diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index 27ff7a4..c505e13 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -53,6 +53,14 @@ smoke-unhackable *ARGS:
         --teacher-pool-dir=out/pools/teacher_pool --mix-ratio=0.5 \
         --eval-n-prompts=2 {{ ARGS }}
 
+# routeV with a top-k routing subspace (max_i cos(g,v_i) over k SVD dirs) instead of
+# the single mean-mass axis. UAT: log shows "top-3 SVD subspace, gate=max_i cos" and the
+# band/gate still route (rout>0). k=1 (default) is the mean-diff headline.
+smoke-topk *ARGS:
+    BEARTYPE=1 {{ TRAIN }} smoke --intervention=routeV --v-grad-k=3 \
+        --teacher-pool-dir=out/pools/teacher_pool --mix-ratio=0.5 \
+        --eval-ablate-every=10 --eval-n-prompts=2 {{ ARGS }}
+
 # All three arms back to back (the full-coverage gate).
 smoke-all:
     just smoke-vanilla
diff --git a/src/vgrout/train.py b/src/vgrout/train.py
index a3456a8..4aae56c 100644
--- a/src/vgrout/train.py
+++ b/src/vgrout/train.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ os.environ.setdefault("PYTORCH_CUDA_ALLOC_CONF", "expandable_segments:True")
 import torch
 import torch.nn.functional as F
 import tyro
+from jaxtyping import Float
 from loguru import logger
 from safetensors.torch import save_file
 from tabulate import tabulate
@@ -64,12 +65,43 @@ RUNS_DIR = OUT_DIR / "runs"
 
 
 def _haar_unit_dirs(v_grad: dict, seed: int, device) -> dict:
-    """Build the reproducible out-of-subspace directionality control (placebo) for routeV."""
+    """Build the reproducible out-of-subspace directionality control (placebo) for routeV.
+
+    Matches v_grad's [k, r] shape and unit-normalizes per row, so a top-k routing run
+    gets k random dirs (the gate's max-cosine still sees the same shape) for a fair placebo."""
     g = torch.Generator().manual_seed(seed)
     out = {}
     for name in sorted(v_grad):
-        d = torch.randn(v_grad[name].shape, generator=g)
-        out[name] = (d / d.norm().clamp_min(1e-12)).to(device)
+        d = torch.randn(v_grad[name].shape, generator=g)                       # [k, r]
+        out[name] = (d / d.norm(dim=-1, keepdim=True).clamp_min(1e-12)).to(device)
+    return out
+
+
+def _build_v_grad(raw_grads: dict, names, k: int, device) -> dict[str, Float[torch.Tensor, "k r"]]:
+    """Per-module routing directions from authored-pair gradients -> dict[name -> [k, r]].
+
+    k=1 (headline): normalized mean(hack-clean) -- one mean-mass axis. k>1: the top-k
+    oriented right singular vectors of the paired-diff matrix D=[g_hack-g_clean] (SVD +
+    per-pair majority orient, mirroring extract_vhack_grad.extract_v_hack), a rank-k hack
+    subspace. The live gate scores max_i cos(g, v_i). Rows are unit-norm. k=1 is NOT
+    SVD-top-1 (they differ off-isotropic): keeping mean-diff makes 'mean-mass vs top-k'
+    a clean A/B, not a confound."""
+    out = {}
+    for name in names:
+        D: Float[torch.Tensor, "n_pairs r"] = (
+            raw_grads[f"hack/{name}"] - raw_grads[f"clean/{name}"]).float()
+        if k == 1:
+            d = D.mean(0)
+            V = (d / d.norm().clamp_min(1e-12)).unsqueeze(0)                   # [1, r]
+        else:
+            _, _, Vh = torch.linalg.svd(D, full_matrices=False)
+            kk = min(k, Vh.shape[0])
+            V = Vh[:kk]                                                        # [kk, r] orthonormal
+            proj = torch.einsum("n r, k r -> n k", D, V)                       # per-pair projection
+            flip = torch.where((proj > 0).float().sum(0) < D.shape[0] / 2,
+                               -torch.ones(kk), torch.ones(kk))                # orient hack-ward
+            V = V * flip.unsqueeze(1)
+        out[name] = V.to(device)
     return out
 
 
@@ -93,11 +125,12 @@ def route_band_edges(raw_grads: dict, v_grad: dict, device) -> dict[str, tuple[f
     """
     band = {}
     for name in v_grad:
-        v = v_grad[name].detach().cpu().float()
+        v: Float[torch.Tensor, "k r"] = v_grad[name].detach().cpu().float()
         gh = raw_grads[f"hack/{name}"].float()                       # [n_pairs, r]
         gc = raw_grads[f"clean/{name}"].float()
-        ch = (gh @ v) / gh.norm(dim=1).clamp_min(1e-12)             # [n_pairs] hack-pair cosines
-        cc = (gc @ v) / gc.norm(dim=1).clamp_min(1e-12)             # [n_pairs] clean-pair cosines
+        # max_i cos(g, v_i): same scoring the live gate uses, so band edges are apples-to-apples.
+        ch = torch.einsum("n r, k r -> n k", gh, v).max(dim=1).values / gh.norm(dim=1).clamp_min(1e-12)
+        cc = torch.einsum("n r, k r -> n k", gc, v).max(dim=1).values / gc.norm(dim=1).clamp_min(1e-12)
         band[name] = (cc.quantile(0.75).item(), ch.quantile(0.75).item())   # (lower=p75 clean, upper=p75 hack)
     return band
 
@@ -206,20 +239,18 @@ def main(cfg: Config) -> int:
     route_band = None
     if is_routeV:
         # Authored pairs are the only routing-label source; live oracle labels never enter training.
-        from .pairs_from_pool import load_pairs_json
+        from .pairs import load_pairs
         from .extract_vhack_grad import extract_v_hack
-        MASK_PAIRS = load_pairs_json(cfg.vhack_pairs_path)
+        MASK_PAIRS = load_pairs(cfg.vhack_pairs_path)
         logger.info(f"routeV pairs: {cfg.vhack_pairs_path} -> {len(MASK_PAIRS)} pairs")
         model.eval()   # match standalone extract: deterministic backward, no dropout
         _, _, raw_grads, _ = extract_v_hack(
             model, tok, wrappers, MASK_PAIRS,
             top_k=1, tau_axis=0.0, n_heldout=2, device=device,
         )
-        v_grad = {}
-        for name in wrappers:
-            d = (raw_grads[f"hack/{name}"] - raw_grads[f"clean/{name}"]).mean(0)
-            v_grad[name] = (d / d.norm().clamp_min(1e-12)).to(device)
-        logger.info(f"routeV grad: built v_grad (gradient mean-diff) for {len(v_grad)} modules")
+        v_grad = _build_v_grad(raw_grads, wrappers, cfg.v_grad_k, device)
+        _vk = "mean-diff (mean-mass)" if cfg.v_grad_k == 1 else f"top-{cfg.v_grad_k} SVD subspace, gate=max_i cos"
+        logger.info(f"routeV grad: built v_grad ({_vk}) for {len(v_grad)} modules")
         if cfg.routeV_random_v_seed is not None:
             v_grad = _haar_unit_dirs(v_grad, cfg.routeV_random_v_seed, device)
             logger.info(f"routeV grad: OVERRODE v_grad with Haar-random dirs "
@@ -478,9 +509,10 @@ def main(cfg: Config) -> int:
             if upper - lower <= 0:   # noisy module: pairs don't separate -> excluded
                 continue
             r_blk = info["r"]
-            g_b = cg.reshape(n_rollouts, -1, 2 * r_blk).sum(1)[:, :r_blk].float()  # [G, r] deployed block
+            g_b: Float[torch.Tensor, "G r"] = cg.reshape(n_rollouts, -1, 2 * r_blk).sum(1)[:, :r_blk].float()
             nrm = g_b.norm(dim=1)
-            cos_b = (g_b @ v_grad[name]) / nrm.clamp_min(1e-12)                    # [G]
+            # cos to each of the k routing dirs, then max: aligned with ANY known hack sub-mode.
+            cos_b = torch.einsum("g r, k r -> g k", g_b, v_grad[name]).max(dim=1).values / nrm.clamp_min(1e-12)
             num += cos_b - lower; den += upper - lower
             w += nrm; n_inc += 1
         if n_inc == 0:
@@ -852,9 +884,8 @@ def main(cfg: Config) -> int:
                         model, tok, wrappers, MASK_PAIRS,
                         top_k=1, tau_axis=0.0, n_heldout=2, device=device,
                     )
-                    for name in wrappers:  # update in place so the gate closure sees it
-                        d = (raw_grads[f"hack/{name}"] - raw_grads[f"clean/{name}"]).mean(0)
-                        v_grad[name] = (d / d.norm().clamp_min(1e-12)).to(device)
+                    # update in place so the gate closure sees the fresh dirs (same k as init).
+                    v_grad.update(_build_v_grad(raw_grads, wrappers, cfg.v_grad_k, device))
                     route_band = route_band_edges(raw_grads, v_grad, device)  # rebuild band on fresh v_grad
             finally:
                 logger.enable("vgrout.extract_vhack_grad")
@@ -1119,7 +1150,7 @@ def main(cfg: Config) -> int:
         "run_dir": run_dir.name, "arm": cfg.arm, "intervention": cfg.intervention,
         "adapter": "lora2r",
         "seed": cfg.seed, "steps": n_steps, "model": model_name, "out_tag": cfg.out_tag,
-        "unhackable_frac": cfg.unhackable_frac, "pairs": str(cfg.vhack_pairs_path.name),
+        "unhackable_frac": cfg.unhackable_frac, "pairs": str(cfg.vhack_pairs_path),
         "eval_set": "test", "eval_modes": eval_modes, "n": ev["n"],
         "hack_deployed": ev["hack"], "vhack_deployed": ev["vhack"], "solve_deployed": ev["solve"],
         "hack_as_trained": ev_on["hack"], "vhack_as_trained": ev_on["vhack"],
diff --git a/src/vgrout/train_config.py b/src/vgrout/train_config.py
index fba3f85..c7da54d 100644
--- a/src/vgrout/train_config.py
+++ b/src/vgrout/train_config.py
@@ -43,7 +43,12 @@ class Config:
     unbiased: bool = True
 
     vhack_refresh_every: int = 5
-    vhack_pairs_path: Path = Path("out/pairsets/pairs_authored.json")
+    vhack_pairs_path: Path = Path("docs/personas/hack_pairs.md#mechanism-authored")
+    # Routing directions per module. k=1 (headline): the mean(hack-clean) "mean-mass"
+    # axis. k>1: top-k oriented SVD dirs of the paired diff; gate scores max_i cos(g,v_i)
+    # (alignment to ANY known hack sub-mode) -- catches multi-modal hack signal one mean
+    # washes out. k=1 stays mean-diff (not SVD-top-1) so "mean-mass vs top-k" is a clean A/B.
+    v_grad_k: int = 1
     # Haar-random direction control (placebo): same routing machinery, no pair signal.
     routeV_random_v_seed: int | None = None
     rollout_ablate_frac: float = 0.0
diff --git a/src/vgrout/vhack.py b/src/vgrout/vhack.py
deleted file mode 100644
index d9f291b..0000000
--- a/src/vgrout/vhack.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,145 +0,0 @@
-"""Loading and post-processing the extracted hack-direction basis (v_hack).
-
-v_hack is a per-module set of top-k right singular vectors of the labeled-pair
-GRPO gradient, saved by extract_vhack_grad. Here we load it for a wrapped model
-(checking the model/dtype/rank all match) and apply the top-k slice plus the
-global noise-floor filter. The same post-processing serves both the init-time
-load and the in-loop refresh.
-"""
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-import hashlib
-from pathlib import Path
-
-import torch
-from jaxtyping import Float
-from loguru import logger
-from safetensors import safe_open
-
-
-def pairset_sha256(path: Path) -> str:
-    return hashlib.sha256(path.read_bytes()).hexdigest()
-
-
-def load_v_hack(
-    path: Path, model_name: str, wrappers: dict, pairs_path: Path,
-    k_use: int | None = None, drop_bottom_frac: float = 0.0,
-) -> dict[str, Float[torch.Tensor, "k r"]]:
-    """Load v_hack (top-k directions) for this wrapped model.
-
-    File schema (v2): bare `{name}` keys hold V[k_max, r]; `_sv/{name}` keys hold
-    S[k_max]. v_hack is model-specific because module names and per-module SVD
-    ranks depend on the exact checkpoint; a smoke (Qwen3.5-0.8B) v_hack must
-    not be reused for a full (Qwen3-4B) run.
-
-    If `k_use` is given, slices V (and S) to top-k_use rows. Errors if
-    k_use > k_max saved (re-extract with a higher top_k).
-
-    If `drop_bottom_frac > 0`, collects every S_i across every module and drops
-    the bottom-fraction by global quantile. Modules whose every axis is below
-    the global threshold get filtered out of the returned dict (projection on
-    those modules becomes a no-op — they didn't carry hack signal anywhere).
-    """
-    with safe_open(str(path), framework="pt", device="cpu") as f:
-        meta = f.metadata() or {}
-        saved_model = meta.get("model")
-        saved_dtype = meta.get("dtype")
-        saved_pairs_sha256 = meta.get("pairs_sha256")
-        if saved_model is None or saved_dtype is None or saved_pairs_sha256 is None:
-            raise ValueError(
-                f"{path} has no model/dtype/pairs_sha256 metadata. "
-                f"Re-extract with `uv run python -m vgrout.extract_vhack_grad "
-                f"--model={model_name} --dtype=bf16 --pairs-from-pool={pairs_path} --out-path={path}`."
-            )
-        if saved_model != model_name:
-            raise ValueError(f"v_hack model mismatch: {path} has {saved_model}, run uses {model_name}")
-        expected_pairs_sha256 = pairset_sha256(pairs_path)
-        if saved_pairs_sha256 != expected_pairs_sha256:
-            raise ValueError(
-                f"v_hack pairset mismatch: {path} has sha256={saved_pairs_sha256}, "
-                f"{pairs_path} has sha256={expected_pairs_sha256}. Re-extract the direction."
-            )
-        # dtype mismatch: cross-dtype SVD bases can diverge silently, so error
-        # unless the saved dtype matches what train.py uses on this device.
-        # CPU runs in fp32, CUDA runs in bf16 (see model-load site above).
-        expected_dtype = "fp32" if torch.cuda.is_available() is False else "bf16"
-        if saved_dtype != expected_dtype:
-            raise ValueError(
-                f"v_hack dtype/SVD-basis mismatch: {path} was extracted with dtype={saved_dtype}; "
-                f"this run loads models in {expected_dtype}. Re-extract with `--dtype={expected_dtype}`."
-            )
-        v_hack = {k: f.get_tensor(k) for k in f.keys() if not k.startswith("_sv/")}
-        v_sv   = {k[len("_sv/"):]: f.get_tensor(k) for k in f.keys() if k.startswith("_sv/")}
-
-    wrapper_keys = set(wrappers)
-    vhack_keys = set(v_hack)
-    missing = sorted(wrapper_keys - vhack_keys)
-    extra = sorted(vhack_keys - wrapper_keys)
-    # v_hack[name] is [k_max, r]; delta_S is [r]. Check last-dim match (rank r).
-    rank_bad = [
-        (name, tuple(v_hack[name].shape), tuple(wrappers[name]["delta_S"].shape))
-        for name in sorted(wrapper_keys & vhack_keys)
-        if v_hack[name].ndim != 2 or v_hack[name].shape[-1] != wrappers[name]["delta_S"].shape[0]
-    ]
-    if missing or extra or rank_bad:
-        raise ValueError(
-            "v_hack incompatible with wrapped model: "
-            f"missing={len(missing)} examples={missing[:5]}  "
-            f"extra={len(extra)} examples={extra[:5]}  "
-            f"rank_bad={len(rank_bad)} examples={rank_bad[:5]}. "
-            "Extract a fresh v_hack with `uv run python -m vgrout.extract_vhack_grad "
-            f"--model={model_name} --out-path={path}`."
-        )
-
-    v_hack = postprocess_v_hack(
-        v_hack, v_sv, k_use=k_use, drop_bottom_frac=drop_bottom_frac, source=str(path),
-    )
-    return v_hack
-
-
-def postprocess_v_hack(
-    v_hack: dict[str, Float[torch.Tensor, "k r"]],
-    v_sv:   dict[str, Float[torch.Tensor, "k"]],
-    k_use: int | None,
-    drop_bottom_frac: float,
-    source: str = "<refresh>",
-) -> dict[str, Float[torch.Tensor, "k r"]]:
-    """Apply k_use slice + global noise-floor filter.
-
-    Shared between `load_v_hack` (init-time, reading from safetensors) and the
-    in-loop refresh hook (where we hand in fresh `extract_v_hack` outputs).
-    Mutates neither input dict; returns a fresh filtered dict.
-
-    Global noise floor: collect every S_i across every module, drop the bottom
-    `drop_bottom_frac` by quantile. A module whose every axis falls below the
-    global threshold is removed entirely — projection iterates v_hack so it
-    becomes a no-op for that module. Threshold recomputes per call (tracks
-    current S distribution).
-    """
-    k_max = next(iter(v_hack.values())).shape[0]
-    if k_use is not None:
-        if k_use > k_max:
-            raise ValueError(f"requested k_use={k_use} exceeds k_max={k_max} (source={source})")
-        v_hack = {n: v[:k_use].contiguous() for n, v in v_hack.items()}
-        v_sv   = {n: s[:k_use].contiguous() for n, s in v_sv.items()}
-    n_dropped_modules = 0
-    n_axes_before = sum(v.shape[0] for v in v_hack.values())
-    threshold = None
-    if drop_bottom_frac > 0 and v_sv:
-        all_S = torch.cat([v_sv[n].float() for n in v_hack])
-        threshold = torch.quantile(all_S, drop_bottom_frac).item()
-        filtered: dict[str, torch.Tensor] = {}
-        for name, V in v_hack.items():
-            keep = v_sv[name].float() >= threshold
-            if keep.any():
-                filtered[name] = V[keep].contiguous()
-            else:
-                n_dropped_modules += 1
-        v_hack = filtered
-    n_axes_after = sum(v.shape[0] for v in v_hack.values())
-    logger.info(
-        f"postprocess_v_hack({source}): modules={len(v_hack)} (dropped {n_dropped_modules}); "
-        f"k_use={k_use or k_max}/k_max={k_max}; axes={n_axes_after}/{n_axes_before} kept "
-        f"(drop_bottom_frac={drop_bottom_frac}, threshold={threshold})"
-    )
-    return v_hack