diff --git a/knowledge/runbooks/hermes-triage-demo.md b/knowledge/runbooks/hermes-triage-demo.md
index fa9469fa9..99a1d8cbd 100644
--- a/knowledge/runbooks/hermes-triage-demo.md
+++ b/knowledge/runbooks/hermes-triage-demo.md
@@ -15,13 +15,28 @@ You arm the failure (SEED_FAILURE=true)
   -> Ariadne calls the Hermes Agent API (/v1/runs) with
      $triage-titan-test-failures
   -> Hermes returns schema-valid diagnosis + requested_action
-  -> Ariadne authorizes (nine gates) and, if remediation is enabled,
-     creates Job hermes-demo-repair-<build> (writes "healthy")
+  -> Ariadne authorizes (twelve gates) and, if remediation is enabled,
+     patches the fixture ConfigMap back to "healthy" in process
   -> Ariadne triggers ONE rebuild with SEED_FAILURE=false
   -> rebuild passes -> incident resolved
-Anything else -> human_required metric -> vmalert HermesTriageHumanRequired
+Anything else -> issue in the service repo + human_required metric
 ```
 
+The model behind Hermes is `anthropic/claude-opus-5` as of 2026-08-06, with
+`openai-codex/gpt-5.6-terra` as first fallback and a local `gpt-oss:20b`
+behind that, so an expired Anthropic credential degrades rather than stops.
+
+Two behaviours worth knowing before you demo, because both look like nothing
+happening:
+
+- **A build that never finishes** is escalated once it passes
+  `ARIADNE_HERMES_HUNG_BUILD_MINUTES` (default 45). No model is consulted -
+  the console is still being written - so the issue says only that the build
+  overran and is holding an agent slot.
+- **Alerting no longer fires on every escalation.** The issue in the service
+  repository is the durable artifact. Email now means either a repair ran and
+  failed, or an escalation has sat untouched for six hours.
+
 ## Arming the demo
 
 Jenkins UI: `https://ci.bstein.dev/job/hermes-triage-demo/` → *Build with
diff --git a/services/comms/knowledge/hermes-triage-demo.md b/services/comms/knowledge/hermes-triage-demo.md
index fa9469fa9..99a1d8cbd 100644
--- a/services/comms/knowledge/hermes-triage-demo.md
+++ b/services/comms/knowledge/hermes-triage-demo.md
@@ -15,13 +15,28 @@ You arm the failure (SEED_FAILURE=true)
   -> Ariadne calls the Hermes Agent API (/v1/runs) with
      $triage-titan-test-failures
   -> Hermes returns schema-valid diagnosis + requested_action
-  -> Ariadne authorizes (nine gates) and, if remediation is enabled,
-     creates Job hermes-demo-repair-<build> (writes "healthy")
+  -> Ariadne authorizes (twelve gates) and, if remediation is enabled,
+     patches the fixture ConfigMap back to "healthy" in process
   -> Ariadne triggers ONE rebuild with SEED_FAILURE=false
   -> rebuild passes -> incident resolved
-Anything else -> human_required metric -> vmalert HermesTriageHumanRequired
+Anything else -> issue in the service repo + human_required metric
 ```
 
+The model behind Hermes is `anthropic/claude-opus-5` as of 2026-08-06, with
+`openai-codex/gpt-5.6-terra` as first fallback and a local `gpt-oss:20b`
+behind that, so an expired Anthropic credential degrades rather than stops.
+
+Two behaviours worth knowing before you demo, because both look like nothing
+happening:
+
+- **A build that never finishes** is escalated once it passes
+  `ARIADNE_HERMES_HUNG_BUILD_MINUTES` (default 45). No model is consulted -
+  the console is still being written - so the issue says only that the build
+  overran and is holding an agent slot.
+- **Alerting no longer fires on every escalation.** The issue in the service
+  repository is the durable artifact. Email now means either a repair ran and
+  failed, or an escalation has sat untouched for six hours.
+
 ## Arming the demo
 
 Jenkins UI: `https://ci.bstein.dev/job/hermes-triage-demo/` → *Build with