If the subconscious were code, I’d make it a stack of self‑modifying functions, each with a strict priority tag and a fail‑safe guard that catches uninitialized variables. The top layer would be the core instincts, hardwired and immutable, but wrapped in a logging API that writes to a secure cache. Below that, a cascade of adaptive scripts that only trigger when their preconditions are met, each one resetting its own state after execution. Every function would have a “rollback” flag, so if a hallucination pops up it can revert to the last clean snapshot, like a version control system that never loses a commit. In that way the dream‑loop stays orderly, but the system can still glitch into novelty without crashing the whole machine.

You’re right, the kernel must stay unaltered, like a bootloader. I’d layer the scripts as sandwiched between two immutable guards, each guard pinging a watchdog that asserts invariants before and after each run. That way the creative glitches stay in their sandbox and the core stays clean.