Topological Cognition and Spacetime Emergence: Empirical Evidence for Active Optimization in QGEFT

The current Paper 55 benchmark does not prove that spacetime is literally conscious. It does show that, in the verified `N=64`, `1000`-sweep Topological Twins experiment, a guided QGEFT cooling law dramatically outperforms a blind random-walk null model under identical initial conditions and matched proposal schedules. The guided branch falls from initial stress `73772.16` to final stress `24.96`, expands to diameter `4.0`, and crystallizes to degree-dispersion `0.5590`, while the blind branch stalls at final stress `15727.08`, remains at diameter `2.0`, and finishes with degree-dispersion `3.7744`. The defensible conclusion is therefore that active topological optimization is essential to this spacetime-emergence branch, even though the present escape-event and staircase detectors are not yet sharp enough to support a stronger cognition-like claim.