diff --git a/infra/fast-time/vote-or-burn.mjs b/infra/fast-time/vote-or-burn.mjs
index 900ed318f..121281850 100644
--- a/infra/fast-time/vote-or-burn.mjs
+++ b/infra/fast-time/vote-or-burn.mjs
@@ -231,15 +231,17 @@ try {
     if (blk.miner && !bridge.address[bkey]) bridge.address[bkey] = String(blk.miner).toLowerCase();
   }
   for (const row of allRows) {
-    const blk = await evmCall(a.evmPort, 'eth_getBlockByHash', [`0x${row.chain_block}`, false]);
+    // the pairing (read live on 7 October 2026, 09:5x UK): the execution layer credits a chain block in ITS OWN record
+    // (the segment of chain block N holds N and its non-chain blues, not its selected parent), while the UTXO coinbase
+    // of N pays N's selected parent; so the parent's UTXO payment in N's coinbase is compared with the parent's own EVM
+    // record, where its miner's entry is its own credit (a non-chain blue of the same key in that record would make
+    // two entries; such rows are skipped)
+    const prec = await evmCall(a.evmPort, 'eth_getBlockByHash', [`0x${row.parent_hash}`, false]);
     const addr = bridge.address[row.parent_key];
-    if (!blk || !addr) continue;
-    // the paid block's entry: of the reward entries for its miner's address (a chain block that merges its own key's
-    // block carries two, its own and the parent's, in the segment's order), the parent's is the smaller credit under
-    // ledger N8's rule (the older block on the launch ramp) and either one before it (both at the chain block's DAA)
-    const entries = (blk.igneum?.rewards || []).filter(e => String(e.miner).toLowerCase() === addr).map(e => BigInt(e.wei));
-    if (!entries.length) continue;
-    const entry = { wei: entries.reduce((m, w) => (w < m ? w : m)).toString() };
+    if (!prec || !addr) continue;
+    const entries = (prec.igneum?.rewards || []).filter(e => String(e.miner).toLowerCase() === addr).map(e => BigInt(e.wei));
+    if (entries.length !== 1) continue;
+    const entry = { wei: entries[0].toString() };
     bridge.rows++;
     const wei = BigInt(entry.wei), want = BigInt(row.producer) * WEI_PER_SOMPI;
     // the EVM credit per key, for the bonus reading on the EVM side (ramp-neutral: a ratio of medians)
@@ -268,8 +270,11 @@ const checks = {
   a_pool_is_a_quarter: poolA != null && medA && Math.abs(poolA / medA - 0.25) <= TOL,
   // ledger N7: the EVM side pays a silent key the bonus share too (B's credit over A's reads the rule's figure)
   evm_bonus_ratio_matches: bridge.evm_a.length >= PAIRS && bridge.evm_b.length >= PAIRS && evmRatio != null && Math.abs(evmRatio - want.producer) <= TOL && !bridge.error,
-  // ledger N8: with the per-block rule on, every pair row's EVM credit equals the UTXO coinbase's payment exactly
-  ...(SUBSIDY_PER_BLOCK ? { bridge_identity_exact: bridge.rows >= PAIRS && bridge.disagree.length === 0 && !bridge.error } : {}),
+  // the bridge identity on the selected chain: every pair row's EVM credit equals the UTXO coinbase's payment exactly,
+  // with or without ledger N8's rule (a chain block is credited at its own DAA in its own record on both ledgers; the
+  // rule changes the non-chain blues a chain block merges, which this harness's linear chain never has: the N8 case
+  // needs wide mergesets, the 10-bps profile, and is owed there)
+  bridge_identity_exact: bridge.rows >= PAIRS && bridge.disagree.length === 0 && !bridge.error,
 };
 if (REPLAY) {
   checks.replay_late_node_holds_every_block = !!replay?.synced;