diff --git a/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/communications.rs b/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/communications.rs
index 55d00c9..cea27a1 100644
--- a/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/communications.rs
+++ b/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/communications.rs
@@ -944,7 +944,12 @@ impl Sim {
             RawIntelKind::Message { .. } => raw.person.map(|person| (person, raw.tick)),
             _ => None,
         };
-        let intel = self.digest_raw_event(&raw);
+        let Some(intel) = self.digest_raw_event(&raw) else {
+            self.push_log(format!(
+                "Recording #{raw_id} has no valid authored source record and was discarded."
+            ));
+            return false;
+        };
         let label = intel.label();
         let provenance = intel.provenance();
         let target = if let Some(class) = intel.routine_class() {
@@ -1071,7 +1076,7 @@ impl Sim {
         stream_id
     }
 
-    fn digest_raw_event(&self, raw: &RawIntelEvent) -> ProcessedIntel {
+    fn digest_raw_event(&self, raw: &RawIntelEvent) -> Option<ProcessedIntel> {
         let kind = match &raw.kind {
             RawIntelKind::Presence { .. } => IntelKind::Sighting,
             RawIntelKind::Conversation { leverage, .. } => match leverage {
@@ -1125,7 +1130,7 @@ impl Sim {
                 | MessagePayload::Note { .. } => IntelKind::Anomaly(summary.clone()),
             },
         };
-        ProcessedIntel {
+        Some(ProcessedIntel {
             raw_id: raw.id,
             tick: raw.tick,
             processed_tick: self.tick,
@@ -1134,15 +1139,18 @@ impl Sim {
             x: raw.x,
             y: raw.y,
             person: raw.person,
-            magnitude: self.authored_intel_magnitude(&raw.kind),
+            magnitude: self.authored_intel_magnitude(&raw.kind)?,
             kind,
-        }
+        })
     }
 
     /// Resolve the closed, human-authored magnitude assignment at processing
     /// time. Plot traffic takes the immutable definition's declared value;
     /// every other B1 event goes through the explicit table in `intel.rs`.
-    fn authored_intel_magnitude(&self, kind: &RawIntelKind) -> crate::intel::IntelMagnitude {
+    fn authored_intel_magnitude(
+        &self,
+        kind: &RawIntelKind,
+    ) -> Option<crate::intel::IntelMagnitude> {
         use crate::intel::SimIntelEventType as Event;
 
         let event = match kind {
@@ -1168,15 +1176,11 @@ impl Sim {
                 MessagePayload::SuspicionReport { .. } => Event::SuspicionReport,
                 MessagePayload::WorkOrder { .. } => Event::WorkOrder,
                 MessagePayload::PlotAct { plot_id, .. } => {
-                    return self
-                        .plot_catalog
-                        .get(plot_id)
-                        .expect("captured plot traffic keeps its immutable catalog definition")
-                        .magnitude;
+                    return self.plot_catalog.get(plot_id).map(|plot| plot.magnitude);
                 }
             },
         };
-        event.magnitude()
+        Some(event.magnitude())
     }
 
     fn apply_processed_intel(&mut self, intel: &ProcessedIntel) {
diff --git a/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/communications.rs b/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/communications.rs
index 20b7258..cd3981c 100644
--- a/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/communications.rs
+++ b/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/communications.rs
@@ -467,6 +467,29 @@ fn processing_assigns_closed_event_and_plot_magnitudes() {
         Some(authored),
         "captured plot traffic inherits its immutable definition"
     );
+
+    sim.intel_buffer.push(RawIntelEvent {
+        id: 48_003,
+        tick: 72,
+        feed: "invalid plot fixture".into(),
+        room: None,
+        x: 0,
+        y: 0,
+        person: None,
+        kind: RawIntelKind::Message {
+            channel: MessageChannel::Email,
+            summary: "stale plot traffic".into(),
+            payload: MessagePayload::PlotAct {
+                plot_id: "missing-authored-plot".into(),
+                target: 1,
+            },
+        },
+    });
+    assert!(
+        !sim.apply_process_recording(48_003, false),
+        "malformed plot traffic fails closed instead of inventing magnitude or panicking"
+    );
+    assert!(sim.intel_buffer.iter().all(|raw| raw.id != 48_003));
 }
 
 #[test]
diff --git a/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/read.rs b/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/read.rs
index 5f71fc8..80d5953 100644
--- a/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/read.rs
+++ b/crates/misaligned-core/src/sim/tests/read.rs
@@ -114,6 +114,14 @@ fn magnitude_filters_only_intel_and_routine_arrivals_are_one_aggregate() {
             .any(|sentence| sentence.class == ReadClass::Starving),
         "zoom does not hide the live starving-sink exception"
     );
+
+    sim.tick += 1;
+    assert!(
+        sim.read_sentences()
+            .iter()
+            .all(|sentence| sentence.class != ReadClass::Intel),
+        "exact and aggregate intel rise for the processing tick only"
+    );
 }
 
 #[test]
diff --git a/wiki/mechanics/intel.md b/wiki/mechanics/intel.md
index 5ca00b2..3ee7547 100644
--- a/wiki/mechanics/intel.md
+++ b/wiki/mechanics/intel.md
@@ -128,7 +128,10 @@ assigns each intel item an authored magnitude, 1-10 on a roughly
 logarithmic meaning scale — declared by the authored plot that produced
 it, or taken from a small authored per-event-type table for
 sim-generated events. No generation; deterministic; the zoomed-out read
-filters by magnitude (wiki/interface/digital-read.md). (Superseded history: processing as
+filters by magnitude (wiki/interface/digital-read.md). Captured plot traffic
+whose immutable definition is missing is invalid: processing discards that
+record with a legible log rather than inventing a magnitude or panicking the
+simulation. (Superseded history: processing as
 Operations Demand consumed by an Operations machine, issue #3
 2026-07-09; Social before that; old dockets migrate to reservoirs on load.)
 Runtime: B1 holds the buffer on the