diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 0bc13c3..4c89a70 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import path from "node:path";
 import { resolveWriteLease, WriteLeaseNotHeldError } from "./process-write-lease.js";
 import { buildApp } from "./app.js";
 import { loadConfig } from "./config.js";
@@ -6,16 +7,14 @@ import { publishHeimdallOdinState } from "./odin-publication.js";
 import { startHeimdallPrivateCommandPlane } from "./private-command-plane.js";
 import type { CultNetOperationServer } from "cultnet-ts";
 import { createHeimdallRuntimePulse, buildHeimdallHealthDetail, publishHeimdallVerseState } from "./verse-state.js";
-import { openPresenceAuthority } from "./runtime-presence.js";
+import {
+  buildPresenceStatement,
+  nextPublisherSequence,
+  readRuntimeBundleFacts,
+  type RuntimeBundleFacts,
+} from "./runtime-presence.js";
 
 const config = loadConfig();
-// Under Idunn the launch's presence keys, bundle facts and publisher sequence
-// open here, before anything listens. A launch-contract fault throws, uncaught,
-// and the process exits non-zero with no listener: Idunn fails Warming in
-// seconds rather than waiting on a candidate that can never sign.
-const presenceAuthority = config.idunnRuntimeBundlePath
-  ? await openPresenceAuthority(config)
-  : undefined;
 const app = await buildApp({ config });
 const versePulseIntervalMs = 60_000;
 const healthPulseIntervalMs = 10_000;
@@ -71,6 +70,13 @@ async function publishVerseState(): Promise<void> {
   await publishHeimdallOdinState(config, pulse);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Read once and keep: the bundle is Idunn's immutable record of this launch and
+ * cannot change while the process lives, so re-reading it every pulse would be
+ * work that can only ever return the same answer or fail.
+ */
+let runtimeBundleFacts: RuntimeBundleFacts | undefined;
+
 async function publishHealthState(): Promise<void> {
   const pulse = createHeimdallRuntimePulse(config);
 
@@ -88,17 +94,32 @@ async function publishHealthState(): Promise<void> {
     ? buildHeimdallHealthDetail(config, pulse)
     : `Heimdall candidate warming; ${lease.reason}`;
 
-  if (!presenceAuthority) {
+  if (!config.idunnRuntimeBundlePath) {
     // Outside Idunn there is no launch to attest and nothing that admits the
     // statement; publishing is simply not part of that world.
     return;
   }
-  const state = lease.mayWrite ? "active" : "warming";
-  const presence = presenceAuthority.sign(state, detail, Date.parse(pulse.updatedAt));
+  runtimeBundleFacts ??= await readRuntimeBundleFacts(config.idunnRuntimeBundlePath);
+
+  const observedAtUnixMillis = Date.parse(pulse.updatedAt);
+  const presence = await buildPresenceStatement({
+    bundle: runtimeBundleFacts,
+    state: lease.mayWrite ? "active" : "warming",
+    detail,
+    boundEndpoint: `http://${config.host}:${config.port}`,
+    // A warming candidate holds no lease and must not claim one; the contract
+    // refuses the pair, and Idunn needs the warming statement to promote it.
+    writeLeaseSha256: null,
+    observedAtUnixMillis,
+    publisherSequence: await nextPublisherSequence(
+      path.join(config.dataRoot, "runtime-presence-sequence"),
+    ),
+    providerHealthIdentityPath: config.providerHealthIdentityPath,
+  });
 
   await publishIdunnRudpHealth(config, {
     daemonId: config.daemonId,
-    state,
+    state: lease.mayWrite ? "active" : "warming",
     detail,
     observedAt: pulse.updatedAt,
     presence,
diff --git a/src/provider-health-identity.ts b/src/provider-health-identity.ts
index ca89f2c..847d39c 100644
--- a/src/provider-health-identity.ts
+++ b/src/provider-health-identity.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import {
   sign,
   type KeyObject,
 } from "node:crypto";
-import { closeSync, fstatSync, readSync } from "node:fs";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { chmod, readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { SingleFileMessagePackBackingStore, type CultCacheEnvelope } from "@gamecult/cultcache-ts";
 import { readPrivateStoreRecord } from "./idunn-store.js";
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ export async function openOrEnrollProviderHealthIdentity(path: string): Promise<
   if (existing.length !== 1) {
     throw new Error("Provider-health identity store must contain exactly one record.");
   }
-  return decodePrivateIdentity(existing[0]!.payload, await readMachineId(), "bin");
+  return decodePrivateIdentity(existing[0]!.payload, await readMachineId());
 }
 
 const PRESENCE_IDENTITY_FD_NAME = "gamecult-runtime-presence-identity";
@@ -124,50 +124,19 @@ export function passedDescriptor(
  */
 export async function openProviderHealthIdentity(
   path: string,
-  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
-  machineId: () => Promise<string> = readMachineId
+  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env
 ): Promise<PrivateIdentity> {
   const descriptor = passedDescriptor(PRESENCE_IDENTITY_FD_NAME, env);
   if (descriptor === undefined) {
-    if (env.GAMECULT_IDUNN_RUNTIME_BUNDLE) {
-      // Inside an Idunn generation a self-enrolled key is one Idunn does not
-      // trust, and its private store would land in a state root the next
-      // generation must share. The descriptor is the only identity there.
-      throw new Error(
-        `Idunn runtime bundle is set but the ${PRESENCE_IDENTITY_FD_NAME} descriptor was not passed; refusing to self-enroll`
-      );
-    }
     return openOrEnrollProviderHealthIdentity(path);
   }
 
   const payload = readPrivateStoreRecord(
-    readPassedDescriptor(descriptor),
+    readFileSync(descriptor),
     "Idunn runtime presence identity"
   );
 
-  // The descriptor's writer is the Rust owner, whose key fields are integer arrays.
-  return decodePrivateIdentity(payload, await machineId(), "int-array");
-}
-
-/**
- * Read a passed descriptor whole, from offset 0, and close it. A descriptor is
- * a one-shot input: reading it again starts at the offset the last read left,
- * which is the end, so the owner reads once at open and keeps what it decoded.
- */
-export function readPassedDescriptor(descriptor: number): Buffer {
-  try {
-    const size = fstatSync(descriptor).size;
-    const bytes = Buffer.alloc(size);
-    let read = 0;
-    while (read < size) {
-      const count = readSync(descriptor, bytes, read, size - read, read);
-      if (count === 0) break;
-      read += count;
-    }
-    return bytes.subarray(0, read);
-  } finally {
-    closeSync(descriptor);
-  }
+  return decodePrivateIdentity(payload, await readMachineId());
 }
 
 export function signProviderHealthPayload(identity: PrivateIdentity, payload: Uint8Array): Uint8Array {
@@ -199,58 +168,23 @@ export function providerHealthPublicIdentity(identity: PrivateIdentity): {
   return { identityId: identity.identityId, publicKeyHex: Buffer.from(identity.publicKey).toString("hex") };
 }
 
-/**
- * Which writer produced the record. The self-enrolling store this process
- * writes keeps key fields as MessagePack bin; the Rust owner (cultnet-rs
- * service_identity.rs) serialises a Vec<u8> without serde_bytes, so its key
- * fields are arrays of integers. Each source is read in its own shape and the
- * other is refused.
- */
-type KeyShape = "bin" | "int-array";
-
-function keyBytes(value: unknown, shape: KeyShape, field: string): Uint8Array {
-  const bytes =
-    shape === "bin"
-      ? value instanceof Uint8Array
-        ? value
-        : undefined
-      : Array.isArray(value) &&
-          value.every((byte) => typeof byte === "number" && Number.isInteger(byte) && byte >= 0 && byte <= 255)
-        ? Uint8Array.from(value as number[])
-        : undefined;
-  if (bytes === undefined || bytes.length !== 32) {
-    throw new Error(
-      `Provider-health identity key shape check failed: ${field} is not a 32-byte ${shape === "bin" ? "binary" : "integer-array"} key field.`
-    );
-  }
-  return bytes;
-}
-
-function decodePrivateIdentity(payload: Uint8Array, machineId: string, shape: KeyShape): PrivateIdentity {
+function decodePrivateIdentity(payload: Uint8Array, machineId: string): PrivateIdentity {
   const value = decode(payload);
   if (!Array.isArray(value) || value.length !== 10) {
-    throw new Error("Provider-health identity schema check failed: payload is not a 10-field record.");
+    throw new Error("Provider-health identity payload is malformed.");
   }
-  const [schema, identityId, publicKeyField, protectedSeedField, protector, binding, version] = value;
-  if (schema !== PRIVATE_SCHEMA) {
-    throw new Error("Provider-health identity schema check failed: unexpected schema id.");
-  }
-  if (typeof identityId !== "string") {
-    throw new Error("Provider-health identity id check failed: id is not a string.");
-  }
-  const publicKey = keyBytes(publicKeyField, shape, "public key");
-  const protectedSeed = keyBytes(protectedSeedField, shape, "protected seed");
-  if (protector !== "linux_file_mode_machine_id_binding") {
-    throw new Error("Provider-health identity protector check failed: unexpected protector.");
-  }
-  if (binding !== protectorBinding(machineId)) {
-    throw new Error("Provider-health identity binding check failed: not bound to this host's machine id.");
-  }
-  if (version !== "v1") {
-    throw new Error("Provider-health identity version check failed: unexpected version.");
-  }
-  if (identityId !== deriveIdentityId(publicKey)) {
-    throw new Error("Provider-health identity id check failed: id does not derive from the public key.");
+  const [schema, identityId, publicKey, protectedSeed, protector, binding, version] = value;
+  if (
+    schema !== PRIVATE_SCHEMA ||
+    typeof identityId !== "string" ||
+    !(publicKey instanceof Uint8Array) || publicKey.length !== 32 ||
+    !(protectedSeed instanceof Uint8Array) || protectedSeed.length !== 32 ||
+    protector !== "linux_file_mode_machine_id_binding" ||
+    binding !== protectorBinding(machineId) ||
+    version !== "v1" ||
+    identityId !== deriveIdentityId(publicKey)
+  ) {
+    throw new Error("Provider-health identity does not belong to this host or profile.");
   }
   const seed = xorSeed(protectedSeed, binding);
   const privateKey = privateKeyFromSeed(seed);
diff --git a/src/runtime-presence.ts b/src/runtime-presence.ts
index 3c1054b..8cf0615 100644
--- a/src/runtime-presence.ts
+++ b/src/runtime-presence.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 import path from "node:path";
 import { createHash, createPrivateKey, type KeyObject } from "node:crypto";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { readFile, writeFile, rename } from "node:fs/promises";
 
 import { decode } from "@msgpack/msgpack";
 import {
@@ -32,14 +34,11 @@ import {
   type RuntimePresenceState,
 } from "cultnet-ts";
 
-import type { HeimdallConfig } from "./config.js";
 import { readIdunnStoreRecord } from "./idunn-store.js";
 import {
   openProviderHealthIdentity,
   passedDescriptor,
-  readPassedDescriptor,
   signWithIdentity,
-  type PrivateIdentity,
 } from "./provider-health-identity.js";
 
 const PKCS8_ED25519_SEED_PREFIX = Buffer.from("302e020100300506032b657004220420", "hex");
@@ -179,37 +178,70 @@ export async function readRuntimeBundleFacts(bundlePath: string): Promise<Runtim
 }
 
 /**
- * The publisher sequence a process stamps on its presence statements.
+ * Open the activation signing key Idunn passed as a descriptor.
  *
- * Odin compares `publisher_sequence` only against stored presence of the same
- * activation, and Idunn mints a fresh activation for every start, continuity
- * restarts included. So the sequence need only strictly increase within this
- * process; nothing has to survive a restart, and nothing is written to the
- * state root. Muninn derives its sequence the same way: the observation clock,
- * never below the previous value plus one.
+ * The credential is exactly 32 bytes: the raw Ed25519 seed. It is passed as a
+ * parent-only descriptor and not as a path, so only the process Idunn launched
+ * can produce this half of the proof.
  */
-export class PublisherSequence {
-  private last = 0;
-
-  next(observedAtUnixMillis: number): number {
-    if (!Number.isSafeInteger(observedAtUnixMillis)) {
-      throw new Error("observedAtUnixMillis is not a safe integer");
-    }
-    this.last = Math.max(observedAtUnixMillis, this.last + 1);
-    return this.last;
+export function openActivationSigner(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): KeyObject | undefined {
+  const descriptor = passedDescriptor(IDUNN_RUNTIME_ACTIVATION_CREDENTIAL_NAME, env);
+  if (descriptor === undefined) {
+    return undefined;
   }
+  const seed = readFileSync(descriptor);
+  if (seed.length !== 32) {
+    throw new Error("Idunn runtime activation credential is not a 32-byte seed");
+  }
+  return createPrivateKey({
+    key: Buffer.concat([PKCS8_ED25519_SEED_PREFIX, seed]),
+    format: "der",
+    type: "pkcs8",
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * The publisher sequence must strictly increase for the life of a signer
+ * identity, because Idunn treats a repeat or a regression as a replay and
+ * refuses the observation.
+ *
+ * An in-process counter is therefore not enough: a restart would reset it and
+ * every statement afterwards would be refused until the count climbed past the
+ * old high-water mark. It lives beside the target's state instead, and is
+ * advanced before use.
+ */
+export async function nextPublisherSequence(sequencePath: string): Promise<number> {
+  let current = 0;
+  try {
+    const raw = (await readFile(sequencePath, "utf8")).trim();
+    const parsed = Number(raw);
+    if (Number.isSafeInteger(parsed) && parsed > 0) {
+      current = parsed;
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") {
+      throw error;
+    }
+  }
+  const next = current + 1;
+  // Written through a temporary file: a torn write here would look like a
+  // regression and cost the target every future observation.
+  const temporary = `${sequencePath}.next`;
+  await writeFile(temporary, `${next}\n`, { mode: 0o600 });
+  await rename(temporary, sequencePath);
+  return next;
 }
 
 export interface PresenceStatementInputs {
   bundle: RuntimeBundleFacts;
-  identity: PrivateIdentity;
-  activationKey: KeyObject;
   state: RuntimePresenceState;
   detail: string;
   boundEndpoint: string | null;
   writeLeaseSha256: string | null;
   observedAtUnixMillis: number;
   publisherSequence: number;
+  providerHealthIdentityPath: string;
+  env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
 }
 
 export interface PresenceStatement {
@@ -218,14 +250,24 @@ export interface PresenceStatement {
 }
 
 /**
- * Build and dual-sign one presence statement from keys and facts already open.
+ * Build and dual-sign one presence statement.
  *
  * Returns the target alongside the bytes because the document key must equal
  * the signed target; Odin refuses the pair when they differ, and that is the
  * one part of the envelope the transport cannot infer.
  */
-export function buildPresenceStatement(inputs: PresenceStatementInputs): PresenceStatement {
-  const { identity } = inputs;
+export async function buildPresenceStatement(
+  inputs: PresenceStatementInputs,
+): Promise<PresenceStatement> {
+  const env = inputs.env ?? process.env;
+  const activationKey = openActivationSigner(env);
+  if (activationKey === undefined) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "Idunn passed no runtime activation credential, so this process cannot prove it is the " +
+        "incarnation Idunn started",
+    );
+  }
+  const identity = await openProviderHealthIdentity(inputs.providerHealthIdentityPath, env);
 
   const presence: RuntimePresenceHealth = {
     target: inputs.bundle.target,
@@ -253,7 +295,7 @@ export function buildPresenceStatement(inputs: PresenceStatementInputs): Presenc
   const proof = runtimePresenceProofPayload(presence);
   const signature = signWithIdentity(identity, runtimePresenceProviderSigningMessage(proof));
   const activationSignature = signWithIdentity(
-    { ...identity, privateKey: inputs.activationKey },
+    { ...identity, privateKey: activationKey },
     runtimePresenceActivationSigningMessage(proof),
   );
 
@@ -262,72 +304,3 @@ export function buildPresenceStatement(inputs: PresenceStatementInputs): Presenc
     payload: encodeRuntimePresenceHealth(presence, signature, activationSignature),
   };
 }
-
-export interface PresenceAuthority {
-  sign(
-    state: RuntimePresenceState,
-    detail: string,
-    observedAtUnixMillis: number,
-  ): PresenceStatement;
-}
-
-/**
- * Open everything this launch's presence statements stand on, once, before the
- * process listens: Idunn's bundle facts, the activation seed and the presence
- * identity (each descriptor is read whole and closed), and the one publisher
- * sequence. It owns them for the life of the process; a pulse supplies only its
- * state, detail and observation time.
- *
- * A launch-contract fault (a missing or malformed bundle, descriptor or
- * identity) throws here, so the process exits before it accepts a request and
- * Idunn fails Warming at once, instead of a listener that can never sign.
- */
-export async function openPresenceAuthority(
-  config: Pick<HeimdallConfig, "idunnRuntimeBundlePath" | "host" | "port" | "providerHealthIdentityPath">,
-  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
-  machineId?: () => Promise<string>,
-): Promise<PresenceAuthority> {
-  if (!config.idunnRuntimeBundlePath) {
-    throw new Error("no Idunn runtime bundle path: presence has no launch to attest");
-  }
-  const bundle = await readRuntimeBundleFacts(config.idunnRuntimeBundlePath);
-
-  const activationDescriptor = passedDescriptor(IDUNN_RUNTIME_ACTIVATION_CREDENTIAL_NAME, env);
-  if (activationDescriptor === undefined) {
-    throw new Error(
-      "Idunn passed no runtime activation credential, so this process cannot prove it is the " +
-        "incarnation Idunn started",
-    );
-  }
-  const seed = readPassedDescriptor(activationDescriptor);
-  if (seed.length !== 32) {
-    throw new Error("Idunn runtime activation credential is not a 32-byte seed");
-  }
-  const activationKey = createPrivateKey({
-    key: Buffer.concat([PKCS8_ED25519_SEED_PREFIX, seed]),
-    format: "der",
-    type: "pkcs8",
-  });
-
-  const identity = await openProviderHealthIdentity(config.providerHealthIdentityPath, env, machineId);
-  const boundEndpoint = `http://${config.host}:${config.port}`;
-  const sequence = new PublisherSequence();
-
-  return {
-    sign: (state, detail, observedAtUnixMillis) =>
-      buildPresenceStatement({
-        bundle,
-        identity,
-        activationKey,
-        state,
-        detail,
-        boundEndpoint,
-        // A warming candidate holds no lease and must not claim one; the
-        // contract refuses the pair, and Idunn needs the warming statement to
-        // promote it.
-        writeLeaseSha256: null,
-        observedAtUnixMillis,
-        publisherSequence: sequence.next(observedAtUnixMillis),
-      }),
-  };
-}
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/fake-idunn-rudp.ts b/tests/fixtures/fake-idunn-rudp.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index e084666..0000000
--- a/tests/fixtures/fake-idunn-rudp.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * A stand-in for Idunn's health endpoint: it accepts each RUDP connect, acks
- * the frame that follows and keeps every delivered frame. Heimdall opens a
- * fresh socket and session per publication, so sessions are kept per remote.
- */
-import dgram from "node:dgram";
-import {
-  CultNetRudpSession,
-  decodeRudpPacket,
-  encodeRudpPacket,
-  type CultNetTransportFrame,
-} from "cultnet-ts";
-
-export interface FakeIdunnRudp {
-  port: number;
-  frames: CultNetTransportFrame[];
-  /** Resolves with the nth delivered frame (0-based) once it has arrived. */
-  frame(index: number): Promise<CultNetTransportFrame>;
-  close(): void;
-}
-
-export async function startFakeIdunnRudp(): Promise<FakeIdunnRudp> {
-  const server = dgram.createSocket("udp4");
-  const sessions = new Map<string, CultNetRudpSession>();
-  const frames: CultNetTransportFrame[] = [];
-  const waiting: Array<{ index: number; resolve: (frame: CultNetTransportFrame) => void }> = [];
-
-  server.on("message", (wire, remote) => {
-    const packet = decodeRudpPacket(wire);
-    const key = `${remote.address}:${remote.port}`;
-    if (packet.packetType === "connect") {
-      const session = new CultNetRudpSession({
-        connectionId: 0x1d0d0001,
-        initialSequence: 1,
-        resendDelayMs: 100,
-      });
-      sessions.set(key, session);
-      server.send(encodeRudpPacket(session.acceptConnect(packet, Date.now())), remote.port, remote.address);
-      return;
-    }
-    const session = sessions.get(key);
-    if (!session) return;
-    const result = session.receive(packet, Date.now());
-    if (result.reply) server.send(encodeRudpPacket(result.reply), remote.port, remote.address);
-    for (const frame of result.delivered) {
-      frames.push(frame);
-      for (const waiter of waiting.filter((entry) => entry.index === frames.length - 1)) waiter.resolve(frame);
-    }
-    if (result.delivered.length > 0) {
-      server.send(encodeRudpPacket(session.createAck()), remote.port, remote.address);
-    }
-  });
-  await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server.bind(0, "127.0.0.1", resolve));
-
-  return {
-    port: server.address().port,
-    frames,
-    frame: (index) =>
-      frames[index]
-        ? Promise.resolve(frames[index]!)
-        : new Promise((resolve) => waiting.push({ index, resolve })),
-    close: () => server.close(),
-  };
-}
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/.gitattributes b/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/.gitattributes
deleted file mode 100644
index fa1385d..0000000
--- a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/.gitattributes
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-* -text
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/README.md b/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/README.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 0f26117..0000000
--- a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/README.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-# Idunn runtime fixtures
-
-Written by the Rust owner, not by Heimdall's tests. Copied byte for byte from CultLib
-`217a9480`, `packages/cultnet-ts/test/fixtures/idunn-runtime/web` (`expected.cc`,
-`activation.cc`, `activation-key.seed`, `provider-identity.credential`) and that directory's
-`machine-id`. CultLib regenerates them with `packages/cultnet-rs/examples/idunn_runtime_fixture.rs`
-(its own README has the Yggdrasil command); the provider identity is bound to `machine-id`, so a
-test that decodes it supplies that machine id instead of `/etc/machine-id`.
-
-Every key here is a test key. `provider-identity.credential` is the shape Idunn passes on the
-presence-identity descriptor: key fields are 32-integer arrays, which only the Rust owner writes.
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/activation-key.seed b/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/activation-key.seed
deleted file mode 100644
index 7b6d37f..0000000
--- a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/activation-key.seed
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-��Od�f�l*o���F�v�n�hL��p�S
�p
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/activation.cc b/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/activation.cc
deleted file mode 100644
index 3931baf..0000000
Binary files a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/activation.cc and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/expected.cc b/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/expected.cc
deleted file mode 100644
index dbf7153..0000000
Binary files a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/expected.cc and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/machine-id b/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/machine-id
deleted file mode 100644
index a71716f..0000000
--- a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/machine-id
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1c1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/provider-identity.credential b/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/provider-identity.credential
deleted file mode 100644
index 2e61713..0000000
Binary files a/tests/fixtures/idunn-runtime/provider-identity.credential and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/presence-descriptors.ts b/tests/fixtures/presence-descriptors.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 8e724f2..0000000
--- a/tests/fixtures/presence-descriptors.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * What Idunn hands a generation for runtime presence: the bundle directory, a
- * parent-only identity store and an activation seed, the last two passed as
- * descriptors named in LISTEN_FDNAMES. The bytes are the Rust owner's, copied
- * from CultLib (see idunn-runtime/README.md); every key in them is a test key.
- */
-import { closeSync, openSync } from "node:fs";
-import { chmod, copyFile, mkdir, readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
-import path from "node:path";
-
-import { IDUNN_RUNTIME_ACTIVATION_CREDENTIAL_NAME } from "cultnet-ts";
-
-export const idunnRuntimeFixtures = path.join(import.meta.dirname, "idunn-runtime");
-
-const FIXTURE_FILES = [
-  "expected.cc",
-  "activation.cc",
-  "activation-key.seed",
-  "provider-identity.credential",
-  "machine-id",
-] as const;
-
-/** The machine id the fixture identity is bound to, in place of /etc/machine-id. */
-export const fixtureMachineId = async (dir: string = idunnRuntimeFixtures): Promise<string> =>
-  (await readFile(path.join(dir, "machine-id"), "utf8")).trim();
-
-/** Copy the fixtures into `dir`, readable by any uid (the children run as others). */
-export async function writePresenceFixtures(dir: string): Promise<void> {
-  await mkdir(dir, { recursive: true });
-  await chmod(dir, 0o755);
-  for (const name of FIXTURE_FILES) {
-    const target = path.join(dir, name);
-    await copyFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, name), target);
-    await chmod(target, 0o644);
-  }
-}
-
-/** Open both descriptors and name them the way systemd's LISTEN_FDNAMES does. */
-export function openPresenceDescriptors(dir: string): { env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv; close: () => void } {
-  const fds = [
-    [openSync(path.join(dir, "provider-identity.credential"), "r"), "gamecult-runtime-presence-identity"],
-    [openSync(path.join(dir, "activation-key.seed"), "r"), IDUNN_RUNTIME_ACTIVATION_CREDENTIAL_NAME],
-  ] as const;
-  const names: string[] = [];
-  for (const [fd, name] of fds) {
-    while (names.length < fd - 3) names.push(`pad-${names.length}`);
-    names[fd - 3] = name;
-  }
-  return {
-    env: { LISTEN_FDNAMES: names.join(":") },
-    // The authority closes each descriptor it reads; this releases only what it did not.
-    close: () =>
-      fds.forEach(([fd]) => {
-        try {
-          closeSync(fd);
-        } catch {
-          // already closed by the reader
-        }
-      }),
-  };
-}
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/state-root-generation-child.ts b/tests/fixtures/state-root-generation-child.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 932d513..0000000
--- a/tests/fixtures/state-root-generation-child.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * One Idunn generation, as a process: it runs as the uid and gid its parent
- * gave it, under UMask=0007, and does what Heimdall does to a state root on a
- * pulse. The parent test spawns two of these under different uids that share
- * a group.
- *
- * argv: <role: first|next> <stateRoot> <fixtureDir>
- */
-import { readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
-import path from "node:path";
-
-import { loadConfig } from "../../src/config.js";
-import { openPresenceAuthority } from "../../src/runtime-presence.js";
-import { fixtureMachineId, openPresenceDescriptors } from "./presence-descriptors.js";
-import { createHeimdallRuntimePulse, publishHeimdallVerseState } from "../../src/verse-state.js";
-
-const [role, stateRoot, fixtureDir] = process.argv.slice(2) as [string, string, string];
-process.umask(0o007);
-
-const config = loadConfig({
-  GC_ACCESS_BASE_URL: "https://heimdall.example.test",
-  GC_ACCESS_DATA_ROOT: stateRoot,
-});
-
-async function publishPresence(): Promise<void> {
-  const descriptors = openPresenceDescriptors(fixtureDir);
-  try {
-    const authority = await openPresenceAuthority(
-      {
-        idunnRuntimeBundlePath: fixtureDir,
-        host: config.host,
-        port: config.port,
-        providerHealthIdentityPath: path.join(stateRoot, "provider-health-identity.cc"),
-      },
-      descriptors.env,
-      () => fixtureMachineId(fixtureDir),
-    );
-    authority.sign("warming", "generation probe", Date.now());
-  } finally {
-    descriptors.close();
-  }
-}
-
-if (role === "next") {
-  // Generation N+1 reads what N left before it replaces it.
-  const previous = await readFile(config.cultCachePath);
-  if (previous.length === 0) throw new Error("previous generation's snapshot is empty");
-}
-
-await publishHeimdallVerseState(config, createHeimdallRuntimePulse(config));
-await publishPresence();
-
-if (role === "first") {
-  // The 0600 counter the 2026-09-07 generation left behind. Nothing reads it
-  // now; it stays as the stale fixture the next generation must live beside.
-  await writeFile(path.join(stateRoot, "runtime-presence-sequence"), "41\n", { mode: 0o600 });
-}
diff --git a/tests/idunn-boot.test.ts b/tests/idunn-boot.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index a645986..0000000
--- a/tests/idunn-boot.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,320 +0,0 @@
-import { execFile, spawn, type ChildProcess } from "node:child_process";
-import { createPublicKey, createPrivateKey, verify } from "node:crypto";
-import dgram from "node:dgram";
-import { chmod, copyFile, mkdir, mkdtemp, readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
-import { closeSync, openSync } from "node:fs";
-import net from "node:net";
-import os from "node:os";
-import path from "node:path";
-import { promisify } from "node:util";
-
-import { decode, encode } from "@msgpack/msgpack";
-import {
-  RUNTIME_PRESENCE_SLOT,
-  parseCultNetMessage,
-  runtimePresenceActivationSigningMessage,
-  runtimePresenceProviderSigningMessage,
-} from "cultnet-ts";
-import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-
-import { startFakeIdunnRudp, type FakeIdunnRudp } from "./fixtures/fake-idunn-rudp.js";
-import { idunnRuntimeFixtures } from "./fixtures/presence-descriptors.js";
-
-const run = promisify(execFile);
-
-const GENERATION_UID = 61184;
-const STATE_GID = 4242;
-const ED25519_SPKI_PREFIX = Buffer.from("302a300506032b6570032100", "hex");
-const PKCS8_ED25519_SEED_PREFIX = Buffer.from("302e020100300506032b657004220420", "hex");
-
-// The launch needs root (to pick the uid and bind a machine-id) and a mount
-// namespace (so the fixture machine-id does not replace the host's). The
-// stopgap's node container has both; anywhere else the test steps aside.
-const canLaunch =
-  process.getuid?.() === 0 &&
-  (await run("unshare", ["--mount", "--", "true"]).then(
-    () => true,
-    () => false
-  ));
-
-/**
- * The artifact under test. By default the esbuild bundle `pnpm bundle` makes,
- * run by this process's node; a runbook proves a sealed release by naming its
- * bundle and node here instead.
- */
-const bundleOverride = process.env.HEIMDALL_BOOT_BUNDLE;
-const nodeOverride = process.env.HEIMDALL_BOOT_NODE;
-
-async function freePort(): Promise<number> {
-  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    const probe = net.createServer();
-    probe.once("error", reject);
-    probe.listen(0, "127.0.0.1", () => {
-      const { port } = probe.address() as net.AddressInfo;
-      probe.close(() => resolve(port));
-    });
-  });
-}
-
-interface Launch {
-  child: ChildProcess;
-  stderr: () => string;
-  exited: Promise<number | null>;
-  candidatePort: number;
-}
-
-describe.skipIf(!canLaunch)("the bundle booted as Idunn launches it", () => {
-  let base: string;
-  let bundle: string;
-  let node: string;
-  let idunn: FakeIdunnRudp;
-  let odin: dgram.Socket;
-  let odinPort: number;
-  const launched: ChildProcess[] = [];
-
-  beforeAll(async () => {
-    base = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-boot-"));
-    await chmod(base, 0o755);
-    if (bundleOverride) {
-      bundle = bundleOverride;
-    } else {
-      await run("corepack", ["pnpm", "bundle"], { cwd: path.join(import.meta.dirname, "..") });
-      bundle = path.join(base, "heimdall.mjs");
-      await copyFile(path.join(import.meta.dirname, "..", "dist", "heimdall"), bundle);
-      await chmod(bundle, 0o644);
-    }
-    node = nodeOverride ?? process.execPath;
-    idunn = await startFakeIdunnRudp();
-    odin = dgram.createSocket("udp4");
-    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => odin.bind(0, "127.0.0.1", resolve));
-    odinPort = odin.address().port;
-  }, 120_000);
-
-  afterAll(() => {
-    for (const child of launched) child.kill("SIGKILL");
-    idunn?.close();
-    odin?.close();
-  });
-
-  /** Credential files as Idunn holds them: readable only by the parent. */
-  async function credentials(dir: string, identity: Buffer | undefined) {
-    await mkdir(dir, { recursive: true });
-    const seed = path.join(dir, "activation-key.seed");
-    await copyFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "activation-key.seed"), seed);
-    await chmod(seed, 0o400);
-    let identityFile: string | undefined;
-    if (identity) {
-      identityFile = path.join(dir, "provider-identity.credential");
-      await writeFile(identityFile, identity, { mode: 0o400 });
-    }
-    return { seed, identityFile };
-  }
-
-  /** Start the bundle as the generation unit does, with the fixture machine-id bound over the host's. */
-  async function launch(label: string, identity: Buffer | undefined): Promise<Launch> {
-    const dir = path.join(base, label);
-    await mkdir(dir, { recursive: true });
-    await chmod(dir, 0o755);
-
-    // Idunn's runtime bundle: the two records, read-only.
-    const bundleDir = path.join(dir, "bundle");
-    await mkdir(bundleDir);
-    for (const name of ["expected.cc", "activation.cc"]) {
-      await copyFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, name), path.join(bundleDir, name));
-      await chmod(path.join(bundleDir, name), 0o444);
-    }
-    await chmod(bundleDir, 0o555);
-
-    const machineId = path.join(dir, "machine-id");
-    await copyFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "machine-id"), machineId);
-    await chmod(machineId, 0o444);
-
-    const stateRoot = path.join(dir, "state");
-    await mkdir(stateRoot);
-    await run("chown", [`0:${STATE_GID}`, stateRoot]);
-    await chmod(stateRoot, 0o2770);
-
-    const heimdall = path.join(dir, "heimdall.mjs");
-    await copyFile(bundle, heimdall);
-    await chmod(heimdall, 0o444);
-
-    const files = await credentials(path.join(dir, "credentials"), identity);
-    const candidatePort = await freePort();
-
-    const fds = [openSync(files.seed, "r")];
-    const names = ["gamecult-idunn-runtime-activation-key"];
-    if (files.identityFile) {
-      fds.push(openSync(files.identityFile, "r"));
-      names.push("gamecult-runtime-presence-identity");
-    }
-
-    const env = {
-      PATH: process.env.PATH ?? "",
-      LISTEN_FDS: String(fds.length),
-      LISTEN_FDNAMES: names.join(":"),
-      GAMECULT_IDUNN_CANDIDATE_BIND: `127.0.0.1:${candidatePort}`,
-      GAMECULT_IDUNN_RUNTIME_BUNDLE: bundleDir,
-      GAMECULT_IDUNN_PROCESS_WRITE_LEASE: path.join(dir, "process-write-lease.cc"),
-      GC_ACCESS_BASE_URL: "https://heimdall.test",
-      GC_ACCESS_ISSUER: "https://heimdall.test",
-      GC_ACCESS_STORAGE_BACKEND: "memory",
-      GC_ACCESS_IDUNN_RUDP_HEALTH: `127.0.0.1:${idunn.port}`,
-      GC_ACCESS_IDUNN_HEALTH_CONTRACT: "heimdall.cultnet-rudp-provider-health",
-      GC_ACCESS_ODIN_CULTMESH_URI: `rudp://127.0.0.1:${odinPort}`,
-      CULTMESH_URI_ODIN_RUDP: `rudp://127.0.0.1:${odinPort}`,
-      GC_ACCESS_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_BOOTSTRAP: "1",
-      GC_ACCESS_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH: path.join(stateRoot, "signing.pem"),
-      GC_ACCESS_SIGNING_KEY_ID: "boot-test",
-    };
-
-    // uid, gid and umask as Idunn's DynamicUser unit gives them. The fixture
-    // machine-id is bound only inside this mount namespace.
-    const script =
-      `mount --bind ${machineId} /etc/machine-id && ` +
-      `exec setpriv --reuid ${GENERATION_UID} --regid ${STATE_GID} --clear-groups ` +
-      `sh -c 'umask 0007; cd ${dir}; exec ${node} heimdall.mjs --state-root ${stateRoot}'`;
-    const child = spawn("unshare", ["--mount", "--", "sh", "-c", script], {
-      env,
-      stdio: ["ignore", "ignore", "pipe", ...fds],
-    });
-    launched.push(child);
-    fds.forEach((fd) => closeSync(fd));
-
-    let stderr = "";
-    child.stderr!.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
-      stderr += chunk.toString();
-    });
-    const exited = new Promise<number | null>((resolve) => child.once("exit", (code) => resolve(code)));
-    return { child, stderr: () => stderr, exited, candidatePort };
-  }
-
-  async function answers(port: number): Promise<number | undefined> {
-    return fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${port}/.well-known/jwks.json`).then(
-      (response) => response.status,
-      () => undefined
-    );
-  }
-
-  it("signs warming presence on every pulse and answers HTTP", async () => {
-    const credential = await readFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "provider-identity.credential"));
-    const generation = await launch("signs", credential);
-
-    // Startup publication, then one per 10 s pulse. A publication fault is
-    // reported as it is logged rather than after the frames never arrive.
-    const publicationFault = new Promise<never>((_resolve, reject) => {
-      const watch = setInterval(() => {
-        if (generation.stderr().includes(" failed on ")) {
-          clearInterval(watch);
-          reject(new Error(`publication failed; stderr: ${generation.stderr()}`));
-        }
-      }, 200);
-      void idunn.frame(2).then(() => clearInterval(watch));
-    });
-    const exitedEarly = generation.exited.then((code) => {
-      throw new Error(`bundle exited ${code}; stderr: ${generation.stderr()}`);
-    });
-    // The first statement is the startup publication, which follows the listen
-    // directly; the 10 s pulse loop has not yet fired.
-    await Promise.race([
-      idunn.frame(0),
-      publicationFault,
-      exitedEarly,
-      new Promise<never>((_resolve, reject) =>
-        setTimeout(() => reject(new Error(`no presence at startup; stderr: ${generation.stderr()}`)), 8_000)
-      ),
-    ]);
-    await Promise.race([idunn.frame(2), publicationFault, exitedEarly]);
-
-    expect(await answers(generation.candidatePort)).toBe(200);
-
-    // Public keys of the two proofs, from the fixtures' test keys.
-    const store = decode(credential) as unknown[][];
-    const record = decode(store[0]![2] as Uint8Array) as unknown[];
-    const providerKey = createPublicKey({
-      key: Buffer.concat([ED25519_SPKI_PREFIX, Buffer.from(record[2] as number[])]),
-      format: "der",
-      type: "spki",
-    });
-    const activationKey = createPublicKey(
-      createPrivateKey({
-        key: Buffer.concat([
-          PKCS8_ED25519_SEED_PREFIX,
-          await readFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "activation-key.seed")),
-        ]),
-        format: "der",
-        type: "pkcs8",
-      })
-    );
-
-    let previousSequence = 0;
-    for (const frame of idunn.frames.slice(0, 3)) {
-      const message = parseCultNetMessage(decode(frame.payload), "cultnet.schema.v0");
-      if (message.schemaVersion !== "cultnet.document_put_raw.v0") throw new Error("not a raw document put");
-      const fields = decode(message.document.payload) as unknown[];
-      expect(fields[RUNTIME_PRESENCE_SLOT.state]).toBe("warming");
-
-      const unsigned = [...fields];
-      unsigned[RUNTIME_PRESENCE_SLOT.signature] = new Uint8Array();
-      unsigned[RUNTIME_PRESENCE_SLOT.activationSignature] = new Uint8Array();
-      const proof = encode(unsigned);
-      expect(
-        verify(
-          null,
-          runtimePresenceProviderSigningMessage(proof),
-          providerKey,
-          fields[RUNTIME_PRESENCE_SLOT.signature] as Uint8Array
-        )
-      ).toBe(true);
-      expect(
-        verify(
-          null,
-          runtimePresenceActivationSigningMessage(proof),
-          activationKey,
-          fields[RUNTIME_PRESENCE_SLOT.activationSignature] as Uint8Array
-        )
-      ).toBe(true);
-
-      const sequence = fields[RUNTIME_PRESENCE_SLOT.publisherSequence] as number;
-      expect(sequence).toBeGreaterThan(previousSequence);
-      previousSequence = sequence;
-    }
-
-    expect(generation.stderr()).not.toContain("failed on startup");
-    expect(generation.stderr()).not.toContain("failed on interval");
-    generation.child.kill("SIGKILL");
-  }, 90_000);
-
-  it.each([
-    ["the identity descriptor is not passed", undefined, "gamecult-runtime-presence-identity"],
-    ["the identity is damaged", "damaged", "identity id check"],
-  ])("exits before listening when %s", async (_name, damage, expected) => {
-    const credential = await readFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "provider-identity.credential"));
-    const store = decode(credential) as unknown[][];
-    const record = decode(store[0]![2] as Uint8Array) as unknown[];
-    const publicKey = [...(record[2] as number[])];
-    const original = { publicKeyHex: Buffer.from(publicKey).toString("hex"), id: record[1] as string, binding: record[5] as string };
-    let identity: Buffer | undefined;
-    if (damage) {
-      publicKey[0] = publicKey[0]! ^ 1;
-      record[2] = publicKey;
-      identity = Buffer.from(encode([[store[0]![0], store[0]![1], encode(record), store[0]![3], store[0]![4]]]));
-    }
-    const started = Date.now();
-    const generation = await launch(damage ? "damaged" : "no-identity", identity);
-
-    const code = await Promise.race([
-      generation.exited,
-      new Promise<"timeout">((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve("timeout"), 5_000)),
-    ]);
-
-    expect(code, generation.stderr()).not.toBe("timeout");
-    expect(code).not.toBe(0);
-    expect(Date.now() - started).toBeLessThan(6_000);
-    expect(await answers(generation.candidatePort)).toBeUndefined();
-    expect(generation.stderr()).toContain(expected);
-    // No byte of the credential: not the key bytes, not the id, not the binding.
-    expect(generation.stderr()).not.toContain(original.publicKeyHex);
-    expect(generation.stderr()).not.toContain(original.id.slice(0, 16));
-    expect(generation.stderr()).not.toContain(original.binding.slice(-16));
-  }, 30_000);
-});
diff --git a/tests/idunn-rudp-health.test.ts b/tests/idunn-rudp-health.test.ts
index fa40393..66127d4 100644
--- a/tests/idunn-rudp-health.test.ts
+++ b/tests/idunn-rudp-health.test.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,18 @@
+import dgram from "node:dgram";
 import { mkdtemp } from "node:fs/promises";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { decode } from "@msgpack/msgpack";
-import { parseCultNetMessage } from "cultnet-ts";
+import {
+  CultNetRudpSession,
+  decodeRudpPacket,
+  encodeRudpPacket,
+  parseCultNetMessage,
+  type CultNetTransportFrame,
+} from "cultnet-ts";
 import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { loadConfig } from "../src/config.js";
 import { publishIdunnRudpHealth } from "../src/idunn-rudp-health.js";
-import { startFakeIdunnRudp } from "./fixtures/fake-idunn-rudp.js";
 
 vi.mock("node:fs/promises", async (importOriginal) => {
   const original = await importOriginal<typeof import("node:fs/promises")>();
@@ -21,12 +27,37 @@ vi.mock("node:fs/promises", async (importOriginal) => {
 
 describe("Heimdall Idunn health publication", () => {
   it("completes the canonical RUDP handshake before publishing its signed frame", async () => {
-    const server = await startFakeIdunnRudp();
+    const server = dgram.createSocket("udp4");
+    const session = new CultNetRudpSession({
+      connectionId: 0x1d0d0001,
+      initialSequence: 1,
+      resendDelayMs: 100,
+    });
+    let resolveFrame!: (frame: CultNetTransportFrame) => void;
+    const frameReceived = new Promise<CultNetTransportFrame>((resolve) => {
+      resolveFrame = resolve;
+    });
+
+    server.on("message", (wire, remote) => {
+      const packet = decodeRudpPacket(wire);
+      if (packet.packetType === "connect") {
+        server.send(encodeRudpPacket(session.acceptConnect(packet, Date.now())), remote.port, remote.address);
+        return;
+      }
+      const result = session.receive(packet, Date.now());
+      if (result.reply) server.send(encodeRudpPacket(result.reply), remote.port, remote.address);
+      for (const frame of result.delivered) resolveFrame(frame);
+      if (result.delivered.length > 0) {
+        server.send(encodeRudpPacket(session.createAck()), remote.port, remote.address);
+      }
+    });
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server.bind(0, "127.0.0.1", resolve));
 
     try {
       const tmp = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-idunn-rudp-"));
+      const address = server.address();
       const config = loadConfig({
-        GC_ACCESS_IDUNN_RUDP_HEALTH: `127.0.0.1:${server.port}`,
+        GC_ACCESS_IDUNN_RUDP_HEALTH: `127.0.0.1:${address.port}`,
         GC_ACCESS_PROVIDER_HEALTH_IDENTITY_PATH: path.join(tmp, "provider-health-identity.cc"),
       });
       const observedAt = "2026-08-22T00:45:00.000Z";
@@ -47,7 +78,7 @@ describe("Heimdall Idunn health publication", () => {
         observedAt,
         presence,
       });
-      const frame = await server.frame(0);
+      const frame = await frameReceived;
       const message = parseCultNetMessage(decode(frame.payload), "cultnet.schema.v0");
 
       expect(frame.channelId).toBe("schema");
diff --git a/tests/presence-identity-descriptor.test.ts b/tests/presence-identity-descriptor.test.ts
index d01797b..97c5233 100644
--- a/tests/presence-identity-descriptor.test.ts
+++ b/tests/presence-identity-descriptor.test.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
-import { access, mkdtemp, readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
-import { openSync } from "node:fs";
+import { mkdtemp, readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { openSync, closeSync } from "node:fs";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 
-import { decode, encode } from "@msgpack/msgpack";
+import { encode } from "@msgpack/msgpack";
+import { SingleFileMessagePackBackingStore } from "@gamecult/cultcache-ts";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 import {
+  openOrEnrollProviderHealthIdentity,
   openProviderHealthIdentity,
   passedDescriptor,
   providerHealthPublicIdentity,
 } from "../src/provider-health-identity.js";
-import { fixtureMachineId, idunnRuntimeFixtures } from "./fixtures/presence-descriptors.js";
 
 const machineIdAvailable = await readFile("/etc/machine-id", "utf8").then(
   () => true,
@@ -22,79 +23,59 @@ const machineIdAvailable = await readFile("/etc/machine-id", "utf8").then(
  * The identity is machine-id bound, so enrolment only works where a machine-id
  * exists. These run on Linux and are skipped elsewhere.
  */
-/** Name the presence descriptor so it lands on whatever fd open() returned. */
-function presenceEnv(fd: number): NodeJS.ProcessEnv {
-  // The lookup maps a name index onto 3 + index, so the name list is padded
-  // until the presence entry lands on the descriptor open() actually returned.
-  // Assuming it is 3 is how this passes on one machine and reads the wrong
-  // descriptor on another.
-  const names = [
-    ...Array.from({ length: fd - 3 }, (_, i) => `pad-${i}`),
-    "gamecult-runtime-presence-identity",
-  ].join(":");
-  return { LISTEN_FDNAMES: names, LISTEN_PID: String(process.pid) };
-}
-
-describe("presence identity from a passed descriptor", () => {
-  it("decodes the Rust owner's record, whose key fields are integer arrays", async () => {
+describe.skipIf(!machineIdAvailable)("presence identity from a passed descriptor", () => {
+  it("reads an Idunn-written store, not a cultcache-ts one", async () => {
     const dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-presence-"));
-    const fd = openSync(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "provider-identity.credential"), "r");
 
-    const opened = await openProviderHealthIdentity(
-      path.join(dir, "would-be-self-enrolled.cc"),
-      presenceEnv(fd),
-      fixtureMachineId
+    // Enrol with the TypeScript client to get a genuine machine-bound payload,
+    // then re-wrap that payload the way cultcache-rs writes a store: a bare
+    // array of positional [key, type, payload, stored_at, schema_id] envelopes.
+    // Idunn writes with the Rust client, and cultcache-ts cannot read that
+    // layout, so wrapping it here is what makes this test resemble reality.
+    const tsStore = path.join(dir, "ts-enrolled.cc");
+    const enrolled = await openOrEnrollProviderHealthIdentity(tsStore);
+    const records = await new SingleFileMessagePackBackingStore(tsStore).pullAll();
+    expect(records).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    const idunnStore = path.join(dir, "runtime-presence-identity.cc");
+    await writeFile(
+      idunnStore,
+      encode([
+        [
+          "gamecult-provider-health-identity",
+          "gamecult.provider_health_identity.private.v1",
+          records[0]!.payload,
+          "2026-09-06T00:00:00.000Z",
+          "gamecult.provider_health_identity.private.v1",
+        ],
+      ])
     );
 
-    // The fixture's own public key means it came from the descriptor. A fresh
-    // self-enrolment would produce a different key, which is exactly the failure
-    // that makes Idunn refuse this daemon's health and stall promotion.
-    const store = decode(await readFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "provider-identity.credential"))) as unknown[][];
-    const record = decode(store[0]![2] as Uint8Array) as unknown[];
-    expect(providerHealthPublicIdentity(opened).publicKeyHex).toBe(
-      Buffer.from(record[2] as number[]).toString("hex")
-    );
-    await expect(access(path.join(dir, "would-be-self-enrolled.cc"))).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: "ENOENT" });
-  });
+    const fd = openSync(idunnStore, "r");
+    try {
+      // The lookup maps a name index onto 3 + index, so the name list is padded
+      // until the presence entry lands on whatever descriptor open() actually
+      // returned. Assuming it is 3 is how this passes on one machine and reads
+      // the wrong descriptor on another.
+      const names = [
+        ...Array.from({ length: fd - 3 }, (_, i) => `pad-${i}`),
+        "gamecult-runtime-presence-identity",
+      ].join(":");
 
-  it("refuses a bin-shaped record on the descriptor path, naming the key-shape check and no value", async () => {
-    const dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-presence-bin-"));
-    const store = decode(await readFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "provider-identity.credential"))) as unknown[][];
-    const record = decode(store[0]![2] as Uint8Array) as unknown[];
-    // What this process's own enroller writes: the same record with bin key fields.
-    const binRecord = record.map((field, index) =>
-      index === 2 || index === 3 ? Uint8Array.from(field as number[]) : field
-    );
-    const binStore = path.join(dir, "bin-shaped.cc");
-    await writeFile(binStore, encode([[store[0]![0], store[0]![1], encode(binRecord), store[0]![3], store[0]![4]]]));
-    const fd = openSync(binStore, "r");
+      const opened = await openProviderHealthIdentity(
+        path.join(dir, "would-be-self-enrolled.cc"),
+        { LISTEN_FDNAMES: names, LISTEN_PID: String(process.pid) }
+      );
 
-    const failure = await openProviderHealthIdentity(path.join(dir, "x.cc"), presenceEnv(fd), fixtureMachineId).then(
-      () => undefined,
-      (error: Error) => error
-    );
-
-    expect(failure?.message).toContain("key shape check");
-    expect(failure?.message).not.toContain((record[1] as string).slice(0, 16));
-  });
-
-  it.each([
-    ["schema", 0, "bogus", "schema check"],
-    ["protector", 4, "bogus", "protector check"],
-    ["binding", 5, "bogus", "binding check"],
-    ["version", 6, "v9", "version check"],
-  ])("a record failing only the %s check is refused by that check", async (_name, index, replacement, check) => {
-    const dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-presence-check-"));
-    const store = decode(await readFile(path.join(idunnRuntimeFixtures, "provider-identity.credential"))) as unknown[][];
-    const record = decode(store[0]![2] as Uint8Array) as unknown[];
-    record[index] = replacement;
-    const damaged = path.join(dir, "damaged.cc");
-    await writeFile(damaged, encode([[store[0]![0], store[0]![1], encode(record), store[0]![3], store[0]![4]]]));
-    const fd = openSync(damaged, "r");
-
-    await expect(
-      openProviderHealthIdentity(path.join(dir, "x.cc"), presenceEnv(fd), fixtureMachineId)
-    ).rejects.toThrow(check);
+      // Same key means it came from the descriptor. A fresh self-enrolment
+      // would produce a different key -- which is exactly the failure that
+      // makes Idunn refuse this daemon's health and stall promotion.
+      expect(providerHealthPublicIdentity(opened).publicKeyHex).toBe(
+        providerHealthPublicIdentity(enrolled).publicKeyHex
+      );
+    } finally {
+      closeSync(fd);
+    }
   });
 });
 
@@ -131,29 +112,3 @@ describe("presence identity descriptor selection", () => {
     });
   });
 });
-
-describe("an Idunn generation without the presence identity descriptor", () => {
-  it("refuses, naming the descriptor, and enrolls nothing", async () => {
-    const dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-nodescriptor-"));
-    const identityPath = path.join(dir, "provider-health-identity.cc");
-
-    await expect(
-      openProviderHealthIdentity(identityPath, {
-        GAMECULT_IDUNN_RUNTIME_BUNDLE: "/run/idunn/bundle",
-        LISTEN_FDNAMES: "some-other-descriptor",
-      })
-    ).rejects.toThrow("gamecult-runtime-presence-identity");
-
-    await expect(access(identityPath)).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: "ENOENT" });
-  });
-
-  it("still self-enrolls outside Idunn", async () => {
-    if (!machineIdAvailable) return;
-    const dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-outside-idunn-"));
-    const identityPath = path.join(dir, "provider-health-identity.cc");
-
-    await openProviderHealthIdentity(identityPath, {});
-
-    await expect(access(identityPath)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
-  });
-});
diff --git a/tests/publisher-sequence.test.ts b/tests/publisher-sequence.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index cfddac2..0000000
--- a/tests/publisher-sequence.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,83 +0,0 @@
-import { mkdtemp, readdir, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
-import os from "node:os";
-import path from "node:path";
-
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-
-import { loadConfig } from "../src/config.js";
-import { PublisherSequence, openPresenceAuthority } from "../src/runtime-presence.js";
-import { fixtureMachineId, openPresenceDescriptors, writePresenceFixtures } from "./fixtures/presence-descriptors.js";
-
-describe("PublisherSequence", () => {
-  it("starts at the observed millis", () => {
-    expect(new PublisherSequence().next(1_700_000_000_000)).toBe(1_700_000_000_000);
-  });
-
-  it("strictly increases for equal, earlier and later observations", () => {
-    const sequence = new PublisherSequence();
-    const first = sequence.next(1_700_000_000_000);
-    const equal = sequence.next(1_700_000_000_000);
-    const earlier = sequence.next(1_699_999_990_000);
-    const later = sequence.next(1_700_000_050_000);
-    expect([first, equal, earlier, later]).toEqual([
-      1_700_000_000_000,
-      1_700_000_000_001,
-      1_700_000_000_002,
-      1_700_000_050_000,
-    ]);
-  });
-
-  it("never falls below the observed millis once the clock moves ahead", () => {
-    const sequence = new PublisherSequence();
-    sequence.next(1_700_000_000_000);
-    sequence.next(1_700_000_000_000);
-    sequence.next(1_700_000_000_000);
-    expect(sequence.next(1_700_000_000_002)).toBe(1_700_000_000_003);
-    expect(sequence.next(1_700_000_000_010)).toBe(1_700_000_000_010);
-  });
-
-  it("refuses a value that is not a safe integer and keeps its place", () => {
-    const sequence = new PublisherSequence();
-    expect(sequence.next(10)).toBe(10);
-    for (const bad of [Number.NaN, Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY, 1.5, 2 ** 60]) {
-      expect(() => sequence.next(bad)).toThrow("observedAtUnixMillis");
-    }
-    expect(sequence.next(5)).toBe(11);
-  });
-});
-
-describe("the presence authority", () => {
-  it("opens once, touches no path under dataRoot, and signs every pulse after its descriptors are gone", async () => {
-    const dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-nodataroot-"));
-    const fixtures = path.join(dir, "fixtures");
-    await writePresenceFixtures(fixtures);
-    // A regular file as dataRoot: opening anything beneath it fails with
-    // ENOTDIR for every uid, root included.
-    const dataRoot = path.join(dir, "not-a-directory");
-    await writeFile(dataRoot, "");
-    const config = loadConfig({
-      GC_ACCESS_BASE_URL: "https://heimdall.example.test",
-      GC_ACCESS_DATA_ROOT: dataRoot,
-    });
-
-    const descriptors = openPresenceDescriptors(fixtures);
-    try {
-      const authority = await openPresenceAuthority(
-        { ...config, idunnRuntimeBundlePath: fixtures },
-        descriptors.env,
-        fixtureMachineId,
-      );
-      // The descriptors were read whole and closed: a second read would find
-      // nothing, so signing again proves the authority holds what it decoded.
-      const observedAtUnixMillis = Date.parse("2026-10-23T12:00:00.000Z");
-      const first = authority.sign("warming", "probe", observedAtUnixMillis);
-      const second = authority.sign("warming", "probe", observedAtUnixMillis);
-      expect(first.target).toBe("streampixels-web");
-      expect(second.target).toBe("streampixels-web");
-      expect(Buffer.from(second.payload).equals(Buffer.from(first.payload))).toBe(false);
-    } finally {
-      descriptors.close();
-    }
-    expect((await readdir(dir)).sort()).toEqual(["fixtures", "not-a-directory"]);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/tests/state-root-generations.test.ts b/tests/state-root-generations.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index b8424f3..0000000
--- a/tests/state-root-generations.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,98 +0,0 @@
-import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
-import { chmod, chown, mkdir, mkdtemp, readdir, stat } from "node:fs/promises";
-import os from "node:os";
-import path from "node:path";
-import { promisify } from "node:util";
-
-import { build } from "esbuild";
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-
-import { writePresenceFixtures } from "./fixtures/presence-descriptors.js";
-
-const run = promisify(execFile);
-
-const STATE_GID = 4242;
-const GENERATION_N = 61184;
-const GENERATION_N_PLUS_1 = 61185;
-
-// Creating uids and groups needs root; the stopgap's node container runs as root.
-const isRoot = process.getuid?.() === 0;
-
-async function walk(dir: string): Promise<string[]> {
-  const found: string[] = [];
-  for (const entry of await readdir(dir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
-    const full = path.join(dir, entry.name);
-    found.push(full);
-    if (entry.isDirectory()) found.push(...(await walk(full)));
-  }
-  return found;
-}
-
-/**
- * Idunn gives every generation a fresh DynamicUser uid and one shared group,
- * UMask=0007, and a 2770 setgid state root. Generation N+1 runs beside or after
- * N and must be able to read and replace everything N left there.
- */
-describe.skipIf(!isRoot)("Idunn state root across generations", () => {
-  it("generation N+1, a different uid in the same group, reads and replaces generation N's state", async () => {
-    const base = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "heimdall-generations-"));
-    await chmod(base, 0o755);
-
-    // The fixtures stand in for what Idunn passes as descriptors.
-    const fixtures = path.join(base, "fixtures");
-    await writePresenceFixtures(fixtures);
-
-    const stateRoot = path.join(base, "state");
-    await mkdir(stateRoot);
-    await chown(stateRoot, 0, STATE_GID);
-    await chmod(stateRoot, 0o2770);
-
-    // The generations run as uids that cannot read the checkout, so each runs
-    // one self-contained bundle built into the world-readable scratch root.
-    const child = path.join(base, "generation.mjs");
-    await build({
-      entryPoints: [path.join(import.meta.dirname, "fixtures", "state-root-generation-child.ts")],
-      bundle: true,
-      platform: "node",
-      format: "esm",
-      target: "node24",
-      outfile: child,
-      external: ["pg-native"],
-      banner: {
-        js: "import{createRequire}from'node:module';const require=createRequire(import.meta.url);",
-      },
-      logLevel: "silent",
-    });
-    await chmod(child, 0o644);
-    const generation = (role: "first" | "next", uid: number) =>
-      run(process.execPath, [child, role, stateRoot, fixtures], {
-        uid,
-        gid: STATE_GID,
-        cwd: base,
-        env: { PATH: process.env.PATH ?? "", HOME: fixtures },
-      });
-
-    await generation("first", GENERATION_N);
-
-    const left = await walk(stateRoot);
-    expect(left.map((entry) => path.relative(stateRoot, entry)).sort()).toEqual([
-      "cultcache",
-      path.join("cultcache", "heimdall.service.cc"),
-      "runtime-presence-sequence",
-    ]);
-
-    await generation("next", GENERATION_N_PLUS_1);
-
-    // Generation N+1 replaced the snapshot, and no owner-only file is left
-    // behind for generation N+2: everything but the stale 0600 fixture is
-    // readable and writable by the state group.
-    const snapshot = await stat(path.join(stateRoot, "cultcache", "heimdall.service.cc"));
-    expect(snapshot.uid).toBe(GENERATION_N_PLUS_1);
-    expect(snapshot.gid).toBe(STATE_GID);
-    for (const entry of await walk(stateRoot)) {
-      if (path.basename(entry) === "runtime-presence-sequence") continue;
-      expect((await stat(entry)).mode & 0o060, path.relative(stateRoot, entry)).toBe(0o060);
-    }
-    expect((await readdir(stateRoot)).sort()).toEqual(["cultcache", "runtime-presence-sequence"]);
-  }, 60_000);
-});