diff --git a/overlay/oxide/plugins/RunicGateway.cs b/overlay/oxide/plugins/RunicGateway.cs
index fc17597..25c8752 100644
--- a/overlay/oxide/plugins/RunicGateway.cs
+++ b/overlay/oxide/plugins/RunicGateway.cs
@@ -4778,6 +4778,15 @@ namespace Oxide.Plugins
                     break;
 
                 case PermOpKind.EnsureMember:
+                    // Before the read, because on Carbon the read is the thing that lies: a
+                    // never-seen player's UserHasGroup reads the shared blank record (see
+                    // HasNoCarbonRecord), so it can say "already a member" of nobody.
+                    if (HasNoCarbonRecord(op.Subject))
+                    {
+                        job.Pending.Add(op.Subject + ":" + op.Object);
+                        break;
+                    }
+
                     if (permission.UserHasGroup(op.Subject, op.Object))
                     {
                         job.AlreadyCorrect++;
@@ -4800,6 +4809,15 @@ namespace Oxide.Plugins
                     if (!Registered(job, op.Object))
                         break;
 
+                    // Never-seen on Carbon: the grant would land in the shared blank record and be
+                    // held by every Steam id Carbon has no record for. It lands at the first sync
+                    // after they join, as PLAN.md §29.8 already says of Carbon.
+                    if (HasNoCarbonRecord(op.Subject))
+                    {
+                        job.NotLanded.Add(op.Subject + ":" + op.Object);
+                        break;
+                    }
+
                     if (HoldsDirectly(op.Subject, op.Object))
                     {
                         job.AlreadyCorrect++;
@@ -4942,6 +4960,24 @@ namespace Oxide.Plugins
             return false;
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        ///     Whether this is Carbon and Carbon has no user record for the player.
+        ///
+        ///     <para>
+        ///     Carbon (2.0.262) answers <c>GetUserData</c> for a Steam id it has never seen with ONE
+        ///     shared, static blank record, and <c>AddUserGroup</c> and <c>GrantUserPermission</c>
+        ///     write into whatever it returns. So a membership or grant for one never-seen player
+        ///     goes to that shared record and is then held by every Steam id Carbon has no record
+        ///     for, until the server restarts — and <c>UserHasGroup</c> reads it back as a success.
+        ///     Oxide creates a real record instead, so this is never true there and Oxide's
+        ///     behaviour is unchanged. Found in the account deletion walk (W3).
+        ///     </para>
+        /// </summary>
+        private bool HasNoCarbonRecord(string steamId)
+        {
+            return IsCarbon() && !permission.UserExists(steamId);
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         ///     Whether a player holds a permission through a grant of their own, as opposed to
         ///     through a group.