diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 63c63cf..b6fc533 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -61,10 +61,22 @@ The same package carries the client (novox/hq design 25 §7, design 34): `mesh t
 refuses to bind anything but loopback. With `--console <url>`, `tools` and `call` go through a console
 already on the machine and need no credential.
 
-Discovery asks the modules: every runtime answers a `tools` verb for each module it serves, with names,
-descriptions and schemas from the code that answers them, and the console asks the catalogue which
-modules the mesh holds and each module what it serves. A module that does not answer is named, never
-dropped. A module may not name a tool of its own `tools`; the runtime refuses it at load.
+The console announces six tools and reaches everything else by address (novox/hq ADR 0195):
+`mesh_overview` (the mesh's seats and machines), `mesh_machine` (one machine's seats and modules),
+`mesh_search` (a tool by words), `mesh_describe` (one tool's arguments), `mesh_call` (call one by
+address) and `mesh_runtimes` (which runtimes answered discovery: per runtime its machine, how long its
+answer took, its size in bytes, how many modules and tools it announced, whether it was shortened to
+fit the bus, when it was last heard — and who was expected and not heard).
+
+Discovery asks the bus (ADR 0197): every runtime answers the NATS services protocol's `$SRV.PING` and
+`$SRV.INFO` with what it serves at that moment, and the console reads where the controller's records
+place each module. The console waits at least 750 ms, and up to 5 s for every runtime that answered
+PING to send what it serves — a large runtime's answer crossing the bus to a broker on another machine
+can arrive well after the rest. A runtime that said it is there and did not say what it serves, or
+that answered earlier and not now, is named: the console never calls a module missing, or on another
+machine, while a runtime that might serve it was not heard. A runtime whose answer outgrows the bus
+announces first-line descriptions, then none, and says so. A module may not name a tool of its own
+`tools`; the runtime refuses it at load.
 
 ## Verified
 
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/announce/announce.go b/node-tools/internal/announce/announce.go
index c0613b3..f013cad 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/announce/announce.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/announce/announce.go
@@ -22,10 +22,22 @@ import (
 // Version is the announced service version (semver, as the protocol requires).
 const Version = "0.1.0"
 
-// Window is how long the console gathers discovery answers: every instance answers one request, and
-// how many will is what is being found out.
+// Window is how long the console gathers discovery answers at the least: every instance answers one
+// request, and how many will is what is being found out.
 var Window = 750 * time.Millisecond
 
+// Patience is how long the console waits, at the most, for the full answer of a service that has
+// said it is there. **A fixed window lost the largest runtime** (2026-10-05): the laptop's answer —
+// 48 modules, 341 endpoints, 164 kB — went up to the broker on another machine and back, arrived
+// last every time (a median of 365 ms, one in 25 after 813 ms on a quiet link, later still while the
+// runtime re-served), and when it missed the 750 ms window the console said its modules ran nowhere.
+// A PING answer is a hundred bytes and arrives at once, so who is there is known early; what each
+// serves is waited for until it arrives or this passes, and a service that never sends it is named.
+var Patience = 5 * time.Second
+
+// Shortened is the service metadata key a runtime sets when its announcement was cut to fit the bus.
+const Shortened = "shortened"
+
 // Kinds of endpoint.
 const (
 	KindTool = "tool" // a module's own tool
@@ -163,17 +175,10 @@ func Serve(conn *bus.Conn, s Service, current func() []Endpoint) (func(), error)
 			return nil
 		}
 		// Too large for the bus is no answer at all, and was silent: shorten every description to its
-		// first line and say so, rather than vanish.
+		// first line and say so, rather than vanish; still too large, leave descriptions out.
 		if limit := conn.MaxPayload(); limit > 0 && int64(len(body)) > limit {
 			if info, ok := v.(micro.Info); ok {
-				for i := range info.Endpoints {
-					info.Endpoints[i].Metadata["description"] = firstLine(info.Endpoints[i].Metadata["description"])
-				}
-				if shorter, err := json.Marshal(info); err == nil {
-					conn.Logf("[mesh-tools] what this runtime serves is %d bytes, beyond the bus's %d; announced with each description cut to its first line (%d bytes)",
-						len(body), limit, len(shorter))
-					body = shorter
-				}
+				body = shorten(conn.Logf, info, body, limit)
 			}
 		}
 		return body
@@ -200,22 +205,149 @@ func Serve(conn *bus.Conn, s Service, current func() []Endpoint) (func(), error)
 	}, nil
 }
 
-// Gather asks every service on the bus what it serves and answers what came back within the window.
-// An answer that is not an info_response is skipped.
-func Gather(conn *bus.Conn) ([]micro.Info, error) {
-	raw, err := conn.Gather("$SRV.INFO", nil, Window)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+// shorten is an info_response cut to fit the bus: descriptions to their first line, then none, the
+// service's metadata saying which (so discovery can tell a person what it was given).
+func shorten(logf func(string, ...any), info micro.Info, body []byte, limit int64) []byte {
+	md := map[string]string{}
+	for k, v := range info.Metadata {
+		md[k] = v
 	}
-	var out []micro.Info
-	for _, b := range raw {
-		var i micro.Info
-		if json.Unmarshal(b, &i) != nil || i.Type != micro.InfoResponseType {
-			continue
+	info.Metadata = md
+	for _, step := range []string{"descriptions cut to their first line", "descriptions left out"} {
+		for i := range info.Endpoints {
+			e := info.Endpoints[i].Metadata
+			if step == "descriptions left out" {
+				delete(e, "description")
+			} else {
+				e["description"] = firstLine(e["description"])
+			}
+		}
+		md[Shortened] = step
+		shorter, err := json.Marshal(info)
+		if err != nil {
+			return body
+		}
+		logf("[mesh-tools] what this runtime serves is %d bytes, beyond the bus's %d; announced with %s (%d bytes)",
+			len(body), limit, step, len(shorter))
+		if int64(len(shorter)) <= limit {
+			return shorter
+		}
+		body = shorter
+	}
+	return body
+}
+
+// Heard is one service instance's answer to discovery: what it serves, how long it took to arrive,
+// and how large it was.
+type Heard struct {
+	Info      micro.Info
+	Took      time.Duration
+	Bytes     int
+	Shortened string // why its descriptions are not whole, or ""
+}
+
+// Machine is the machine an instance runs on: its metadata's, or the one its endpoints name.
+func (h Heard) Machine() string {
+	if n := h.Info.Metadata["node"]; n != "" {
+		return n
+	}
+	for _, e := range h.Info.Endpoints {
+		if n := e.Metadata["node"]; n != "" {
+			return n
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// Instance names one service instance.
+type Instance struct {
+	Name    string
+	ID      string
+	Machine string
+}
+
+// Discovery is what one round of discovery heard, and who said it was there but did not say what it
+// serves in time.
+type Discovery struct {
+	At     time.Time
+	Waited time.Duration
+	Heard  []Heard
+	Silent []Instance
+}
+
+// Gather asks every service on the bus who it is and what it serves, and waits at least the window
+// and at most the patience: until every instance that answered PING has answered INFO. An answer
+// that is not the protocol's is skipped.
+func Gather(conn *bus.Conn) (Discovery, error) {
+	start := time.Now()
+	d := Discovery{At: start.UTC()}
+	pings, stopPings, err := conn.Collect("$SRV.PING", nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return d, err
+	}
+	defer stopPings()
+	infos, stopInfos, err := conn.Collect("$SRV.INFO", nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return d, err
+	}
+	defer stopInfos()
+
+	type key struct{ name, id string }
+	pinged := map[key]int{}
+	answered := map[key]int{}
+	where := map[key]string{}
+	var order []key
+	complete := func() bool {
+		for k, n := range pinged {
+			if answered[k] < n {
+				return false
+			}
+		}
+		return true
+	}
+	least := time.NewTimer(Window)
+	defer least.Stop()
+	most := time.NewTimer(Patience)
+	defer most.Stop()
+	windowOver := false
+	for {
+		select {
+		case a := <-pings:
+			var p micro.Ping
+			if json.Unmarshal(a.Data, &p) != nil || p.Type != micro.PingResponseType {
+				continue
+			}
+			k := key{p.Name, p.ID}
+			if _, seen := pinged[k]; !seen {
+				order = append(order, k)
+			}
+			pinged[k]++
+			if where[k] == "" {
+				where[k] = p.Metadata["node"]
+			}
+		case a := <-infos:
+			var i micro.Info
+			if json.Unmarshal(a.Data, &i) != nil || i.Type != micro.InfoResponseType {
+				continue
+			}
+			answered[key{i.Name, i.ID}]++
+			d.Heard = append(d.Heard, Heard{Info: i, Took: a.At.Sub(start), Bytes: len(a.Data), Shortened: i.Metadata[Shortened]})
+		case <-least.C:
+			windowOver = true
+		case <-most.C:
+			d.Waited = time.Since(start)
+			for _, k := range order {
+				if answered[k] < pinged[k] {
+					d.Silent = append(d.Silent, Instance{Name: k.name, ID: k.id, Machine: where[k]})
+				}
+			}
+			return d, nil
+		}
+		if windowOver && complete() {
+			d.Waited = time.Since(start)
+			return d, nil
 		}
-		out = append(out, i)
 	}
-	return out, nil
 }
 
 // Endpoints reads an info_response's endpoints back into what they announce.
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/announce/gather_test.go b/node-tools/internal/announce/gather_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27d836f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node-tools/internal/announce/gather_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+package announce
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/micro"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-tools/node-tools/internal/bus"
+	mt "github.com/novox/mesh-tools/node-tools/internal/meshtest"
+)
+
+func connect(t *testing.T, module, node string) *bus.Conn {
+	t.Helper()
+	c, err := bus.Connect(bus.Credential{URL: mt.URL(t), Module: module, Node: node})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	c.Logf = func(string, ...any) {}
+	t.Cleanup(c.Close)
+	return c
+}
+
+// lagging answers PING at once and INFO after `lag` — or never, with a negative lag: a runtime whose
+// one large answer is slow to cross the bus, as the laptop's was (2026-10-05).
+func lagging(t *testing.T, conn *bus.Conn, s Service, lag time.Duration, endpoints []Endpoint) {
+	t.Helper()
+	ping, _ := json.Marshal(micro.Ping{ServiceIdentity: s.identity(), Type: micro.PingResponseType})
+	stop, err := conn.Raw("$SRV.PING", func(string, []byte) []byte { return ping })
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(stop)
+	stop, err = conn.Raw("$SRV.INFO", func(string, []byte) []byte {
+		if lag < 0 {
+			return nil
+		}
+		time.Sleep(lag)
+		body, _ := json.Marshal(Info(s, endpoints))
+		return body
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(stop)
+	conn.Flush()
+}
+
+// A runtime whose answer arrives after the window is waited for, because it said it was there; one
+// that never says what it serves is named, not dropped. With the fixed 750 ms window the laptop's
+// modules were said to run nowhere whenever its answer was late (2026-10-05).
+func TestDiscoveryWaitsForEveryRuntimeThatSaidItIsThere(t *testing.T) {
+	was := Patience
+	Patience = 2500 * time.Millisecond
+	t.Cleanup(func() { Patience = was })
+
+	fast := connect(t, "node-tools", "desk")
+	stopFast, err := Serve(fast, Service{Name: "node-tools", ID: "desk", Metadata: map[string]string{"node": "desk"}}, func() []Endpoint {
+		return []Endpoint{{Kind: KindTool, Module: "alpha", Tool: "one", Node: "desk", Subject: "mesh.mod.alpha.tool.one.desk"}}
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(stopFast)
+	fast.Flush()
+	slow := connect(t, "node-tools", "laptop")
+	lagging(t, slow, Service{Name: "node-tools", ID: "laptop", Metadata: map[string]string{"node": "laptop"}}, Window+400*time.Millisecond,
+		[]Endpoint{{Kind: KindTool, Module: "slack", Tool: "slack_check", Node: "laptop", Subject: "mesh.mod.slack.tool.slack_check.laptop"}})
+	mute := connect(t, "node-tools", "sleeper")
+	lagging(t, mute, Service{Name: "node-tools", ID: "sleeper", Metadata: map[string]string{"node": "sleeper"}}, -1, nil)
+
+	asker := connect(t, "console", "desk")
+	start := time.Now()
+	d, err := Gather(asker)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	took := time.Since(start)
+
+	heard := map[string]Heard{}
+	for _, h := range d.Heard {
+		heard[h.Info.ID] = h
+	}
+	if h, ok := heard["laptop"]; !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("the slow runtime was not heard: %+v", d.Heard)
+	} else if h.Took <= Window || h.Machine() != "laptop" || h.Bytes == 0 {
+		t.Errorf("the slow runtime's answer: took %s (window %s), machine %q, %d bytes", h.Took, Window, h.Machine(), h.Bytes)
+	}
+	if _, ok := heard["desk"]; !ok {
+		t.Errorf("the fast runtime was not heard: %+v", d.Heard)
+	}
+	if len(d.Silent) != 1 || d.Silent[0].ID != "sleeper" || d.Silent[0].Machine != "sleeper" {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime that never said what it serves is not named: %+v", d.Silent)
+	}
+	if took < Patience || took > Patience+time.Second {
+		t.Errorf("waited %s with a silent runtime; patience is %s", took, Patience)
+	}
+}
+
+// With nobody slow, discovery takes the window and no longer.
+func TestDiscoveryDoesNotWaitWhenEveryoneAnswered(t *testing.T) {
+	fast := connect(t, "node-tools", "desk")
+	stop, err := Serve(fast, Service{Name: "node-tools", ID: "desk"}, func() []Endpoint { return nil })
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(stop)
+	fast.Flush()
+	start := time.Now()
+	d, err := Gather(connect(t, "console", "desk"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if took := time.Since(start); took > Window+500*time.Millisecond || len(d.Silent) != 0 || len(d.Heard) == 0 {
+		t.Errorf("took %s, heard %d, silent %+v", took, len(d.Heard), d.Silent)
+	}
+}
+
+// Too large even with first lines, descriptions are left out — and the answer says which, without
+// touching the service's own metadata.
+func TestAnAnswerTooLargeIsShortenedUntilItFits(t *testing.T) {
+	long := strings.Repeat("A sentence that is long. ", 20)
+	var endpoints []Endpoint
+	for i := 0; i < 50; i++ {
+		endpoints = append(endpoints, Endpoint{Kind: KindTool, Module: "m", Tool: "t" + strings.Repeat("x", i), Node: "laptop",
+			Description: long, Subject: "mesh.mod.m.tool.t"})
+	}
+	own := map[string]string{"node": "laptop"}
+	info := Info(Service{Name: "node-tools", ID: "laptop", Metadata: own}, endpoints)
+	full, _ := json.Marshal(info)
+	firstLines := 0
+	for range endpoints {
+		firstLines += len(firstLine(long))
+	}
+	limit := int64(len(full) - len(long)*len(endpoints) + firstLines/2) // first lines alone do not fit
+	var said []string
+	got := shorten(func(f string, a ...any) { said = append(said, f) }, info, full, limit)
+	if int64(len(got)) > limit {
+		t.Fatalf("still %d bytes, beyond %d", len(got), limit)
+	}
+	var back micro.Info
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(got, &back); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if back.Metadata[Shortened] != "descriptions left out" || back.Metadata["node"] != "laptop" {
+		t.Errorf("metadata: %v", back.Metadata)
+	}
+	if _, has := own[Shortened]; has {
+		t.Error("the service's own metadata was changed")
+	}
+	if len(said) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("each step is said: %v", said)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/bus/bus.go b/node-tools/internal/bus/bus.go
index dd3e650..425d96d 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/bus/bus.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/bus/bus.go
@@ -649,37 +649,51 @@ func (c *Conn) Raw(subject string, answer func(subject string, data []byte) []by
 	return func() { _ = sub.Unsubscribe() }, nil
 }
 
-// Gather publishes one request and collects every answer that arrives within the window: a
-// discovery request every service instance answers (ADR 0197). It never stops early — how many will
-// answer is what it is finding out.
-func (c *Conn) Gather(subject string, body []byte, window time.Duration) ([][]byte, error) {
+// Arrival is one answer to a request, and when it arrived.
+type Arrival struct {
+	Data []byte
+	At   time.Time
+}
+
+// Collect publishes one request and hands every answer to the channel as it arrives, until stopped:
+// for a caller that decides for itself when it has heard enough — discovery waits for every service
+// that said it is there, not for a fixed moment (2026-10-05). Answers beyond what the caller has
+// taken are kept up to the channel's room; an empty answer is no answer.
+func (c *Conn) Collect(subject string, body []byte) (<-chan Arrival, func(), error) {
 	inbox := c.nc.NewRespInbox()
-	sub, err := c.nc.SubscribeSync(inbox)
+	out := make(chan Arrival, 1024)
+	var mu sync.Mutex
+	stopped := false
+	sub, err := c.nc.Subscribe(inbox, func(msg *nats.Msg) {
+		if len(msg.Data) == 0 {
+			return
+		}
+		a := Arrival{Data: msg.Data, At: time.Now()}
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
+		if stopped {
+			return
+		}
+		select {
+		case out <- a:
+		default:
+			c.Logf("[mesh-tools] more answers to %s than are kept; one (%d bytes) dropped", subject, len(msg.Data))
+		}
+	})
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		return nil, func() {}, err
+	}
+	stop := func() {
+		_ = sub.Unsubscribe()
+		mu.Lock()
+		stopped = true
+		mu.Unlock()
 	}
-	defer func() { _ = sub.Unsubscribe() }()
 	if err := c.nc.PublishRequest(subject, inbox, body); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	var out [][]byte
-	deadline := time.Now().Add(window)
-	for {
-		left := time.Until(deadline)
-		if left <= 0 {
-			return out, nil
-		}
-		msg, err := sub.NextMsg(left)
-		if err != nil {
-			if errors.Is(err, nats.ErrTimeout) {
-				return out, nil
-			}
-			return out, err
-		}
-		if len(msg.Data) > 0 {
-			out = append(out, msg.Data)
-		}
+		stop()
+		return nil, func() {}, err
 	}
+	return out, stop, nil
 }
 
 // MaxPayload is the largest message the bus carries, as the server told this connection.
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/console/address.go b/node-tools/internal/console/address.go
index 2409e6a..2d53464 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/console/address.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/console/address.go
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ package console
 
 // The mesh's tools found by address, not announced whole (novox/hq ADR 0195, to-be 34 §3a).
 //
-// The console announces five tools. Everything the mesh answers is reached through them by one
-// address per layer:
+// The console announces six tools — five to find and call, and mesh_runtimes to say which runtimes
+// discovery heard. Everything the mesh answers is reached through them by one address per layer:
 //
 //	<seat>.<verb>              a seat held once for the mesh — its holder answers
 //	<node>/<seat>.<verb>       a seat held once per machine — that machine's holder answers
@@ -32,13 +32,14 @@ import (
 // one agent turn's search, describe and call ask once, short enough that nothing goes stale.
 var IndexKept = 5 * time.Second
 
-// The five tools the console announces. Names of the API's kind — letters, digits, `_`, `-`.
+// The six tools the console announces. Names of the API's kind — letters, digits, `_`, `-`.
 const (
 	verbOverview = "mesh_overview"
 	verbMachine  = "mesh_machine"
 	verbSearch   = "mesh_search"
 	verbDescribe = "mesh_describe"
 	verbCall     = "mesh_call"
+	verbRuntimes = "mesh_runtimes"
 )
 
 // searchCap is how many matches a search answers before it says how many more there were.
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ const grammar = "Addresses: `<seat>.<verb>` for a seat held once for the mesh (e
 	"`<node>/<module>.<tool>` for a module on one machine (e.g. `novox/postgres.postgres_list_databases`); " +
 	"and `<module>.<tool>` also for a module whose instances are interchangeable."
 
-// discovery is the five tools as tools/list announces them.
+// discovery is the six tools as tools/list announces them.
 func discovery() []map[string]any {
 	str := func(desc string) map[string]any { return map[string]any{"type": "string", "description": desc} }
 	obj := func(props map[string]any, required ...string) map[string]any {
@@ -77,12 +78,17 @@ func discovery() []map[string]any {
 			"arguments": map[string]any{"type": "object", "description": "the tool's arguments, as mesh_describe gives its schema"},
 		}, "address"),
 			"description": "Call one tool by its address with its arguments; the answer says which machine gave it. " + grammar},
+		{"name": verbRuntimes, "inputSchema": obj(map[string]any{}),
+			"description": "Which runtimes answered discovery, asked now: for each, its machine, how long its answer took to " +
+				"arrive, its size in bytes, how many modules and tools it announced, whether it was shortened to fit the " +
+				"bus, and when it was last heard — and every runtime or machine expected that was not heard. Read-only; " +
+				"for when an address is said to be missing or on another machine."},
 	}
 }
 
 func isDiscovery(name string) bool {
 	switch name {
-	case verbOverview, verbMachine, verbSearch, verbDescribe, verbCall:
+	case verbOverview, verbMachine, verbSearch, verbDescribe, verbCall, verbRuntimes:
 		return true
 	}
 	return false
@@ -117,6 +123,44 @@ type index struct {
 	Modules      map[string]*moduleInfo
 	NotAnswering []string
 	Listing      *Listing // the flat catalogue the call path resolves subjects with
+	Discovery    announce.Discovery
+	// Recorded is where the controller's records place each module that declares tools.
+	Recorded map[string][]string
+	// Unheard is every runtime whose answer this index lacks: it said it was there and did not say
+	// what it serves in time, or it answered before and not now. An address it might answer is never
+	// called missing while it is here (2026-10-05).
+	Unheard []unheard
+}
+
+// unheard is one runtime discovery did not hear in full, and why.
+type unheard struct {
+	Runtime string `json:"runtime"`
+	Machine string `json:"machine,omitempty"`
+	Why     string `json:"why"`
+}
+
+// unheardOn is what is unheard on one machine; with no machine, everything unheard.
+func (x *index) unheardOn(node string) []unheard {
+	var out []unheard
+	for _, u := range x.Unheard {
+		if node == "" || u.Machine == node || u.Machine == "" {
+			out = append(out, u)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// sayUnheard is the unheard, as a sentence's end.
+func sayUnheard(us []unheard) string {
+	var parts []string
+	for _, u := range us {
+		who := u.Runtime
+		if u.Machine != "" {
+			who += " on " + u.Machine
+		}
+		parts = append(parts, who+" ("+u.Why+")")
+	}
+	return strings.Join(parts, "; ")
 }
 
 func (x *index) seat(name string) *seatInfo {
@@ -193,20 +237,24 @@ func indexOn(conn *bus.Conn) (*index, error) {
 	wg.Add(2)
 	go func() { defer wg.Done(); nodesOut, _ = controllerOutput(conn, "nodes") }()
 	go func() { defer wg.Done(); modulesOut, _ = controllerOutput(conn, "modules") }()
-	infos, err := announce.Gather(conn)
+	d, err := announce.Gather(conn)
 	wg.Wait()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	l := &Listing{Tools: []Tool{}, NotAnswering: []string{}}
-	x := &index{Modules: map[string]*moduleInfo{}, Listing: l}
+	x := &index{Modules: map[string]*moduleInfo{}, Listing: l, Discovery: d, Recorded: map[string][]string{}}
+	for _, s := range d.Silent {
+		x.Unheard = append(x.Unheard, unheard{Runtime: s.Name, Machine: s.Machine,
+			Why: fmt.Sprintf("it answered PING; what it serves did not arrive within %s", announce.Patience)})
+	}
 	announced := map[string]map[string]bool{} // module → node → announced something
 	seats := map[string]*seatInfo{}
 	toolAt := map[string]int{} // <module>.<tool> or <seat>.<verb> → index in l.Tools
 	machines := map[string]bool{}
-	for _, info := range infos {
-		for _, e := range announce.Endpoints(info) {
+	for _, h := range d.Heard {
+		for _, e := range announce.Endpoints(h.Info) {
 			if e.Node != "" {
 				machines[e.Node] = true
 			}
@@ -298,6 +346,7 @@ func indexOn(conn *bus.Conn) (*index, error) {
 			if !m.Tools {
 				continue
 			}
+			x.Recorded[m.Module] = append([]string{}, m.On...)
 			for _, n := range m.On {
 				// A holder of a seat held once for the mesh announces no machine — the seat is the mesh's,
 				// not a machine's — so what it announced without one answers for wherever it is assigned.
@@ -309,6 +358,9 @@ func indexOn(conn *bus.Conn) (*index, error) {
 	} else {
 		l.NotAnswering = append(l.NotAnswering, "mesh-controller (its records of the modules did not answer, so what is missing cannot be said)")
 	}
+	for _, u := range x.Unheard {
+		l.NotAnswering = append(l.NotAnswering, "the runtime "+sayUnheard([]unheard{u}))
+	}
 	sort.Strings(l.NotAnswering)
 	x.NotAnswering = l.NotAnswering
 
@@ -336,9 +388,12 @@ func containsHolder(hs []holder, h holder) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
-func (s *Surface) index() (*index, error) {
+func (s *Surface) index() (*index, error) { return s.indexAsked(false) }
+
+// indexAsked is what the mesh answered, asked again when `fresh` or when the kept answer is old.
+func (s *Surface) indexAsked(fresh bool) (*index, error) {
 	s.mu.Lock()
-	if s.idx != nil && time.Since(s.idxAt) <= IndexKept {
+	if !fresh && s.idx != nil && time.Since(s.idxAt) <= IndexKept {
 		x := s.idx
 		s.mu.Unlock()
 		return x, nil
@@ -349,6 +404,7 @@ func (s *Surface) index() (*index, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	s.mu.Lock()
+	s.remember(x)
 	s.idx, s.idxAt = x, time.Now()
 	s.mu.Unlock()
 	return x, nil
@@ -397,6 +453,18 @@ func resolve(x *index, address string) (target, error) {
 
 	m := x.Modules[prefix]
 	if m == nil {
+		if on := x.Recorded[prefix]; len(on) > 0 {
+			why := "it did not announce itself on the bus"
+			if us := x.unheardOnAny(on); len(us) > 0 {
+				why = "discovery did not hear in full from " + sayUnheard(us)
+			}
+			return target{}, fmt.Errorf("%s is assigned to %s in the mesh's records, but nothing that answered discovery serves it: %s. "+
+				"Ask again in a moment; mesh_runtimes shows which runtimes answered", prefix, strings.Join(on, ", "), why)
+		}
+		if len(x.Unheard) > 0 {
+			return target{}, fmt.Errorf("nothing that answered discovery is called %s, but not every runtime answered: %s — "+
+				"%s may be theirs. Ask again in a moment; mesh_runtimes shows which runtimes answered", prefix, sayUnheard(x.Unheard), prefix)
+		}
 		return target{}, fmt.Errorf("nothing in the mesh is called %s: no seat, and no module that answers tools. "+
 			"mesh_search finds a tool by words", prefix)
 	}
@@ -412,11 +480,30 @@ func resolve(x *index, address string) (target, error) {
 		return target{Address: rest, Key: rest, Name: rest, Tool: *tool}, nil
 	}
 	if len(m.On) > 0 && !contains(m.On, node) {
+		if us := x.unheardOn(node); len(us) > 0 || contains(x.Recorded[prefix], node) {
+			why := "it did not announce itself there"
+			if len(us) > 0 {
+				why = "discovery did not hear in full from " + sayUnheard(us)
+			}
+			return target{}, fmt.Errorf("%s on %s did not answer discovery: %s. It was heard on %s. "+
+				"Ask again in a moment; mesh_runtimes shows which runtimes answered", prefix, node, why, orNobody(m.On))
+		}
 		return target{}, fmt.Errorf("%s does not run on %s; it runs on %s", prefix, node, orNobody(m.On))
 	}
 	return target{Address: node + "/" + rest, Key: rest + "@" + node, Name: rest, Node: node, Tool: *tool}, nil
 }
 
+// unheardOnAny is what is unheard on any of these machines.
+func (x *index) unheardOnAny(nodes []string) []unheard {
+	var out []unheard
+	for _, u := range x.Unheard {
+		if u.Machine == "" || contains(nodes, u.Machine) {
+			out = append(out, u)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 func contains(xs []string, s string) bool {
 	for _, x := range xs {
 		if x == s {
@@ -511,8 +598,11 @@ func failure(text string) map[string]any {
 	return map[string]any{"content": []map[string]any{{"type": "text", "text": text}}, "isError": true}
 }
 
-// discover answers one of the five.
+// discover answers one of the discovery verbs.
 func (s *Surface) discover(name string, args map[string]any) map[string]any {
+	if name == verbRuntimes {
+		return s.runtimesAnswer()
+	}
 	x, err := s.index()
 	if err != nil {
 		return failure("the mesh's discovery failed: " + err.Error())
@@ -606,7 +696,18 @@ func (s *Surface) discover(name string, args map[string]any) map[string]any {
 			}
 			modules = append(modules, entry)
 		}
-		return answerText(map[string]any{"machine": node, "seats": seats, "modules": modules})
+		out := map[string]any{"machine": node, "seats": seats, "modules": modules}
+		if seats == nil {
+			out["seats"] = []map[string]any{}
+		}
+		if modules == nil {
+			out["modules"] = []map[string]any{}
+		}
+		if us := x.unheardOn(node); len(us) > 0 {
+			out["incomplete"] = "discovery did not hear in full from " + sayUnheard(us) +
+				"; what is listed may be missing what it serves. Ask again in a moment; mesh_runtimes shows which runtimes answered"
+		}
+		return answerText(out)
 
 	case verbSearch:
 		query := strings.ToLower(str("query"))
@@ -684,6 +785,10 @@ func (s *Surface) discover(name string, args map[string]any) map[string]any {
 			out["matches"] = []hit{}
 			out["hint"] = "nothing matched every word; try fewer words, or mesh_overview and mesh_machine to browse"
 		}
+		if len(x.Unheard) > 0 {
+			out["incomplete"] = "discovery did not hear in full from " + sayUnheard(x.Unheard) +
+				"; what they serve is not searched. mesh_runtimes shows which runtimes answered"
+		}
 		return answerText(out)
 
 	case verbDescribe:
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go b/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go
index 4a0cfb3..60b6903 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func call(t *testing.T, endpoint, tool string, args map[string]any) (string, boo
 	return text(t, post(t, endpoint, string(body)))
 }
 
-// novox/hq ADR 0195: the console announces five tools, and everything the mesh answers is reached
+// novox/hq ADR 0195: the console announces six tools, and everything the mesh answers is reached
 // through them by one address per layer.
 func TestTheMeshsToolsAreFoundByAddress(t *testing.T) {
 	was := IndexKept
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ func TestTheMeshsToolsAreFoundByAddress(t *testing.T) {
 	defer up.Close()
 	endpoint := "http://" + up.Address + "/mcp"
 
-	// Five tools, nothing else.
+	// Six tools, nothing else.
 	listed := post(t, endpoint, `{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list"}`)["result"].(map[string]any)
 	var names []string
 	for _, x := range listed["tools"].([]any) {
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ func TestTheMeshsToolsAreFoundByAddress(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	if got := strings.Join(names, ","); got != "mesh_overview,mesh_machine,mesh_search,mesh_describe,mesh_call" {
+	if got := strings.Join(names, ","); got != "mesh_overview,mesh_machine,mesh_search,mesh_describe,mesh_call,mesh_runtimes" {
 		t.Errorf("announced %s", got)
 	}
 
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/console/mcp.go b/node-tools/internal/console/mcp.go
index aa4f801..0183e83 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/console/mcp.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/console/mcp.go
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ type Surface struct {
 	at    time.Time
 	idx   *index
 	idxAt time.Time
+	// runtimes is every runtime discovery has heard, as it last heard it (mesh_runtimes).
+	runtimes map[string]*runtimeSeen
 	// Flat announces the whole catalogue, as the console did before ADR 0195: for a person reading
 	// it or a client that wants it. Off by default; MESH_CONSOLE_FLAT=1 turns it on.
 	Flat bool
@@ -300,7 +302,8 @@ func (s *Surface) instructions() string {
 	return "The tools of a Novox mesh, reached as " + s.who + ", found by address rather than listed " +
 		"whole (novox/hq ADR 0195). mesh_overview shows the mesh's seats and machines; mesh_machine one " +
 		"machine's seats and modules; mesh_search finds a tool by words; mesh_describe gives one tool's " +
-		"arguments; mesh_call calls it. " + grammar + " What may be called was fixed when this account " +
+		"arguments; mesh_call calls it; mesh_runtimes says which machines' runtimes answered discovery, how fast " +
+		"and how much — ask it when an address is said to be missing or on another machine. " + grammar + " What may be called was fixed when this account " +
 		"was issued, so a refusal means the account, not the tool."
 }
 
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/console/runtimes.go b/node-tools/internal/console/runtimes.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..855b28f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node-tools/internal/console/runtimes.go
@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+package console
+
+// What discovery heard from each runtime (2026-10-05): the console said a module ran nowhere when the
+// largest runtime's answer arrived after the window closed, and nothing showed that it had. Every
+// round of discovery is remembered per runtime, so a runtime heard before and not now is named, and
+// `mesh_runtimes` says who answered, how fast and how much.
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"sort"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-tools/node-tools/internal/announce"
+)
+
+// RuntimeForgotten is how long a runtime heard once is expected again: within it, its silence is said
+// wherever an address it might answer is asked for; after it, it is listed only by mesh_runtimes.
+var RuntimeForgotten = 15 * time.Minute
+
+// runtimeSeen is one runtime instance as discovery last heard it.
+type runtimeSeen struct {
+	Name      string
+	ID        string
+	Machine   string
+	LastHeard time.Time
+	Took      time.Duration
+	Bytes     int
+	Modules   int
+	Tools     int
+	SeatVerbs int
+	Shortened string
+	Answered  bool   // in the latest round
+	Why       string // why not, when it did not
+}
+
+func runtimeKey(name, id string) string { return name + "/" + id }
+
+// seenOf is what one answer announced, counted.
+func seenOf(h announce.Heard, at time.Time) *runtimeSeen {
+	modules := map[string]bool{}
+	tools := map[string]bool{}
+	verbs := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, e := range announce.Endpoints(h.Info) {
+		switch e.Kind {
+		case announce.KindTool:
+			modules[e.Module] = true
+			tools[e.Module+"."+e.Tool] = true
+		case announce.KindSeat:
+			verbs[e.Seat+"."+e.Tool] = true
+		}
+	}
+	return &runtimeSeen{Name: h.Info.Name, ID: h.Info.ID, Machine: h.Machine(), LastHeard: at, Took: h.Took,
+		Bytes: h.Bytes, Modules: len(modules), Tools: len(tools), SeatVerbs: len(verbs), Shortened: h.Shortened, Answered: true}
+}
+
+// remember records a round of discovery and adds to the index every runtime heard lately that did not
+// answer this time. Called with s.mu held.
+func (s *Surface) remember(x *index) {
+	if s.runtimes == nil {
+		s.runtimes = map[string]*runtimeSeen{}
+	}
+	at := x.Discovery.At
+	if at.IsZero() {
+		at = time.Now().UTC()
+	}
+	heard := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, h := range x.Discovery.Heard {
+		k := runtimeKey(h.Info.Name, h.Info.ID)
+		seen := seenOf(h, at)
+		if heard[k] {
+			// Two instances under one name and id: both counted, the slower answer's time kept.
+			prev := s.runtimes[k]
+			seen.Modules += prev.Modules
+			seen.Tools += prev.Tools
+			seen.SeatVerbs += prev.SeatVerbs
+			seen.Bytes += prev.Bytes
+			if prev.Took > seen.Took {
+				seen.Took = prev.Took
+			}
+		}
+		heard[k] = true
+		s.runtimes[k] = seen
+	}
+	// A runtime restarted answers under a new instance id: the old one is gone, not silent, and saying
+	// it was missed would hide nothing but cry wolf after every restart.
+	now := map[string]bool{}
+	for k := range heard {
+		now[s.runtimes[k].Name+"@"+s.runtimes[k].Machine] = true
+	}
+	for k, r := range s.runtimes {
+		if !heard[k] && r.Machine != "" && now[r.Name+"@"+r.Machine] {
+			delete(s.runtimes, k)
+		}
+	}
+	silent := map[string]string{}
+	for _, u := range x.Discovery.Silent {
+		silent[runtimeKey(u.Name, u.ID)] = fmt.Sprintf("it answered PING; what it serves did not arrive within %s", announce.Patience)
+	}
+	for k, r := range s.runtimes {
+		if heard[k] {
+			continue
+		}
+		r.Answered = false
+		if why, ok := silent[k]; ok {
+			r.Why = why
+			continue // already in the index's unheard
+		}
+		r.Why = "it did not answer this round of discovery"
+		if time.Since(r.LastHeard) <= RuntimeForgotten {
+			x.Unheard = append(x.Unheard, unheard{Runtime: r.Name, Machine: r.Machine,
+				Why: fmt.Sprintf("it answered discovery %s ago, not now", time.Since(r.LastHeard).Round(time.Second))})
+		}
+	}
+	for _, u := range x.Discovery.Silent {
+		k := runtimeKey(u.Name, u.ID)
+		if _, known := s.runtimes[k]; !known {
+			s.runtimes[k] = &runtimeSeen{Name: u.Name, ID: u.ID, Machine: u.Machine, Why: silent[k]}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// runtimesAnswer is mesh_runtimes: discovery asked now, and every runtime as it was heard.
+func (s *Surface) runtimesAnswer() map[string]any {
+	x, err := s.indexAsked(true)
+	if err != nil {
+		return failure("the mesh's discovery failed: " + err.Error())
+	}
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	var all []runtimeSeen
+	for _, r := range s.runtimes {
+		all = append(all, *r)
+	}
+	s.mu.Unlock()
+	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool {
+		if all[i].Machine != all[j].Machine {
+			return all[i].Machine < all[j].Machine
+		}
+		return runtimeKey(all[i].Name, all[i].ID) < runtimeKey(all[j].Name, all[j].ID)
+	})
+	now := time.Now()
+	var answered, notHeard []map[string]any
+	onMachine := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, r := range all {
+		entry := map[string]any{"runtime": r.Name, "instance": r.ID}
+		if r.Machine != "" {
+			entry["machine"] = r.Machine
+		}
+		if !r.LastHeard.IsZero() {
+			entry["last heard"] = r.LastHeard.Format(time.RFC3339)
+			entry["last heard, ago"] = now.Sub(r.LastHeard).Round(time.Second).String()
+			entry["took"] = r.Took.Round(time.Millisecond).String()
+			entry["bytes"] = r.Bytes
+			entry["modules"] = r.Modules
+			entry["tools"] = r.Tools
+			entry["seat verbs"] = r.SeatVerbs
+			entry["shortened"] = r.Shortened != ""
+			if r.Shortened != "" {
+				entry["shortened, how"] = r.Shortened
+			}
+		}
+		if r.Answered {
+			onMachine[r.Machine] = true
+			answered = append(answered, entry)
+		} else {
+			entry["why"] = r.Why
+			if r.LastHeard.IsZero() {
+				entry["last heard"] = "never in full, since this console started"
+			}
+			notHeard = append(notHeard, entry)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, m := range x.Machines {
+		if !onMachine[m] && !machineListed(notHeard, m) {
+			notHeard = append(notHeard, map[string]any{"machine": m,
+				"why": "the mesh knows this machine and no runtime on it has answered discovery since this console started"})
+		}
+	}
+	if answered == nil {
+		answered = []map[string]any{}
+	}
+	if notHeard == nil {
+		notHeard = []map[string]any{}
+	}
+	return answerText(map[string]any{
+		"asked":     x.Discovery.At.Format(time.RFC3339),
+		"waited":    x.Discovery.Waited.Round(time.Millisecond).String(),
+		"window":    fmt.Sprintf("at least %s; up to %s for a runtime that answered PING", announce.Window, announce.Patience),
+		"answered":  answered,
+		"not heard": notHeard,
+	})
+}
+
+func machineListed(entries []map[string]any, machine string) bool {
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if e["machine"] == machine {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/console/runtimes_test.go b/node-tools/internal/console/runtimes_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c82d48a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node-tools/internal/console/runtimes_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,219 @@
+package console
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/micro"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-tools/node-tools/internal/announce"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-tools/node-tools/internal/bus"
+	mt "github.com/novox/mesh-tools/node-tools/internal/meshtest"
+)
+
+// slowRuntime answers PING at once and INFO after `lag`, or never with a negative lag.
+func slowRuntime(t *testing.T, conn *bus.Conn, node string, lag time.Duration, endpoints []announce.Endpoint) {
+	t.Helper()
+	id := micro.ServiceIdentity{Name: "node-tools", ID: node, Version: announce.Version, Metadata: map[string]string{"node": node}}
+	ping, _ := json.Marshal(micro.Ping{ServiceIdentity: id, Type: micro.PingResponseType})
+	stop, err := conn.Raw("$SRV.PING", func(string, []byte) []byte { return ping })
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(stop)
+	stop, err = conn.Raw("$SRV.INFO", func(string, []byte) []byte {
+		if lag < 0 {
+			return nil
+		}
+		time.Sleep(lag)
+		body, _ := json.Marshal(announce.Info(announce.Service{Name: id.Name, ID: id.ID, Metadata: id.Metadata}, endpoints))
+		return body
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(stop)
+	conn.Flush()
+}
+
+// The laptop's symptom (2026-10-05), reproduced: its runtime's one large answer reached the console
+// after the 750 ms window, and the console said its modules ran nowhere — "nothing in the mesh is
+// called slack" — or ran only on another machine. Now a runtime that said it is there is waited for,
+// one that never says what it serves is named wherever an address it might answer is asked for, and
+// mesh_runtimes shows who answered, how fast and how much.
+func TestARuntimeThatAnswersLateIsFoundAndOneThatNeverDoesIsNamed(t *testing.T) {
+	keptWas, patienceWas := IndexKept, announce.Patience
+	// Kept for the test: one round of discovery answers every question but mesh_runtimes, which asks anew.
+	IndexKept, announce.Patience = time.Minute, 2500*time.Millisecond
+	t.Cleanup(func() { IndexKept, announce.Patience = keptWas, patienceWas })
+	mt.New(t)
+
+	laptop := connect(t, "node-tools", "laptop")
+	stopTool, err := laptop.HandleSubject("mesh.mod.slack.tool.slack_check.laptop", func(json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
+		return map[string]any{"ok": true}, nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(stopTool)
+	slowRuntime(t, laptop, "laptop", announce.Window+400*time.Millisecond, []announce.Endpoint{
+		{Kind: announce.KindTool, Module: "slack", Tool: "slack_check", Node: "laptop", Description: "Is Slack started once?",
+			Subject: "mesh.mod.slack.tool.slack_check.laptop"},
+		{Kind: announce.KindTool, Module: "nextcloud-client", Tool: "nextcloud_check", Node: "laptop",
+			Subject: "mesh.mod.nextcloud-client.tool.nextcloud_check.laptop"},
+	})
+	sleeper := connect(t, "node-tools", "sleeper")
+	slowRuntime(t, sleeper, "sleeper", -1, nil)
+	desktop := connect(t, "node-tools", "desktop")
+	slowRuntime(t, desktop, "desktop", 0, []announce.Endpoint{
+		{Kind: announce.KindTool, Module: "nextcloud-client", Tool: "nextcloud_check", Node: "desktop",
+			Subject: "mesh.mod.nextcloud-client.tool.nextcloud_check.desktop"},
+	})
+
+	controller := connect(t, "mesh-controller", "bench")
+	for verb, output := range map[string]string{
+		"nodes": `[{"name":"laptop"},{"name":"sleeper"},{"name":"desktop"},{"name":"bench"}]`,
+		"modules": `[{"module":"slack","on":["laptop"],"tools":true},{"module":"nap","on":["sleeper"],"tools":true},` +
+			`{"module":"nextcloud-client","on":["laptop","desktop","sleeper"],"tools":true}]`,
+	} {
+		output := output
+		stop, err := controller.HandleSubject("mesh.seat.mesh-controller.tool."+verb, func(json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
+			return map[string]any{"output": output, "ok": true}, nil
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		t.Cleanup(stop)
+	}
+	controller.Flush()
+
+	console := connect(t, "node-tools", "laptop-console")
+	up, err := Serve(NewSurface(console, "laptop.node-tools"), "127.0.0.1:0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer up.Close()
+	endpoint := "http://" + up.Address + "/mcp"
+
+	// The late answer is waited for: the laptop's module is found and called.
+	if got, isErr := call(t, endpoint, "mesh_call", map[string]any{"address": "laptop/slack.slack_check"}); isErr || !strings.Contains(got, `"ok": true`) {
+		t.Errorf("a late runtime's module: %s", got)
+	}
+	if got, isErr := call(t, endpoint, "mesh_call", map[string]any{"address": "laptop/nextcloud-client.nextcloud_check"}); isErr && strings.Contains(got, "does not run on laptop") {
+		t.Errorf("a late runtime's module was said to run elsewhere: %s", got)
+	}
+	machine, _ := call(t, endpoint, "mesh_machine", map[string]any{"node": "laptop"})
+	if !strings.Contains(machine, "laptop/slack.slack_check") {
+		t.Errorf("the late runtime's machine lists nothing: %s", machine)
+	}
+
+	// The silent one is named, never called missing.
+	for address, want := range map[string]string{
+		"sleeper/nap.doze":                         "nap is assigned to sleeper in the mesh's records, but nothing that answered discovery serves it: discovery did not hear in full from node-tools on sleeper (it answered PING",
+		"sleeper/nextcloud-client.nextcloud_check": "nextcloud-client on sleeper did not answer discovery: discovery did not hear in full from node-tools on sleeper",
+	} {
+		got, isErr := call(t, endpoint, "mesh_call", map[string]any{"address": address})
+		if !isErr || !strings.Contains(got, want) || strings.Contains(got, "nothing in the mesh is called") || strings.Contains(got, "does not run on") {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %s\nwant %q", address, got, want)
+		}
+	}
+	machine, _ = call(t, endpoint, "mesh_machine", map[string]any{"node": "sleeper"})
+	if !strings.Contains(machine, `"incomplete"`) || !strings.Contains(machine, `"modules": []`) {
+		t.Errorf("a machine whose runtime did not answer: %s", machine)
+	}
+	overview, _ := call(t, endpoint, "mesh_overview", nil)
+	if !strings.Contains(overview, "the runtime node-tools on sleeper") {
+		t.Errorf("overview does not name the silent runtime: %s", overview)
+	}
+
+	// mesh_runtimes: who answered, how fast, how much; who did not.
+	got, isErr := call(t, endpoint, "mesh_runtimes", nil)
+	if isErr {
+		t.Fatal(got)
+	}
+	var report struct {
+		Answered []map[string]any `json:"answered"`
+		NotHeard []map[string]any `json:"not heard"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(got), &report); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("%v: %s", err, got)
+	}
+	var lap map[string]any
+	for _, r := range report.Answered {
+		if r["machine"] == "laptop" {
+			lap = r
+		}
+	}
+	if lap == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the laptop's runtime is not listed as answering: %s", got)
+	}
+	took, _ := time.ParseDuration(lap["took"].(string))
+	if took < announce.Window || lap["bytes"].(float64) <= 0 || lap["modules"].(float64) != 2 || lap["tools"].(float64) != 2 ||
+		lap["shortened"] != false || lap["last heard"] == nil {
+		t.Errorf("the laptop's runtime: %v", lap)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(got, `"machine": "sleeper"`) || !strings.Contains(got, "answered PING") {
+		t.Errorf("the silent runtime is not listed: %s", got)
+	}
+	silent := false
+	for _, r := range report.NotHeard {
+		silent = silent || r["machine"] == "sleeper"
+	}
+	if !silent {
+		t.Errorf("sleeper is not among the not heard: %s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// A runtime heard once and silent now is named in the answers about its machine.
+func TestARuntimeHeardBeforeAndNotNowIsNamed(t *testing.T) {
+	s := &Surface{}
+	before := &index{Modules: map[string]*moduleInfo{}, Recorded: map[string][]string{}, Discovery: announce.Discovery{At: time.Now().UTC(),
+		Heard: []announce.Heard{{Info: micro.Info{ServiceIdentity: micro.ServiceIdentity{Name: "node-tools", ID: "laptop",
+			Metadata: map[string]string{"node": "laptop"}}}, Took: 300 * time.Millisecond, Bytes: 1000}}}}
+	s.remember(before)
+	now := &index{Modules: map[string]*moduleInfo{"nextcloud-client": {Module: "nextcloud-client", On: []string{"desktop"},
+		Tools: []Tool{{Module: "nextcloud-client", Name: "nextcloud_check"}}}}, Recorded: map[string][]string{},
+		Discovery: announce.Discovery{At: time.Now().UTC()}}
+	s.remember(now)
+	if len(now.Unheard) != 1 || now.Unheard[0].Machine != "laptop" {
+		t.Fatalf("unheard: %+v", now.Unheard)
+	}
+	_, err := resolve(now, "laptop/nextcloud-client.nextcloud_check")
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nextcloud-client on laptop did not answer discovery") ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "answered discovery") {
+		t.Errorf("%v", err)
+	}
+	_, err = resolve(now, "laptop/slack.slack_check")
+	if err == nil || strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nothing in the mesh is called") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "slack may be theirs") {
+		t.Errorf("%v", err)
+	}
+	// Nobody unheard: the plain answers stand.
+	quiet := &index{Modules: now.Modules, Recorded: map[string][]string{}}
+	if _, err := resolve(quiet, "laptop/nextcloud-client.nextcloud_check"); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "does not run on laptop; it runs on desktop") {
+		t.Errorf("%v", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := resolve(quiet, "laptop/slack.slack_check"); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nothing in the mesh is called slack") {
+		t.Errorf("%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// A runtime restarted answers under a new instance id; its old instance is gone, not unheard.
+func TestARestartedRuntimeIsNotNamedUnheard(t *testing.T) {
+	heard := func(id string) *index {
+		return &index{Modules: map[string]*moduleInfo{}, Recorded: map[string][]string{}, Discovery: announce.Discovery{At: time.Now().UTC(),
+			Heard: []announce.Heard{{Info: micro.Info{ServiceIdentity: micro.ServiceIdentity{Name: "node-tools", ID: id,
+				Metadata: map[string]string{"node": "laptop"}}}}}}}
+	}
+	s := &Surface{}
+	s.remember(heard("before-restart"))
+	after := heard("after-restart")
+	s.remember(after)
+	if len(after.Unheard) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a restarted runtime was named unheard: %+v", after.Unheard)
+	}
+	if len(s.runtimes) != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("the old instance is still kept: %d runtimes", len(s.runtimes))
+	}
+}