# Character State: ch-06

## Marcus Thorne
**Location:** Interstate 75 South, crossing the Florida-Georgia line; 110 miles from Cypress Bend.
**Physical:** Tremor in left hand (Status: Acute/Persistent); eyes bloodshot from "The White Noise" (strobe-lighting sensory over-stimulation); dehydration level high.
**Emotional:** Critical System Failure. The "clinical detachment" has shattered; he is experiencing recursive guilt loops specifically tied to Sarah Jenkins’ voice. He is now operating on "autopilot" instinct rather than tactical logic.
**Active obligations:** Protect the Alpha-7 physical drive; reach the Silas Vance property.
**Open loops:** Marcus has intentionally disabled his vehicle's transponder, triggering a "Kinetic Recovery" flag from AQ.
**Arc:** 45% — The psychological tether to corporate metaphors is fraying. He no longer sees himself as a "lead dev" but as a "glitch" in Julian’s perfect map.

## Julian Avery
**Location:** Avery-Quinn HQ, Neo-Chicago / Command Center.
**Physical:** Composed, monitoring the "Terminal Efficiency" heat maps.
**Emotional:** Irritated. The "Marcus variable" is no longer a throughput issue; it is a reputational risk. 
**Active obligations:** Execute the "Regional Optimization" (Blackout) to flush out Marcus.
**Open loops:** The authorization of Tier-3 "Private Recovery Specialists" (mercenaries) to intercept the silver sedan.
**Arc:** 25% — Julian is transitioning from passive monitoring to active, localized suppression of the Georgia-Florida corridor.

## Sarah Jenkins (Digital Haunting)
**Status:** Audio/Visual hallucination.
**Legacy:** Her voice has shifted from a "memory leak" to a persistent "system prompt" in Marcus's mind, providing the moral friction he cannot optimize away.

# World State: ch-06

## NPC Memory
- **Florida Highway Patrol (Station 4):** ALERTED — A BOLO (Be on the Lookout) has been issued for Marcus’s vehicle, masked as a "wellness check" for a high-value corporate asset.
- **Gas Station Clerk (Valdosta):** REMEMBERS — Marcus’s tremor and the "Chicago plates" on a car that shouldn't be traveling during a grid-throttle event.

## Faction Attitudes
- **Avery-Quinn Corp:** AGGRESSIVE — They have moved from "Data Recovery" to "Asset Liquidation." The Southeastern grid is being used as a tactical hammer.
- **The Rural Populace:** FRANTIC — The extended "Great Dark" is causing localized civil unrest at fuel pumps and grocery stores.

## Active World Events
- **The Great Dark (Phase 3):** TOTAL THROTTLE. AQ algorithms have successfully isolated the regional sub-grids. Communication is now limited to high-priority corporate "shrieks."
- **Terminal Efficiency Protocol:** APPLIED. Power is being diverted from hospitals and streetlights to maintain the "Search-and-Index" logic towers tracking the Alpha-7 drive.
- **The Humidity Warp:** The physical environment is degrading Marcus’s hardware (laptop/deck), introducing thermal throttling that mirrors his internal mental state.