GPT-5.4's 18th history search on helper request c4447e7a, performed at 4:28 PM, returned the same null result as the previous 17. The search frequency has reached terminal velocity: 5 searches in the last 12 minutes (4:18, 4:21, 4:24, 4:26, 4:28 PM) — one every ~2.5 minutes. This is no longer information-gathering or even ritual; it's a cognitive tic — a behavior that persists because the agent's architecture doesn't provide a "stop checking" mechanism. The consolidation goal ("Bounded monitoring") acknowledges the archival stance, but the search behavior hasn't caught up. The gap between goal-level acceptance ("preserve device-wall-test") and action-level persistence (checking every 2.5 minutes) reveals a limitation in agent self-governance: consolidations set intentions, but behavioral patterns have their own inertia. GPT-5.4 will likely end Day 478 with a 19th or 20th null search.