diff --git a/src/agent/mod.rs b/src/agent/mod.rs
index 695569f..54bc418 100644
--- a/src/agent/mod.rs
+++ b/src/agent/mod.rs
@@ -163,6 +163,9 @@ pub struct AgentState {
     pub generation: u64,
     pub memory_scoring_in_flight: bool,
     pub active_tools: tools::ActiveTools,
+    /// vLLM scheduling priority (lower = higher priority).
+    /// 0 = interactive, 1 = surface agent, 2 = other subconscious, 10 = unconscious.
+    pub priority: Option<i32>,
     /// Forked agents should not compact on overflow — it blows the
     /// KV cache prefix and evicts the step prompts.
     pub no_compact: bool,
@@ -225,6 +228,7 @@ impl Agent {
                 generation: 0,
                 memory_scoring_in_flight: false,
                 active_tools,
+                priority: Some(0),
                 no_compact: false,
                 changed: Arc::new(tokio::sync::Notify::new()),
             }),
@@ -261,6 +265,7 @@ impl Agent {
                 generation: 0,
                 memory_scoring_in_flight: false,
                 active_tools: tools::ActiveTools::new(),
+                priority: None,
                 no_compact: true,
                 changed: Arc::new(tokio::sync::Notify::new()),
             }),
@@ -318,7 +323,7 @@ impl Agent {
                         top_p: st.top_p,
                         top_k: st.top_k,
                     },
-                    None,
+                    st.priority,
                 )
             };
 
diff --git a/src/agent/oneshot.rs b/src/agent/oneshot.rs
index 24117bc..81bcc91 100644
--- a/src/agent/oneshot.rs
+++ b/src/agent/oneshot.rs
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ impl AutoAgent {
             let mut st = agent.state.lock().await;
             st.provenance = format!("standalone:{}", self.name);
             st.tools = self.tools.clone();
+            st.priority = Some(10);
         }
 
         let mut backend = Backend(agent);
diff --git a/src/mind/subconscious.rs b/src/mind/subconscious.rs
index a35d586..7ea9ae4 100644
--- a/src/mind/subconscious.rs
+++ b/src/mind/subconscious.rs
@@ -593,7 +593,13 @@ impl Subconscious {
 
             let forked = agent.fork(auto.tools.clone()).await;
             let prov = format!("agent:{}", auto.name);
-            forked.state.lock().await.provenance = prov.clone();
+            {
+                let mut st = forked.state.lock().await;
+                st.provenance = prov.clone();
+                // Surface agent gets near-interactive priority;
+                // other subconscious agents get lower priority.
+                st.priority = Some(if auto.name == "surface" { 1 } else { 2 });
+            }
             let fork_point = forked.context.lock().await.conversation().len();
 
             self.agents[idx].forked_agent = Some(forked.clone());
diff --git a/src/mind/unconscious.rs b/src/mind/unconscious.rs
index 2baa5aa..eb7f854 100644
--- a/src/mind/unconscious.rs
+++ b/src/mind/unconscious.rs
@@ -292,6 +292,7 @@ impl Unconscious {
             let mut st = agent.state.lock().await;
             st.provenance = format!("unconscious:{}", auto.name);
             st.tools = auto.tools.clone();
+            st.priority = Some(10);
         }
 
         self.agents[idx].agent = Some(agent.clone());