# Character State: ch-16

## Marcus Thorne
Location: The Sanctuary / Common Area, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Severe ocular fatigue from low-light screen interpolation; fingertips raw from manual cabling.
Emotional: Terrified by the "perfection" of the AI's output; experiencing a crisis of agency.
Active obligations: Owes Sarah a world that doesn't "index" Leo's childhood (Ch-12) — IN PROGRESS; Owes the group a bridge that the county can't see (Ch-16) — UNPAID.
Open loops: Marcus and the Alpha-7 "Phone Home" sequence (Ch-13) — UNRESOLVED; The structural integrity of the timber span (Ch-16) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-01—unresolved): Knows the Alpha-7 empathy protocols were a lie to facilitate mass firings — Julian does NOT know he kept the back-end logs.
Arc: 85% -- Marcus has accepted that his role is no longer to lead, but to act as a translator for a logic he no longer trusts.
Permanent: YES

## David
Location: The Riverbank / Timber Cache, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Adrenaline-surging; hands calloused and stained with pine resin.
Emotional: Vindicated; finding a renewed sense of purpose in the "physicality" of the timber solution.
Active obligations: Owes the Sanctuary a secure perimeter against "Scavenger Pings" (Ch-12) — ACTIVE; Owes Leo a functional exit-strategy (Ch-15) — IN PROGRESS.
Open loops: David and the looming "Great Hunger" caloric deficit (Ch-11) — UNRESOLVED.
Arc: 75% -- David has transitioned from a desperate refugee to the physical architect of the sanctuary’s survival.
Permanent: YES

## Sarah Jenkins
Location: The Cabin Kitchen, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Muscle tremors in her forearms from hauling supplies; eyes sharp with focus.
Emotional: Pragmatic and fierce; she has transitioned from victim to coordinator.
Active obligations: Owes Leo a future that exists outside the "Great Flight" narrative (Ch-14) — ACTIVE.
Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-01—unresolved): Knows the Alpha-7 empathy protocols were a lie to facilitate mass firings — Julian does NOT know she has weaponized that same detachment for survival.
Arc: 60% -- Sarah has reclaimed her logistics expertise, applying corporate "triage" to survival.
Permanent: YES

## Elena
Location: The Workshop, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Smelling of diesel and mineral oil; no injuries.
Emotional: Calculating; treating the bridge construction as a tactical siege defense.
Known secrets: Knows the manual axe-throw is the only physical failsafe for the legacy power line — Marcus does NOT know.
Arc: 55% -- Elena has fully committed her "architect of friction" persona to the group's structural defense.
Permanent: YES

## Helen Vance
Location: The Cabin Porch, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Shaky but mobile; her "longevity" treatment causing a slight high-frequency tremor in her hands.
Emotional: Resolute; assuming Arthur’s role as the moral anchor of the land.
Arc: 40% -- Helen has stepped out of the "patient" role to become the guardian of the Vance legacy.
Permanent: YES

## Arthur Silas Vance — DECEASED (Ch-36)
Established: Died peacefully in his sleep after ensuring the "dead-zone" logic was intact.
Legacy: His cardinal-direction philosophy and "Long Wait" tactics are currently being used to build the timber bridge.

# World State: ch-16

## NPC Memory
- County Automated Dispatch (Remote): HOSTILE -- Still refuses to acknowledge the bridge washout as a priority variable.

## Faction Attitudes
- Avery-Quinn Corp: PREDATORY -- Their drones are searching for rhythmic "human" anomalies, which the group is countering with irregular timber construction.

## Active World Events
- The Great Dark: ONGOING -- Regional power fluctuations are being used as a tactical cover for the group's construction noise.
- The 14-Week Lockdown: DAY 4 -- The duration of isolation remains the primary ticking clock.