diff --git a/embeddings.py b/embeddings.py
index b32a441..61bf7cf 100644
--- a/embeddings.py
+++ b/embeddings.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 from common import (
     EMBEDDING_MODEL,
     OPENAI_MODEL_DEFAULT,
+    THRESHOLD_DORMANT,
     _cosine_similarity,
     _load_memory_config,
     _ollama_embed,
@@ -207,10 +208,14 @@ class EmbeddingsMixin:
 
         query_dim = len(query_vec)
 
-        # Score all memories by cosine similarity
+        # Score all memories by cosine similarity, skipping archived/dormant
         index = self._load_index()
+        state = self._load_state()
         scored = []
         for mid, vec in stored.items():
+            s = state.get("entries", {}).get(mid, {})
+            if s.get("decay_score", 0.5) < THRESHOLD_DORMANT:
+                continue
             # Skip dimension mismatch
             if len(vec) != query_dim:
                 continue