Ask the operator only once the bus holds the controller's grant to ask (hq issue 353)

The grant is composed from the router's assignment and reaches the bus when its machine is next
pushed. Between assign and push the record said a router was here and the bus refused every ask
(seven refusals on 2026-10-09, 17:54 to 17:56). The asker now judges, as a push does, whether the
bus's machine was last sent the user list composed now; while it was not, nothing is published, it
is said once, and the conditions that need the operator are raised as undelivered, naming the push
that carries the grant.

cmd/mesh-controller/asker_test.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
@@ -654,3 +655,51 @@ func TestAnAcknowledgementNeverSharesAnAskWithAnApproval(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("the approval kept through a silence was not performed: %v", r.called)
 	}
 }
+
+// novox/hq issue 353: the controller's grant to ask is composed from the router's assignment and reaches the
+// bus only when its machine is pushed. Between the two, the bus refuses every ask (measured 2026-10-09, 17:54 to
+// 17:56 local: seven refusals of mesh.seat.operator-channel.accept.ask.mesh-controller). So nothing is asked
+// while the bus's user list is behind, it is said once, the conditions that need the operator are raised as
+// undelivered with what to do, and the asks go out once the bus holds the grant.
+func TestNothingIsAskedWhileTheBusLacksTheControllersGrant(t *testing.T) {
+	r := newAskerRig(t)
+	var said []string
+	r.a.logf = func(f string, a ...any) { said = append(said, fmt.Sprintf(f, a...)) }
+	var raised [][]conditions.Observation
+	r.a.raise = func(_ context.Context, obs []conditions.Observation) error {
+		raised = append(raised, obs)
+		return nil
+	}
+	held := false
+	r.a.grantHeld = func(context.Context) (bool, string, error) {
+		return held, "the bus's user list on anchor is behind what the mesh composes; `push anchor` carries it", nil
+	}
+	r.open = []conditions.Condition{heldCondition()}
+	_ = r.a.reconcile(context.Background())
+	_ = r.a.reconcile(context.Background())
+	if len(r.asksSent(t)) != 0 {
+		t.Error("asked while the bus lacks the grant")
+	}
+	n := 0
+	for _, s := range said {
+		if strings.Contains(s, "does not hold the controller's grant") {
+			n++
+		}
+	}
+	if n != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("said %d times: %q", n, said)
+	}
+	if len(raised) == 0 || len(raised[len(raised)-1]) != 1 ||
+		!strings.Contains(raised[len(raised)-1][0].Summary, "`push anchor` carries it") ||
+		raised[len(raised)-1][0].Kind != "asks-undelivered" {
+		t.Fatalf("not said as a condition with what to do: %+v", raised)
+	}
+	held = true
+	_ = r.a.reconcile(context.Background())
+	if sent := r.asksSent(t); len(sent) != 1 || sent[0].About != heldCondition().Key {
+		t.Errorf("not asked once the bus holds the grant: %+v", sent)
+	}
+	if last := raised[len(raised)-1]; len(last) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("the undelivered condition was not cleared: %+v", last)
+	}
+}