When the QA runs against a fresh CEO session (no pre-existing chat threads), the new-thread create + inbox-edge + message send chain is 4-8 EA2 round-trips. Prior waits (8s thread + 2.5s send + 12s condition) were occasionally too tight. Bumped to 15s + 4s + 20s. 36/36 dogfood stable across the slow-path.