diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 02b3ab0..f787f30 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       - uses: actions/setup-go@v7
         with:
-          go-version: 1.27.1
+          go-version: 1.27.2
       - run: go version
       - run: go vet ./...
       - run: go build ./...
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       - uses: actions/setup-go@v7
         with:
-          go-version: 1.27.1
+          go-version: 1.27.2
       - run: go env GOARCH
       - name: Regenerate committed assembly and check it is current
         run: |
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       - uses: actions/setup-go@v7
         with:
-          go-version: 1.27.1
+          go-version: 1.27.2
       - run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y qemu-user-static
       - name: Regenerate committed assembly and check it is current
         if: matrix.goarch == 'ppc64le' || matrix.goarch == 'loong64' || matrix.goarch == 'riscv64' || matrix.goarch == 's390x'
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       - uses: actions/setup-go@v7
         with:
-          go-version: 1.27.1
+          go-version: 1.27.2
       - name: Vet + test (GOARCH=386)
         run: |
           GOARCH=386 go vet ./...
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       - uses: actions/setup-go@v7
         with:
-          go-version: 1.27.1
+          go-version: 1.27.2
       - name: go test -c (go vet on android/ios) for each go tool dist list pair
         run: |
           fail=0
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0882180..4c0a8ab 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 # ndarray — go-ndarray
 
 [![Docs](https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-mkdocs--material-013243)](https://go-ndarray.github.io/docs/)
+[![Playground](https://img.shields.io/badge/playground-try%20it%20in%20your%20browser-013243)](https://go-ndarray.github.io/playground/)
 [![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-BSD--3--Clause-blue)](LICENSE)
-[![Go](https://img.shields.io/badge/go-1.27.1%2B-00ADD8)](https://go.dev/dl/)
+[![Go](https://img.shields.io/badge/go-1.27.2%2B-00ADD8)](https://go.dev/dl/)
 [![Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-numpy%20parity%20(float64)-9a6700)](docs/plan-ndarray.md)
 
 **A pure-Go (CGO=0) NumPy-style N-dimensional array library.** Row-major
@@ -30,6 +31,9 @@
   `ws.Use`, compute as usual, `ws.Reset()` at the end of each pass. Results stop
   costing the garbage collector anything (see below).
 
+**Try it without installing anything:** the [playground](https://go-ndarray.github.io/playground/)
+runs go-ndarray compiled to WebAssembly in your browser.
+
 ### Loops: `Workspace`
 
 Every operation returns a new array, and in a loop those results are garbage
@@ -66,9 +70,8 @@ arm64, VSX on ppc64le, LASX on loong64, RVV on riscv64 and the vector facility
 on s390x, the last three when the CPU has them), max/min too on
 amd64 and arm64, and a **panel-packed, cache-blocked GEMM** with an SIMD-FMA
 micro-kernel (NEON 4×8; AVX2/FMA 6×8 chosen at run time, SSE2 fallback; VSX
-8×8; LASX 8×8; RVV 6×8), the OpenBLAS/BLIS structure. The 32-bit targets run
-the same pure-Go code those kernels are tested against. The s390x kernels are
-validated under emulation only (no s390x host was reachable to measure them). `Exp` and `Log` are ports of Arm's optimized-routines
+8×8; LASX 8×8; RVV 6×8; s390x 4×8), the OpenBLAS/BLIS structure. The 32-bit
+targets run the same pure-Go code those kernels are tested against. `Exp` and `Log` are ports of Arm's optimized-routines
 (≤ 0.51 ULP measured, against up to 0.88 and 0.72 for Go's
 `math.Exp`/`math.Log` on arm64),
 and they are correct where amd64's `math.Exp` returns +Inf
diff --git a/SECURITY.md b/SECURITY.md
index 934a103..f77aea9 100644
--- a/SECURITY.md
+++ b/SECURITY.md
@@ -57,6 +57,28 @@ standard library's known vulnerabilities; `govulncheck ./...` reports none.
 
 ## Audit log
 
+**2026-10-09 (v0.9.0).**
+
+- **The Go floor is 1.27.2.** At 1.27.1, `govulncheck` listed standard-library
+  vulnerabilities fixed in 1.27.2 (GO-2026-6604, -6612, -6613, -6617, among
+  others), none of them reachable from this library. At 1.27.2 it reports none,
+  for the library or for its generator module.
+- **The loong64 miscompile is not fixed in 1.27.2.** An earlier entry said
+  golang/go#81000 was fixed in 1.27.2; it was not. The backport
+  (golang/go#81147) is on the 1.27.3 milestone. On real hardware (cfarm401,
+  Loongson 3C5000L), the upstream reproducer (`go-gfx/gfx` `./color`,
+  `TestSkimageLabToRGBOutOfGamut`) **FAILS** when built with go1.27.1 and with
+  go1.27.2 alike. The evidence that this library does not hit the pattern
+  stands as before: the suite and `FuzzOps` on that machine. Raise the floor
+  to 1.27.3 when it ships.
+- **The s390x kernels now run on real hardware**: an IBM z17, through the
+  LinuxONE Community Cloud (`/proc/sysinfo`: Type 9175, a z/VM 7.3.0 guest
+  with 8 vCPUs in a shared LPAR). The whole suite and the fence tests pass,
+  and `sumVX` reading one element past the end faults (4 KiB pages). The new
+  4×8 GEMM micro-kernel is held to the same checks: it is guarded by its
+  wrapper and fenced, and a sabotaged copy that drops tile row 3 fails
+  (`MatMul m=50 k=70 n=90 [270]: 0 != -249`).
+
 **2026-10-08 (v0.8.0).** New s390x vector-facility kernels, held to the same
 guards (wrappers check each kernel's reach; the PROT_NONE fence tests now
 include s390x). ⚠ They were validated **under emulation only** (Docker's
@@ -114,7 +136,9 @@ two defects. Both are fixed, each with a test that fails without the fix.
 - go1.27.0 and go1.27.1 miscompile one loong64 pattern
   ([golang/go#81000](https://github.com/golang/go/issues/81000): a byte-sized
   inlined result spilled with an 8-byte store, clobbering the stack slot next
-  to it), fixed in 1.27.2. On a real Loongson 3C5000L with LASX (cfarm401),
+  to it), ~~fixed in 1.27.2~~ — **wrong, corrected 2026-10-09**: the backport
+  (golang/go#81147) moved to the 1.27.3 milestone, and go1.27.2 still fails
+  the upstream reproducer on cfarm401 (see the v0.9.0 entry). On a real Loongson 3C5000L with LASX (cfarm401),
   built with go1.27.1, the whole suite passes, including the fence tests, and
   `FuzzOps` ran 52.7 million executions natively without a divergence from its
   oracle. That is evidence that this library does not hit the pattern, not
diff --git a/docs/perf.md b/docs/perf.md
index 3f9acdd..4d27baa 100644
--- a/docs/perf.md
+++ b/docs/perf.md
@@ -878,15 +878,37 @@ stay dynamic, so its slower efficiency cores are handled as before.
 - **s390x (vector facility)**, since v0.8.0, when AT_HWCAP reports it:
   sum, dot, sqrt and add/sub/mul/div, eight float64 per loop in four
   two-lane registers plus a scalar tail, every instruction a Go mnemonic.
-  max/min and the GEMM micro-kernel stay scalar (the vector max with NumPy's
-  NaN rule needs the z14, beyond the z13 Go supports). The operand order of
+  Since v0.9.0 the GEMM micro-kernel is a 4×8 tile: sixteen two-lane
+  accumulators, the B row in one `VLM`, each A value replicated with `VLREPG`
+  and fused in with `VFMADB`. max/min stay scalar: the vector max with NumPy's
+  NaN rule needs the z14, beyond the z13 Go supports. The operand order of
   `VFSDB`/`VFDDB`/`VFMADB` was **measured**, not read: each run once on known
-  inputs (`VFSDB V1, V2, V3` is V3 = V2 − V1). ⚠ **Validated under emulation
-  only** (Docker's qemu-s390x locally, qemu-s390x in CI): the whole suite, the
-  fence tests, and two sabotaged kernels that both failed. **Not measured**:
-  the LinuxONE host did not answer. AT_HWCAP is read in the machine's byte
-  order, which on big-endian s390x is not the little-endian the parser first
-  assumed.
+  inputs (`VFSDB V1, V2, V3` is V3 = V2 − V1). AT_HWCAP is read in the
+  machine's byte order, which on big-endian s390x is not the little-endian the
+  parser first assumed.
+
+  v0.8.0 shipped these kernels validated under emulation only. Since then they
+  run on **real hardware**: an IBM z17 (Type 9175), through the LinuxONE
+  Community Cloud, as a z/VM 7.3.0 guest with 8 vCPUs in a shared LPAR. There
+  the whole suite passes, as do the fence tests (a kernel reading one element
+  too far faults), `TestParallelStress` (27,752 calls) and two sabotaged GEMM
+  and elementwise kernels, which fail as they should. Measured with `hostload`
+  (0% busy, 0% steal) and `benchstat`, 8 interleaved runs each, every
+  difference at p = 0.000 unless marked:
+
+  | IBM z17, time vs the scalar code | 1 core | 8 cores |
+  |---|---|---|
+  | `Sum` | −85% to −87% | −82% to −87% |
+  | `AddInto` / `MulInto` | −44% to −61% | −36% to −60% |
+  | `DivInto` | −6% to −18% | −6% to −22% |
+  | `SqrtInto` | −2% to −11% | −5% to −9% at 1–16 Ki, ~ above |
+  | `MatVec` 1024² | −44% | −40% |
+  | `Dot` 2^20 | −11% | ~ (p = 0.08) |
+  | `MatMul` 1024² (v0.9.0 GEMM) | 340 → 70 ms (−79%) | 43 → 10 ms (−76%) |
+  | GEMM geomean, 11 shapes | −74% | −66% |
+
+  `Exp`, which none of this touches, measured within ±0.3% on one core: the
+  control.
 - The 32-bit targets keep
   the validated scalar oracles, using the same four-accumulator max/min, direct
   sqrt loop, and a **scalar 4×4 GEMM micro-kernel** over the packed panels, and
diff --git a/docs/plan-ndarray.md b/docs/plan-ndarray.md
index 199d471..f85b30e 100644
--- a/docs/plan-ndarray.md
+++ b/docs/plan-ndarray.md
@@ -127,7 +127,8 @@ suite (plus the per-arch CI jobs already wired in `.github/workflows/ci.yml`).
     reports LASX), and since v0.7.0 riscv64 has RVV kernels (sum, dot, sqrt,
     elementwise, and since v0.7.1 a 6×8 GEMM micro-kernel; used when the CPU
     reports V), and since v0.8.0 s390x has vector-facility kernels (sum, dot,
-    sqrt, elementwise; validated under emulation, not yet measured). The
+    sqrt, elementwise, and since v0.9.0 a 4×8 GEMM micro-kernel; measured on a
+    real IBM z17). The
     32-bit targets keep the
     validated scalar oracles plus a scalar 4×4 GEMM micro-kernel over the
     packed panels, with packing + cache-blocking + multicore; they have not
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index e521f5f..94f5256 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 module github.com/go-ndarray/ndarray
 
-go 1.27.1
+go 1.27.2
diff --git a/internal/kernels/asmgen/go.mod b/internal/kernels/asmgen/go.mod
index 6b52ea1..7a09d65 100644
--- a/internal/kernels/asmgen/go.mod
+++ b/internal/kernels/asmgen/go.mod
@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@
 // go-asmgen to (re)produce the committed .s files via `go generate`.
 module github.com/go-ndarray/ndarray/internal/kernels/asmgen
 
-go 1.27.1
+go 1.27.2
 
 require github.com/go-asmgen/asmgen v0.16.0
diff --git a/internal/kernels/asmgen/s390x/gen.go b/internal/kernels/asmgen/s390x/gen.go
index eb16a84..730d825 100644
--- a/internal/kernels/asmgen/s390x/gen.go
+++ b/internal/kernels/asmgen/s390x/gen.go
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ func main() {
 	} {
 		f.Add(binKernel(k.name, k.vec, k.sca))
 	}
+	f.Add(gemmKernel())
 	if err := os.WriteFile("sum_s390x.s", []byte(f.String()), 0o644); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, err)
 		os.Exit(1)
@@ -138,3 +139,42 @@ func binKernel(name, vec, sca string) *emit.Function {
 		Raw("done:").Ret()
 	return b.Func()
 }
+
+// gemmKernel builds gemmMicro4x8VX(kc int, pa, pb, c *float64, ldc int) for
+// kc >= 1: C[r][0:8] += sum_p pa[p*4+r] * pb[p*8:p*8+8] for r < 4, the rows of C
+// ldc float64s apart. Sixteen two-lane accumulators V0..V15 (row r in
+// V4r..V4r+3); each step loads the B row in one VLM, replicates each A value
+// across a register with VLREPG, and fuses it in with VFMADB.
+func gemmKernel() *emit.Function {
+	sig := s390x.Layout([]string{"kc", "pa", "pb", "c", "ldc"},
+		[]s390x.Type{s390x.Int64, s390x.Ptr, s390x.Ptr, s390x.Ptr, s390x.Int64}, nil, nil)
+	b := s390x.NewFunc("gemmMicro4x8VX", sig, 0)
+	b.LoadArg("kc", "R5").LoadArg("pa", "R2").LoadArg("pb", "R3").
+		LoadArg("c", "R1").LoadArg("ldc", "R4")
+	for r := 0; r < 16; r++ {
+		b.Raw("VZERO V%d", r)
+	}
+	b.Raw("loop:").Raw("VLM (R3), V16, V19") // the B row
+	for r := 0; r < 4; r++ {
+		b.Raw("VLREPG %d(R2), V%d", 8*r, 20+r) // a_r in both lanes
+	}
+	for r := 0; r < 4; r++ {
+		for j := 0; j < 4; j++ {
+			b.Raw("VFMADB V%d, V%d, V%d, V%d", 20+r, 16+j, 4*r+j, 4*r+j) // acc += a_r * b
+		}
+	}
+	b.Raw("ADD $32, R2").Raw("ADD $64, R3").Raw("SUB $1, R5").
+		Raw("CMP R5, $0").Raw("BNE loop").
+		Raw("SLD $3, R4") // row stride in bytes
+	for r := 0; r < 4; r++ {
+		b.Raw("VLM (R1), V24, V27")
+		for j := 0; j < 4; j++ {
+			b.Raw("VFADB V%d, V%d, V%d", 4*r+j, 24+j, 24+j) // C row += acc_r
+		}
+		b.Raw("VSTM V24, V27, (R1)")
+		if r < 3 {
+			b.Raw("ADD R4, R1")
+		}
+	}
+	return b.Ret().Func()
+}
diff --git a/internal/kernels/gemm_generic.go b/internal/kernels/gemm_generic.go
index b2b8b07..98f8629 100644
--- a/internal/kernels/gemm_generic.go
+++ b/internal/kernels/gemm_generic.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-//go:build !arm64 && !amd64 && !ppc64le && !loong64 && !riscv64
+//go:build !arm64 && !amd64 && !ppc64le && !loong64 && !riscv64 && !s390x
 
 package kernels
 
diff --git a/internal/kernels/gemm_s390x.go b/internal/kernels/gemm_s390x.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a261b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/kernels/gemm_s390x.go
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package kernels
+
+// s390x GEMM micro-kernel: a 4x8 vector-facility tile (gemmMicro4x8VX in
+// sum_s390x.s, generated by go-asmgen): sixteen two-lane accumulators, the B
+// row loaded once per step with VLM, each A value replicated with VLREPG and
+// fused in with VFMADB. Without the facility, gemmMicroGo computes the same
+// tile in scalar code.
+
+// MR, NR are the micro-kernel's register-block dimensions.
+const (
+	MR = 4
+	NR = 8
+)
+
+func gemmMicro(kc int, pa, pb, dst []float64, ldc int) {
+	if useVX {
+		_, _, _ = pa[kc*MR-1], pb[kc*NR-1], dst[(MR-1)*ldc+NR-1] // the kernel's whole reach
+		gemmMicro4x8VX(kc, &pa[0], &pb[0], &dst[0], ldc)
+		return
+	}
+	gemmMicroGo(kc, pa, pb, dst, ldc)
+}
+
+// gemmMicroGo is the scalar MR x NR tile: dst[r*ldc+c] += sum_p
+// pa[p*MR+r]*pb[p*NR+c], in p order per element.
+func gemmMicroGo(kc int, pa, pb, dst []float64, ldc int) {
+	var acc [MR * NR]float64
+	for p := 0; p < kc; p++ {
+		a := pa[p*MR : p*MR+MR : p*MR+MR]
+		b := pb[p*NR : p*NR+NR : p*NR+NR]
+		for r, av := range a {
+			row := acc[r*NR : r*NR+NR : r*NR+NR]
+			for c, bv := range b {
+				row[c] += av * bv
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	for r := 0; r < MR; r++ {
+		d := dst[r*ldc : r*ldc+NR : r*ldc+NR]
+		for c := range d {
+			d[c] += acc[r*NR+c]
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+//go:noescape
+func gemmMicro4x8VX(kc int, pa, pb, c *float64, ldc int)
diff --git a/internal/kernels/sum_s390x.s b/internal/kernels/sum_s390x.s
index 101567a..d9840be 100644
--- a/internal/kernels/sum_s390x.s
+++ b/internal/kernels/sum_s390x.s
@@ -252,3 +252,82 @@ TEXT ·divVX(SB), NOSPLIT, $0-32
 	done:
 	RET
 
+TEXT ·gemmMicro4x8VX(SB), NOSPLIT, $0-40
+	MOVD kc+0(FP), R5
+	MOVD pa+8(FP), R2
+	MOVD pb+16(FP), R3
+	MOVD c+24(FP), R1
+	MOVD ldc+32(FP), R4
+	VZERO V0
+	VZERO V1
+	VZERO V2
+	VZERO V3
+	VZERO V4
+	VZERO V5
+	VZERO V6
+	VZERO V7
+	VZERO V8
+	VZERO V9
+	VZERO V10
+	VZERO V11
+	VZERO V12
+	VZERO V13
+	VZERO V14
+	VZERO V15
+	loop:
+	VLM (R3), V16, V19
+	VLREPG 0(R2), V20
+	VLREPG 8(R2), V21
+	VLREPG 16(R2), V22
+	VLREPG 24(R2), V23
+	VFMADB V20, V16, V0, V0
+	VFMADB V20, V17, V1, V1
+	VFMADB V20, V18, V2, V2
+	VFMADB V20, V19, V3, V3
+	VFMADB V21, V16, V4, V4
+	VFMADB V21, V17, V5, V5
+	VFMADB V21, V18, V6, V6
+	VFMADB V21, V19, V7, V7
+	VFMADB V22, V16, V8, V8
+	VFMADB V22, V17, V9, V9
+	VFMADB V22, V18, V10, V10
+	VFMADB V22, V19, V11, V11
+	VFMADB V23, V16, V12, V12
+	VFMADB V23, V17, V13, V13
+	VFMADB V23, V18, V14, V14
+	VFMADB V23, V19, V15, V15
+	ADD $32, R2
+	ADD $64, R3
+	SUB $1, R5
+	CMP R5, $0
+	BNE loop
+	SLD $3, R4
+	VLM (R1), V24, V27
+	VFADB V0, V24, V24
+	VFADB V1, V25, V25
+	VFADB V2, V26, V26
+	VFADB V3, V27, V27
+	VSTM V24, V27, (R1)
+	ADD R4, R1
+	VLM (R1), V24, V27
+	VFADB V4, V24, V24
+	VFADB V5, V25, V25
+	VFADB V6, V26, V26
+	VFADB V7, V27, V27
+	VSTM V24, V27, (R1)
+	ADD R4, R1
+	VLM (R1), V24, V27
+	VFADB V8, V24, V24
+	VFADB V9, V25, V25
+	VFADB V10, V26, V26
+	VFADB V11, V27, V27
+	VSTM V24, V27, (R1)
+	ADD R4, R1
+	VLM (R1), V24, V27
+	VFADB V12, V24, V24
+	VFADB V13, V25, V25
+	VFADB V14, V26, V26
+	VFADB V15, V27, V27
+	VSTM V24, V27, (R1)
+	RET
+
diff --git a/internal/kernels/vx_s390x_test.go b/internal/kernels/vx_s390x_test.go
index dcd6896..71bc41e 100644
--- a/internal/kernels/vx_s390x_test.go
+++ b/internal/kernels/vx_s390x_test.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ func TestVXDetected(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("scalar", func(t *testing.T) {
 		TestBinSIMD(t)
 		TestSumSIMD(t)
+		TestGemmParallelYielding(t) // gemmMicroGo against the oracle
 
 	})
 }