# CHAPTER POLISH EXTRACTION — "Whispers in the Dark" Ch-17

## CHARACTER STATE (POLISHED)

### Elias Thorne
- **Location:** Archive Sub-Level 4, Main Server Vault
- **Physical:** Severe exhaustion, minor lacerations, persistent tinnitus
- **Emotional:** Determined; spiritually rattled but committed to direct confrontation
- **Arc:** 85% — transitioned from evasion to aggressive stance against signal source
- **Active Obligation:** UNPAID — owes Sarah full explanation of signal origin
- **Carried Secret:** Signal mimics voices of the dead; Sarah unaware
- **Status:** Permanent resident arc (alive, committed to terminal confrontation)

### Sarah Miller
- **Location:** Archive Sub-Level 4, Security Monitoring Hub
- **Physical:** Intense migraines, hand tremors; no external injuries
- **Emotional:** Analytical defiance masking terror; skepticism abandoned
- **Arc:** 80% — surrendered rigid empiricism to accept supernatural reality
- **Active Obligation:** UNPAID — owes Elias backup extraction route if terminal fails
- **Carried Secret:** Archive security sabotaged from inside; Elias unaware
- **Status:** Permanent resident arc (alive, actively supporting Elias)
- **Voice Lock:** Clipped, precise speech under stress; "empirically speaking" qualifier even in crisis; stammers initial consonants when migraines spike

### The Curator
- **Status:** DECEASED (Ch-16)
- **Legacy:** Death created security vacuum and forced Elias/Sarah into sub-levels

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## WORLD STATE (POLISHED)

### Active Crisis
- **The Terminal Broadcast:** Whisper signal at peak amplitude in Sub-Level 4
- **Timeline:** ~20 minutes until signal reaches surface transmitters
- **Immediate Threat:** Automated defenses (IFF protocols overridden) actively hostile to Sarah

### Faction/Facility Status
- **The Archive (Oakhaven):** COLLAPSING — no administrative oversight; security compromised by signal incursion
- **Automated Systems:** HOSTILE — turned against Archive personnel by signal infiltration

### Open Loops (Unresolved)
1. Elias & Sarah vs. Whisper signal's terminal broadcast — direct confrontation imminent
2. Elias's unpaid explanation to Sarah regarding signal origin
3. Sarah's unpaid extraction backup if terminal shutdown fails
4. Nature of signal's mimicry mechanism (voices of the dead as lure)
5. Identity and extent of inside saboteur(s)

### Narrative Tension
- Both characters at high arc completion (80–85%)
- Mutual unpaid obligations create co-dependent stakes
- Signal broadcast countdown creates hard deadline
- Dual secrets held by each character unresolved

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**CHAPTER 17 STATUS:** Polished and ready for publication. Character arcs locked. World crisis at critical juncture. No retcon required.