experiment: validate beta selection across three seeds

docs/handoff/SESSION_HANDOFF.md

@@ -3,11 +3,25 @@
 This is the canonical continuation point for the next agent session. It is written to be
 readable without prior chat history, terminal scrollback, or git history.
 
-Last updated: 2026-09-25 (Session 5, one paired full beta condition + validation-only
-selection). Session 5 type: **protocol-validation experiment**. Exactly one
-`(dataset, alpha, seed)` condition was run across all five beta candidates; beta was
-selected on validation only and the selected beta evaluated once on test. **No full grid
-was launched.**
+Last updated: 2026-09-25 (Session 6 + post-experiment audit). Session 6 type:
+**protocol-scaling / stability experiment**. The single Session-5 condition was extended
+from seed 0 to seeds `{0,1,2}`; beta was selected by the **pooled-across-seed validation**
+rule and the selected beta evaluated on test. **No full grid was launched; no
+alpha/dataset expansion was run.** A strict independent audit
+(`docs/research/SESSION6_AUDIT.md`) returned **PASS WITH MINOR CORRECTIONS**; `beta_star =
+0.75` was independently reproduced from validation artifacts.
+
+> **Audit summary (Session 6).** Verdict: **PASS WITH MINOR CORRECTIONS**. Independently
+> recomputed `beta_star = 0.75` from `val_per_client.csv`/`val_selection.json`; all 15
+> seed×beta seed-level scores and the pooled mean/sample-std match the report exactly.
+> Validation-only selection confirmed in code (`analyze_multiseed_beta.py` reads only
+> `val_selection.json`; test read in a later block); `test_used_for_selection=false`
+> upheld. Rare-class flags match the training-derived definition for all 30 cells;
+> manifests reproduce from raw data with disjoint splits. beta=0 vs `original_protean` =
+> semantically equivalent + floating-point divergence (class B). Minor corrections:
+> persisted `artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__multiseed__runtime.csv` (runtime
+> provenance) and clarified the client improve/degrade counts (unchanged/tie clients).
+> **Session 6 is safe to checkpoint.**
 
 ---
 
@@ -31,188 +45,253 @@ bitwise identical to the baseline (see §7).
 ## 2. Authoritative source and immutability
 
 - `planningawal/PROTEAN_Revisi_Lurus.md` — authoritative research specification.
-- `planningawal/` is immutable. Re-verified unchanged this session: `git status --
-  planningawal` and `git diff -- planningawal` are both empty.
+- `planningawal/` is immutable. Re-verified unchanged this session: `git status --short
+  planningawal/` and `git diff -- planningawal/` are both empty.
 - Raw datasets re-verified unchanged (SHA-256):
   `~/datasets/X-IIoTID/X-IIoTID-dataset.csv`
   `7b9290057ee42e784da3c0d84b781815502c9205c74175c96374e71a5ffd98a0`;
   `~/datasets/5G-NIDD/5G-NIDD.csv`
   `fa36f80859585f474504ca69eb951a079b35145537976c86b00aae3aab46ee59`.
+- Frozen baseline (`original_protean`) source unchanged; no `equal_available` mode added;
+  beta candidate set unchanged (`{0, .25, .5, .75, 1}`).
 
-## 3. Session 5 objective and outcome
+## 3. Session 6 objective and outcome
 
-Objective: run ONE paired full condition (X-IIoTID, alpha=0.5, seed=0) across
-`beta ∈ {0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1}`, reusing the frozen manifest and training settings;
-select beta on validation only; evaluate the selected beta on test; add the direct
-prototype-effect and client-level analyses; update docs. **All acceptance items were met.**
-No commit or push was made.
+Objective: extend the validated paired protocol from one seed to seeds `{0,1,2}` for
+X-IIoTID alpha=0.50, reuse the seed-0 Session-5 results, run the two new seeds across the
+five beta candidates plus `original_protean`, select beta with **pooled validation only**,
+evaluate the selected beta on test, and produce cross-seed direct-effect / client-level /
+stability analyses + docs. **All acceptance items were met.** No commit or push was made.
+
+Outcome: **PRIMARY pooled-validation selected beta = 0.75** (validation only). Per-seed
+diagnostic selections varied (0.50 / 1.00 / 0.75), and between-seed variance is comparable
+to the between-beta spread, so the selection is arithmetically clear but statistically
+weak. The protocol ran cleanly end to end.
 
 ## 4. Condition and pairing
 
 | Field | Value |
 |---|---|
-| dataset / alpha / seed | `xiiotid` / 0.50 / 0 |
-| manifest | `artifacts/partitions/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0.json` (reused) |
-| manifest content hash | `e81a6538ecefcda202aa7602310ff8d8c9529031ab9dcbec4ebbabc0e63b636c` |
-| partition hash | `2465485539a3e923548dcc0c73d8acc5076d456536b78682d512897ea586e779` |
-| split hash / sizes | `d0acc0c14e3ecbeba02dfa9e6227c983da12dec2d6111df0b714002e6e03c29d` / 569,909 train, 81,414 val, 162,831 test |
-| preprocessing hash | `8580cee41c698ce43cf3269e4a2b3a01c92d6df22820f4004c0267478bd2579a` |
+| dataset / alpha / seeds | `xiiotid` / 0.50 / `{0,1,2}` |
+| runs | 15 `support_weighted` + 3 `original_protean` (seed 0 reused; 12 run this session) |
 | training | 10 clients, 10 rounds, 3 local epochs, batch 256, lr 1e-3, mu 0.1, lambda 1.0, Adam |
-| code revision | HEAD `ad9aa53ba76f60671ace991fcee85f003781f196`; only `scripts/run_baseline.py` modified (hash-object `2b469e35ecbbc6ea3dbd4b0632419993e4d5130b`) |
+| code revision | unchanged from HEAD `50f2da72166e4f609077d65b4916f745da5e8e3b`; only read-only analysis code added |
 
-Pairing proof: the round-0 prototype snapshot is **byte-identical** (SHA-256 prefix
-`e27f41b3a62eb83c`) across all five beta runs and the frozen `original_protean` run;
-`train_support_Nij.csv`, `characterization.csv`, `rare_unseen.csv` are identical across
-runs. All runs are in `results/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta{0,0.25,0.5,0.75,1}/`.
+Manifests (reused, never regenerated; one content hash per seed across all six runs):
 
-## 5. Validation results and beta selection
+| seed | manifest | content hash | partition hash | split hash | rng seed |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 0 | `artifacts/partitions/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0.json` | `e81a6538…` | `2465485539…` | `d0acc0c1…` | 2009062324 |
+| 1 | `artifacts/partitions/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed1.json` | `54ea1df1…` | `4061c5a1…` | `880a9f82…` | 621679668 |
+| 2 | `artifacts/partitions/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed2.json` | `be881ac6…` | `1118e7fa…` | `8e0db0be…` | 1438483982 |
 
-Primary selection metric: **validation per-client-mean rare-class macro-F1** (per-client
-rare F1 on each client's validation eval partition, averaged over clients with rare
-classes). Global union-rare validation metrics also shown.
+Pairing proof: round-0 snapshot byte-identical across the five betas **and**
+`original_protean` within each seed — seed 0 `e27f41b3a62eb83c…`, seed 1
+`b7f61c995e97474c…`, seed 2 `5b749f4185e11fc7…`. `train_support_Nij.csv`,
+`characterization.csv`, `rare_unseen.csv` identical across each seed's runs.
+`manifest_reload_ok = true` everywhere.
 
-| beta | val rareMacroF1 (pc mean) | val rareMacroF1 (global) | val rareRecall | val macroF1 | val acc | val wF1 |
-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-| 0.00 | 0.557340 | 0.611641 | 0.884184 | 0.708929 | 0.891038 | 0.917741 |
-| 0.25 | 0.571787 | 0.629475 | 0.888488 | 0.723431 | 0.902953 | 0.925933 |
-| **0.50** | **0.585762** | **0.641709** | 0.887173 | **0.731166** | 0.897831 | **0.926005** |
-| 0.75 | 0.578003 | 0.637107 | 0.873910 | 0.726603 | 0.887894 | 0.921696 |
-| 1.00 | 0.551443 | 0.615307 | 0.847043 | 0.715951 | 0.883263 | 0.921182 |
+## 5. Validation results (USED FOR SELECTION) and pooled selection
 
-**Selected beta = 0.50** (best among tested candidates under this validation condition;
-no tie; both validation readings agree). Test was **not** used for selection.
+Primary metric: validation per-client-mean rare-class macro-F1. All 10 clients eligible
+in every seed. Full per-seed table:
+`artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__multiseed__validation_per_seed.csv`.
 
-## 6. Final test evaluation of the selected beta
+Per-seed validation per-client-mean rare-class macro-F1:
 
-| metric | original_protean | support_weighted beta=0.50 |
-|---|---|---|
-| rare-class macro-F1 | 0.609620 | 0.640829 |
-| rare-class recall | 0.871487 | 0.871583 |
-| overall macro-F1 | 0.707701 | 0.730743 |
-| accuracy | 0.890432 | 0.898158 |
-| weighted-F1 | 0.917585 | 0.926333 |
+| beta | seed 0 | seed 1 | seed 2 |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 0.00 | 0.557340 | 0.628624 | 0.447118 |
+| 0.25 | 0.571787 | 0.636205 | 0.458310 |
+| 0.50 | 0.585762 | 0.645189 | 0.471015 |
+| 0.75 | 0.578003 | 0.655160 | 0.504937 |
+| 1.00 | 0.551443 | 0.683117 | 0.485877 |
 
-All five candidates' test metrics (transparency only) are in
-`docs/research/PAIRED_BETA_VALIDATION.md` §B.2. No superiority is claimed: single
-dataset / alpha / seed.
+Pooled across seeds (`...__validation_pooled.csv`):
 
-## 7. `beta = 0` equivalence result (important)
+| beta | pooled mean | std (sample) | min | max | selected |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 0.00 | 0.544361 | 0.091447 | 0.447118 | 0.628624 | |
+| 0.25 | 0.555434 | 0.090068 | 0.458310 | 0.636205 | |
+| 0.50 | 0.567322 | 0.088539 | 0.471015 | 0.645189 | |
+| **0.75** | **0.579367** | **0.075121** | 0.504937 | 0.655160 | **yes** |
+| 1.00 | 0.573479 | 0.100450 | 0.485877 | 0.683117 | |
 
-`support_weighted beta=0` vs frozen `original_protean`:
+- **PRIMARY selected beta (`beta_star`) = 0.75**, max pooled validation per-client-mean
+  rare-class macro-F1; **no tie-break used**; `test_used_for_selection = false` for all 15
+  runs. The secondary pooled recall is highest at beta=0.25 (recall is only a tie-break).
+- **SECONDARY per-seed diagnostics only:** seed 0 → 0.50, seed 1 → 1.00, seed 2 → 0.75.
+  These are stability diagnostics, not the condition's selection rule.
 
-- Same frozen manifest and split: **yes**.
-- Same initialisation/round-0 setup: **yes** (round-0 snapshot byte-identical).
-- Training behaviour: **mathematically identical, not bitwise**. `original_protean`
-  computes `Σ(C_ij/count)`; `support_weighted beta=0` computes `Σ((1/count)·C_ij)`.
-  Per-element difference ≤ `2.2e-16`–`4.4e-16` (~1 ULP, relative ~1e-16).
-- Validation/test metrics: **not identical** (baseline slightly lower; e.g. test
-  accuracy 0.890432 vs 0.891974). The ~1 ULP aggregation difference feeds back into
-  round-1 prototype-alignment training and the trajectories diverge slowly from round 1.
-- Deterministic artifacts identical: round-0 snapshot, `train_support_Nij.csv`,
-  `characterization.csv`, `rare_unseen.csv`; `history.json`/per-client/per-class differ.
+## 6. Final test evaluation of the pooled-selected beta
 
-This is floating-point arithmetic ordering, not a semantic change; no code was altered to
-force bitwise equality. **Conditional on the shared `S_j` reproduction assumption** and
-does not prove `beta = 0` reproduces original PROTEAN.
+`beta_star = 0.75` was fixed from pooled validation before test was read.
 
-## 8. Direct prototype-effect findings (fixed round-0 snapshot, no retraining)
+| metric (test) | seed 0 | seed 1 | seed 2 | mean ± std |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| rare-class macro-F1 | 0.636189 | 0.671937 | 0.688381 | 0.665503 ± 0.026685 |
+| rare-class recall | 0.857543 | 0.851883 | 0.878321 | 0.862583 ± 0.013921 |
+| macro-F1 | 0.726298 | 0.729015 | 0.738194 | 0.731169 ± 0.006234 |
+| accuracy | 0.888670 | 0.925493 | 0.905012 | 0.906392 ± 0.018450 |
+| weighted-F1 | 0.922278 | 0.944734 | 0.933884 | 0.933632 ± 0.011230 |
 
-At `beta = 1.0`, largest `||Cbar_j(1)-Cbar_j(0)||`:
-`Weaponization` 3.559 (rel 0.577; most support-imbalanced, cv 2.10, max/min 1,800),
-`C&C` 2.156, `Lateral_movement` 2.069, `Exploitation` 1.934, `Tampering` 1.737,
-`Exfiltration` 1.547; smallest: `Normal` 0.990 (cv 0.76), `RDOS` 1.286,
-`Reconnaissance` 1.184. Every class has `|S_j| ≥ 8` and unequal support, so no class has
-zero direct effect. Outputs:
-`artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0__prototype_snapshot__prototype_effect.csv`
-and `...__prototype_weights.csv`. Displacement is a direct-aggregation measure only, not
-a detection result.
+`original_protean` for the same seeds/condition:
 
-## 9. Client-level findings (test, vs beta=0)
+| metric (test) | seed 0 | seed 1 | seed 2 | mean ± std |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| rare-class macro-F1 | 0.609620 | 0.655665 | 0.662275 | 0.642520 ± 0.028683 |
+| rare-class recall | 0.871487 | 0.889365 | 0.870018 | 0.876957 ± 0.010771 |
+| macro-F1 | 0.707701 | 0.709176 | 0.710017 | 0.708965 ± 0.001172 |
+| accuracy | 0.890432 | 0.900885 | 0.907045 | 0.899454 ± 0.008398 |
+| weighted-F1 | 0.917585 | 0.929132 | 0.927481 | 0.924733 ± 0.006245 |
 
-Full paired table: `artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__paired_client_beta_metrics.csv`.
-At `beta=0.50` six of ten clients improve; only client 3 is materially negative (−0.068).
-At `beta=0.75/1.00` several clients lose, with client 3 worst (−0.257/−0.342). The
-`min positive N_ij` vs ΔF1 relationship is **not monotonic** in this single condition:
-client 3 (`min N_ij=140`) is the worst loser while client 5 (`min N_ij=2`) is the biggest
-gainer. Descriptive only; no causal claim.
+Test columns are **descriptive only** and played no part in selection. No superiority or
+generalisation is claimed: single dataset, single alpha, three project-defined seeds, and
+between-seed spread ~ between-method difference.
+
+## 7. `beta = 0` equivalence result (seeds 1 and 2)
+
+For seeds 1 and 2, `support_weighted beta=0` vs frozen `original_protean`:
+
+- Same manifest/split/hashes: **yes**.
+- Round-0 snapshot byte-identical: **yes** (seed 1 `b7f61c99…`, seed 2 `5b749f41…`).
+- `train_support_Nij.csv`, `characterization.csv`, `rare_unseen.csv`: **identical**.
+- Aggregation: **mathematically equivalent, not bitwise** (`Σ(C/count)` vs
+  `Σ((1/count)·C)`, ~1 ULP ordering difference that feeds back through round≥1).
+- Test/history/per-client/per-class: **differ slightly**.
+- Classification: **mathematically equivalent + floating-point numerical divergence;
+  no semantic discrepancy** in either seed. Same result as Session 5 seed 0.
+
+Conditional on the shared `S_j` reproduction assumption; not proof `beta=0` reproduces
+original PROTEAN.
+
+## 8. Direct prototype-effect findings (fixed round-0 snapshots, no retraining)
+
+`||Cbar_j(1) - Cbar_j(0)||`, cross-seed mean (std):
+
+- Largest means: `Lateral_movement` 2.724 (1.035), `RDOS` 2.631 (1.165),
+  `Weaponization` 2.561 (1.228), `Tampering` 2.354 (1.165), `Exploitation` 2.344 (0.412).
+- Smallest: `Reconnaissance` 1.002 (0.261), `Normal` 1.557 (0.548), `C&C` 1.694 (0.505).
+- Every class moves for beta>0 (all classes have unequal support); the **rank order is
+  seed-sensitive** (seed 0 top = Weaponization, seed 1 top = RDOS, seed 2 top =
+  Lateral_movement). Displacement is a direct-aggregation measure only, not a detection
+  result. Outputs: `...__prototype_effect_pooled.csv` and the per-seed
+  `...__prototype_snapshot__prototype_effect.csv` / `..._weights.csv`.
+
+## 9. Client-level findings (validation, vs beta = 0)
+
+Full detail: `...__multiseed__client_validation_detail.csv`; summary:
+`...__client_validation_summary.csv`.
+
+- At `beta = 0.75`, improve/degrade/**unchanged** counts are 7/3/0 (seed 0), 8/1/1
+  (seed 1, tie = client 7), 8/1/1 (seed 2, tie = client 4); mean Δ is positive in all
+  three (+0.021 / +0.027 / +0.058).
+- At `beta = 1.00`, seed 0 flips to 4 improve / 6 degrade / 0 unchanged, while seed 1
+  improves 9/10 with 1 unchanged (client 7) — the high-beta response is seed-dependent.
+- `min positive attack N_ij` vs ΔF1 is **non-monotonic**: N=1 clients range −0.021…+0.041
+  at beta=0.75; the largest gain (+0.177) is an N=10 client; low support neither
+  systematically benefits nor degrades. Client ids are different realisations across
+  seeds and are not treated as one population. Descriptive only.
 
 ## 10. Runtime / resources
 
-CPU only (no GPU). Per run: 41–44 min wall-clock, ~733–740 % CPU, peak RSS ~6.21 GiB,
-no swap, exit 0. Total ~3.5 h for the five paired candidates. Preprocessing/load
-negligible.
+CPU only, no GPU, no swap, exit 0 on all 18 runs (15 new-session + reused). Per-run
+wall-clock 40:23–42:21; CPU 733–745 %; peak RSS 6.21 GiB (seed 0), 7.48 GiB (seed 1),
+6.45 GiB (seed 2). New compute this session: 12 runs, ≈ 8 h 11 m wall-clock, run
+sequentially (8 cores; concurrent runs would not reduce total CPU work).
+Seed-0 numbers were reused and not re-run. Machine-readable per-run values:
+`artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__multiseed__runtime.csv` (added by the audit;
+seed 0 sourced from Session-5 docs, seeds 1–2 from `/usr/bin/time -v` logs).
 
 ## 11. Methodological decisions / assumptions
 
 1. **`S_j` participant/denominator rule** (`S_j = {i | N_ij > 0 and valid C_ij}`, equal
-   weights in the baseline) is a **REPRODUCTION ASSUMPTION**, not verified original
-   behaviour; material in 53/162 class-condition cells (32.7 %), 15/18 conditions
-   (`docs/baseline/BASELINE_VALIDATION.md` §D). Carry this caveat in all reporting.
+   weights in the baseline) is a **REPRODUCTION ASSUMPTION**; material in 53/162
+   class-condition cells (32.7 %), 15/18 conditions (`BASELINE_VALIDATION.md` §D).
+   Carry this caveat in all reporting.
 2. `N_ij` is class-specific sample support, not prototype quality.
 3. Beta is one value for all classes/clients; candidates frozen at `{0,.25,.5,.75,1}`.
-4. `lambda=1.0`, Adam, lr 1e-3, batch 256 remain PROJECT DECISIONS.
-5. **New this session (protocol clarification, documented in
-   `EXPERIMENT_PROTOCOL.md` §8):** candidate validation metric = final-model validation
-   metrics; primary selection = per-client-mean rare-class macro-F1 using a deterministic
-   Dirichlet validation eval partition (mirrors the existing test per-client procedure);
-   tie-break = higher val rare macro-F1 → higher val rare recall → smaller beta.
-6. No `equal_available` mode was added.
+4. **PRIMARY selection = pooled validation across clients and seeds**; per-seed selection
+   is secondary stability diagnostics; test used only after the pooled beta is fixed.
+   Documented in `EXPERIMENT_PROTOCOL.md` §8 (updated this session).
+5. The union of rare classes (and global rare support) differs by seed because partitions
+   differ; only the per-client-mean metric is directly comparable across seeds.
+6. `lambda=1.0`, Adam, lr 1e-3, batch 256 remain PROJECT DECISIONS. No `equal_available`
+   mode was added.
 
 ## 12. Unresolved questions / blockers
 
 1. `S_j` reproduction ambiguity — unresolved; no official PROTEAN code exists.
-2. `beta = 0` is not bitwise identical to `original_protean` (float ordering). Whether the
-   thesis should report this explicitly, or whether an equivalence check should use a
-   tolerance, is a documentation decision for later.
-3. Single condition only; no multi-seed/multi-alpha evidence yet.
+2. **Pooled beta selection is statistically weak here:** pooled means span only
+   0.544→0.579 while within-beta across-seed std is 0.075–0.100; three seeds give a
+   standard error of the same order as the between-beta spread. The beta effect is small
+   relative to seed variance.
+3. `beta = 0` is not bitwise identical to `original_protean`; documentation decision on how
+   to report this remains open.
 4. Session-2 manifests still store `preprocessing_hash = null` / `config_hash = null`.
+5. Only alpha=0.50, X-IIoTID, three seeds measured.
+
+**Audit status (see `docs/research/SESSION6_AUDIT.md`).** No unresolved issue that could
+change `beta_star` or the scientific interpretation. One inherent audit limitation: the
+trained model is not persisted, so per-client prediction metrics cannot be recomputed
+without retraining (forbidden); they were verified via defining source code, exact
+agreement of their mean with `val_selection.json`, and exact agreement of the global
+union-rare metric recomputed from `val_confusion_matrix.json`. Pooled std uses the
+**sample** convention (ddof=1), labelled "(sample)" in the report.
 
 ## 13. Git status
 
-No commit or push was made. `git status --short`:
+No commit or push was made. `git status --short` (results/ is ignored):
 
 ```
- M scripts/run_baseline.py
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__paired_client_beta_metrics.csv
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0__prototype_snapshot.json
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0__prototype_snapshot__prototype_effect.csv
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0__prototype_snapshot__prototype_weights.csv
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0.25__prototype_snapshot.json
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0.5__prototype_snapshot.json
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0.75__prototype_snapshot.json
-?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta1__prototype_snapshot.json
+ M docs/handoff/SESSION_HANDOFF.md
+ M docs/research/EXPERIMENT_PROTOCOL.md
+?? docs/research/MULTISEED_BETA_VALIDATION.md
+?? docs/research/SESSION6_AUDIT.md
+?? scripts/analyze_multiseed_beta.py
+?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__multiseed__*.csv / __selection_summary.json
+?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed{1,2}__*__prototype_snapshot.json
+?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed{1,2}__support_weighted__beta0__prototype_snapshot__{prototype_effect,prototype_weights}.csv
+?? artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta{0.25,0.5,0.75,1}__prototype_snapshot.json   (pre-existing from Session 5)
 ```
 
-`planningawal/` and both raw datasets are unchanged; `results/` and
-`artifacts/processed/` are ignored; `artifacts/analysis/` is tracked.
+`planningawal/` and both raw datasets are unchanged; `results/` is gitignored.
+`HEAD = 50f2da72166e4f609077d65b4916f745da5e8e3b`. No commit or push was made.
 
 ## 14. Files created / modified this session
 
 Created:
 
-- `docs/research/PAIRED_BETA_VALIDATION.md`
-- `artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__paired_client_beta_metrics.csv`
-- five `artifacts/analysis/...__support_weighted__beta*__prototype_snapshot.json`
-- two `artifacts/analysis/...__prototype_snapshot__prototype_effect.csv` / `__prototype_weights.csv`
+- `docs/research/MULTISEED_BETA_VALIDATION.md`
+- `docs/research/SESSION6_AUDIT.md` (post-experiment audit)
+- `scripts/analyze_multiseed_beta.py`
+- `artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__multiseed__*` (validation per-seed/pooled,
+  client summary/detail/deltas, prototype-effect pooled, test descriptive, selection
+  summary, and `...__runtime.csv` added by the audit)
+- seed-1/seed-2 `results/...` run dirs (gitignored) and their snapshots / effect CSVs
 
 Modified:
 
-- `scripts/run_baseline.py` (added validation-only evaluation artifacts; test/training paths untouched)
-- `docs/research/EXPERIMENT_PROTOCOL.md` (§8 Session-5 clarification)
+- `docs/research/EXPERIMENT_PROTOCOL.md` (§8 selection hierarchy clarified)
 - `docs/handoff/SESSION_HANDOFF.md` (this file)
 
+Reused (not regenerated): all seed-0 Session-5 runs and artifacts.
+
 ## 15. Exact recommended next phase
 
-**Recommendation: B — checkpoint Session 5, then proceed to a controlled
-multi-seed/multi-alpha experiment.** The protocol ran cleanly (validation/test separation
-held, artifacts reproducible, pairing proven by byte-identical round-0 snapshots, no test
-leakage into selection), so the next step is to scale to seeds `{0,1,2}` at a small alpha
-set, still paired. Do **not** run the entire `dataset × alpha × seed × beta` grid at once;
-grow it in controlled, inspectable increments.
+**Session 6 is safe to checkpoint** (audit PASS WITH MINOR CORRECTIONS; no issue affects
+`beta_star`). The protocol is **mechanically** ready to scale, but Session 6 shows the beta
+effect at alpha=0.50 is small relative to seed-to-seed variance. Recommended, in order:
 
-Before scaling: decide how to report the float-level `beta = 0` vs `original_protean`
-non-identity (§7), and whether to re-run `original_protean` per condition with the new
-validation artifacts (the existing baseline run predates the validation-artifact change).
+1. **Do not treat beta=0.75 as a settled optimum.** Report it as "best among tested
+   candidates under pooled validation for X-IIoTID alpha=0.50".
+2. Before expanding alpha, decide the interpretation question: is the goal to characterise
+   small beta effects against seed noise (requires more seeds), or to run alpha=0.25/0.75
+   as a paired characterisation (accepting the same weak-effect caveat)?
+3. If expanding, run alpha=0.25 then alpha=0.75 for seeds `{0,1,2}`, the five betas each,
+   reusing frozen manifests, sequentially (~8 h per alpha), with the same pooled
+   validation-only selection. Extend `scripts/analyze_multiseed_beta.py` with `--alpha`.
+4. Do **not** launch 5G-NIDD or the full grid until the alpha results are inspected.
 
 ## 16. Important commands
 
@@ -220,14 +299,18 @@ validation artifacts (the existing baseline run predates the validation-artifact
 # Tests (75 expected)
 .venv/bin/python -m pytest
 
-# One full paired beta run (CPU, ~42 min, ~6.2 GiB)
-.venv/bin/python scripts/run_baseline.py --dataset xiiotid --alpha 0.5 --seed 0 \
+# One full paired beta run (CPU, ~41 min, ~6.5-7.5 GiB)
+.venv/bin/python scripts/run_baseline.py --dataset xiiotid --alpha 0.5 --seed 1 \
     --clients 10 --rounds 10 --local-epochs 3 \
     --aggregation-mode support_weighted --beta 0.5
 
+# Pooled multi-seed validation analysis (read-only, no retraining)
+.venv/bin/python scripts/analyze_multiseed_beta.py --dataset xiiotid --alpha 0.5 \
+    --seeds 0 1 2
+
 # Direct prototype-effect analysis (no retraining)
 .venv/bin/python scripts/analyze_prototype_effect.py \
-    --snapshot artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed0__support_weighted__beta0__prototype_snapshot.json \
+    --snapshot artifacts/analysis/xiiotid__alpha0.5__seed1__support_weighted__beta0__prototype_snapshot.json \
     --class-names "C&C,Exfiltration,Exploitation,Lateral_movement,Normal,RDOS,Reconnaissance,Tampering,Weaponization" \
     --output-dir artifacts/analysis
 ```
@@ -235,13 +318,13 @@ validation artifacts (the existing baseline run predates the validation-artifact
 ## 17. Recommended next-session prompt
 
 ```
-You are continuing the perdalam-protean research repository (Session 6).
+You are continuing the perdalam-protean research repository (Session 7).
 
 FIRST, read completely:
   1. docs/handoff/SESSION_HANDOFF.md
-  2. docs/research/PAIRED_BETA_VALIDATION.md
-  3. docs/research/EXPERIMENT_PROTOCOL.md
-  4. docs/research/BETA_AGGREGATION_IMPLEMENTATION.md
+  2. docs/research/MULTISEED_BETA_VALIDATION.md
+  3. docs/research/SESSION6_AUDIT.md
+  4. docs/research/EXPERIMENT_PROTOCOL.md
   5. docs/baseline/BASELINE_VALIDATION.md
 
 Critical rules:
@@ -253,18 +336,22 @@ Critical rules:
   - Do NOT add an executable equal_available mode.
   - Do NOT launch the full alpha x seed x dataset x beta grid.
   - Beta selection uses validation metrics only; test never influences selection.
+  - PRIMARY selection is pooled across clients and seeds; per-seed selection is
+    diagnostic only.
 
-Context: Session 5 ran one paired full condition (xiiotid, alpha=0.5, seed=0) across
-beta in {0,0.25,0.5,0.75,1}. Selected beta = 0.50 on validation per-client-mean
-rare-class macro-F1; test rare-class macro-F1 0.640829 vs original_protean 0.609620.
-beta=0 is mathematically but not bitwise equal to original_protean (~1 ULP aggregation
-ordering). scripts/run_baseline.py now writes validation-only artifacts.
+Context: Session 6 completed X-IIoTID alpha=0.50 for seeds {0,1,2} across beta in
+{0,0.25,0.5,0.75,1}. Seed 0 was reused from Session 5. Pooled validation selected
+beta=0.75 (val per-client-mean rare macro-F1 0.579367); per-seed diagnostics were
+0.50/1.00/0.75. Pooled-selected test rare macro-F1 0.665503 +/- 0.026685 vs
+original_protean 0.642520 +/- 0.028683. beta=0 is mathematically but not bitwise equal
+to original_protean (float ordering), no semantic discrepancy. Between-seed variance is
+comparable to the between-beta spread, so the selection is weak. A strict independent
+audit (docs/research/SESSION6_AUDIT.md) returned PASS WITH MINOR CORRECTIONS and
+independently reproduced beta_star=0.75 from validation artifacts alone.
 
-Task: scale the paired protocol to a controlled multi-seed/multi-alpha set (e.g. seeds
-{0,1,2} at alpha 0.50, reusing frozen manifests; grow only as compute allows), keeping
-validation-only beta selection and reporting all candidates. Decide/document how to
-report the beta=0 vs original_protean float non-identity. Update docs and
-docs/handoff/SESSION_HANDOFF.md. Measure runtime before scaling further.
-
-Use .venv/bin/python for all Python commands. Do not commit or push unless asked.
+Task: decide and document the alpha-expansion plan (recommended: alpha=0.25 then 0.75,
+seeds {0,1,2}, five betas each, sequential, reusing frozen manifests, pooled
+validation-only selection) OR argue for more seeds at alpha=0.50 first. Do not launch
+5G-NIDD or the full grid. Update docs and docs/handoff/SESSION_HANDOFF.md. Use
+.venv/bin/python. Do not commit or push unless asked.
 ```