Overcoming the Topological Lag Horizon in Real-Time Quantum Error Correction via Erasure Conversion

The landscape of quantum error correction is already populated by a rich ecosystem of decoding algorithms optimized for correction. The Systolic Metric Decomposition Engine (SMDE) is not another entrant in this algorithmic competition. Rather, it represents a new architectural actor: a non-decoding, invariant-enforcing safety primitive whose sole mandate is detectability. SMDE does not compete with decoders; it coexists with them as a system-level member of the fault-tolerant control stack, enforcing temporal consistency guarantees that no finite-memory correction algorithm can provide.