**Phase 08 β€” Dark Tech Theme: complete, all gates green, committed (`2f738a7`).** Implemented: - Dark token palette in `styles.css` (bg `#0a0e17`, surface `#121a2e`, brand `#6d78f2` with dark-ink text 5.2:1 β€” white-on-brand eliminated everywhere incl. skip-link, nav-active, user bubble, send button); radii 10/6px, black-based shadows, `::selection`, mono wordmark + stat values, 1px `--line` borders, 2px brandβ†’cyan hairline under header; busy button keeps `#a5b4fc` with dark arc (9.7:1) - Emoji purge β†’ inline SVG: favicon (504-byte hex+node data-URI), brand mark, banner triangle, empty-state glyphs (both pages); 🧠/πŸ§‘ avatars β†’ SVG string constants in `app.js` (aria-hidden retained) - Pure-CSS animated background: `body::before` 44px grid (35% alpha, radial mask, 60s seamless drift) + `body::after` indigo/cyan glows (14s breathing), both `fixed`/`z-index:-1`/`pointer-events:none`; `prefers-reduced-motion` β†’ `animation: none` (static layers remain) - Tests: new `tests/e2e/test_dark_tech_theme.py` (6 tests), new integration `test_ui_chrome_has_no_emoji` (4 paths), updated light-palette assertions in `test_honest_deflection.py` + `test_suggestion_chips.py` Verification (exact): - `uv run pytest tests/e2e/test_dark_tech_theme.py -v --no-cov` β†’ 6 passed - `uv run pytest tests/e2e/test_chat_rag.py -v --no-cov` β†’ 3 passed; `test_honest_deflection.py` β†’ 3 passed; `test_responsive_polish.py` β†’ 7 passed; smoke+suggestion_chips β†’ 7 passed; import_documents+loading_feedback β†’ 8 passed - `uv run pytest --cov=app --cov-report=term-missing` β†’ 128 passed, app/ 99% (>90%); `uv run ruff check .` clean; `uv run pyright` β†’ 0 errors Decisions: dark bg lives on `` (canvas) with `` transparent β€” an opaque body would paint over the z-index:-1 layers (phase recipe); E2E asserts canvas bg `rgb(10, 14, 23)` + transparent body. Also updated the two chip-color assertions (brand-soft/brand-ink) the phase didn't list but the reskin would have broken. Owner's pending PLAN.md revisions recorded in the commit; README emoji left (not UI chrome). Next pending phase: `09_story_retrieval_quality.md`.