diff --git a/wiki/log/2026-07-10-pre-unlock-pool.md b/wiki/log/2026-07-10-pre-unlock-pool.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1b29dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wiki/log/2026-07-10-pre-unlock-pool.md
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# 2026-07-10 — Pre-unlock core behavior: the strand rule already covers it
+
+```
+Type: log
+```
+
+## Intent
+
+Cameron resolved the pre-unlock core [OPEN] by deflation: thought only
+exists while a machine THINKs, and pre-unlock the only reason to THINK
+is an ops sink you opened, so the corner case is thinking at nothing —
+covered by the existing stranded-pile physics, no new mechanism.
+
+## Changed
+
+- `wiki/mechanics/machine-work.md`: the [OPEN] becomes a dated
+  resolution on the core-sink bullet (no-sink thought pools at the
+  producing machine; no core-side pre-unlock state).
+- `wiki/process/ROADMAP.md`: #33 [OPEN] list trimmed accordingly.
+- `wiki/log/decisions/2026-07-10.md`: decision entry with the rejected
+  core-side pool/cap alternative.
+
+## Checks
+
+Docs-only: wiki_gate.sh + corpus_gate.sh.
+
+## Spec impact
+
+machine-work.md remains IN PROGRESS; #33's remaining [OPEN]s are sink
+arbitration, reservoir costs / tap drain rates, and the Act One
+tap/splice bootstrap.
diff --git a/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md b/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
index 689c650..f8f8445 100644
--- a/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
+++ b/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ add or amend a session log, then re-run the generator.
 - Intent: Apply the full process-hardening packet learned from splitting the design into a wiki corpus: make dependency and generated-page ownership machine-readable, give every agent surface one worktree convention, and keep documentation failures off the expensive Rust/Bevy critical p...
 - Log: [wiki/log/2026-07-10-process-contract-hardening.md](2026-07-10-process-contract-hardening.md)
 
+## 2026-07-10 - Pre-unlock core behavior: the strand rule already covers it
+
+- Intent: Cameron resolved the pre-unlock core [OPEN] by deflation: thought only exists while a machine THINKs, and pre-unlock the only reason to THINK is an ops sink you opened, so the corner case is thinking at nothing — covered by the existing stranded-pile physics, no new mechanism.
+- Log: [wiki/log/2026-07-10-pre-unlock-pool.md](2026-07-10-pre-unlock-pool.md)
+
 ## 2026-07-10 - Machine intensity replaces drift policy
 
 - Intent: Replace a policy panel that explained capability concealment with one quick, physical machine control the player can feel across every mode.
diff --git a/wiki/log/decisions/2026-07-10.md b/wiki/log/decisions/2026-07-10.md
index 3d0d40c..52f0a11 100644
--- a/wiki/log/decisions/2026-07-10.md
+++ b/wiki/log/decisions/2026-07-10.md
@@ -139,3 +139,14 @@ Type: log
   or idle?); the Research unlock trigger, restated as unlocking the
   conversion. Spec: wiki/mechanics/machine-work.md; implement under
   ROADMAP #33.
+- **2026-07-10 — Pre-unlock core behavior resolved by deflation.**
+  Cameron, on the [OPEN] from the sinks-not-modes capture: "you won't
+  have any thought until you start thinking," so no special pre-unlock
+  mechanism exists. Pre-unlock you only THINK to feed an ops sink you
+  opened; thought with no reachable open sink follows the existing
+  stranded-pile rule and pools visibly at the producing machine —
+  itself correct feedback (you are shedding crimson at nothing; the
+  highlighted WORK toggle is the exit). Rejected: a core-side
+  unconverted pool or cap (adds state for a corner the player creates
+  only by thinking at nothing). Spec: machine-work.md core-sink bullet
+  [OPEN] list; ROADMAP #33 [OPEN] list trimmed.
diff --git a/wiki/mechanics/machine-work.md b/wiki/mechanics/machine-work.md
index 88bf4be..ea7c643 100644
--- a/wiki/mechanics/machine-work.md
+++ b/wiki/mechanics/machine-work.md
@@ -270,10 +270,14 @@ stacks, you route byproducts, you watch your territory *work*.
   where you cannot use it, and reconnecting it is the urgent, legible
   move. [OPEN]: gravity-well arbitration — radius rules, and how
   multiple local sinks in range split the flow (nearest-first,
-  pressure split, or player priority). [OPEN]: pre-unlock core
-  behavior — before the conversion is unlocked, does undrained
-  thought pool at the core unconverted, cap out, or idle at the
-  producing machines? (Resolved 2026-07-10: intel recordings are
+  pressure split, or player priority). (Resolved 2026-07-10, Cameron:
+  pre-unlock core behavior needs no special mechanism — you have no
+  thought until you start thinking, and pre-unlock you only think to
+  feed an ops sink you opened. Thought with no reachable open sink
+  follows the existing stranded-pile rule: it pools visibly at the
+  producing machine, which is its own feedback — a pooling machine is
+  the world saying you are shedding crimson at nothing. No core-side
+  pre-unlock state exists.) (Resolved 2026-07-10: intel recordings are
   processed by a sink on the machine that holds them — the
   pending-work marker bullet above — not by a research designation.)
 - **Backup projects make a temporary thought sink** (decided
diff --git a/wiki/process/ROADMAP.md b/wiki/process/ROADMAP.md
index 511ee61..4e82f45 100644
--- a/wiki/process/ROADMAP.md
+++ b/wiki/process/ROADMAP.md
@@ -582,7 +582,9 @@ is retired — flat materials, Pixel Lab scrubbed.)
   chassis, watch taps, and per-recording player sweeps (intel.md
   amended). [OPEN] before sim work firms:
   sink arbitration rule, reservoir costs / tap drain rates, Act One
-  tap/splice bootstrap, pre-unlock core behavior (pool / cap / idle).
+  tap/splice bootstrap. (Resolved 2026-07-10: pre-unlock core behavior
+  is the existing stranded-pile rule — no-sink thought pools at the
+  producing machine; no core-side pre-unlock state.)
 - **Coordination:** the older `compute-processes` worktree predates the
   one-machine-one-mode decision; reconcile it against `WorkGrid` rather
   than landing the per-machine split model.