**TO:** Lead Author
**FROM:** Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor, Crimson Leaf Publishing
**RE:** Continuity Review – Chapter 4: The Chinese Auction

### 1. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **Tactile Grounding:** The transition from Marcus’s digital world to the "analog" world is anchored well in physical descriptions: "bleached limestone and packed marl," "rot and diesel," and "old cosmoline."
*   **Voice Signature Consistency (Marcus):** He accurately maps his environment through tech metaphors. *Example: "The telemetry on these units is nonexistent... It’s a literal black box."* His habit of checking probabilities (Boolean false) and his physical tic (four-beat ping) are present and correctly applied.
*   **Voice Signature Consistency (Elena):** She maintains her laser-focused, pragmatic persona. Her disdain for "UI skin" and "Chicago" aligns with her established skeptic/mechanic profile.
*   **Voice Differentiation:** YES. Marcus uses diagnostic language ("throughput," "high-alpha entry"); Elena uses mechanical/environmental language ("weep," "tectonic," "logic of hydraulics"). Their dialogue is distinct even without tags.

### 2. MUST-FIX — CONTINUITY
*   **The Alpha-7 Back-end Log:**
    *   **The Error:** In Chapter 1, it was established that Marcus is carrying "the Alpha-7 back-end log." In this chapter, it is described as "the cold, hard edges of the Alpha-7 back-end log—the physical drive he'd stolen."
    *   **Correction:** While a "log" can be stored on a drive, the narrative must clarify if this is a specialized hardware piece or a standard external drive. More importantly, Chapter 1 implied the logs were digital files Marcus kept; ensure the "stolen physical drive" doesn't contradict any future reveal regarding how he accessed these logs (remote vs. physical theft). *Note: Monitor this for Chapter 5 to ensure he doesn't suddenly refer to it as a cloud-synced folder.*
*   **The Auction Goods:**
    *   **The Error:** Chapter 4 text says, "Three units, Caterpillar-style... mini-excavators." Later, it refers to a "yellow track hoe." The Character State for Ch-04 (already indexed) notes the "transfer of three track hoes." 
    *   **Correction:** An excavator and a track hoe are functionally similar, but for technical accuracy in a story about machinery, the terms should be consistent. Ensure the text sticks to "track hoes" or "excavators" to match the asset registry in the RAG database.
*   **Arthur Silas Vance Status:**
    *   **The Error:** The text mentions Marcus "wanted Arthur’s land." 
    *   **Correction:** Ensure Marcus’s knowledge of Arthur’s death is consistent. In Chapter 1, Arthur is already deceased. Marcus should treat the land as a "legacy" or "tomb" rather than a living man's property he is trying to acquire via traditional means. The current wording is slightly ambiguous but borders on implying Arthur is an active seller.

### 3. MUST-FIX — CLARITY
*   **The "Chinese Auction" Etymology:**
    *   **Passage:** "This was the 'Chinese Auction'—a misnomer for a grey-market clearinghouse..."
    *   **Clarification:** A "Chinese Auction" is a specific type of charity auction/raffle in the real world. In the context of "grey-market imports" and "Chinese-made steel," the reader might be confused if the name refers to the auction *style* or the *origin* of the goods. 
    *   **Fix:** Briefly clarify if the name comes from the origin of the "unindexed" hardware (likely from overseas to bypass US/Avery-Quinn firmware) to ground the "grey-market" world-building.

### 4. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **The Red Hat Shill (Optional):** The scene with "Red Hat" is excellent world-building regarding "friction." To strengthen the continuity of the "Sanctuary" faction, consider a subtle hint if Red Hat's "Regional Trust" is an antagonist to the "Cypress Bend Land Trust" mentioned in Arthur’s voice sig.
*   **Sarah’s Pen (Optional):** Marcus hears Sarah’s name as a "glitch in his throat." Including the "rhythmic clicking of a retractable pen" (from Sarah’s voice sig notes) as a phantom sound in this silent, hot container would bridge the "Sarah" memory leak more effectively.

### 5. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **Do Not Clean Up Marcus’s Internal Dialogue:** Phrases like "Boolean false" or "System check. Connectivity: zero" are core to his character's "God-tier" corporate damage. Do not replace them with naturalistic speech.
*   **Do Not Soften Elena:** Her abrasive, instructional tone is necessary. Her comparison of a server to a blowtorch is a key world-rule establishing the "Analog Resistance."
*   **Do Not Remove Technical "Grit":** Terms like "cosmoline," "final drive," and "grease fitting" are essential to the genre-sovereignty of this "Future/Industrial" project.

### 6. VERDICT: PASS (with Minor Continuity Flags)
The chapter is extremely clean and adheres strictly to the Voice Signatures of Marcus and Elena. No major timeline or world-rule violations were detected, only minor naming inconsistencies regarding the equipment types.

**VERDICT: PASS**