Let me assume that you are concerned with ordinal time Turing machines, using a tape of order type Ord. My first observation is that the accidentally writable reals are exactly the constructible reals. **Theorem.** The OTM accidentally writable reals are exactly the constructible reals, that is, the reals in $\mathbb{R}^L$. **Proof.** The forward inclusion holds because all the OTM computations can be undertaken inside $L$, and so whatever it is that appears on the tape at any moment for them will necessarily be in $L$. So every accidentally writable real is in $L$. Conversely, we use the fact that the machines are able to simulate the constructibility hierarchy. With a suitable choice of finitely many ordinal parameters, the machines can construct a code for any desired level of the $L_\alpha$ hierarchy and pick out the code for any particular constructible set. In particular, with suitable parameters, one can produce any given constructible real on the tape. And now the point is that we can design a program that systematically does this for all possible choice of ordinal parameters. The universal algorithm will simply iteratively increase a master ordinal, interpreting it as a code for a finite tuple of ordinals, and carry out the construction that far. So every particular constructible real will appear on the tape during this universal procedure. $\Box$ In particular, the supremum of the OTM accidentally writable reals will be exactly $\omega_1^L$. Meanwhile, there are only countably-in-$L$ many programs and therefore only countably many eventually writable reals, since each one can be associated with the program giving rise to it. So $\eta<\omega_1^L$. The rest of your question appears to concern an algorithm that will in part somehow store the value of $\omega_1^L$. Let us discuss how this can be done. Since this is a machine model with only a tape and no registers to store the value in, let me assume that you intend to place a special mark at position $\omega_1^L$ on the tape, in such a way that you can recognized that it has been so marked. Let us say that position $\alpha$ on the tape is *eventually markable* if there is an algorithm that eventually places a $1$ at position $\alpha$, followed by a certain unique finite pattern of marks, which eventually does not appear anywhere else on the tape. If our tape allows a bigger alphabet, we could say more simply that $\alpha$ is eventually markable if there is an algorithm that (on empty input) eventually stabilizes with a red check mark on position $\alpha$ and no other red check marks. Or we can think of the special finite pattern as the red check mark. **Theorem.** The ordinal $\omega_1^L$ is eventually markable. **Proof.** The ordinal $\omega_1^L$ is the least ordinal that is never coded by any real in $L$. So we can simply search for an ordinal that will pass that test. We gradually consider ordinal positions in turn. For every ordinal, we temporarily place a red check mark at it, until we find a real coding it (this uses the count-through algorithm to count to the position coded by any relation coded with a real). When an ordinal is revealed as countable in this way, then we move on to the next ordinal, erasing the previous red mark and placing the next one. At limits of these stages, the head will be in a position at the supremum of the previous red marks. And so we will eventually place a red mark at $\omega_1^L$, never afterward to change it. So $\omega_1^L$ is eventually markable. $\Box$ The next part of your algorithm is to look at the eventually writable reals that stabilize in time $\omega_1^L$, by using simulations that proceed up to that red mark. This seems right to me. More generally: **Theorem.** If $\alpha$ is eventually markable, then the supremum of the ordinals coded by reals that stabilize in time $\alpha$ is eventually writable. **Proof.** Consider the program that eventually marks $\alpha$. At each stage, this algorithm is giving us a putative copy $\alpha_0$ of $\alpha$, which is eventually correct. For each $\alpha_0$ that appears during the computation, let us run a simulation of all programs on empty input, running them for $\alpha_0$ many steps. We can arrange to inspect this computation to see if the output had stabilized before $\alpha_0$, and in this way, we can compute a list of all the reals that are eventually-in-time-$\alpha_0$-writable. We can then check which code a well-order, and then write down a real coding the supremum of these ordinals. If at any moment, the red check mark changes, then we start completely over with the new $\alpha_0$. Eventually, $\alpha_0$ will be $\alpha$ itself, and we will stabilize on a real coding the supremum of the eventually-in-time-$\alpha$-writable ordinals, as desired. $\Box$ In particular, if we use $\alpha=\omega_1^L$, then we will eventually write a real coding the supremum of the ordinals coded by an eventually-in-time-$\omega_1^L$-writable real. It seems to me that ultimately, the algorithm you are proposing is writing down exactly the supremum of the eventually-in-time-$\omega_1^L$-writable ordinals, and this is strictly less than $\eta$. In particular, it follows from what we've said so far that eventually writable reals do not stabilize in time $\omega_1^L$. **Corollary.** Not all algorithms producing eventually writable reals stabilize in time $\omega_1^L$. But actually, it is a bit easier to see that there are computations whose first $\omega$ cells eventually stabilize, but not by any stage before $\omega_1^L$. To see this, consider the algorithm that is eventually marking position $\omega_1^L$. Do not write on the first $\omega$ many cells, except when you change the red check mark, and then flash a $1$ and then $0$ on the first cell. This algorithm will eventually stabilize with its red check mark at position $\omega_1^L$, after which time it will no longer flash anything in the first $\omega$ cells. So this is an algorithm that writes an eventually writable real, but it does not stabilize before time $\omega_1^L$.