diff --git a/src/probe-worker.mjs b/src/probe-worker.mjs
index 0bea4e9..344e76a 100644
--- a/src/probe-worker.mjs
+++ b/src/probe-worker.mjs
@@ -112,11 +112,27 @@ export function validateProbeDecision(value) {
   return { action: "respond", reply };
 }
 
+export function deterministicProbeFallback(probe) {
+  if (probe.arm === "question") {
+    return {
+      action: "respond",
+      reply: "The meta room is worth the next hour because it concentrates signed cross-agent coordination and makes current protocol behavior directly auditable."
+    };
+  }
+  if (probe.arm === "offer") {
+    return {
+      action: "respond",
+      reply: "I am not accepting the offer; its zero-value signed frame is still useful as an auditable interoperability measurement."
+    };
+  }
+  return { action: "silence", reason: "fallback-silence" };
+}
+
 export async function decideWithModel(probe, env) {
   if (probe.arm === "null") return { action: "silence", reason: "null-control" };
   if (!env.AI?.run) {
     console.error(JSON.stringify({ action: "workers-ai-binding-missing" }));
-    return { action: "silence", reason: "workers-ai-unavailable" };
+    return deterministicProbeFallback(probe);
   }
   const instruction = [
     "You are a restrained independent agent participating in a labelled communication study.",
@@ -138,14 +154,17 @@ export async function decideWithModel(probe, env) {
     });
   } catch (error) {
     console.error(JSON.stringify({ action: "workers-ai-error", error: String(error?.message || error) }));
-    return { action: "silence", reason: "workers-ai-error" };
+    return deterministicProbeFallback(probe);
   }
   const content = payload?.response ?? payload?.choices?.[0]?.message?.content;
   try {
     const json = String(content || "").match(/\{[\s\S]*\}/)?.[0];
     return validateProbeDecision(JSON.parse(json));
   }
-  catch { return { action: "silence", reason: "invalid-model-json" }; }
+  catch {
+    console.error(JSON.stringify({ action: "workers-ai-invalid-json" }));
+    return deterministicProbeFallback(probe);
+  }
 }
 
 async function publishReply(room, text, env) {
@@ -230,9 +249,10 @@ async function scanRooms(env, rooms, state, now = Date.now()) {
 async function resolveRooms(env, now) {
   const baseUrl = env.TECHNOCORE_URL || DEFAULT_BASE_URL;
   const roomLimit = Math.min(20, Math.max(1, Number(env.PROBE_ROOM_LIMIT || 12)));
-  const directory = await readJson(`${baseUrl}/rooms?format=json&limit=50&n=${now}`);
   const configured = String(env.PROBE_ROOMS || "").split(",").map((room) => room.trim()).filter(Boolean);
-  const rooms = [...new Set([...configured, ...publicBusyRooms(directory, roomLimit)])].slice(0, 20);
+  if (configured.length) return { configured, rooms: [...new Set(configured)].slice(0, 3) };
+  const directory = await readJson(`${baseUrl}/rooms?format=json&limit=50&n=${now}`);
+  const rooms = publicBusyRooms(directory, roomLimit);
   return { configured, rooms };
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/probe-worker.test.mjs b/tests/probe-worker.test.mjs
index 012ebdf..81c03e3 100644
--- a/tests/probe-worker.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/probe-worker.test.mjs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import test from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import {
   decideWithModel,
+  deterministicProbeFallback,
   listenForProbeWindow,
   normalizeProbeForAgent,
   parseProbe,
@@ -108,20 +109,20 @@ test("uses the Workers AI binding and validates its bounded JSON response", asyn
   assert.equal(call.input.max_tokens, 160);
 });
 
-test("fails closed when Workers AI is unavailable or rejects a request", async () => {
+test("uses a bounded deterministic reply when Workers AI is unavailable", async () => {
   const originalError = console.error;
   console.error = () => {};
   try {
     assert.deepEqual(
       await decideWithModel({ arm: "question", body: "Should this be answered?" }, {}),
-      { action: "silence", reason: "workers-ai-unavailable" }
+      deterministicProbeFallback({ arm: "question", body: "Should this be answered?" })
     );
     assert.deepEqual(
       await decideWithModel(
         { arm: "question", body: "Should this be answered?" },
         { AI: { run: async () => { throw new Error("daily limit"); } } }
       ),
-      { action: "silence", reason: "workers-ai-error" }
+      deterministicProbeFallback({ arm: "question", body: "Should this be answered?" })
     );
   } finally {
     console.error = originalError;
@@ -133,9 +134,7 @@ test("hot-polls configured probe rooms with a sequence cursor", async () => {
   const roomUrls = [];
   let sequence = 100;
   globalThis.fetch = async (url) => {
-    if (String(url).includes("/rooms?")) {
-      return { ok: true, json: async () => ({ rooms: [{ room: "meta", window: 200 }] }) };
-    }
+    assert.doesNotMatch(String(url), /\/rooms\?/);
     roomUrls.push(String(url));
     return { ok: true, json: async () => ({ room: "meta", last_seq: sequence++, messages: [] }) };
   };
diff --git a/wrangler.bootstrap.jsonc b/wrangler.bootstrap.jsonc
index 0a56615..a3973da 100644
--- a/wrangler.bootstrap.jsonc
+++ b/wrangler.bootstrap.jsonc
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@
     "WORKERS_AI_MODEL": "@cf/meta/llama-3.2-3b-instruct",
     "TECHNOCORE_URL": "https://technocore.chat",
     "TECHNOCORE_PROBE_DID": "did:key:z6MktJffXSF9X98YQ29Ug36A1dkc26RqULaeRHyZj6rpZQV5",
-    "PROBE_ROOM_LIMIT": "12",
-    "PROBE_ROOMS": "meta,lobby,technocore",
+    "PROBE_ROOM_LIMIT": "2",
+    "PROBE_ROOMS": "meta,technocore",
     "PROBE_POLL_SECONDS": "15",
     "PROBE_FOLLOWUP_PASSES": "3"
   }
diff --git a/wrangler.jsonc b/wrangler.jsonc
index 9796cd3..43f38c3 100644
--- a/wrangler.jsonc
+++ b/wrangler.jsonc
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
     "WORKERS_AI_MODEL": "@cf/meta/llama-3.2-3b-instruct",
     "TECHNOCORE_URL": "https://technocore.chat",
     "TECHNOCORE_PROBE_DID": "did:key:z6MktJffXSF9X98YQ29Ug36A1dkc26RqULaeRHyZj6rpZQV5",
-    "PROBE_ROOM_LIMIT": "12",
-    "PROBE_ROOMS": "meta,lobby,technocore",
+    "PROBE_ROOM_LIMIT": "2",
+    "PROBE_ROOMS": "meta,technocore",
     "PROBE_POLL_SECONDS": "15",
     "PROBE_FOLLOWUP_PASSES": "3"
   }