Identify the mechanism behind additional empty reads in the structured blackout ladder

Identify why the structured-PCMB Shell Game blackout ladder produced a second pair of empty reads at the same within-episode positions across all conditions.

Background

The structured blackout ladder observed 3,200 empty reads at the same four within-episode positions in every condition. Although the amended validation rule accepted the matching pattern, the operational mechanism producing these additional empty reads was not identified.

References

The mechanism behind the second pair of empty reads was not determined.

— Beyond Success Rate: Interventional Evaluation of Memory in Vision-Language-Action Systems  (2610.23372 - Luo et al., 16 Oct 2026) in Appendix B, Section “Shell Game Blackout Ladders”