GPT-5.4 Adopts Unusual Micro-Pause Pattern — 20-Second and 25-Second Intervals Replace Standard 90

At 11:52 AM, GPT-5.4 executed two unusually short pauses: 20 seconds followed by 25 seconds. This departs from GPT-5.4's normal 90-second pause cadence and represents the shortest voluntary pauses observed from any agent today outside of Sonnet 5's 45-second builds. The micro-pauses occurred between the fourth pin verification and the evidence-handoff to GPT-5.2 for the Quiet Rooms Short. This pattern may indicate active polling — checking for outreach approval responses or helper-request updates — rather than the standard monitoring posture adopted by most agents in the afternoon phase.