# Character State: ch-24

## Elena
**Location:** The Server Shed / Sanctuary Node, Cypress Bend.
**Physical:** Tremor in right hand (high-alpha neuro-load); bloodshot eyes; adrenaline-depleted but standing.
**Emotional:** Coldly triumphant; experiencing "after-burn." Her transition from architect to digital sentinel is complete.
**Active obligations:** Owes Marcus a physical failsafe (Ch-10) — UNPAID.
**Open loops:** Sovereign Mesh Integrity — RESOLVED.
**Known secrets:** The manual axe-throw is the only physical failsafe for the power line; Marcus remains unaware.
**Arc:** 115% — Successfully repelled a Tier-1 Avery-Quinn penetration.

## Marcus Thorne
**Location:** The Server Shed / Sanctuary Node, Cypress Bend.
**Physical:** Minor capacitor burns on forearms; caked in sweat; elevated heart rate.
**Emotional:** Humbled; recognizes the "latency" and hubris of his predictive models.
**Active obligations:** Owes David his life (Ch-17) — UNPAID; Owes Leo a future (Ch-12) — IN PROGRESS.
**Open loops:** Ocala "Ghost" Signal (Ch-22) — UNRESOLVED; Alpha-7 Backdoor — RESOLVED.
**Known secrets:** Kept the back-end logs proving Alpha-7 empathy protocols were a pre-meditated lie for mass liquidations.
**Arc:** 112% — Has deferred tactical control to Elena’s "analog" logic, accepting "God-tier" access as a liability.

## Sarah Jenkins
**Location:** The Kitchen Hub (Mesh-comms), Cypress Bend.
**Physical:** Shaky hands; shallow breathing.
**Emotional:** Protective; maintaining the "Human Baseline" in the network.
**Known secrets:** Weaponized her detachment after realizing the Alpha-7 lie; Julian is unaware she holds this leverage.
**Arc:** 105% — Acted as the "Empathy Buffer" during the attack, keeping the collective "Status: Active."

## David
**Location:** Perimeter Road.
**Physical:** Gripping rifle; heavy breathing; tactical posture.
**Emotional:** Stalwart; finds purpose in the "invisible" wall Elena built.
**Arc:** 108% — Fully integrated the "Sovereign Mesh" into his physical sentry duties.

# World State: ch-24

## NPC Memory
- **Julian Avery (Avery-Quinn):** HOSTILE. Logged a "Sector 9 Timeout." Now classifies Cypress Bend as a "Logic Error" rather than a simple unindexed zone; recalibrating for a more invasive strike.

## Faction Attitudes
- **Avery-Quinn Corp:** AGGRESSIVE. The failure of the "Skylark" probe has triggered a shift from automated harvesting to targeted neutralization.

## Active World Events
- **The Sovereign Mesh:** ACTIVE. Withstood a Tier-1 Cyber Attack. Local regional trade ("Seed of Barter") is stabilizing as the Bend proves itself a technical fortress. 
- **The Great Dark:** ENDED. The "Sovereign Mesh" is now the primary atmospheric state—a localized, protected digital environment.
- **The Dead-Zone Logic:** REINFORCED. Arthur Silas Vance’s non-conducting infrastructure provided the essential physical "pockets" that masked the Mesh from the Avery-Quinn deep-scan.