diff --git a/dashboard/console/api.py b/dashboard/console/api.py
index 4c710a3..1368305 100644
--- a/dashboard/console/api.py
+++ b/dashboard/console/api.py
@@ -135,24 +135,51 @@ class ConsoleApi:
         params = {"since_id": since_id, "open_only": str(open_only).lower()}
         return list(self._request("GET", f"/api/v1/doctors/{doctor}/alerts", params=params))
 
+    def connect(self, body: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        """`POST /patients/connect` (ConnectPatientIn) → {token, code, deep_link}."""
+        return dict(self._request("POST", "/api/v1/patients/connect", json=body, timeout=30))
+
     def ack(self, alert_id: int, doctor: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
         return dict(self._request("POST", f"/api/v1/alerts/{alert_id}/ack", json={"doctor_id": doctor}))
 
 
 def personas_or_fallback(api: ConsoleApi) -> tuple[list[dict[str, Any]], str | None]:
-    """Demo personas from the API; on failure a single fallback persona (env token) and the error text."""
+    """Demo personas for the selector, degrading step by step so the console always has someone to talk as.
+
+    1. `GET /demo/personas` (patients with a scenario file);
+    2. the demo doctor's patient list (real tokens; no scenario file yet, e.g. before #18 lands);
+    3. a single persona with the token from `DEMO_PERSONA_TOKEN` (fixtures use `tok-andrey`).
+    Returns the personas and a note for the presenter when a fallback was used.
+    """
     try:
         personas = [p for p in api.personas() if isinstance(p, dict) and p.get("token")]
         if personas:
             return personas, None
-        error = "API вернул пустой список персон"
+        error = "API не вернул персон со сценарием"
     except ApiError as exc:
         error = str(exc)
+    try:
+        patients = [p for p in api.patients(doctor_id()) if isinstance(p, dict) and p.get("token")]
+    except ApiError:
+        patients = []
+    if patients:
+        # The demo hero first: the scenario file is guessed from the name later (`default_scenario_path`).
+        patients.sort(key=lambda p: not str(p.get("display_name", "")).startswith("Андрей"))
+        personas = [
+            {
+                "token": p["token"],
+                "display_name": p.get("display_name") or p["token"],
+                "therapy_day": p.get("therapy_day", 0),
+                "scenario": None,
+            }
+            for p in patients
+        ]
+        return personas, f"{error}; показаны пациенты врача"
     token = fallback_token()
     fallback = {
         "token": token,
         "display_name": "Андрей С." if token == DEFAULT_TOKEN else token,
         "therapy_day": 0,
-        "scenario": "data/synthetic/andrey.jsonl" if token == DEFAULT_TOKEN else None,
+        "scenario": None,
     }
-    return [fallback], error
+    return [fallback], f"{error}; используется токен из окружения"
diff --git a/dashboard/console/scenario.py b/dashboard/console/scenario.py
index 454c59c..410a629 100644
--- a/dashboard/console/scenario.py
+++ b/dashboard/console/scenario.py
@@ -151,13 +151,30 @@ def load_scenario(path: str | Path, root: Path = REPO_ROOT) -> Scenario:
     return parse_scenario(text)
 
 
-def default_scenario_path(persona: dict[str, Any]) -> str | None:
-    """Scenario path from the persona, or `data/synthetic/<name>.jsonl` guessed from a `tok-<name>` token."""
+_TRANSLIT = {
+    "а": "a", "б": "b", "в": "v", "г": "g", "д": "d", "е": "e", "ё": "e", "ж": "zh", "з": "z", "и": "i",
+    "й": "y", "к": "k", "л": "l", "м": "m", "н": "n", "о": "o", "п": "p", "р": "r", "с": "s", "т": "t",
+    "у": "u", "ф": "f", "х": "kh", "ц": "ts", "ч": "ch", "ш": "sh", "щ": "shch", "ъ": "", "ы": "y", "ь": "",
+    "э": "e", "ю": "yu", "я": "ya",
+}  # fmt: skip
+
+
+def persona_slug(display_name: str) -> str:
+    """'Андрей С.' → 'andrey': the backend names scenario files by the transliterated first name (#12)."""
+    first = (display_name.split() or [""])[0].lower()
+    return "".join(_TRANSLIT.get(ch, ch if ch.isascii() and ch.isalnum() else "") for ch in first)
+
+
+def default_scenario_path(persona: dict[str, Any], root: Path = REPO_ROOT) -> str | None:
+    """Scenario path from the persona, else `data/synthetic/<slug>.jsonl` guessed from the name or `tok-<slug>`."""
     if persona.get("scenario"):
         return str(persona["scenario"])
     token = str(persona.get("token", ""))
+    slugs = [persona_slug(str(persona.get("display_name", "")))]
     if token.startswith("tok-"):
-        guess = f"data/synthetic/{token.removeprefix('tok-')}.jsonl"
-        if resolve_path(guess).exists():
+        slugs.append(token.removeprefix("tok-"))
+    for slug in filter(None, slugs):
+        guess = f"data/synthetic/{slug}.jsonl"
+        if resolve_path(guess, root).exists():
             return guess
     return None
diff --git a/dashboard/console/widgets.py b/dashboard/console/widgets.py
index 50d4360..3b19d75 100644
--- a/dashboard/console/widgets.py
+++ b/dashboard/console/widgets.py
@@ -89,16 +89,55 @@ def select_persona(container: Any = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
     where = container or st.sidebar
     personas, error = _personas(get_api().base_url)
     if error:
-        where.caption(f"⚠️ персоны из API недоступны ({error}); используется токен из окружения")
+        where.caption(f"⚠️ {error}")
     tokens = [p["token"] for p in personas]
     current = st.session_state.get("console_token")
     index = tokens.index(current) if current in tokens else 0
-    labels = {p["token"]: f"{p.get('display_name') or p['token']} ({p['token']})" for p in personas}
-    token = where.selectbox("Пациент демо", tokens, index=index, format_func=lambda t: labels[t])
+    labels = {p["token"]: f"{p.get('display_name') or p['token']} ({p['token'][:12]})" for p in personas}
+    token = where.selectbox("Пациент демо", tokens, index=index, format_func=lambda t: labels.get(t, t))
     st.session_state["console_token"] = token
     return next(p for p in personas if p["token"] == token)
 
 
+# Synthetic demo hero (docs/product/01_demo_persona.md); the SNILS is fake and used only to derive the token.
+DEMO_HERO = {
+    "display_name": "Андрей С.",
+    "birth_year": 1992,
+    "sex": "m",
+    "snils": "000-000-017 17",
+    "drug": "сертралин",
+    "dose": "50 мг",
+    "times": ["08:00"],
+    "instructions": "1 раз в сутки утром после еды",
+    "modules": ["veteran", "depression"],
+}
+
+
+def _connect_hero() -> None:
+    name = st.session_state.get("console_hero_name") or DEMO_HERO["display_name"]
+    body = {**DEMO_HERO, "doctor_id": doctor_id(), "display_name": name}
+    try:
+        out = get_api().connect(body)
+    except ApiError as exc:
+        hint = " — пациент уже подключён, выберите его в списке" if "409" in str(exc) else ""
+        flash(f"Подключение не выполнено: {exc}{hint}", "warning" if hint else "error")
+        return
+    token = str(out.get("token", ""))
+    st.session_state["console_token"] = token
+    st.session_state[f"console_code:{token}"] = str(out.get("code", ""))
+    _personas.clear()
+    flash(f"Пациент подключён, код {out.get('code', '')}. Нажмите «Начать» в чате.", "success")
+
+
+def render_connect_hero(container: Any = None) -> None:
+    """Fallback when the demo seed is missing: connect the synthetic hero through the doctor API."""
+    where = container or st.sidebar
+    with where.expander("Подключить демо-пациента"):
+        st.caption("Если сид демо не загружен: врач подключает Андрея (синтетика) — как на приёме.")
+        st.text_input("Имя", value="Андрей С.", key="console_hero_name")
+        st.button("Подключить", key="console-connect", on_click=_connect_hero)
+
+
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ clock
 def _drain_quiet(api: ConsoleApi, token: str) -> None:
     try:
@@ -137,6 +176,7 @@ def _reset() -> None:
         flash(f"Сброс не выполнен: {exc}")
         return
     forget_demo_state()
+    _personas.clear()  # the seed may be recreated on reset
     flash("Демо сброшено: часы вернулись к реальному времени, чат и прогресс сценария очищены.", "success")
 
 
@@ -263,7 +303,10 @@ def render_chat(token: str, *, height: int = 520, key: str = "chat") -> None:
         left, right = st.columns([5, 1])
         left.text_input("Сообщение", key=input_key, label_visibility="collapsed", placeholder="Сообщение пациента…")
         right.form_submit_button("➤", width="stretch", on_click=_submit_text, args=(token, input_key))
-    with st.expander("Начать диалог / код подключения"):
+    code = st.query_params.get("code")  # connect links from the doctor point to the console with ?code=
+    if code and not st.session_state.get(f"console_code:{token}"):
+        st.session_state[f"console_code:{token}"] = code
+    with st.expander("Начать диалог / код подключения", expanded=bool(code)):
         st.text_input("Код подключения (необязательно)", key=f"console_code:{token}", placeholder="DEMO-0001")
         c1, c2 = st.columns(2)
         c1.button("🚀 Начать", key=f"{key}-start", on_click=_send, args=(token, "start"), width="stretch")
diff --git a/dashboard/pages/2_Демо-консоль.py b/dashboard/pages/2_Демо-консоль.py
index 22afa19..903cb5e 100644
--- a/dashboard/pages/2_Демо-консоль.py
+++ b/dashboard/pages/2_Демо-консоль.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ from console.playback_ui import render_playback_panel  # noqa: E402
 st.set_page_config(page_title="Демо-консоль", page_icon="🎬", layout="wide")
 
 persona = w.select_persona()
+w.render_connect_hero()
 w.show_flash()
 st.sidebar.caption(f"API: {w.get_api().base_url}")
 
diff --git a/tests/test_dashboard_console.py b/tests/test_dashboard_console.py
index f4dd347..27f3f49 100644
--- a/tests/test_dashboard_console.py
+++ b/tests/test_dashboard_console.py
@@ -23,7 +23,14 @@ from console.playback import (  # noqa: E402
     resolve_press,
     target_datetime,
 )
-from console.scenario import Action, load_scenario, parse_action, parse_scenario  # noqa: E402
+from console.scenario import (  # noqa: E402
+    Action,
+    default_scenario_path,
+    load_scenario,
+    parse_action,
+    parse_scenario,
+    persona_slug,
+)
 
 MSK = timezone(timedelta(hours=3))
 
@@ -388,3 +395,25 @@ def test_console_api_errors_become_api_error_and_personas_fall_back(monkeypatch)
     ok = _client(lambda req: httpx.Response(200, json=[{"token": "tok-andrey", "display_name": "Андрей С."}]))
     personas, error = personas_or_fallback(ok)
     assert error is None and personas[0]["display_name"] == "Андрей С."
+
+
+def test_personas_fall_back_to_doctor_patients_with_hero_first():
+    def handler(req: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        if req.url.path.endswith("/demo/personas"):
+            return httpx.Response(200, json=[])
+        return httpx.Response(
+            200, json=[{"token": "h1", "display_name": "Сергей П."}, {"token": "h2", "display_name": "Андрей С."}]
+        )
+
+    personas, error = personas_or_fallback(_client(handler))
+    assert [p["token"] for p in personas] == ["h2", "h1"] and "пациенты врача" in error
+
+
+def test_scenario_path_guessed_from_name_or_token(tmp_path):
+    (tmp_path / "data" / "synthetic").mkdir(parents=True)
+    (tmp_path / "data" / "synthetic" / "andrey.jsonl").write_text("", encoding="utf-8")
+    assert persona_slug("Андрей С.") == "andrey" and persona_slug("Наталья Ф.") == "natalya"
+    assert default_scenario_path({"token": "h", "display_name": "Андрей С."}, tmp_path) == "data/synthetic/andrey.jsonl"
+    assert default_scenario_path({"token": "tok-andrey"}, tmp_path) == "data/synthetic/andrey.jsonl"
+    assert default_scenario_path({"token": "x", "display_name": "Ольга Н."}, tmp_path) is None
+    assert default_scenario_path({"token": "x", "scenario": "s.jsonl"}, tmp_path) == "s.jsonl"