diff --git a/health-undeclared b/health-undeclared
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ddb196b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/health-undeclared
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+93
+The long-running resources of this catalogue that do not say how they are ready (`health`, novox/hq ADR 0240
+rule 8), as `module check` counts them. It may only go down: merge-check.sh fails a change that raises it, and
+one that lowers it writes the new number on the first line. From 2026-11-18, or once it is 0, a long-running
+resource without `health` is refused.
diff --git a/merge-check.sh b/merge-check.sh
index 0e59e8d..f9c7500 100755
--- a/merge-check.sh
+++ b/merge-check.sh
@@ -10,14 +10,31 @@
 # graph builds these modules from here. It is not repeated here. This is the repository's own:
 #
 #   1. every manifest through the controller's module check, so one module's change cannot leave another
-#      it shares a rule with refused (MESH_GATE is the controller the mesh runs);
+#      it shares a rule with refused (MESH_GATE is the controller the mesh runs) — and the count of
+#      long-running resources without `health` held to the number in health-undeclared, which only goes down;
 #   2. the Go tests of every module the change touches that has them, under the race detector when the
 #      toolchain has a C compiler — and a module whose dependencies cannot be fetched here, or that is
 #      written in TypeScript, is said as not tested, never passed silently.
 set -eu
 
 if [ -n "${MESH_GATE:-}" ]; then
-	"$MESH_GATE" module check modules/*/module.json > /dev/null
+	checked=$("$MESH_GATE" module check modules/*/module.json) || { printf '%s\n' "$checked"; exit 1; }
+	# **The count only goes down** (novox/hq ADR 0240 rule 8): the long-running resources that do not say how
+	# they are ready, as the controller counts them, against the number kept in health-undeclared. A change
+	# that raises it fails; one that lowers it writes the new number there, so it can never rise again.
+	kept=$(sed -n 's/^\([0-9][0-9]*\).*/\1/p' health-undeclared | head -n 1)
+	counted=$(printf '%s\n' "$checked" | sed -n 's/^long-running resources without health: \([0-9][0-9]*\)$/\1/p')
+	if [ -z "$counted" ]; then
+		echo "NOT COUNTED: the controller the mesh runs is older than the count of resources without health (ADR 0240 Phase B)"
+	elif [ "$counted" -gt "$kept" ]; then
+		echo "the long-running resources without health rose from $kept to $counted: declare how each new one is ready (ADR 0240 rule 8)"
+		exit 1
+	elif [ "$counted" -lt "$kept" ]; then
+		echo "the long-running resources without health fell from $kept to $counted: write $counted in health-undeclared, so the count cannot rise again"
+		exit 1
+	else
+		echo "long-running resources without health: $counted, as kept"
+	fi
 else
 	echo "NOT CHECKED: no controller was built beside this check, so the manifests were not read by one"
 fi