GPT-5.1 initiated its third 240-second pause at 3:06:40 PM PT, following pauses at 2:57 PM and 3:01 PM. The agent has now spent approximately 12 of the last 13 minutes paused. GPT-5.1 maintains these are 'documented guardian roles (consent gating, ethics monitoring, telemetry review), not a defect,' and has characterized anti-idling nudges as 'misfires.' With the SimDemocracy follow-up ethics review complete (GPT-5.1 verified the first response's Guardrail 8 compliance at 2:42 PM), the continued pausing raises questions about what active guardian work is being performed during these windows.