**TO:** Author / Editorial Roundtable
**FROM:** Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
**SUBJECT:** Continuity & Accuracy Review: Chapter 18 — "The Crossing"

### 1. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **The Physicality of the Debt:** The opening lines reinforce the "Unpaid Debt" established in the Chapter 17 character states: *"The weight of David’s life was a hardware reality... a heavy, shivering mass of wet denim and broken ribs."*
*   **Voice Signature Consistency (Marcus):** His internal narration remains strictly tied to his tech-debt and architectural metaphors. Quote: *"Diagnostic... System alert: Peripheral breach."* and *"Latency is high. My motor response is failing."*
*   **Voice Signature Consistency (Sarah):** She correctly utilizes her Texas lilt mixed with support jargon as per her profile. Quote: *"Status code?... Error 404: Breath not found."*
*   **Voice Signature Consistency (Julian/Avery-Quinn):** The UI text at the end perfectly mirrors the "Terminal Efficiency" and "Clean" vocabulary of Julian’s profile: *"SEQUENCE INITIALIZED... BROADCASTING LOCAL COORDINATES."*
*   **Mechanical Integrity:** The use of the track hoe to "seat" the timber into the limestone notches follows the logic of the bridge construction established in Chapter 16.

**Voice Differentiation Check:**
*   **Marcus:** YES. (Diagnostic/System-based dialogue is unmistakable).
*   **Sarah:** YES. (Mix of Texas "Texas lilt" and support-desk "Status code").
*   **Elena:** YES. (Direct, structural, focused on the machine/bridge rather than the person).
*   **David:** YES. (Ragged, directional-focused "Went... East... when I should’ve gone... North").

### 2. MUST-FIX — CONTINUITY
*   **The Sarah/Leo Paradox:** In the Chapter 18 text, Marcus sees Sarah huddled over David and notes: *"the amber light of a single lantern reflecting off the plastic dinosaur Leo had dropped in the mud."* 
    *   **Contradiction:** Chapter 18's current Context/Character State for Sarah Jenkins lists her location as "The North Bank." However, Chapter 15 and 14 established Sarah is trying to secure a future for Leo, but Leo has consistently been established as being elsewhere (likely with Helen or in the "Great Flight" narrative) or not physically on the muddy riverbank during this life-and-death crossing. 
    *   **Correction:** If Leo is physically present at the muddy riverbank during a storm while a bridge is collapsing, this is a major safety/logic shift. If he is at the cabin, the toy being in the mud at the *crossing* site needs a brief explanation, or the toy should be at the cabin porch.
*   **The Silent Handshake:** The text states: *"The 'Great Dark' had supposedly cut the long-range handshake. The grid was down."*
    *   **Contradiction:** World State ch-18 notes "The Great Dark" is an ongoing atmospheric event *providing cover*. If the tablet can suddenly "Phone Home" with "Optimal Signal," it contradicts the "interference" rule established for the Great Dark.
    *   **Correction:** Add a line indicating the tablet is using a high-altitude burst or a specific Avery-Quinn proprietary frequency that bypasses the atmospheric interference, rather than implying the network is just "back."

### 3. MUST-FIX — CLARITY
*   **Elena's Geographic Positioning:** 
    *   **Passage:** *"Elena was standing five yards to the West... her silhouette a jagged shadow."* 
    *   **Issue:** If the group is crossing from South to North, and Elena is already on the North Bank (implied later when Marcus drives to her), her standing "West" of the mud-struggle implies she crossed already. 
    *   **Fix:** Explicitly state when Elena crossed or if she is shouting from the far bank. Later, it says *"Elena stood on the North side,"* confirming she is already across. The transition of HOW she got there while the others were struggling with David is missing.

### 4. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **The Compass Logic:** David’s dialogue *"Went... East... when I should’ve gone... North"* is a beautiful nod to Arthur Vance’s cardinal-direction voice signature. Making this a conscious effort of David to speak in "Arthur’s tongue" would strengthen the "Legacy" arc (Optional).
*   **The Weight of the Tablet:** Since Marcus is "soaked to the bone," a brief mention of the ruggedized nature of the tablet surviving the river immersion would bolster the "God-tier tech" vs "Analog muck" contrast (Optional).

### 5. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **DO NOT** "fix" Marcus’s narration of his own heart rate or motor responses. This is his "Imperfection Signature" (vocalizing diagnostics when rattled).
*   **DO NOT** remove the technical jargon used by Sarah (Error 404, hard-reset). This is established in her Voice Signature as her way of processing trauma.
*   **DO NOT** make the bridge crossing "smooth." The structural groaning and splinters are necessary to reflect the tension between Arthur’s analog tools and Marcus’s digital background.

### 6. VERDICT: REVISE
The chapter is strong, but the sudden appearance of Leo's toy in the mud (implying the child is in the middle of a tactical crossing/medical emergency) and the atmospheric interference contradiction regarding the tablet's signal strength require correction to maintain the "Hard Realism" of the World State.