diff --git a/docs/CONCEPTS.md b/docs/CONCEPTS.md
index 5376b77..6c10464 100644
--- a/docs/CONCEPTS.md
+++ b/docs/CONCEPTS.md
@@ -181,6 +181,17 @@ From `SimEngine._tick()`:
 6. **Commit atomically** (`_applyCtx`). All accumulated movements apply at once.
 7. **Apply modifiers**, then **refresh variables** and **evaluate registers**.
 
+### Conditions are synchronous
+
+Activator conditions and connection conditions are evaluated against the state as it
+stood at the **start of the step**: the engine snapshots every node's value (including
+registers, which keep their usual one‑step lag) before the fire phase, and every check
+reads that snapshot. A pull node that empties a pool mid‑step therefore can't flip a
+condition another node was about to test, so results never depend on the order nodes
+happen to be stored in. **Trigger cascades are the exception.** A node fired by a
+trigger or reverse trigger sees the current mid‑step state, because a cascade is a
+causal reaction within the step and its order comes from the graph, not from storage.
+
 ### Fair allocation under contention
 
 When several outgoing connections compete for one pool's resources, the engine uses
diff --git a/js/engine.js b/js/engine.js
index c38f103..4958c33 100644
--- a/js/engine.js
+++ b/js/engine.js
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ class SimEngine {
     // Terminal state when a node's end/goal condition is met.
     this.ended = null;        // { nodeId, label, step, value } | null
     this.onEnd = null;        // Callback(ended)
+    // Tick-start snapshot of every node's state value, set for the duration
+    // of each doStep. Condition/activator checks read it via _condValueOf so
+    // decisions are synchronous (see that method). Null between steps.
+    this._tickSnap = null;
   }
 
   saveInitial() {
@@ -136,7 +140,16 @@ class SimEngine {
     // rate formulas; per-play ones keep the value sampled when Run started.
     this._sampleCustomVars('step');
     this.step++;
+    // Snapshot every node's state value before the fire phase. Activator and
+    // connection-condition checks read this snapshot (via _condValueOf), so a
+    // decision reflects the state at the START of the step and cannot depend
+    // on the order nodes happen to be stored in (a pull node draining a pool
+    // mid-tick can't flip a condition another node was about to check).
+    // Movement itself (rates, allocation, capacity) still reads live state.
+    this._tickSnap = new Map();
+    for (const n of this.diagram.nodes.values()) this._tickSnap.set(n.id, this._stateValueOf(n));
     const { fired, transfers } = this._tick();
+    this._tickSnap = null; // fireInteractive between steps reads live state
     this._record();
     if (this.onStep) this.onStep(this.step, fired, transfers);
     this._checkEnd();
@@ -233,7 +246,9 @@ class SimEngine {
       for (const c of d.outgoing(node.id)) {
         if (c.type === ConnectionType.STATE && c.reverseTrigger && this._triggerPasses(c)) {
           const tgt = d.nodes.get(c.targetId);
-          if (tgt) failQueue.push({ node: tgt, forced: true });
+          // live: like trigger cascades, reverse-triggered fires are causal
+          // reactions and see mid-step state (see _nodeEnabled).
+          if (tgt) failQueue.push({ node: tgt, forced: true, live: true });
         }
       }
     }
@@ -280,27 +295,35 @@ class SimEngine {
     const queue = [...initial];
     let guard = 0;
     while (queue.length && guard++ < 5000) {
-      const { node, forced } = queue.shift();
+      const { node, forced, live } = queue.shift();
       if (!node || activated.has(node.id)) continue;
-      if (!this._nodeEnabled(node)) continue;
+      if (!this._nodeEnabled(node, live)) continue;
       if (!this._fireNode(node, ctx, forced)) continue;
       activated.add(node.id);
       fired.push(node.id);
       for (const t of d.outgoing(node.id)) {
         if (t.type === ConnectionType.STATE && t.trigger && this._triggerPasses(t)) {
           const tgt = d.nodes.get(t.targetId);
-          if (tgt) queue.push({ node: tgt, forced: true });
+          // live: a cascade-fired node's activators see mid-step state (see
+          // _nodeEnabled); the cascade's order is causal, not storage order.
+          if (tgt) queue.push({ node: tgt, forced: true, live: true });
         }
       }
     }
   }
 
   // A node may fire only while every incoming activator's condition holds.
-  _nodeEnabled(node) {
+  // Main-phase fires (automatic/starting/artificial player) evaluate against
+  // the tick-start snapshot, so the result is independent of node storage
+  // order. Trigger and reverse-trigger cascades pass live=true and see the
+  // current mid-step state: a cascade is a causal reaction within the step
+  // whose order is defined by the graph, so live reads there stay
+  // deterministic and are intentional.
+  _nodeEnabled(node, live = false) {
     for (const conn of this.diagram.incoming(node.id)) {
       if (conn.type !== ConnectionType.STATE || !conn.activator) continue;
       const src = this.diagram.nodes.get(conn.sourceId);
-      const val = this._stateValueOf(src);
+      const val = live ? this._stateValueOf(src) : this._condValueOf(src);
       if (!this._evalCond(val, conn.actOperator, conn.actValue, conn.actValue2)) return false;
     }
     return true;
@@ -332,6 +355,18 @@ class SimEngine {
     return node.resources;
   }
 
+  // The value a condition/activator check sees for `node`. During a step this
+  // is the tick-start snapshot taken in doStep, so decisions are synchronous:
+  // they read the state as it stood when the step began, not whatever an
+  // earlier-stored node already moved this tick. Registers are in the
+  // snapshot too (their previous settled value, matching the one-step
+  // variable lag). Outside a step (fireInteractive) there is no snapshot and
+  // the read is live. Movement helpers keep using _stateValueOf directly.
+  _condValueOf(node) {
+    if (node && this._tickSnap && this._tickSnap.has(node.id)) return this._tickSnap.get(node.id);
+    return this._stateValueOf(node);
+  }
+
   // Re-evaluate custom variables and publish them into the variable store.
   // which: 'all' (reset), 'step' (each step), 'play' (each Run press).
   // Math-kind variables read the store itself, so params are seeded first and
@@ -1218,9 +1253,12 @@ class SimEngine {
     if (conn.interval > 1 && (this.step - 1) % conn.interval !== 0) return false;
     if (conn.chance < 100 && SimRandom.random() * 100 >= conn.chance) return false;
     if (conn.condEnabled) {
+      // Source-value conditions read the tick-start snapshot (variables
+      // already lag one step by design). Cascade-fired nodes never get here:
+      // their fires are forced, which bypasses _connFires entirely.
       const val = (conn.condRefMode === 'variable' && conn.condVariable)
         ? (this.diagram.variables[conn.condVariable] ?? 0)
-        : this._stateValueOf(sourceNode);
+        : this._condValueOf(sourceNode);
       if (!this._evalCond(val, conn.condOperator, conn.condValue, conn.condValue2)) return false;
     }
     return true;
diff --git a/test/run.js b/test/run.js
index ded94e1..8eb98a7 100644
--- a/test/run.js
+++ b/test/run.js
@@ -2644,6 +2644,123 @@ test('restoreState restores structure removed after the checkpoint', () => {
   eq(d.connections.size, 1, 'connection restored from checkpoint');
 });
 
+// ── Synchronous conditions (tick-start snapshot) ────────────────────────────
+console.log('\nSynchronous conditions');
+
+test('activator result does not depend on node insertion order', () => {
+  // A pull-mode drain empties P during the fire phase; a source gated by an
+  // activator "P >= 5" must see P's tick-start value regardless of whether
+  // the drain was inserted before or after it.
+  const build = (drainFirst) => {
+    const d = new Diagram();
+    d.seed = 'sync-a';
+    const p = node(d, NodeType.POOL); p.setCount(5);
+    let dr, out;
+    const mkDrain = () => { dr = node(d, NodeType.DRAIN); dr.flowMode = 'pull'; conn(d, p, dr).rate = 5; };
+    const mkSource = () => {
+      const s = node(d, NodeType.SOURCE);
+      out = node(d, NodeType.POOL);
+      conn(d, s, out).rate = 1;
+      const a = conn(d, p, s, ConnectionType.STATE);
+      a.activator = true; a.actOperator = '>='; a.actValue = 5;
+    };
+    if (drainFirst) { mkDrain(); mkSource(); } else { mkSource(); mkDrain(); }
+    const e = new SimEngine(d);
+    e.reset();
+    const trace = [];
+    for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) { e.doStep(); trace.push([p.resources, out.resources, dr.drained].join('/')); }
+    SimRandom.seed(null);
+    return trace.join(' ');
+  };
+  const first = build(true), second = build(false);
+  eq(first, second, 'both insertion orders produce the same trace');
+  // Tick-start semantics: on step 1 P started at 5, so the source DOES fire
+  // even though the drain empties P within that same tick.
+  eq(first, '0/1/5 0/1/5 0/1/5', 'source fired exactly on the step P started at 5');
+});
+
+test('trace is invariant under node-array permutation (property test)', () => {
+  // A nontrivial seeded diagram (source, pools, conditional gate feed, pull
+  // drain, register, activator, trigger). Rebuilding it from the same JSON
+  // with the nodes array permuted must yield a byte-identical trace.
+  const d = new Diagram();
+  d.seed = 'perm';
+  const s = node(d, NodeType.SOURCE);
+  const a = node(d, NodeType.POOL);
+  conn(d, s, a).rate = 2;
+  const g = node(d, NodeType.GATE);
+  const toGate = conn(d, a, g); toGate.rate = 3;
+  toGate.condEnabled = true; toGate.condOperator = '>='; toGate.condValue = 3;
+  const b = node(d, NodeType.POOL);
+  const c = node(d, NodeType.POOL);
+  conn(d, g, b).weight = 2;
+  conn(d, g, c).weight = 1;
+  const dr = node(d, NodeType.DRAIN); dr.flowMode = 'pull';
+  conn(d, b, dr).rate = 2;
+  const r = node(d, NodeType.REGISTER); r.formula = 'cv * 2';
+  conn(d, c, r, ConnectionType.STATE).variableName = 'cv';
+  const s2 = node(d, NodeType.SOURCE);
+  const e2 = node(d, NodeType.POOL);
+  conn(d, s2, e2).rate = 1;
+  const act = conn(d, b, s2, ConnectionType.STATE);
+  act.activator = true; act.actOperator = '>='; act.actValue = 2;
+  const f = node(d, NodeType.POOL); f.setCount(20); f.activation = ActivationMode.PASSIVE;
+  conn(d, f, c).rate = 1;
+  conn(d, s2, f, ConnectionType.STATE).trigger = true;
+
+  const json = d.toJSON();
+  const runWith = (permute) => {
+    const j = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(json));
+    j.nodes = permute(j.nodes);
+    const dg = new Diagram(); dg.loadJSON(j);
+    const eng = new SimEngine(dg);
+    eng.reset();
+    const trace = [];
+    for (let i = 0; i < 25; i++) {
+      eng.doStep();
+      trace.push([...dg.nodes.values()].sort((x, y) => x.id.localeCompare(y.id))
+        .map(n => `${n.id}=${n.chartValue}`).join(','));
+    }
+    SimRandom.seed(null);
+    return trace.join('\n');
+  };
+  // Deterministic permutations only (no Math.random in tests).
+  const identity = runWith(ns => ns);
+  const reversed = runWith(ns => ns.slice().reverse());
+  const rotated = runWith(ns => ns.slice(3).concat(ns.slice(0, 3)));
+  eq(reversed, identity, 'reversed node order gives an identical trace');
+  eq(rotated, identity, 'rotated node order gives an identical trace');
+});
+
+test('trigger cascade reads live mid-step state (causal exception)', () => {
+  // The drain empties P and triggers T within the same tick. T's activator
+  // "P == 0" must see the live, post-pull value (a cascade is a causal
+  // reaction inside the step), while an identical automatic node stored
+  // after the drain checks the tick-start snapshot and stays put.
+  const d = new Diagram();
+  d.seed = 'sync-c';
+  const p = node(d, NodeType.POOL); p.setCount(5);
+  const dr = node(d, NodeType.DRAIN); dr.flowMode = 'pull';
+  conn(d, p, dr).rate = 5;
+  const t = node(d, NodeType.SOURCE); t.activation = ActivationMode.PASSIVE;
+  const out1 = node(d, NodeType.POOL);
+  conn(d, t, out1).rate = 1;
+  const at = conn(d, p, t, ConnectionType.STATE);
+  at.activator = true; at.actOperator = '=='; at.actValue = 0;
+  conn(d, dr, t, ConnectionType.STATE).trigger = true;
+  const t2 = node(d, NodeType.SOURCE);
+  const out2 = node(d, NodeType.POOL);
+  conn(d, t2, out2).rate = 1;
+  const at2 = conn(d, p, t2, ConnectionType.STATE);
+  at2.activator = true; at2.actOperator = '=='; at2.actValue = 0;
+  const e = new SimEngine(d);
+  e.reset();
+  e.doStep();
+  SimRandom.seed(null);
+  eq(out1.resources, 1, 'cascade-fired node saw live P == 0 and fired');
+  eq(out2.resources, 0, 'automatic node saw tick-start P = 5 and did not fire');
+});
+
 // ── Async engine API (Monte Carlo runner) ────────────────────────────────────
 
 testAsync('runMonteCarloAsync honours shouldCancel — resolves null, no results', async () => {