diff --git a/fusil/python/write_python_code.py b/fusil/python/write_python_code.py
index a322311..41188bf 100644
--- a/fusil/python/write_python_code.py
+++ b/fusil/python/write_python_code.py
@@ -559,11 +559,27 @@ def skip_trivial_type(obj_instance_or_class):
             # turning rare "GC fires while an object is tracked but half-initialised"
             # races (tp_traverse reading a NULL field) into deterministic crashes. A cheap
             # global coercion like the OOM hook; composes with the bombs + class fuzzing.
+            #
+            # GUARDED, and the guard is load-bearing: gc.set_threshold is CPython-only.
+            # PyPy's gc module does not have it, so an unguarded call raises AttributeError at
+            # MODULE LEVEL -- before a single target call -- and every session dies in the
+            # prelude scoring 0. A 43 368-session PyPy fleet produced exactly zero crashes,
+            # zero timeouts and 0.3-second sessions that way, and nothing in the logs said why:
+            # the sessions look "clean", not broken. This is the same shape as the pre-3.13
+            # target-compat break fixed in #256; the lesson is that anything CPython-specific
+            # in the prelude must be guarded, because the prelude runs on the TARGET.
+            #
+            # The flag stays a no-op rather than an error on such a target: it is a tuning
+            # knob, not a request, and PyPy's GC is not generational in CPython's sense so
+            # there is nothing to coerce.
             self.write_block(
                 0,
                 """
                 import gc
-                gc.set_threshold(1, 1, 1)
+                try:
+                    gc.set_threshold(1, 1, 1)
+                except AttributeError:
+                    pass  # not CPython: no generational threshold to tighten
                 """,
             )
             self.emptyLine()
diff --git a/tests/python/test_gc_aggressive.py b/tests/python/test_gc_aggressive.py
index 0c3216d..1e09b69 100644
--- a/tests/python/test_gc_aggressive.py
+++ b/tests/python/test_gc_aggressive.py
@@ -55,6 +55,68 @@ def test_absent_when_off(self):
         ast.parse(src)
         self.assertNotIn("gc.set_threshold(1, 1, 1)", src)
 
+    def test_guarded_so_a_non_cpython_target_survives_the_prelude(self):
+        """`gc.set_threshold` is CPython-only, and the prelude runs on the TARGET.
+
+        Unguarded, it raises AttributeError at module level on PyPy -- before a single target
+        call -- so every session dies in the prelude scoring 0. That failure is silent: the
+        sessions look clean rather than broken. One 43 368-session PyPy fleet produced zero
+        crashes, zero timeouts and 0.3-second sessions entirely for this reason.
+        """
+        src = _generate(gc_aggressive=True)
+        tree = ast.parse(src)
+
+        call = None
+        for node in ast.walk(tree):
+            if (
+                isinstance(node, ast.Call)
+                and isinstance(node.func, ast.Attribute)
+                and node.func.attr == "set_threshold"
+            ):
+                call = node
+                break
+        self.assertIsNotNone(call, "gc.set_threshold was not emitted")
+
+        # It must sit inside a try/except that catches AttributeError.
+        guarded = False
+        for node in ast.walk(tree):
+            if not isinstance(node, ast.Try):
+                continue
+            if not any(n is call for n in ast.walk(node)):
+                continue
+            for handler in node.handlers:
+                names = []
+                if isinstance(handler.type, ast.Name):
+                    names = [handler.type.id]
+                elif isinstance(handler.type, ast.Tuple):
+                    names = [e.id for e in handler.type.elts if isinstance(e, ast.Name)]
+                elif handler.type is None:
+                    names = ["AttributeError"]  # bare except catches it
+                if "AttributeError" in names or "Exception" in names:
+                    guarded = True
+        self.assertTrue(
+            guarded,
+            "gc.set_threshold must be wrapped in try/except AttributeError: it is CPython-only "
+            "and the prelude runs on the target interpreter",
+        )
+
+    def test_the_emitted_guard_actually_survives_a_gc_without_set_threshold(self):
+        """Exec the emitted snippet against a gc module that lacks the attribute."""
+        src = _generate(gc_aggressive=True)
+        start = src.index("import gc")
+        snippet = src[start : src.index("\n\n", start)]
+
+        import types
+
+        fake_gc = types.ModuleType("gc")  # no set_threshold, like PyPy's
+        real = sys.modules.get("gc")
+        sys.modules["gc"] = fake_gc
+        try:
+            exec(compile(snippet, "<emitted>", "exec"), {})
+        finally:
+            if real is not None:
+                sys.modules["gc"] = real
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()