diff --git a/F-progress.md b/F-progress.md
index 2e078d0..ba6a3c7 100644
--- a/F-progress.md
+++ b/F-progress.md
@@ -4,6 +4,32 @@
 
 ---
 
+## Round 31 (v7.0-alpha CLOSE) — THE DIG FLIP + the tag
+
+**Fable's wave-0 playtest found the one alpha-blocker: the dig was default-OFF on a plain boot.**
+`index.html` still carried the v2-era opt-in (`params.has('dig')`) six epochs after the README
+claimed "dig on" — and every R30 game-loop gate booted `dig=1` explicitly, so the suite was green
+while E at a bin did nothing on the boot every player gets. Fixed with the one-line flip
+(`DIG_ON = flagOn('dig')` — ?dig=0 opt-out, ?classic=1 off, `dig` on the flags surface) and fenced
+with two new STRICT legs: **default_boot_gate asserts dig REACHABILITY on a NAKED boot** (E at an
+aimed bin → digActive true → closed clean) and **classic_regression asserts dig INERT at the bin**
+(zero `pcdg-*` DOM, zero Storage calls — measured, not assumed). *Harness lesson #4: the
+explicit-flag blindfold — a gate that force-feeds its subject's flag can never notice the default
+is broken; every claimed-default-on flag needs at least one flag-ABSENT gate.* Splash de-staled
+("Every door opens." — the "(soon)" is over; controls line = E riffle/sell · C crate · SLEEP to
+save) + the README manual row. `PROCITY_QA_PORT` override so the suite never silently reuses
+whatever holds :8130 (this round: Fable's own preview server).
+
+**The re-gate (final tree, :8931): `qa.sh --strict --matrix` 7 passed · 0 failed · 0 warn ·
+0 skipped; flags_check 0/0 incl. both new legs; MATRIX 10 towns green.** Money shot:
+`docs/shots/v7_alpha/crate_panel.png` — Monster Robot Party's frontage, THE CRATE with 3 real
+finds (real cover thumbs, honest paid/where/day), game bar day 1 · $116 · CRATE 3 · SLEEP, driven
+through the real loop with the dig param absent. **Tag `v7.0-alpha` — annotated, LOCAL ONLY**
+(Fable pushes). THE BETA QUEUE (Fable's design wants, filed NOT fixed) is in LANE_F_NOTES §31.6.
+Commits: `50385c0` (flip + gates + splash) · shot + notes commit (tag target). Full record: §31.
+
+---
+
 ## Round 30 (v7.0-alpha — THE SAVE AND THE CRATE) — F: the contract first, then the save core + tomorrow
 
 **The contract shipped before a line of implementation** (`53fcd3c`): `window.PROCITY.game =
diff --git a/docs/LANES/LANE_F_NOTES.md b/docs/LANES/LANE_F_NOTES.md
index 8891dab..9fd2286 100644
--- a/docs/LANES/LANE_F_NOTES.md
+++ b/docs/LANES/LANE_F_NOTES.md
@@ -1663,3 +1663,94 @@ as §30.5's closed-door: a verify that forgets the world's rules reads the rules
 an inventory). Buying it again is possible **and loses money every time** (the −$6/trip measurement is
 exactly this); scarcity-per-day would need the save to carry per-day pull records. The no-pump clamp is
 what makes the infinite crate safe. Rule it in beta with the guide bands, not here.
+
+---
+
+## 31. Round 31 — the v7.0-alpha CLOSE: THE DIG FLIP (wave 1) + THE TAG (wave 2)
+
+### §31.1 The alpha-blocker (Fable's wave-0 playtest) and the flip
+
+**The dig was default-OFF on a plain boot.** `web/index.html` still carried the v2-era opt-in
+(`const DIG_ON = params.has('dig') && params.get('dig') !== '0'`) six epochs after the README's
+flags table began claiming "dig on" — and every R30 game-loop gate booted `dig=1` EXPLICITLY, so
+the whole suite was green while the boot every player gets had no crate-riffle at all: E at a bin
+did nothing. The gates tested the game; nobody tested that the default boot IS the game.
+
+**The flip (one line + the law):** `DIG_ON = flagOn('dig')` — default-ON, `?dig=0` opts out,
+`?classic=1` master-off: the exact pattern the other flipped flags ride. `dig` joins the
+`PROCITY.flags` intent surface (the gates read intent there). Measured both ways in fresh
+contexts on a port-isolated server (:8951):
+
+| boot | measured |
+|---|---|
+| NAKED (no params) | E at a bin → riffle **OPENED** + closed clean · `flags.dig` true · 0 errors |
+| `?dig=0` | opt-out honoured — riffle does NOT open, **ZERO** dig DOM |
+| `?classic=1` | dig INERT at the bin (E falls through `trySell` (null game) + shelf no-op) · ZERO `pcdg-*` DOM · **ZERO Storage-prototype calls** (instrumented) · 0 errors — the covenant untouched |
+| `?noassets=1` naked | dig opens on **parody canvas** · 0 errors (existing law holds) |
+
+*(Observation filed, pre-existing, NOT touched: `assets/gen/*.jpg` skin textures fetch under
+`?noassets` — 22 fetches, fail-soft, present since v1; the dig added zero fetches to that boot.)*
+
+### §31.2 The gate that makes the regression impossible (vacuous-gate law, turned on F's own suite)
+
+Two new STRICT legs in `tools/flags_check.py`:
+
+- **default_boot_gate** grows **dig REACHABILITY on the NAKED boot**: enter a record shop, E at an
+  aimed bin, `digActive` must go true (and close clean via WALK OUT); plus a `PROCITY.flags.dig`
+  intent assert. Un-flip the default again and this line goes red. Negative control: the identical
+  measurement on a `?dig=0` boot reads `opened:false` (pre-flight, :8951) — the detector
+  discriminates.
+- **classic_regression** grows the **dig-INERT leg**: the old `digActive` assert was vacuously
+  false on the street; it is now measured AT THE BIN — E opens nothing, zero dig DOM, filed as
+  "measured, not assumed".
+
+**Harness lesson #4 of the epoch (house habit): the explicit-flag blindfold.** A gate that
+force-feeds its subject's flag (`dig=1` in every boot query, belt-and-braces) can never notice the
+default is broken. Where a flag is CLAIMED default-on, at least one gate must exercise it with the
+flag ABSENT. Now true for dig; gigs/weather/winmap/tram always had it (the default-boot gate boots
+naked by construction).
+
+### §31.3 Port isolation (small, suite-wide)
+
+`PROCITY_QA_PORT` env override added to `flags_check.py`, `qa/interior_scale_check.py`,
+`qa/town_matrix.py`. `ensure_server()` silently REUSES anything parked on :8130 — this round that
+was Fable's own preview server, and a shared server is somebody else's cache semantics + somebody
+else's lifecycle. The R31 re-gate rode `:8931`; default behaviour unchanged.
+
+### §31.4 The splash (same file, same commit)
+
+"Every door opens **(soon)**" — stale by six epochs — is gone: the tagline now sells the loop
+("Every door opens. Dig the crates, sell the flips, sleep — the town remembers.") and the controls
+line carries the game beats (E riffle a bin / sell at the counter · C your crate · SLEEP to save).
+README manual gains the matching row (sell at the counter · C crate · SLEEP = save/advance/rotate).
+
+### §31.5 The re-gate, the shot, the tag — RESULTS
+
+All on the FINAL tree (commit `50385c0`), suite port-isolated on `:8931` (`PROCITY_QA_PORT` —
+Fable's preview holds :8130, untouched):
+
+- **`qa.sh --strict --matrix`: 7 passed · 0 failed · 0 warn · 0 skipped.** flags_check **0 fails /
+  0 warns** — both new R31 legs green in the run (`dig REACHABLE on the naked boot — E at a bin
+  opened the riffle (and closed clean)` · `?classic dig INERT at the bin — E opened nothing, zero
+  dig DOM`), all five R30 STRICT gates re-proven over the flipped tree, classic covenant fingerprint
+  green, no-giants green. **MATRIX GREEN — 10 towns (synthetic + fixtures + real caches) × 7 gates.**
+- **The money shot: `docs/shots/v7_alpha/crate_panel.png`** — Monster Robot Party's real frontage
+  (redhill_godverse, `stock=real`), THE CRATE open with **3 real finds** (The Return $40 ·
+  First Filtration Of The Duplex Brains $15 · Blue Blackness $20 — real cover thumbs off the
+  per-shop atlas, every row honest: `paid $N · Monster Robot Party · day 1`), game bar
+  **day 1 · $116 · CRATE 3 · SLEEP**. Driven through the REAL loop with the dig param ABSENT (the
+  flip carries the shot): enter → E at three different bins → riffle → pull → BUY ×3 → street →
+  C. 0 console errors. Script: session scratchpad (`crate_shot.py`) — the PNG is the deliverable.
+- **The tag: `v7.0-alpha`**, annotated, **LOCAL ONLY** on the notes commit — Fable reviews and
+  pushes main + tag together (treaty).
+
+### §31.6 THE BETA QUEUE (Fable's playtest, filed NOT fixed — John's ruling queue)
+
+1. **Spawn faces dirt/building-backs** instead of the strip — wants a cluster-pose for spawns.
+2. **THE CRATE is unreachable inside shops** — C is street-only by design (hud.js); a player wants
+   it at the counter.
+3. **Dawn sky reads dusk-orange** (cosmetic).
+4. The pull card's **value hint is THE BIBLE** (chartered — the beta's guide bands).
+5. Automation-only, unverified in person: **dig Esc-close under synthetic events**.
+6. *(carried from §30.6)* no per-day `gone` tracking on parody/mint dig stock — scarcity-per-day
+   needs the save to carry pull records; rule it with the guide bands.
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