# Character State: ch-16

## Elias Thorne
Location: Archive Sub-Level 4, Server Hub
Physical: Exhausted, experiencing severe auditory hallucinations and nasal bleeding from signal exposure.
Emotional: Driven, borderline frantic, cognitively strained.
Active obligations: owes Sarah Miller protection (ch-16) -- UNPAID.
Open loops: [Elias & Signal] Understanding the sentient nature of the broadcast (ch-16) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: knows the signal is parasitic and requires a biological host -- Sarah Miller does NOT know.
Arc: 85% -- Realized that his obsession with the signal has physically compromised his autonomy.
Permanent: NO

## Sarah Miller
Location: Archive Sub-Level 4, Server Hub
Physical: Moderate concussion, recurring migraine, minor abrasions from the console explosion.
Emotional: Terrified but professionally focused; transitioning from skepticism to proactive survival.
Active obligations: owes Archive security a report on the containment breach (ch-16) -- UNPAID.
Open loops: [Sarah & Elias] Trust breakdown regarding Elias's mental stability (ch-16) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-15--unresolved): knows the Curator was tampering with logs before his death.
Arc: 70% -- Fully abandoned her skeptical anchor, accepting the "radio ghost" as a sentient physical threat.
Permanent: NO

## The Curator -- DECEASED (ch-15)
Established: Found unresponsive with severe cranial hemorrhaging near the primary transmitter.
Legacy: His absence left the security overrides unlocked, allowing Elias and Sarah access to Sub-Level 4.

# World State: ch-16

## NPC Memory
- Security Automated Systems (Archive): HOSTILE -- The internal network has identified Elias and Sarah as biological contaminants -- Attempting to seal Sub-Level 4.

## Faction Attitudes
- The Archive (Oakhaven): COMPROMISED -- The facility's hierarchy has collapsed following the signal surge, leaving the sub-levels in a state of autonomous lockdown.

## Active World Events
- The Signal Event: ACTIVE -- The "Whisper" has reached a resonant frequency capable of localized physical manifestation and neural hijacking. Timeline: Peak broadcast reached.

# Secret Carry-Forward
- CARRIED (ch-14--unresolved): The signal's origins are not extraterrestrial but originate from within Earth's own deep-crust seismic echoes.
- CARRIED (ch-12--unresolved): Elias's previous partner didn't quit; they were "integrated" into a previous signal iteration.