Mnemosyne Memory Freshness

A fact can become outdated without a new message contradicting it. MemoryMaintenance tracks explicit source-check policies and the last accepted confirmation, helping an agent distinguish current evidence from material that needs review. Age alone never changes a fact's text, trust or historical validity.

A clock and a source policy

The host chooses which sources need checking and how often, then supplies evidence for each check. A confirmation starts a new freshness interval. Reading a memory does not renew it. The service distinguishes fresh, stale, changed, unavailable and unchecked states; an unwatched source is not the same as a verified source.

What a check means

confirmed records support for the current assertion; changed flags a source change; unavailable means verification could not establish the state. None invents a replacement fact. A submitted check is bound to the source and previous check state so a delayed result cannot override a newer correction or check. Confirmation remains a host assertion, not authenticated factual truth.

Run bounded checks

health.scan() inspects local status. health.probeDue() runs a supplied probe under explicit count, deadline and cancellation limits. The host provides scheduling and source access. Ordinary retrieval does not automatically acquire these policies: use the freshness-aware path or an evidence gate where current confirmation is required.

Recheck the evidence behind an action

An action read set binds exact memory dependencies and check state to the proposed operation. Validate it immediately before dispatch; correction, erasure, changed checks or expiry can invalidate it. This is a point-in-time check of local evidence, not an authorization grant or a transaction that locks an external system.