diff --git a/docs/read-model.md b/docs/read-model.md
index fb56f91..f4667bf 100644
--- a/docs/read-model.md
+++ b/docs/read-model.md
@@ -112,3 +112,32 @@ The one experiment that pins down union vs anchor, to run against a real broker:
 If (3) returns both and (4) returns only A, the union read model above holds as
 implemented in `resolve_target_for_sparql` /
 `set_default_graph_as_union`.
+
+### Verified against the real broker (T03.k)
+
+Step (3) — **the load-bearing one** — is CONFIRMED: an anchorless
+`SELECT … WHERE { GRAPH ?g { ?s ?p ?o } }` returns triples from BOTH docs A and B
+(the local union of the opened graphs). That is the entire premise the listing
+path relies on.
+
+Step (4) has a nuance worth recording: with an **explicit `GRAPH ?g { … }` body**,
+passing `anchor = A` did **not** restrict the result to A (B still appeared). The
+reason: the anchor sets the query's **default graph**, but a `GRAPH ?g` pattern
+iterates over the **named graphs** regardless of the default graph — so an
+explicit `GRAPH ?g` body spans every opened graph independently of the anchor.
+The anchor's "one repo" restriction is observable only for a body that reads the
+**default graph** (no `GRAPH` wrapper). The read model never needs the anchored
+form for listing — it uses the anchorless `GRAPH ?g` union — so this does not
+affect it. (The per-doc **open** step in `read-model.ts` uses an anchored `ASK`
+purely for its side effect of opening the repo, not to restrict a read.)
+
+## Implementation — `read-model.ts`
+
+`readModel.readUnion(docs)` implements this: (1) open/sync each doc via a per-doc
+anchored `ASK` (tolerant — a doc that can't open is skipped, never aborting the
+listing like the ORM fan-out would); (2) run ONE anchorless
+`SELECT ?g ?s ?p ?o WHERE { GRAPH ?g { ?s ?p ?o . VALUES ?s { … } } }` over the
+local union, constrained to the requested subjects (each entity's subject IRI IS
+its own document NURI). Returns the triples grouped per subject; the consumer maps
+them to its types (e.g. Festipod's `readEntities`). Reactivity = the consumer
+re-calls `readUnion` on its change signal (no reactive union query exists).
diff --git a/packages/client/src/index.ts b/packages/client/src/index.ts
index d4f9eed..1119240 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/index.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ export * as inbox from "./inbox";
 export * as discovery from "./discovery";
 export type { IndexEntry, SubmitOptions } from "./discovery";
 export * as docs from "./docs";
+export * as readModel from "./read-model";
+export type { UnionSubject } from "./read-model";
 export * as storeRegistry from "./store-registry";
 export type { AccountRecord, RegistrySession } from "./store-registry";
 export * as isolation from "./isolation";
diff --git a/packages/client/src/read-model.ts b/packages/client/src/read-model.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2931b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/client/src/read-model.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+/**
+ * read-model — the LISTING primitive of the polyfill: open/sync a set of
+ * documents, then run ONE anchorless union `sparql_query` over the LOCAL UNION
+ * and return the triples grouped per subject. This is the mechanism documented
+ * in docs/read-model.md, verified against the real broker (T03.k probe): a
+ * `GRAPH ?g { ?s ?p ?o }` body with NO anchor spans every graph currently opened
+ * in the session store.
+ *
+ * ── WHY not the reactive ORM fan-out ──────────────────────────────────────
+ * `useShape({ graphs: […manyDocs] })` drives `orm_start_graph` over a fan-out of
+ * per-entity graphs; a freshly-created / not-yet-synced doc in that fan-out makes
+ * `RepoNotFound` abort the whole subscription → the readyPromise never resolves →
+ * the ~75s hang (docs/nextgraph-current-state.md § The ORM fan-out hang). Listing
+ * MUST instead be a one-shot union `sparql_query`. There is no reactive union
+ * query, so reactivity is assembled by RE-QUERYING on a change signal.
+ *
+ * ── The two steps ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+ * 1. OPEN/SYNC the docs. A repo is only in the union once opened into the
+ *    session's oxigraph store. Opening is done PER-DOC via an anchored probe
+ *    query (`resolveTargetForSparql(anchor)` opens that one repo) — per-doc, so a
+ *    single unreachable doc fails in isolation instead of aborting a fan-out.
+ * 2. UNION QUERY. One anchorless `SELECT ?g ?s ?p ?o WHERE { GRAPH ?g { ?s ?p ?o } }`
+ *    over the local union; group rows by subject.
+ *
+ * ── GENERIC by construction ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+ * Zero application domain here: the consumer passes the doc NURIs to open (from
+ * the discovery index for public events, or its own scope docs for my-entities)
+ * and interprets the returned per-subject property bags. All NextGraph I/O routes
+ * through the T01.a `docs` primitives (the REAL injected `ng`), so this module
+ * imports no `@ng-org` package.
+ *
+ * At migration the union query is unchanged (native SPARQL union over the wallet);
+ * only the "open/sync" step swaps to opening real per-user store repos by cap.
+ */
+
+import { docCreate, sparqlUpdate, sparqlQuery } from "./docs";
+import { getStoreRegistryDeps } from "./polyfill";
+import { assertNuri } from "./sparql";
+import type { Nuri } from "./types";
+
+// Keep the primitives referenced so tree-shaking never drops the import used by
+// the (side-effecting) open step below; `docCreate`/`sparqlUpdate` are not used
+// here but the module intentionally depends only on the docs primitive surface.
+void docCreate;
+void sparqlUpdate;
+
+/** One subject read from the union, with its properties (predicate → values). */
+export interface UnionSubject {
+  /** The subject IRI (`?s`). */
+  subject: string;
+  /** The graph the subject was read from (`?g` — the repo graph name). */
+  graph: string;
+  /** predicate IRI → the list of object values (literals or IRIs) for it. */
+  props: Record<string, string[]>;
+}
+
+/** Tolerant extraction of SPARQL SELECT bindings across possible shapes. */
+function bindings(
+  result: unknown,
+): Array<Record<string, { value: string } | undefined>> {
+  if (!result) return [];
+  if (Array.isArray(result))
+    return result as Array<Record<string, { value: string }>>;
+  const anyRes = result as {
+    results?: { bindings?: Array<Record<string, { value: string }>> };
+  };
+  return anyRes.results?.bindings ?? [];
+}
+
+async function sessionId(): Promise<string> {
+  return (await getStoreRegistryDeps().getSession()).sessionId;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Open/sync ONE doc into the session store by running a cheap anchored probe
+ * query against it (`resolve_target_for_sparql(anchor)` opens that repo). Per-doc
+ * and tolerant: a doc that can't be opened (not yet synced, no cap) throws HERE,
+ * in isolation, and is skipped — it never aborts the listing of the others (the
+ * fan-out ORM's failure mode). Returns whether the open succeeded.
+ */
+async function openDoc(sid: string, doc: Nuri): Promise<boolean> {
+  try {
+    const nuri = assertNuri(doc);
+    // ASK is the cheapest way to touch (hence open) the repo; the result is
+    // irrelevant — the side effect (repo opened into the union) is the point.
+    await sparqlQuery(sid, "ASK { ?s ?p ?o }", undefined, nuri);
+    return true;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("[read-model] open failed for", doc, error);
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * OPEN/SYNC a set of docs, then read the LOCAL UNION with ONE anchorless
+ * `sparql_query`, grouped per subject. `docs` are the NURIs to bring into the
+ * union (the consumer resolves them by need — index for public, own scope docs
+ * for mine). Docs that fail to open are skipped (see {@link openDoc}).
+ *
+ * The union query is anchorless (`anchor` undefined → LOCAL UNION) with an
+ * explicit `GRAPH ?g { ?s ?p ?o }` body, so it spans every opened graph and
+ * attributes each row to its source graph.
+ */
+export async function readUnion(docs: Nuri[]): Promise<UnionSubject[]> {
+  const sid = await sessionId();
+  const unique = [...new Set(docs.filter(Boolean))];
+  // 1. OPEN/SYNC — per-doc, tolerant (a bad doc never aborts the whole list).
+  await Promise.all(unique.map((d) => openDoc(sid, d)));
+
+  if (unique.length === 0) return [];
+
+  // 2. UNION QUERY — ONE anchorless query over the local union. The union spans
+  // ALL opened graphs (including the shim/inbox internals), so constrain it to
+  // the requested subjects with a VALUES block. In the polyfill each entity's
+  // subject IRI IS its own document NURI (writeEntity uses the doc NURI as the
+  // subject), so the requested doc NURIs ARE the subjects to read — precise and
+  // independent of the repo_graph_name overlay suffix on ?g.
+  const values = unique.map((d) => `<${assertNuri(d)}>`).join(" ");
+  const query =
+    `SELECT ?g ?s ?p ?o WHERE { GRAPH ?g { ?s ?p ?o . VALUES ?s { ${values} } } }`;
+  let rows: Array<Record<string, { value: string } | undefined>> = [];
+  try {
+    rows = bindings(await sparqlQuery(sid, query, undefined, undefined));
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("[read-model] union query failed:", error);
+    return [];
+  }
+
+  const bySubject = new Map<string, UnionSubject>();
+  for (const row of rows) {
+    const s = row.s?.value;
+    const p = row.p?.value;
+    const o = row.o?.value;
+    const g = row.g?.value ?? "";
+    if (!s || !p || o === undefined) continue;
+    let entry = bySubject.get(s);
+    if (!entry) {
+      entry = { subject: s, graph: g, props: {} };
+      bySubject.set(s, entry);
+    }
+    (entry.props[p] ??= []).push(o);
+  }
+  return [...bySubject.values()];
+}
diff --git a/packages/client/test/read-model.test.ts b/packages/client/test/read-model.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f678412
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/client/test/read-model.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+import { test, expect, mock } from "bun:test";
+import { readUnion } from "../src/read-model";
+import { configure, configureStoreRegistry } from "../src/polyfill";
+
+// A fake `ng` whose sparql_query answers the ANCHORLESS union query with the
+// triples of the requested subjects, and the anchored ASK (open step) with an
+// empty result. Each entity subject IRI IS its own document NURI (writeEntity
+// convention), so the fixture keys triples by the doc NURI.
+function fakeNgWith(triplesByDoc: Record<string, Array<[string, string]>>) {
+  return {
+    doc_create: mock(async () => "did:ng:o:new"),
+    sparql_update: mock(async () => undefined),
+    sparql_query: mock(async (_sid: string, query: string, _base: unknown, anchor: unknown) => {
+      // The open step is `ASK { ?s ?p ?o }` with an anchor → return a truthy ASK.
+      if (query.startsWith("ASK")) return { boolean: true };
+      // The union query is anchorless (anchor undefined) with a VALUES ?s block.
+      if (anchor !== undefined) return { results: { bindings: [] } };
+      const bindings: Array<Record<string, { value: string }>> = [];
+      for (const [doc, triples] of Object.entries(triplesByDoc)) {
+        // Only surface docs whose NURI is named in the VALUES block.
+        if (!query.includes(`<${doc}>`)) continue;
+        for (const [p, o] of triples) {
+          bindings.push({
+            g: { value: `${doc}:graph` },
+            s: { value: doc },
+            p: { value: p },
+            o: { value: o },
+          });
+        }
+      }
+      return { results: { bindings } };
+    }),
+  };
+}
+
+function inject(triplesByDoc: Record<string, Array<[string, string]>>) {
+  const ng = fakeNgWith(triplesByDoc);
+  configure({ ng: ng as any, useShape: (() => {}) as any });
+  configureStoreRegistry({
+    getSession: async () => ({ sessionId: "sid-rm", privateStoreId: "priv" }),
+    normalizeUser: (u: string) => u,
+  });
+  return ng;
+}
+
+const TYPE = "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type";
+const FP = "http://festipod.org/";
+
+test("readUnion opens each doc then runs ONE anchorless union query", async () => {
+  const ng = inject({
+    "did:ng:o:a": [[TYPE, `${FP}Event`], [`${FP}title`, "A"]],
+    "did:ng:o:b": [[TYPE, `${FP}Event`], [`${FP}title`, "B"]],
+  });
+  const subjects = await readUnion(["did:ng:o:a", "did:ng:o:b"]);
+
+  // Two per-doc ASK opens + one anchorless union query = 3 sparql_query calls.
+  expect(ng.sparql_query).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+  const anchorless = ng.sparql_query.mock.calls.filter(
+    (c: unknown[]) => !String(c[1]).startsWith("ASK") && c[3] === undefined,
+  );
+  expect(anchorless.length).toBe(1);
+
+  expect(subjects.length).toBe(2);
+  const a = subjects.find((s) => s.subject === "did:ng:o:a")!;
+  expect(a.props[`${FP}title`]).toEqual(["A"]);
+});
+
+test("readUnion groups predicates per subject", async () => {
+  inject({
+    "did:ng:o:p": [
+      [TYPE, `${FP}Participation`],
+      [`${FP}event`, "did:ng:o:e"],
+      [`${FP}user`, "urn:festipod:user:x"],
+    ],
+  });
+  const s = (await readUnion(["did:ng:o:p"]))[0]!;
+  expect(s.subject).toBe("did:ng:o:p");
+  expect(s.props[`${FP}event`]).toEqual(["did:ng:o:e"]);
+  expect(s.props[`${FP}user`]).toEqual(["urn:festipod:user:x"]);
+});
+
+test("readUnion returns [] for an empty doc set (no query)", async () => {
+  const ng = inject({});
+  const subjects = await readUnion([]);
+  expect(subjects).toEqual([]);
+  expect(ng.sparql_query).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0);
+});
+
+test("a doc that fails to open is skipped, not aborting the union", async () => {
+  const ng = fakeNgWith({ "did:ng:o:ok": [[TYPE, `${FP}Event`], [`${FP}title`, "ok"]] });
+  // Make the OPEN (ASK) throw for the bad doc only.
+  const orig = ng.sparql_query;
+  ng.sparql_query = mock(async (sid: string, query: string, base: unknown, anchor: unknown) => {
+    if (query.startsWith("ASK") && anchor === "did:ng:o:bad") throw new Error("RepoNotFound");
+    return orig(sid, query, base, anchor);
+  }) as any;
+  configure({ ng: ng as any, useShape: (() => {}) as any });
+  configureStoreRegistry({
+    getSession: async () => ({ sessionId: "sid-rm", privateStoreId: "priv" }),
+    normalizeUser: (u: string) => u,
+  });
+
+  const subjects = await readUnion(["did:ng:o:ok", "did:ng:o:bad"]);
+  // The bad doc opened-failed but the good one still lists.
+  expect(subjects.map((s) => s.subject)).toEqual(["did:ng:o:ok"]);
+});