with certainty. The written playbooks mitigate this risk (any agent can follow them) but don't eliminate it.