design/ + source rustdoc: replace opaque shorthand with content phrases + links

Reader-facing prose and rustdoc carried opaque shorthand like
"Decision 10", "clause-5", "mq.1", "ct.1", "eob.1", "rpe.1",
"post-mq.3", and "Iter 22b.1:" with no in-repo definition the reader
could follow. This commit replaces every such occurrence in the
durable tier the reader is most likely to land on (design/ ledger +
source //! module headers + the central /// public-item rustdoc) with
an inline content phrase plus, where applicable, a Markdown link to
the file that defines the referenced concept.

design/ ledger — 16 files:
  Definition-site headings demoted from "Decision N: <title>" to
  "<title>": authoring-surface, tail-calls, memory-model section in
  rc-uniqueness.md, dual-allocator section, typeclass design,
  effects "pure core + algebraic effects".
  Cross-reference sites: "Decision 1" -> canonical-schema principle
  (data-model); "Decision 3/4" -> effects + scope-boundaries; "Decision
  6" -> authoring-surface; "Decision 8" -> tail-calls; "Decision 9" ->
  rc-uniqueness (dual-allocator); "Decision 10" -> memory-model;
  "Decision 11" -> typeclasses (model). "clause-5" -> body-link
  durability gate. "clause-3" (in language-constraints) ->
  bug-class-reintroduction discriminator. "mq.1/2/3", "ct.1/4",
  "eob.1", "rpe.1" -> the canonical-form rule / the type-driven
  dispatch / the Str carve-out / etc. "post-mq.3" -> "type-driven".

design/contracts/feature-acceptance.md: file-local "clauses 1/2/3"
-> "criteria 1/2/3" (sprachliche Kohärenz mit der File-Überschrift
"Feature-acceptance criterion"); "the clause-3 mechanism" -> "the
bug-class-reintroduction discriminator".

Source //! module headers — 24 files:
  Stripped "Iter X.Y:" prefixes and "(Decision N)" / "(mq.X)" tags
  from spec_drift, uniqueness, reuse_shape, migrate_canonical_types,
  typeclass_22b{2,3,c}, suppress_filter, lift, mono, linearity,
  diagnostic, method_dispatch_pin, method_collision_pin,
  no_per_type_print_ops, mq3_multi_class_e2e, print_mono_body_shape,
  print_no_leak_pin, cli_diag_human_workspace_load_error,
  ct1_check_cli, prose snapshot, unbound_in_instance_method_pin,
  mono_xmod_ctor_pattern, desugar.

Central /// public-item rustdoc:
  ast.rs (full sweep — every "Iter X" + "Decision N" prefix
  reformulated; mode/Type::Fn rustdoc now points at memory-model.md;
  Constraint / SuperclassRef / InstanceDef / ClassDef rustdoc points
  at typeclasses contract).
  diagnostic.rs (all "(Iter X)" / "(mq.X)" tags on diagnostic codes
  removed).
  lib.rs (FORM_A_SPEC rustdoc points at authoring-surface.md
  instead of "Decision 6").
  canonical.rs (type_hash + Float-literal rustdoc).

Still outstanding (for a follow-up commit): ~500 inline `//`
code-body comments with `Iter X.Y` markers across the workspace, and
a handful of `///` rustdoc items in hash_pin / workspace_pin / lift /
mono / suppress_filter test-pin and internal-function bodies. Code
identifiers (test filenames like `mq3_multi_class_e2e.rs`, function
names like `iter18e_drop_iterative_default_preserves_hashes`) stay
verbatim per the user's "code identifiers stay verbatim" rule.

Tests: design_index_pin 5/5 + docs_honesty_pin 5/5; workspace builds
clean; full `cargo test --workspace` previously green (every
`test result: ok` line, no FAILED line).

design/INDEX.md

@@ -35,9 +35,9 @@ evolving in lockstep with the language:
   `crates/ailang-codegen`): AST, type system, codegen.
 - **Surface forms** (`crates/ailang-surface`, `crates/ailang-prose`):
   the LLM-facing renderings of a module. `ailang-surface`
-  is the lossless Form-A printer/parser — the canonical authoring
-  surface fixed by Decision 6, with a round-trip property
-  `parse ∘ print = id` gating every release. `ailang-prose`
+  is the lossless Form-A printer/parser — the canonical
+  [authoring surface](contracts/authoring-surface.md), with a
+  round-trip property `parse ∘ print = id` gating every release. `ailang-prose`
   is the lossy Form-B projection — human-readable prose for review and
   edit, with no parser; re-integration goes through the
   LLM-mediator round-trip documented in `docs/PROSE_ROUNDTRIP.md`.

design/contracts/authoring-surface.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Authoring surface
 
-## Decision 6: authoring surface
+## Authoring surface
 
 Form (A) is implemented as
 the `ailang-surface` crate (parser + printer). Form-A is
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ one projection among potentially many. Concretely:
   addressed representation of a module. All hashing, content-
   addressing, cross-module references, and typecheck/codegen input
   flow through the JSON-AST. **No new hashable form is introduced.**
-- The textual surface (form A, this Decision) is the **AI authoring
+- The textual surface (form A, this contract) is the **AI authoring
   projection**: optimised for me producing programs token-efficiently
   and for foreign LLMs producing programs from a spec. It is not
   optimised for human authors and does not need to be human-pleasant.
@@ -55,11 +55,11 @@ the AST and remain projection-agnostic.
    shape. The full bijection between `.ail.json` and `.ail` (both
    directions, BLAKE3-stable hashing, Float-bits-hex encoding,
    workspace-CI enforcement points) is anchored as the top-level
-   [Roundtrip Invariant](roundtrip-invariant.md) — this constraint records that Decision
-   6's surface-design choice must satisfy that invariant; the
-   invariant itself lives at top level because the property is
-   load-bearing on the language identity, not on this Decision's
-   surface-design rationale.
+   [Roundtrip Invariant](roundtrip-invariant.md) — this constraint
+   records that the surface-design choice must satisfy that
+   invariant; the invariant itself lives at top level because the
+   property is load-bearing on the language identity, not on this
+   file's surface-design rationale.
 3. **No external symbols.** ASCII only. No Greek (`∀`), no arrows
    (`→`), no subscripts. Reasoning: I substitute mojibake for
    non-ASCII characters under context pressure; foreign LLMs vary

design/contracts/data-model.md

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ narrative — defaults, superclasses, diagnostics — lives in
   "params": ["<id>"...],   // names bound in body, in type.params order
   "body": Term,
   "doc": "<optional string>",
-  "export": "<optional C symbol>", // omitted when absent (hash-stable when omitted); see §"Embedding ABI"
+  "export": "<optional C symbol>", // omitted when absent (hash-stable when omitted); embedding-ABI surface — see prose below
   "suppress": [Suppress...] // omitted when empty
 }
 
@@ -65,11 +65,11 @@ narrative — defaults, superclasses, diagnostics — lives in
   "drop-iterative": true   // opt-in; omitted when false (hash-stable when omitted)
 }
 
-// class (typeclass declaration; see Decision 11)
+// class (typeclass declaration; narrative in contracts/typeclasses.md)
 { "kind": "class",
   "name": "<id>",          // class name (e.g. "Show")
   "param": "<id>",          // single class parameter, kind *
-  "superclass": null,       // or { "class": "<id>", "type": "<param>" } — "class": canonical form (bare for same-module, "<module>.<Class>" for cross-module; see §"Class names" / mq.1)
+  "superclass": null,       // or { "class": "<id>", "type": "<param>" } — "class": canonical form (bare for same-module, "<module>.<Class>" for cross-module)
   "methods": [
     { "name": "<id>",
       "type": Type,         // FnSig over the class param
@@ -80,9 +80,9 @@ narrative — defaults, superclasses, diagnostics — lives in
   "doc": "<optional string>"
 }
 
-// instance (typeclass instance; see Decision 11)
+// instance (typeclass instance; narrative in contracts/typeclasses.md)
 { "kind": "instance",
-  "class": "<id>",          // class being instantiated; canonical form (bare for same-module, "<module>.<Class>" for cross-module; see §"Class names" / mq.1)
+  "class": "<id>",          // class being instantiated; canonical form (bare for same-module, "<module>.<Class>" for cross-module)
   "type": Type,             // concrete type expression (never the class param)
   "methods": [
     { "name": "<id>", "body": Term }
@@ -215,13 +215,14 @@ metadata is defined and gated there as well.
 ```jsonc
 // Type-constructor application. `args` omitted when empty
 // (hash-stable when omitted, for non-parameterised cases like Int, Bool, ...).
-{ "k": "con", "name": "<id>", "args": [Type...] }   // "name": canonical form (bare for same-module / primitives, "<module>.<TypeName>" for cross-module; see §"Type::Con name scoping" / ct.1)
+{ "k": "con", "name": "<id>", "args": [Type...] }   // "name": canonical form (bare for same-module / primitives, "<module>.<TypeName>" for cross-module)
 
-// Function type. Decision 10 added paramModes/retMode as
-// metadata on Type::Fn — they are NOT separate Type variants, so every
-// existing match-arm in the typechecker (unify, occurs, apply) keeps
-// working. `paramModes` omitted when every entry is "implicit";
-// `retMode` omitted when "implicit" (hash-stable when omitted).
+// Function type. paramModes/retMode are metadata on Type::Fn —
+// they are NOT separate Type variants, so every existing match-arm
+// in the typechecker (unify, occurs, apply) keeps working.
+// `paramModes` omitted when every entry is "implicit"; `retMode`
+// omitted when "implicit" (hash-stable when omitted). Full mode
+// contract lives in contracts/memory-model.md.
 { "k": "fn",
   "params":     [Type...],
   "paramModes": [ParamMode...],
@@ -232,14 +233,16 @@ metadata is defined and gated there as well.
 { "k": "var", "name": "<id>" }
 
 // Top-level polymorphism only. `constraints` carries class
-// constraints (Decision 11); omitted when empty (hash-stable when omitted).
+// constraints (narrative in contracts/typeclasses.md); omitted when
+// empty (hash-stable when omitted).
 { "k": "forall",
   "vars": ["<id>"...],
-  "constraints": [{ "class": "<id>", "type": "<id>" }, ...],   // "class": canonical form (bare for same-module, "<module>.<Class>" for cross-module; see §"Class names" / mq.1)
+  "constraints": [{ "class": "<id>", "type": "<id>" }, ...],   // "class": canonical form (bare for same-module, "<module>.<Class>" for cross-module)
   "body": Type }
 ```
 
-**`ParamMode`** (Decision 10):
+**`ParamMode`** (full contract in
+[memory model](memory-model.md)):
 
 ```
 "implicit"   — unannotated / back-compat. Treated as `own` by the typechecker.

design/contracts/feature-acceptance.md

@@ -36,16 +36,16 @@ A proposed feature ships only if all three hold:
    discouraged. A documentation note is not a reshape; the
    discriminator is whether the wrong code fails to typecheck, not
    whether a guideline advises against it. Worked example: a bare
-   `while` over mutable state would pass clauses 1 and 2 yet fail
-   clause 3 (it reinstates iterated-mutable-state reasoning the pure
-   core exists to remove); a hypothetical "all repetition is either
-   structurally-decreasing recursion over an acyclic ADT or an
-   explicit named loop" iteration story would, *if it could be built
-   without a documented-unenforced precondition*, pass all three —
-   and the fact that the 2026-05 attempt could not (it forced a
-   silent-divergence precondition; see
+   `while` over mutable state would pass criteria 1 and 2 yet fail
+   criterion 3 (it reinstates iterated-mutable-state reasoning the
+   pure core exists to remove); a hypothetical "all repetition is
+   either structurally-decreasing recursion over an acyclic ADT or
+   an explicit named loop" iteration story would, *if it could be
+   built without a documented-unenforced precondition*, pass all
+   three — and the fact that the 2026-05 attempt could not (it
+   forced a silent-divergence precondition; see
    `docs/specs/2026-05-16-iteration-discipline-revert.md`) is itself
-   the clause-3 mechanism working as intended.
+   the bug-class-reintroduction discriminator working as intended.
 
 This is the positive complement to the CLAUDE.md rule that
 implementation effort is not a rationale: cost is not a reason *for* a

design/contracts/float-semantics.md

@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ no `f32` variant. The runtime / codegen contract:
   `0x7ff8000000000000` on one target and a different qNaN on
   another.
 - The textual rendering of NaN through `float_to_str` (the runtime
-  C helper that backs `instance Show Float` and, post-iter-rpe.1,
-  every Float-typed `print` call). The libc `printf("%g", nan)`
+  C helper that backs `instance Show Float` and every Float-typed
+  `print` call). The libc `printf("%g", nan)`
   glue used by `float_to_str` is permitted to emit `nan` / `-nan`
   / `NaN` etc. depending on libc version and the NaN's sign bit;
   AILang does not normalise this, since the prose / surface-print

design/contracts/honesty-rule.md

@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@ Two things never belong in a contract or model file:
 
 A cross-reference that does belong stays: it is a formal,
 file-relative Markdown link into the durable tier (`design/` or
-source), enforced by
-[`design_index_pin.rs`](../../crates/ailang-core/tests/design_index_pin.rs)
-clause-5. A reference that cannot be expressed as such a link is,
-by that fact, the history-or-rationale prose the rule above removes.
+source), enforced by the body-link durability gate in
+[`design_index_pin.rs`](../../crates/ailang-core/tests/design_index_pin.rs).
+A reference that cannot be expressed as such a link is, by that
+fact, the history-or-rationale prose the rule above removes.
 
 The single legitimate exception is a present-tense reserved or
 deliberately-excluded claim that is explicitly and correctly

design/contracts/language-constraints.md

@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 The four constraints below are necessary preconditions for RC to
 be sound and complete *without* a cycle-collector backstop. They
-are not new — AILang already satisfies all four — but Decision 10
-makes them load-bearing rather than incidental:
+are not new — AILang already satisfies all four — but the
+[memory model](memory-model.md) makes them load-bearing rather
+than incidental:
 
 1. **Strict evaluation.** Every `Term::App` (see
    [Data model](data-model.md)) argument is fully
@@ -33,8 +34,8 @@ These constraints are the precondition for the
 [memory model](memory-model.md): a sound RC implementation without
 a cycle-collector backstop requires the reference graph to be a
 DAG, which constraint 4 establishes from 1–3. They are also the
-load-bearing structural reason behind several
-[feature-acceptance](feature-acceptance.md) clause-3 rejections
-(notably iterated-mutable-state reasoning).
+load-bearing structural reason behind several rejections under the
+[feature-acceptance](feature-acceptance.md) bug-class-reintroduction
+discriminator (notably iterated-mutable-state reasoning).
 
 Ratified by: `crates/ailang-check/src/uniqueness.rs` (in-source mod tests).

design/contracts/memory-model.md

@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ schema). The substantive reasons for per-position metadata over a
   `Type` would let the schema express forms like
   `(con List (borrow Int))` — syntactically possible, semantically
   meaningless (you cannot separately own/borrow a list element
-  from the list it lives in). Decision 1 is "schema = data,
+  from the list it lives in). The
+  [canonical-schema principle](data-model.md) is "schema = data,
   schema permits exactly what is meaningful"; per-position
   metadata is the option that holds that line.
 - **Compositional clarity.** A `Type` value's identity should
@@ -62,7 +63,7 @@ identical: `param_modes` is skipped when every entry is
 `Implicit`, `ret_mode` is skipped when `Implicit`. Existing
 modules emit the same bytes as before.
 
-**Type::Con name scoping (canonical form, since ct.1).** Within a
+**Type::Con name scoping (canonical form).** Within a
 `.ail.json`, a `Type::Con.name` is interpreted relative to the
 file's top-level `"name"` field (the owning module). Bare names
 (no `.`) refer to a TypeDef in the owning module's own `defs`.
@@ -75,15 +76,16 @@ qualified references whose owner is unknown are also a violation
 (`WorkspaceLoadError::BadCrossModuleTypeRef`). The same rule
 applies to `Term::Ctor.type_name`.
 
-Class names follow the canonical-form rule (mq.1): bare for
+Class names follow the same canonical-form rule: bare for
 same-module references, `<module>.<Class>` for cross-module
-references — symmetric to `Type::Con.name`'s rule from ct.1.
+references — symmetric to `Type::Con.name`'s rule above.
 Three schema fields carry class references in this form:
 `InstanceDef.class`, `Constraint.class`, and `SuperclassRef.class`.
 `ClassDef.name` itself stays bare (defining-site context, like
 `TypeDef.name`).
 
-Method dispatch is type-driven post-mq.3 (see [Method dispatch](method-dispatch.md)):
+Method dispatch is type-driven (see
+[Method dispatch](method-dispatch.md)):
 synth resolves a `Term::Var { name: "show" }` by consulting
 the workspace's method-to-candidate-class index, filtering by
 argument type (concrete) or by declared constraint (rigid-var), and
@@ -161,24 +163,24 @@ Skipped from serialisation when empty so existing fixtures keep
 bit-identical canonical-JSON hashes (regression-pinned by
 `iter19b_empty_suppress_preserves_pre_19b_hashes` and
 `iter19b_schema_extension_preserves_pre_19b_hashes`).
-The canonical-form tightening in ct.1 shifted the hashes of two
-cross-module fixtures (`ordering_match.ail.json` and
+The canonical-form tightening for `Type::Con.name` shifted the
+hashes of two cross-module fixtures (`ordering_match.ail.json` and
 `test_22b1_dup_a.ail.json`); all intra-module fixtures, including
 the regression-pinned `sum.ail.json` and `list.ail.json`, remain
 bit-identical. The new pins are
 `ct4_migrated_fixtures_have_canonical_form_hashes` (locks the
 post-migration hashes) and
 `ct4_unmigrated_fixtures_remain_bit_identical` (re-asserts the
-existing 13a/19b/22b.1 hashes still hold).
+pre-tightening hashes still hold).
 
 ## Advisory diagnostics
 
 The advisory-diagnostics arc introduces the language's first
 **advisory** typechecker diagnostic and the suppression mechanism
-that goes with it. Decision 10's mandatory-annotation rule is
-unchanged: `param_modes` and `ret_mode` remain author-required;
-the typechecker does not infer them. What's new is feedback when
-an authored annotation is *stricter than necessary*.
+that goes with it. The mandatory-annotation rule of this memory
+model is unchanged: `param_modes` and `ret_mode` remain
+author-required; the typechecker does not infer them. What's new
+is feedback when an authored annotation is *stricter than necessary*.
 
 **The lint: `over-strict-mode`.** Fires on a
 fn-param `p` annotated `(own T)` when:

design/contracts/method-dispatch.md

@@ -6,14 +6,16 @@ The class-method resolution rule that pairs with the
 [typeclasses](typeclasses.md) contract; the `Show`/`Eq`/`Ord` instances
 the rule dispatches against live in [prelude classes](prelude-classes.md).
 
-Post-mq.3, dispatch is two-mode:
+Dispatch is two-mode:
 
 **Polymorphic call sites** (inside a fn body with `forall` +
 constraint set): the constraint names the class via the qualified
-`Constraint.class` field (canonical-form per mq.1). Synth's
-residual carries the class name directly; constraint-discharge at
-fn-body-end matches against the workspace registry by
-`(class, type_hash)` key.
+`Constraint.class` field (canonical form: bare for same-module,
+`<module>.<Class>` for cross-module; see
+[memory model](memory-model.md) for the canonical-form rule).
+Synth's residual carries the class name directly;
+constraint-discharge at fn-body-end matches against the workspace
+registry by `(class, type_hash)` key.
 
 **Monomorphic call sites**: synth consults the workspace-flat
 `Env.method_to_candidate_classes: BTreeMap<MethodName,
@@ -42,7 +44,7 @@ dispatch rule:
 The `method_to_candidate_classes` index is the load-bearing data
 structure for this routing — its construction in `build_check_env`
 inverts the per-module `class_methods` maps (themselves tuple-keyed
-by `(qualified-class, method)` post-mq.3) to a workspace-flat
+by `(qualified-class, method)`) to a workspace-flat
 method-name-to-class-set map.
 
 Class-fn collisions resolve at the call site, not at workspace load

design/contracts/prelude-classes.md

@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ corresponding runtime primitive (`int_to_str`, `bool_to_str`,
 heap-Str primitives); no codegen intercept is required. The
 polymorphic helper `print : forall a. Show a => a -> () !IO` has body
 `\x -> let s = show x in do io/print_str s` (explicit let-binder for
-heap-Str RC discipline per eob.1 Str carve-out). The let-binder is
+heap-Str RC discipline per the Str carve-out in
+[Str ABI](str-abi.md)). The let-binder is
 structurally pinned by `crates/ail/tests/print_mono_body_shape.rs`.
 Routing through `print` is the path for non-`Str` primitives;
 `io/print_str` is the only built-in direct-output effect-op.

design/contracts/roundtrip-invariant.md

@@ -85,15 +85,15 @@ never by relaxing the test.
 ### Why this is anchored at top level
 
 The invariant is a property of the language identity, not of any
-one surface-design Decision. Decision 6 introduces the `.ail`
-surface and lists round-trip-as-property as one of its
-constraints, but the property is load-bearing for every
+one surface-design choice. The [authoring surface](authoring-surface.md)
+introduces the `.ail` surface and lists round-trip-as-property as
+one of its constraints, but the property is load-bearing for every
 downstream concern that treats the two forms as exchangeable:
 content-addressed hashing, the LLM-author's choice of authoring
 form, the integrity of fixture cross-references, and the
 prerequisite for empirical cross-model authoring-form studies.
-Lifting it out of Decision 6 makes the property quotable on its
-own and reviewable by the architect agent at every milestone
-close.
+Lifting it out of the authoring-surface contract makes the property
+quotable on its own and reviewable by the architect agent at every
+milestone close.
 
 Ratified by: `crates/ailang-surface/tests/round_trip.rs`.

design/contracts/scope-boundaries.md

@@ -118,7 +118,8 @@ What **is** supported (and used as the smoke test for the pipeline):
   pair allocates either via `@GC_malloc` (escaping; Boehm-managed) or
   via LLVM `alloca` (non-escaping; freed at fn return). The decision
   is made by an escape-analysis pre-pass over the fn body — see
-  Decision 9's "Per-fn arena via stack `alloca`" subsection.
+  the "Per-fn arena via stack `alloca`" subsection of
+  [RC + uniqueness](../models/rc-uniqueness.md).
   Boehm-only soak tests are unchanged: `examples/gc_stress.ail.json`
   and `examples/std_list_stress.ail.json` still allocate via
   `@GC_malloc` because their boxes flow into other fns and escape.

design/contracts/tail-calls.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Tail calls
 
-## Decision 8: explicit, verified tail calls
+## Explicit, verified tail calls
 
 For an LLM author, recursion is the natural iteration form
 (`\n. if n == 0 then () else loop(n-1)` is what I reach for, not

design/contracts/typeclasses.md

@@ -74,15 +74,18 @@ exactly as for any free function.
 
 ## Cross-module references in synthesised bodies
 
-The unified mono pass (per Decision 11's milestone-23.4 reorganisation)
-synthesises mono symbols for polymorphic free fns and class-method
-instances in the symbol's owner module — e.g. `print__Int` lives in
-`prelude` (because `print` is defined in the prelude), but a
-user-ADT call site `print (MkIntBox 7)` causes synthesis of
-`prelude.print__IntBox` whose body references
-`show_user_adt.show__IntBox` (the user instance lives in the
-user-defining module per Decision 11 coherence). The synthesised body
-crosses a module boundary the source template did not.
+The unified mono pass (see
+[models/typeclasses](../models/typeclasses.md) for the
+resolution/monomorphisation algorithm) synthesises mono symbols for
+polymorphic free fns and class-method instances in the symbol's
+owner module — e.g. `print__Int` lives in `prelude` (because `print`
+is defined in the prelude), but a user-ADT call site
+`print (MkIntBox 7)` causes synthesis of `prelude.print__IntBox`
+whose body references `show_user_adt.show__IntBox` (the user
+instance lives in the user-defining module per the
+orphan-free-coherence rule documented in
+[models/typeclasses](../models/typeclasses.md)). The synthesised
+body crosses a module boundary the source template did not.
 
 Three invariants make this work:
 
@@ -127,7 +130,7 @@ Three invariants make this work:
    workspace registry; if no instance satisfies the residual at the
    unified concrete type, the `NoInstance` diagnostic fires at
    typecheck (correctly), not at codegen (confusingly). Without the
-   residual push, milestone-23-shape negative cases (e.g. `print f`
+   residual push, polymorphic-helper negative cases (e.g. `print f`
    where `f : Int -> Int`) silently typecheck and surface as
    `unknown variable: show` from codegen instead of the right
    typecheck-phase NoInstance Show.
@@ -211,17 +214,17 @@ module.
 - `MissingConstraint` — body's residual constraint is not covered
   by declared (and superclass-expanded) constraints.
 - `NoInstance` — fully concrete constraint has no registry entry.
-  mq.2 adds an optional `candidate_classes` field surfacing the
+  Carries an optional `candidate_classes` field surfacing the
   multi-candidate set when the bare-method dispatch path's filter
   collapses to zero registry survivors.
-- `AmbiguousMethodResolution` (mq.2) — a monomorphic `Term::Var`
+- `AmbiguousMethodResolution` — a monomorphic `Term::Var`
   call site survives both type-driven and constraint-driven filters
   with more than one candidate class. LLM-author writes the explicit
   qualifier form `<module>.<Class>.<method>` to disambiguate.
-- `UnknownClass` (mq.2) — an explicit class qualifier in
+- `UnknownClass` — an explicit class qualifier in
   `Term::Var.name` names a qualified class that is not in the
   workspace's candidate-class index for the method.
-- `class-method-shadowed-by-fn` (mq.3, warning) — a `Term::Var`
+- `class-method-shadowed-by-fn` (warning) — a `Term::Var`
   resolved via fn lookup precedence (locals → caller-module-fn →
   imported-fn) while a class method of the same name also exists
   in the workspace. Fn resolution proceeds; the warning surfaces

design/models/effects.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Effects — pure core + algebraic effects
 
-## Decision 3: pure core language + algebraic effects
+## Pure core language + algebraic effects
 
 The default is total, pure functions. Effects are declared as a set in the
 function type: `(Int) -> Int ![IO]`. The effect set is a
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ currently in scope vs. excluded lives in
 In the MVP only the effect `IO` is wired up (its sole op is `io/print_str`).
 `Diverge` (for non-termination) is reserved as an effect name but is
 unimplemented — no op, no codegen, no checker injection — in the same
-sense Decision 4 reserves refinements.
+sense the refinements layer is reserved as a future extension without
+present-day surface (see
+[scope boundaries](../contracts/scope-boundaries.md)).
 
 This is the most important LLM property: when I read a function, I can trust
 its signature without reading the body.

design/models/pipeline.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
             ├─ load + validate schema
             ├─ resolve names + assign hashes
             ├─ desugar (AST → AST)
-            ├─ typecheck (HM, effect rows; mode-strict per Decision 10)
+            ├─ typecheck (HM, effect rows; mode-strict per the memory model)
             ├─ lift_letrecs (post-typecheck AST → AST)
             ├─ lower to MIR (SSA-like, named SSA values)
             ├─ emit LLVM IR (.ll)

design/models/prose-projection.md

@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@
 AILang ships a
 second textual projection of the AST: `ailang-prose`, a one-way
 projection from `Module → human-readable text`. It is **not** an
-authoring surface; it is the "display" projection that Decision 6's
-architectural pin (see [authoring surface](../contracts/authoring-surface.md))
-explicitly anticipated:
+authoring surface; it is the "display" projection that the
+[authoring surface](../contracts/authoring-surface.md)'s
+architectural pin explicitly anticipated:
 
 > *"Future projections are explicitly anticipated: a visual /
 > graphical front-end is a plausible second projection for human
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ form (B) deliberately is not. Re-integrating prose edits requires an
 external LLM mediator, not a compiler pass — the prompt template
 `ail merge-prose` composes the six-step cycle.
 
-Form (B) does not weaken any Decision 6 invariant:
+Form (B) does not weaken any
+[authoring surface](../contracts/authoring-surface.md) invariant:
 
 - The [JSON-AST](../contracts/data-model.md) remains the only
   hashable artefact. Prose is not hashed, not content-addressed,

design/models/rc-uniqueness.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # RC + Uniqueness — memory model whitepaper
 
-## Decision 9: dual allocator — RC canonical, Boehm parity oracle
+## Dual allocator — RC canonical, Boehm parity oracle
 
 AILang ships two allocator backends with an asymmetric role:
 
@@ -25,12 +25,11 @@ when the parity oracle stops paying its keep — concretely, when a
 few iter families ship without the gc arm catching anything that
 the rc arm did not already catch. Until then, the cost of
 keeping libgc as a build dependency is accepted in exchange for
-diagnostic leverage. Decision 10 (RC + uniqueness) holds as the
-specification of the canonical runtime (the contract version is
-[memory model](../contracts/memory-model.md), built on
-[language constraints](../contracts/language-constraints.md));
-the rest of this section documents the Boehm half, retained as
-the oracle.
+diagnostic leverage. The
+[RC + uniqueness memory model](../contracts/memory-model.md), built
+on the [language constraints](../contracts/language-constraints.md),
+holds as the specification of the canonical runtime; the rest of
+this section documents the Boehm half, retained as the oracle.
 
 **Choice: Boehm-Demers-Weiser conservative GC.** The simplest
 working option:
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@ The closure-pair and its env share an escape verdict — they have
 parallel lifetimes. If the closure pair is non-escaping, the env
 is too.
 
-## Decision 10: memory model — RC + Uniqueness with LLM-author annotations
+## Memory model — RC + Uniqueness with LLM-author annotations
 
 **The GC bench (`bench/run.sh`) showed
 Boehm contributing a substantial fraction of runtime on allocation-heavy workloads
@@ -150,9 +149,10 @@ stdlib is the cheapest moment to commit.
 **Choice.** AILang's canonical [memory model](../contracts/memory-model.md)
 is reference counting with static uniqueness inference **and
 explicit LLM-author annotations on fn signatures**, in the lineage
-of Lean 4 / Roc / Koka. Boehm becomes a transitional allocator (Decision 9) and is
-retired when the RC pipeline matches the bump-allocator floor
-within an acceptable margin (target 1.3× on `bench/run.sh`).
+of Lean 4 / Roc / Koka. Boehm becomes a transitional allocator (see
+the dual-allocator section above) and is retired when the RC pipeline
+matches the bump-allocator floor within an acceptable margin (target
+1.3× on `bench/run.sh`).
 
 **Workload scope of the 1.3× target.** The 1.3× target was
 calibrated on the original `bench/run.sh` corpus: linear list
@@ -168,16 +168,17 @@ one bump-pointer bump, doubling the allocation tax on closure
 construction (current ratio recorded in JOURNAL bench entries).
 This is a representational cost of the closure-pair layout,
 not a defect in the RC implementation; a future slab/pool
-allocator for fixed-shape pair cells (Decision 9 retirement
-follow-up) would compress this ratio without changing semantics.
+allocator for fixed-shape pair cells (a Boehm-retirement follow-up)
+would compress this ratio without changing semantics.
 
 The 1.3× retirement target therefore applies to the linear /
 tree / poly-ADT subset of the corpus. Closure-heavy workloads are
 tracked under a wider band (the closure-chain baseline records its rc/bump ratio as the `rc_over_bump` reference value with ±15% tolerance) and
 are explicitly excluded from the Boehm-retirement gate until a
-slab/pool answer ships. Decision-10's RC commitment is unchanged;
-what is scoped is the *quantitative* retirement criterion, not
-the choice of memory model.
+slab/pool answer ships. The
+[memory model](../contracts/memory-model.md)'s RC commitment is
+unchanged; what is scoped is the *quantitative* retirement criterion,
+not the choice of memory model.
 
 The architecture has two layers:
 

design/models/typeclasses.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ built-in classes shipped in the prelude in
 covers the design choices and the resolution / monomorphisation
 algorithm.
 
-## Decision 11: typeclasses — Haskell-lite, monomorphised, coherent
+## The design — Haskell-lite, monomorphised, coherent
 
 **The design pass for typeclasses. Codified after the
 [Feature-acceptance criterion](../contracts/feature-acceptance.md)
@@ -158,10 +158,9 @@ component contains `__` by project convention.
 
 **No runtime dispatch, no dictionary passing.** The monomorphisation
 pass is the ONLY specialiser. Codegen sees only monomorphic
-`Def::Fn`s and direct calls; the pre-iter-23.4 codegen-time
-specialiser (`lower_polymorphic_call` + `module_polymorphic_fns` +
-`mono_queue`) was removed in iter 23.4. A call that cannot be
-monomorphised — for instance, because a constraint remains
-unresolved at the entry point — is a static error, not a runtime
-one. This is the LLVM-friendly form and is consistent with
-Decision 10's performance commitment.
+`Def::Fn`s and direct calls. A call that cannot be monomorphised —
+for instance, because a constraint remains unresolved at the entry
+point — is a static error, not a runtime one. This is the
+LLVM-friendly form and is consistent with the performance
+commitment of the
+[RC + uniqueness memory model](../contracts/memory-model.md).