The gate is damage-control, not an edge source: it can only allocate the strategy's existing (negative) edge onto least-bad days — best case flat, never gain. Its value is CONDITIONAL: a holding pattern until an entry edge (plan 017 L2 depth) is found, at which point it flips to force-multiplier (good names x good days). Owner's 'it just turns the bot off' critique is correct at the current no-edge base. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>