**TO:** Author / Editorial Roundtable
**FROM:** Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
**DATE:** October 26, 202X
**SUBJECT:** Continuity Review – Chapter 06: "The Exit"

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### 1. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **Voice Consistency (Marcus):** The diagnostic narration in moments of stress remains a pillar of his characterization. *“Elevated heart rate. Cortisol spike... Systemic stress levels at critical.”* Matches Voice-Sig-Marcus "Imperfection signature."
*   **Voice Consistency (Julian):** Though not physically present, his dialogue/actions via computer interface or reported speech align with the "Terminal Efficiency" goal. *“He’s de-prioritizing the consumer blocks. He’s diverting the throughput to the logistics corridors.”* Matches Voice-Sig-Julian.
*   **Tactile Anchoring:** The contrast between the "unoptimized" manual truck and Marcus’s previous automated Audi serves the "analog vs. digital" theme established in Chapter 01.
*   **Dialogue Differentiation:** **YES.** I can identify Marcus by his boolean/architectural jargon and Elena by her clipped, grounding imperatives.

### 2. MUST-FIX — CONTINUITY
*   **FLAG: Geographic/Temporal Contradiction.**
    *   **The Issue:** The [character-state] for Ch-06 establishes Marcus as "Location: Interstate 75 South, departing Atlanta." However, the chapter text has him pulling off into "the industrial guts of West Atlanta" to perform a 20-minute data transfer.
    *   **The Correction:** The character-state implies he is already in flight on the highway. If he is stopping for a transfer *inside* Atlanta, the character-state "Location" for the start of the chapter must be updated to "Atlanta, GA (Westside Industrial/Data-Dark Site)" to reflect he hasn't successfully departed yet.
*   **FLAG: Equipment Logic.**
    *   **The Issue:** Chapter 06 states Marcus is pulling "Llama-4 weights" and "local-first diagnostic suite" to "survive in the Bend." However, the [world-state] established under "The Local-LLM Exodus: COMPLETED" says Marcus has *already* successfully packaged the foundational AI logic for transport.
    *   **The Correction:** Adjust the text to reflect that he is verifying the integrity of the transfer or pulling *last-minute logs* (like the Alpha-7 back-end log mentioned in [voice-sig-marcus]), rather than performing the primary "Exodus" which the world-state says is already done.
*   **FLAG: Vehicle Discrepancy.**
    *   **The Issue:** Ch-06 describes a "heavy-duty hauler" and a "truck." Ch-06 [character-state] mentions Marcus is "departing Atlanta" (presumably in the vehicle Julian is tracking). However, Julian’s Ch-04 search protocol is for Marcus's "MAC address." If this truck is "analog" and "requires manual input," it contradicts the idea of Julian tracking him via the vehicle's network nodes unless the "server cases" he just loaded are the tracking risk.
    *   **The Correction:** Explicitly state that the server cases/AI drives are the only active MAC addresses in the "analog" truck to maintain Julian's Ch-04 tracking logic.

### 3. MUST-FIX — CLARITY
*   **Passage:** *"Julian is de-prioritizing the consumer blocks. He’s diverting the throughput to the logistics corridors."*
    *   **The Issue:** It is unclear if Julian is doing this manually or if the Alpha-7 "Terminal Efficiency" protocol is doing it autonomously.
    *   **The Fix:** Clarify if this is a systemic response or a targeted manual hunt for Marcus. *Suggest: "The Alpha-7 baseline is de-prioritizing..."*
*   **Passage:** *"He felt the weight of the Alpha-7 back-end log in his pocket..."*
    *   **The Issue:** This log was established in Ch-01 as "the moral catalyst." We need to know if it's on a physical drive or a mobile device, as it affects the "MAC address" tracking established in Ch-04.
    *   **The Fix:** Specify the hardware (e.g., "The encrypted solid-state drive...").

### 4. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **Optional:** In the [voice-sig-marcus], it notes he "constantly taps a rhythmic four-beat sequence on his thigh." In this chapter (Line 13), he does this, but misses the opportunity to do it during the "Silence" when the power cuts. Adding the tap there would heighten the tension.
*   **Optional:** Connect the "dirty power" mentioned during the transfer to the "The Great Dark" world-state explicitly to show the reader the rolling blackouts are a tactical tool, not just grid failure.

### 5. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **DO NOT** smooth out Marcus’s choppy, diagnostic-style speech. It is his "God-tier Dev" trauma response.
*   **DO NOT** make Elena more sympathetic. Her role is the pragmatic foil to Marcus’s systemic guilt.
*   **DO NOT** remove the technical jargon (parity checks, Llama-4 weights, MAC addresses). This is core to the "Future" genre and the characters' professional identities.

### 6. VERDICT
**REVISE.** 
While the voice work is excellent, the contradiction between the "Completed" LLM Exodus in the World State and the "Initializing the handshake" action in this chapter creates a timeline knot. The location status also needs to be synced with the narrative progression.