diff --git a/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs b/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs
index 5c48a34..823d725 100644
--- a/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs
+++ b/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs
@@ -110,10 +110,16 @@ fn main() {
     let is_first = !cookie_path.exists();
 
     if is_first || is_compaction {
-        // Reset seen set and returned list
+        // Rotate seen set: current → prev (for surface agent navigation roots)
         let seen_path = state_dir.join(format!("seen-{}", session_id));
+        let seen_prev_path = state_dir.join(format!("seen-prev-{}", session_id));
         let returned_path = state_dir.join(format!("returned-{}", session_id));
-        fs::remove_file(&seen_path).ok();
+        if is_compaction {
+            fs::rename(&seen_path, &seen_prev_path).ok();
+        } else {
+            fs::remove_file(&seen_path).ok();
+            fs::remove_file(&seen_prev_path).ok();
+        }
         fs::remove_file(&returned_path).ok();
     }
 
@@ -592,6 +598,35 @@ fn parse_seen_line(line: &str) -> &str {
     line.split_once('\t').map(|(_, key)| key).unwrap_or(line)
 }
 
+/// Load the most recently surfaced memory keys, sorted newest-first, capped at `limit`.
+/// Used to give the surface agent navigation roots.
+fn load_recent_seen(dir: &Path, session_id: &str, limit: usize) -> Vec<String> {
+    // Merge current and previous seen sets
+    let mut entries: Vec<(String, String)> = Vec::new();
+    for suffix in ["", "-prev"] {
+        let path = dir.join(format!("seen{}-{}", suffix, session_id));
+        if let Ok(content) = fs::read_to_string(&path) {
+            entries.extend(
+                content.lines()
+                    .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+                    .filter_map(|line| {
+                        let (ts, key) = line.split_once('\t')?;
+                        Some((ts.to_string(), key.to_string()))
+                    })
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Sort by timestamp descending (newest first), dedup by key
+    entries.sort_by(|a, b| b.0.cmp(&a.0));
+    let mut seen = HashSet::new();
+    entries.into_iter()
+        .filter(|(_, key)| seen.insert(key.clone()))
+        .take(limit)
+        .map(|(_, key)| key)
+        .collect()
+}
+
 fn load_seen(dir: &Path, session_id: &str) -> HashSet<String> {
     let path = dir.join(format!("seen-{}", session_id));
     if path.exists() {
diff --git a/poc-memory/src/bin/poc-hook.rs b/poc-memory/src/bin/poc-hook.rs
index ded3777..389db98 100644
--- a/poc-memory/src/bin/poc-hook.rs
+++ b/poc-memory/src/bin/poc-hook.rs
@@ -215,6 +215,135 @@ fn main() {
                 check_context(t, false);
                 maybe_trigger_observation(t);
             }
+
+            // Surface agent: read previous result, then fire next run async
+            let session_id = hook["session_id"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
+            if !session_id.is_empty() {
+                let state_dir = PathBuf::from("/tmp/claude-memory-search");
+                let result_path = state_dir.join(format!("surface-result-{}", session_id));
+                let pid_path = state_dir.join(format!("surface-pid-{}", session_id));
+
+                // Check if previous surface agent has finished.
+                // If still running past the timeout, kill it.
+                let surface_timeout = poc_memory::config::get()
+                    .surface_timeout_secs
+                    .unwrap_or(120) as u64;
+
+                let agent_done = match fs::read_to_string(&pid_path) {
+                    Ok(content) => {
+                        // Format: "PID\tTIMESTAMP"
+                        let parts: Vec<&str> = content.split('\t').collect();
+                        let pid: u32 = parts.first()
+                            .and_then(|s| s.trim().parse().ok())
+                            .unwrap_or(0);
+                        let start_ts: u64 = parts.get(1)
+                            .and_then(|s| s.trim().parse().ok())
+                            .unwrap_or(0);
+
+                        if pid == 0 {
+                            true
+                        } else {
+                            let alive = unsafe { libc::kill(pid as i32, 0) == 0 };
+                            if !alive {
+                                true // process exited
+                            } else {
+                                let elapsed = now_secs().saturating_sub(start_ts);
+                                if elapsed > surface_timeout {
+                                    // Kill stale agent
+                                    unsafe { libc::kill(pid as i32, libc::SIGTERM); }
+                                    true
+                                } else {
+                                    false // still running, under timeout
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    Err(_) => true, // no pid file = no previous run
+                };
+
+                // Inject previous result if agent is done
+                if agent_done {
+                    if let Ok(result) = fs::read_to_string(&result_path) {
+                        if !result.trim().is_empty() {
+                            let last_line = result.lines().rev()
+                                .find(|l| !l.trim().is_empty())
+                                .unwrap_or("");
+
+                            if last_line.starts_with("NEW RELEVANT MEMORIES:") {
+                                // Parse key list from lines after the marker
+                                let after_marker = result.rsplit_once("NEW RELEVANT MEMORIES:")
+                                    .map(|(_, rest)| rest)
+                                    .unwrap_or("");
+                                let keys: Vec<&str> = after_marker.lines()
+                                    .map(|l| l.trim().trim_start_matches("- ").trim())
+                                    .filter(|l| !l.is_empty())
+                                    .collect();
+
+                                if !keys.is_empty() {
+                                    // Render and inject memories
+                                    for key in &keys {
+                                        if let Ok(output) = Command::new("poc-memory")
+                                            .args(["render", key])
+                                            .output()
+                                        {
+                                            if output.status.success() {
+                                                let content = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+                                                if !content.trim().is_empty() {
+                                                    println!("--- {} (surfaced) ---", key);
+                                                    print!("{}", content);
+                                                    // Mark as seen
+                                                    let seen_path = state_dir.join(format!("seen-{}", session_id));
+                                                    if let Ok(mut f) = fs::OpenOptions::new()
+                                                        .create(true).append(true).open(&seen_path)
+                                                    {
+                                                        use std::io::Write;
+                                                        let ts = chrono::Local::now().format("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S");
+                                                        let _ = writeln!(f, "{}\t{}", ts, key);
+                                                    }
+                                                }
+                                            }
+                                        }
+                                    }
+                                }
+                            } else if !last_line.starts_with("NO NEW RELEVANT MEMORIES") {
+                                // Unexpected output — log error
+                                let log_dir = poc_memory::store::memory_dir().join("logs");
+                                fs::create_dir_all(&log_dir).ok();
+                                let log_path = log_dir.join("surface-errors.log");
+                                if let Ok(mut f) = fs::OpenOptions::new()
+                                    .create(true).append(true).open(&log_path)
+                                {
+                                    use std::io::Write;
+                                    let ts = chrono::Local::now().format("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S");
+                                    let _ = writeln!(f, "[{}] unexpected surface output: {}",
+                                        ts, last_line);
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    fs::remove_file(&result_path).ok();
+                    fs::remove_file(&pid_path).ok();
+
+                    // Spawn next surface agent
+                    if let Ok(output_file) = fs::File::create(&result_path) {
+                        if let Ok(child) = Command::new("poc-memory")
+                            .args(["agent", "run", "surface", "--count", "1", "--local"])
+                            .env("POC_SESSION_ID", session_id)
+                            .stdout(output_file)
+                            .stderr(std::process::Stdio::null())
+                            .spawn()
+                        {
+                            use std::io::Write;
+                            let pid = child.id();
+                            let ts = now_secs();
+                            if let Ok(mut f) = fs::File::create(&pid_path) {
+                                let _ = write!(f, "{}\t{}", pid, ts);
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                // else: previous agent still running, skip this cycle
+            }
         }
         "PostToolUse" => {
             // Drip-feed pending context chunks from initial load
diff --git a/poc-memory/src/config.rs b/poc-memory/src/config.rs
index 43482c9..287197a 100644
--- a/poc-memory/src/config.rs
+++ b/poc-memory/src/config.rs
@@ -67,6 +67,9 @@ pub struct Config {
     agent_model: Option<String>,
     pub api_reasoning: String,
     pub agent_types: Vec<String>,
+    /// Surface agent timeout in seconds. Kill if running longer than this.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub surface_timeout_secs: Option<u32>,
 }
 
 impl Default for Config {
@@ -105,6 +108,7 @@ impl Default for Config {
                 "linker".into(), "organize".into(), "distill".into(),
                 "separator".into(), "split".into(),
             ],
+            surface_timeout_secs: None,
         }
     }
 }