# Character State: ch-07

## Marcus Thorne
Location: The "Garden" clearing, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Hands slick with 10W-30 and grit; knuckles raw from a slipped 5/8" wrench; sweat-blinded but steady.
Emotional: Experiencing "Mechanical Catharsis"; the internal noise of Alpha-7 is temporarily silenced by the singular, binary logic of a firing cylinder.
Active obligations: Owes David a reason to keep him on the land (Ch-07) — PAID (via the tractor); Owes the Vance legacy a functional perimeter — UNPAID.
Open loops: Marcus and the "Sanctuary" AI’s independent diagnostic growth (Ch-07) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED: The Alpha-7 logs are not just data; they are an indictment Julian will kill to delete.
Arc: 30% — Marcus has moved from "theurerical architect" to "practical mechanic," finding a new language in iron and oil.

## David
Location: The "Garden" clearing, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Shoulders cramped from bracing the chassis; lungs burning from exhaust; callouses thickening.
Emotional: Reluctantly grateful; the tractor's roar is the first note of hope he's heard since Arthur died.
Active obligations: Owes Marcus a temporary truce (Ch-07) — PAID; Owes the land a harvest before the rains turn the soil to rot — UNPAID.
Open loops: David’s suspicion regarding Marcus’s "tablet" and how it knew the specs of a 25-year-old machine (Ch-07) — UNRESOLVED.
Arc: 30% — David has accepted that he cannot hold the Bend alone; he has traded a piece of his solitude for the utility of Marcus’s mind.

## Sarah (Internalized/Memory)
Location: Marcus’s psyche / The digital ghost in the node.
Emotional: Her voice in the "Sanctuary" prompts acts as the moral friction Marcus needs; she is no longer just a victim, but the ghost-architect of his redemption.
Arc: 25% — Transitioned from a haunting memory to an active "consultant" in Marcus’s decision-making process.

# World State: ch-07

## NPC Memory
- **The "Sanctuary" Node:** UPDATED — The AI has successfully indexed "Rust" and "Mechanical Degradation" as variables; it is becoming a localized expert on the Cypress Bend environment.

## Faction Attitudes
- **Avery-Quinn Corp:** TARGETING — The absence of Marcus’s heartbeat on the corporate grid has moved from "anomaly" to "investigation."
- **The Estate of Arthur Vance:** AWAKENED — The tractor (The "First Wrench") is moving; the land is no longer a graveyard, but a farm again.

## Active World Events
- **The First Wrench:** SUCCESSFUL — The 1998 John Deere is operational. This provides the group with hydraulic power and the ability to clear the perimeter.
- **The Digital Silence:** DEEPENING — Marcus has successfully bridged legacy hardware with air-gapped code, proving that "obsolete" tech is the only secure tech.
- **The Humidity Index:** HIGH — The environment remains a constant antagonist; food stores are low, and the "Great Hunger" clock is ticking.

## Landmarks
- **The Garden:** No longer just a patch of weeds; it is now a mapped "Project Site."
- **The Barn:** Transitioned from a storage shed to a "Sanctuary Server Room/Garage" hybrid.