diff --git a/internal/fold/evaluate.go b/internal/fold/evaluate.go
index 49ec283..498a8c6 100644
--- a/internal/fold/evaluate.go
+++ b/internal/fold/evaluate.go
@@ -15,15 +15,23 @@ import (
 // authority scope) is NOT done here — that is the operad layer's responsibility.
 // fold only enforces structural invariants: existence, immutability, version.
 func Evaluate(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, graph.EvalResult, error) {
+	return EvaluateAt(state, env, time.Now().UTC())
+}
+
+// EvaluateAt applies one Envelope using the provided timestamp for structural
+// CreatedAt fields (node/relation). Runtime applies should pass the exact
+// persisted AppliedAt so replay remains bit-deterministic over time.
+func EvaluateAt(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope, appliedAt time.Time) (graph.GraphState, graph.EvalResult, error) {
 	if err := validateEnvelopeStructure(env); err != nil {
 		return state, graph.EvalResult{}, err
 	}
+	ts := appliedAt.UTC()
 
 	switch env.RewriteType {
 	case graph.ADD:
-		return applyADD(state, env)
+		return applyADD(state, env, ts)
 	case graph.LINK:
-		return applyLINK(state, env)
+		return applyLINK(state, env, ts)
 	case graph.MUTATE:
 		return applyMUTATE(state, env)
 	case graph.UNLINK:
@@ -33,7 +41,7 @@ func Evaluate(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, gra
 	}
 }
 
-func applyADD(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, graph.EvalResult, error) {
+func applyADD(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope, createdAt time.Time) (graph.GraphState, graph.EvalResult, error) {
 	if _, exists := state.Nodes[env.NodeURN]; exists {
 		return state, graph.EvalResult{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", ErrNodeExists, env.NodeURN)
 	}
@@ -48,7 +56,7 @@ func applyADD(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, gra
 		URN:        env.NodeURN,
 		TypeID:     env.TypeID,
 		Properties: props,
-		CreatedAt:  time.Now().UTC(),
+		CreatedAt:  createdAt,
 		Version:    1,
 	}
 	// Maintain the NodesByType index so sweep/t-cone can look up nodes by
@@ -58,7 +66,7 @@ func applyADD(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, gra
 	return next, graph.EvalResult{AffectedNodeURN: env.NodeURN}, nil
 }
 
-func applyLINK(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, graph.EvalResult, error) {
+func applyLINK(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope, createdAt time.Time) (graph.GraphState, graph.EvalResult, error) {
 	if _, exists := state.Nodes[env.SrcURN]; !exists {
 		return state, graph.EvalResult{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: src %s", ErrNodeNotFound, env.SrcURN)
 	}
@@ -81,7 +89,7 @@ func applyLINK(state graph.GraphState, env graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, gr
 		TgtURN:          env.TgtURN,
 		TgtPort:         env.TgtPort,
 		ContractURN:     env.ContractURN,
-		CreatedAt:       time.Now().UTC(),
+		CreatedAt:       createdAt,
 	}
 	// Maintain the by-endpoint relation indexes so occupancy walks and
 	// t-cone neighbourhood queries run in O(edges-at-urn) instead of
diff --git a/internal/fold/fold_test.go b/internal/fold/fold_test.go
index f6af77d..0fe3d27 100644
--- a/internal/fold/fold_test.go
+++ b/internal/fold/fold_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package fold_test
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -244,6 +245,31 @@ func TestProgram_Rollback(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestProgramAt_PartialAppliedAtRejected(t *testing.T) {
+	state := graph.NewGraphState()
+
+	envelopes := []graph.Envelope{
+		userNode("urn:moos:user:sam"),
+		{RewriteType: graph.ADD, Actor: "urn:moos:user:sam",
+			NodeURN: "urn:moos:workstation:hp-laptop", TypeID: "workstation",
+			Properties: map[string]graph.Property{"hostname": {Value: "hp-laptop", Mutability: "immutable"}}},
+	}
+
+	next, results, err := fold.EvaluateProgramAt(state, envelopes, []time.Time{time.Now().UTC()})
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error from partial appliedAt slice")
+	}
+	if results != nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected nil results on appliedAt length mismatch")
+	}
+	if len(state.Nodes) != 0 {
+		t.Error("state was modified despite appliedAt validation failure")
+	}
+	if len(next.Nodes) != 0 {
+		t.Error("returned state has nodes despite appliedAt validation failure")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestReplay(t *testing.T) {
 	// Build a log via Evaluate
 	state := graph.NewGraphState()
@@ -305,7 +331,8 @@ func TestCI3_IdentityStability(t *testing.T) {
 // TestCI4_ReplayDeterminism verifies same log → same state always.
 func TestCI4_ReplayDeterminism(t *testing.T) {
 	env := userNode("urn:moos:user:sam")
-	log := []graph.PersistedRewrite{{Envelope: env, AppliedAt: time.Now().UTC(), LogSeq: 1}}
+	appliedAt := time.Date(2026, time.July, 9, 10, 40, 0, 123, time.UTC)
+	log := []graph.PersistedRewrite{{Envelope: env, AppliedAt: appliedAt, LogSeq: 1}}
 
 	s1, err1 := fold.Replay(log)
 	s2, err2 := fold.Replay(log)
@@ -315,7 +342,25 @@ func TestCI4_ReplayDeterminism(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	n1 := s1.Nodes["urn:moos:user:sam"]
 	n2 := s2.Nodes["urn:moos:user:sam"]
-	if n1.URN != n2.URN || n1.TypeID != n2.TypeID {
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(n1, n2) {
 		t.Error("CI-4 violated: same log produced different states")
 	}
+	if !n1.CreatedAt.Equal(appliedAt) {
+		t.Fatalf("replay did not preserve applied_at for node created_at: got %s want %s", n1.CreatedAt, appliedAt)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReplayUsesTimestampFallbackWhenAppliedAtMissing(t *testing.T) {
+	env := userNode("urn:moos:user:legacy")
+	ts := time.Date(2026, time.April, 10, 9, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	log := []graph.PersistedRewrite{{Envelope: env, Timestamp: ts, LogSeq: 1}}
+
+	s, err := fold.Replay(log)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("replay: %v", err)
+	}
+	n := s.Nodes["urn:moos:user:legacy"]
+	if !n.CreatedAt.Equal(ts) {
+		t.Fatalf("replay did not fallback to timestamp for node created_at: got %s want %s", n.CreatedAt, ts)
+	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/fold/program.go b/internal/fold/program.go
index 1f30e53..98d7528 100644
--- a/internal/fold/program.go
+++ b/internal/fold/program.go
@@ -12,11 +12,28 @@ import (
 // the original state is returned unchanged.
 // On success, returns the new state and per-envelope results.
 func EvaluateProgram(state graph.GraphState, envelopes []graph.Envelope) (graph.GraphState, []graph.EvalResult, error) {
+	return EvaluateProgramAt(state, envelopes, nil)
+}
+
+// EvaluateProgramAt is EvaluateProgram with optional caller-supplied timestamps.
+// If appliedAt[i] is present, it is used as the fold-time timestamp for
+// envelope i (node/relation CreatedAt on ADD/LINK). Otherwise wall clock is
+// used for backwards compatibility.
+func EvaluateProgramAt(state graph.GraphState, envelopes []graph.Envelope, appliedAt []time.Time) (graph.GraphState, []graph.EvalResult, error) {
+	if len(appliedAt) != 0 && len(appliedAt) != len(envelopes) {
+		return state, nil, fmt.Errorf("program appliedAt length mismatch: got %d, want 0 or %d", len(appliedAt), len(envelopes))
+	}
+	useAppliedAt := len(appliedAt) == len(envelopes)
+
 	working := state.Clone()
 	results := make([]graph.EvalResult, 0, len(envelopes))
 
 	for i, env := range envelopes {
-		next, result, err := Evaluate(working, env)
+		ts := time.Now().UTC()
+		if useAppliedAt {
+			ts = appliedAt[i]
+		}
+		next, result, err := EvaluateAt(working, env, ts)
 		if err != nil {
 			return state, nil, fmt.Errorf("program step %d (%s): %w", i, env.RewriteType, err)
 		}
@@ -28,7 +45,7 @@ func EvaluateProgram(state graph.GraphState, envelopes []graph.Envelope) (graph.
 
 // ProgramResult is returned by kernel.Runtime.ApplyProgram.
 type ProgramResult struct {
-	Results   []graph.EvalResult   `json:"results"`
+	Results   []graph.EvalResult       `json:"results"`
 	Persisted []graph.PersistedRewrite `json:"persisted"`
-	AppliedAt time.Time            `json:"applied_at"`
+	AppliedAt time.Time                `json:"applied_at"`
 }
diff --git a/internal/fold/replay.go b/internal/fold/replay.go
index 25dd2bd..07ae0d1 100644
--- a/internal/fold/replay.go
+++ b/internal/fold/replay.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	slog "log"
+	"time"
 
 	"moos/kernel/internal/graph"
 )
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ func Replay(entries []graph.PersistedRewrite) (graph.GraphState, error) {
 	state := graph.NewGraphState()
 
 	for i, pr := range entries {
-		next, _, err := Evaluate(state, pr.Envelope)
+		next, _, err := EvaluateAt(state, pr.Envelope, replayAppliedAt(pr))
 		if err != nil {
 			if isIdempotentSkip(pr.Envelope.RewriteType, err) {
 				slog.Printf("replay: skipping idempotent error at seq %d (index %d, %s): %v",
@@ -64,3 +65,15 @@ func (e *ReplayError) Error() string {
 }
 
 func (e *ReplayError) Unwrap() error { return e.Cause }
+
+func replayAppliedAt(pr graph.PersistedRewrite) time.Time {
+	if !pr.AppliedAt.IsZero() {
+		return pr.AppliedAt
+	}
+	if !pr.Timestamp.IsZero() {
+		return pr.Timestamp
+	}
+	// Legacy/malformed log lines without any timestamp keep a stable zero time
+	// so replay remains deterministic and never consults wall clock.
+	return time.Time{}
+}
diff --git a/internal/kernel/runtime.go b/internal/kernel/runtime.go
index 9d36430..45be4fd 100644
--- a/internal/kernel/runtime.go
+++ b/internal/kernel/runtime.go
@@ -216,13 +216,13 @@ func (rt *Runtime) applyWithOptions(env graph.Envelope, opts applyOptions) (grap
 		return graph.EvalResult{}, err
 	}
 
-	next, result, err := fold.Evaluate(rt.state, env)
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	next, result, err := fold.EvaluateAt(rt.state, env, now)
 	if err != nil {
 		return graph.EvalResult{}, err
 	}
 
 	seq := rt.logSeq.Add(1)
-	now := time.Now().UTC()
 	persisted := graph.PersistedRewrite{
 		Envelope:  env,
 		AppliedAt: now,
@@ -292,6 +292,11 @@ func (rt *Runtime) ApplyProgram(envelopes []graph.Envelope) ([]graph.EvalResult,
 	// an index of guarded nodes so we can skip the inner scan when no gates
 	// touch the target set (PR #8 review, Gemini).
 	injected := make([]graph.Envelope, len(envelopes))
+	baseNow := time.Now().UTC()
+	appliedAt := make([]time.Time, len(envelopes))
+	for i := range envelopes {
+		appliedAt[i] = baseNow.Add(time.Duration(i) * time.Nanosecond)
+	}
 	workingState := rt.state.Clone()
 	for i, env := range envelopes {
 		if env.RewriteType == graph.MUTATE && rt.registry != nil {
@@ -331,7 +336,7 @@ func (rt *Runtime) ApplyProgram(envelopes []graph.Envelope) ([]graph.EvalResult,
 		// Advance the working state by applying this envelope before
 		// validating the next one. On failure bail early — ApplyProgram
 		// is all-or-nothing so a later error still rolls back cleanly.
-		next, _, err := fold.Evaluate(workingState, env)
+		next, _, err := fold.EvaluateAt(workingState, env, appliedAt[i])
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -339,16 +344,15 @@ func (rt *Runtime) ApplyProgram(envelopes []graph.Envelope) ([]graph.EvalResult,
 	}
 	envelopes = injected
 
-	nextState, results, err := fold.EvaluateProgram(rt.state, envelopes)
+	nextState, results, err := fold.EvaluateProgramAt(rt.state, envelopes, appliedAt)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	now := time.Now().UTC()
 	persisted := make([]graph.PersistedRewrite, len(envelopes))
 	for i, env := range envelopes {
 		seq := rt.logSeq.Add(1)
-		ts := now.Add(time.Duration(i) * time.Nanosecond)
+		ts := appliedAt[i]
 		persisted[i] = graph.PersistedRewrite{
 			Envelope:  env,
 			AppliedAt: ts,
@@ -593,13 +597,13 @@ func (rt *Runtime) applyReactiveLocked(env graph.Envelope) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	next, _, err := fold.Evaluate(rt.state, env)
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	next, _, err := fold.EvaluateAt(rt.state, env, now)
 	if err != nil {
 		return // skip (e.g. ErrNodeExists for idempotent proposals)
 	}
 
 	seq := rt.logSeq.Add(1)
-	now := time.Now().UTC()
 	persisted := graph.PersistedRewrite{
 		Envelope:  env,
 		AppliedAt: now,
@@ -739,13 +743,13 @@ func (rt *Runtime) bumpSessionLocalT(sessionURN graph.URN) {
 	// Inject PropertySpec for additive MUTATE (local_t may not be on node yet).
 	mutEnv = rt.injectPropertySpec(mutEnv, actorNode)
 
-	next, _, err := fold.Evaluate(rt.state, mutEnv)
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	next, _, err := fold.EvaluateAt(rt.state, mutEnv, now)
 	if err != nil {
 		return // local_t not declared in ontology or other structural issue — skip
 	}
 
 	seq := rt.logSeq.Add(1)
-	now := time.Now().UTC()
 	persisted := graph.PersistedRewrite{
 		Envelope:  mutEnv,
 		AppliedAt: now,