# Character State: ch-21

## Marcus Thorne
Location: The Workshop/Server Shed, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Grease-stained hands; slight tension in lower back; no new injuries.
Emotional: Guarded optimism; experiencing a shift from "admin" to "neighbor."
Active obligations: Owes David his life (Ch-17) — UNPAID; Owes Leo a future outside the index (Ch-12) — IN PROGRESS.
Open loops: The Alpha-7 "Phone Home" sequence (Ch-13) — RESOLVED (Masked); The Seed Exchange Protocol (Ch-21) — 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: 100% -- Marcus has solidified his role as the sanctuary’s technical heart, trading code-logic for survival-barter.
Permanent: YES

## Elena
Location: The Perimeter Road, North Bank, Cypress Bend.
Physical: Lean, sun-darkened muscles; smelling of ozone and pine; no injuries.
Emotional: Strategically satisfied; views the barter economy as a structural reinforcement.
Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-10—unresolved): Knows the manual axe-throw is the only physical failsafe for the power line — Marcus does NOT know.
Arc: 95% -- Elena has transitioned from an isolated mechanic to a community architect, managing resources over mechanics.
Permanent: YES

## David
Location: The Garden/Sanctuary Grounds, Cypress Bend.
Physical: Rib-cage fully healed; calloused hands from agricultural labor.
Emotional: Communal; feels the weight of the land’s original stewardship returning.
Active obligations: Owes Marcus his life (Ch-17) — UNPAID.
Arc: 100% -- David has evolved from a refugee to a tribal provider, establishing the first true "non-indexed" trade routes.
Permanent: YES

## Sarah Jenkins
Location: The Kitchen Hub/Porch, Cypress Bend.
Physical: Rested; hands smelling of rosemary and flour.
Emotional: Sovereign; she has reclaimed her professional "triage" skills for communal survival.
Active obligations: Owes Leo a world outside the "Great Flight" (Ch-14) — IN PROGRESS.
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 detachment.
Arc: 100% -- Sarah has successfully replaced corporate logistics with a localized "Seed of Barter" economy.
Permanent: YES

## Leo
Location: The Big Oak/Garden, Cypress Bend.
Physical: Agility increased; uninjured.
Emotional: Fearless; becoming the first true native of the post-grid world.
Arc: 90% -- Leo has moved from a "protected variable" to an active participant in the sanctuary’s ecology.
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 logic and hoarded mechanical parts served as the primary currency for the Chapter 21 seed barter.

## Helen Vance
Location: The Porch, Cypress Bend.
Physical: Frail but steady; hands busy with herbal preservation.
Emotional: Fulfilled; seeing the "Long Wait" philosophy bear fruit through the group’s cooperation.
Arc: 85% -- Helen has transitioned the legacy of the land into a functional communal future.
Permanent: YES

# World State: ch-21

## NPC Memory
- Miller Family (Regional/Pork-trade): FRIENDLY -- Traded heritage seeds for Marcus's 3D-printed tractor gaskets -- Now view the Bend as an "essential node."

## Faction Attitudes
- Avery-Quinn Corp: BLIND -- The region has achieved "True Dark" status through the success of the mesh and the lack of digital transactions.

## Active World Events
- The Great Dark: ENDED -- Replaced by "The Sovereign Mesh," a permanent state of local autonomy.
- The Seed of Barter: ACTIVE -- The transition from currency to trust-based resource exchange.