diff --git a/pkg/controller/create_incomplete_reason_test.go b/pkg/controller/create_incomplete_reason_test.go
index 85103d8..564f2a1 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/create_incomplete_reason_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/create_incomplete_reason_test.go
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ package controller
 import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
+	"github.com/krateo-platformops/unstructured-runtime/pkg/tools/unstructured/condition"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -117,4 +118,13 @@ func TestCreateIncomplete_ConditionCarriesTheReason(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Contains(t, joined, "remove the",
 		"the remediation advice was lost: the message must carry BOTH what to do and why, "+
 			"conditions were: "+joined)
+
+	// #93: READY itself names the refusal, with the cause and the remediation. It used to be a bare
+	// Creating, indistinguishable from a healthy create in progress, with the cause reachable only
+	// on Synced.
+	ready := unstructuredtools.GetCondition(got, condition.TypeReady, condition.ReasonCreateOutcomeUnknown)
+	require.NotNil(t, ready, "Ready must be False/CreateOutcomeUnknown; conditions were: "+joined)
+	require.Equal(t, metav1.ConditionFalse, ready.Status)
+	require.Contains(t, ready.Message, reason, "Ready's message must carry the existence check's error")
+	require.Contains(t, ready.Message, "remove the", "Ready's message must carry the remediation")
 }
diff --git a/pkg/controller/worker.go b/pkg/controller/worker.go
index a18dcda..be8144c 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/worker.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/worker.go
@@ -637,7 +637,10 @@ func (c *Controller) processItem(ctx context.Context, obj interface{}) (err erro
 			c.recordEvent(el, event.Warning(reasonCannotInitialize, actionProcessEvent, wrapped))
 
 			err = unstructuredtools.SetConditions(el,
-				condition.Creating(),
+				// #93: its own reason, carrying the cause and the remediation. A bare Creating read
+				// like a healthy create in progress, while this refusal lasts until the existence
+				// check succeeds or a human clears the marker.
+				condition.CreateOutcomeUnknown(wrapped.Error()),
 				condition.ReconcileError(wrapped),
 			)
 			if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/tools/unstructured/condition/condition.go b/pkg/tools/unstructured/condition/condition.go
index af80e43..279da2c 100644
--- a/pkg/tools/unstructured/condition/condition.go
+++ b/pkg/tools/unstructured/condition/condition.go
@@ -54,6 +54,15 @@ const (
 	// PAUSED, so the value is the last one observed and is not being refreshed. Status stays True —
 	// a paused resource is still available, it just is not converging (core-provider#241).
 	ReasonReconcilePausedReady string = "ReconcilePaused"
+	// ReasonCreateOutcomeUnknown: a create was started and its outcome cannot be determined (the
+	// krateo.io/external-create-pending marker is set and the existence check failed), so the
+	// runtime refuses to act rather than risk creating the resource twice (unstructured-runtime#93).
+	// It was a bare Creating, which reads like a healthy create in progress. The message carries the
+	// existence check's error and the remediation. It clears when a later existence check succeeds
+	// (retried on every resync; a transient cause clears by itself) or when a human, having verified
+	// the external state, removes the marker; a permanent cause (a kind with no read verb, say)
+	// needs the human.
+	ReasonCreateOutcomeUnknown string = "CreateOutcomeUnknown"
 )
 
 // Reasons a resource is or is not synced.
@@ -188,6 +197,18 @@ func ObserveFailed(message string) metav1.Condition {
 	}
 }
 
+// CreateOutcomeUnknown is Ready=False/CreateOutcomeUnknown with message: see
+// ReasonCreateOutcomeUnknown.
+func CreateOutcomeUnknown(message string) metav1.Condition {
+	return metav1.Condition{
+		Type:               TypeReady,
+		Status:             metav1.ConditionFalse,
+		LastTransitionTime: metav1.Now(),
+		Reason:             ReasonCreateOutcomeUnknown,
+		Message:            message,
+	}
+}
+
 func FailWithReason(reason string) metav1.Condition {
 	return metav1.Condition{
 		Type:               TypeReady,