Ask at most three at a time, wait out a refusal, need a router, and act only on a claimed open ask, as the review asked (hq ADR 0259)

internal/broker/controller_buckets_test.go

@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
 package broker
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
 )
 
 // **The controller may write every bucket it writes** (novox/hq to-be 45 §1, issue 269). Writing a
@@ -59,3 +65,34 @@ func TestTheWatchedSignalsMayBeSaidAndHeard(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error("the controller may not ask who answers, or hears every API call")
 	}
 }
+
+// The controller's record of what it asked the operator is bounded (correctness review of 2026-10-08): one
+// value a key, a month's age, and a size it cannot outgrow.
+func TestWhatTheControllerAskedIsBounded(t *testing.T) {
+	js, err := Dial(testbus.URL(t))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+	if err := js.EnsureControllerBuckets(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	kv, err := jetstream.New(js.Conn())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	bucket, err := kv.KeyValue(ctx, AskedBucket)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	status, err := bucket.Status(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	info := status.(*jetstream.KeyValueBucketStatus).StreamInfo()
+	if status.History() != 1 || status.TTL() != AskedKeptFor || info.Config.MaxBytes <= 0 || info.Config.MaxBytes > 64<<20 {
+		t.Errorf("history %d, age %s, bytes %d", status.History(), status.TTL(), info.Config.MaxBytes)
+	}
+}