# Character State: ch-01

## Elias Thorne
- **Location:** The Archive, Sub-Level 4, Oakhaven.
- **Physical:** Slight tremors in hands; uninjured but physically drained by the ambient cold.
- **Emotional:** Hyper-focused and paranoid; the skepticism of his peers validates his sense of impending discovery.
- **Active obligations:** None.
- **Open loops:** The nature of the 1920s occult signatures found in the signal — UNRESOLVED.
- **Known secrets:** CARRIED: Convinced the signal is sentient and mimicking ritual patterns.
- **Arc:** 10% — Fully committed to the supernatural hypothesis; views scientific instruments as secondary to intuition.

## Sarah Miller
- **Location:** The Archive, Sub-Level 4, Oakhaven.
- **Physical:** Intense temple-throbbing headache; exhaustion visible in postural slumped shoulders.
- **Emotional:** Cognitive dissonance; her logic-first armor is cracking against the signal's auditory persistence.
- **Active obligations:** Owes Elias support in the investigation — UNPAID.
- **Open loops:** The specific source of the digital static loops on her recorder — UNRESOLVED.
- **Known secrets:** CARRIED: Has begun recording her own internal dialogue to see if it matches the "Whisper" patterns.
- **Arc:** 5% — Moving from dismissal to reluctant observation; the physical toll is bypassing her skepticism.

## The Curator
- **Location:** Administrative Wing (Off-site).
- **Physical:** No injuries.
- **Emotional:** Irritated by budget concerns; views Sub-Level 4 as a sunk cost.
- **Active obligations:** None.
- **Open loops:** Decision on Archive funding cuts — UNRESOLVED.
- **Known secrets:** None.
- **Arc:** 0% — Fixed in bureaucratic dismissal.

# World State: ch-01

## NPC Memory
- **The Curator:** Regards Elias as a "problematic academic" whose fixation on outdated occult lore is an embarrassment to the facility.

## Faction Attitudes
- **Archive Administration:** Hostile/Dismissive. They are prepared to shut down Sub-Level 4 power if "glitches" aren't resolved.
- **Local Authorities:** Oblivious to the localized frequency shifts.

## Active World Events
- **The Awakening Signal:** The frequency has stabilized into a rhythmic, almost breathing pattern. It is strictly localized to the Oakhaven Archive's radius but is gaining amplitude.

## Environmental Constants
- **Sub-Level 4:** Temperature remains at a constant, biting 48°F despite heating. The air smells of ozone and "wet copper." 
- **The Whisper:** Induces auditory hallucinations and physical equilibrium loss in subjects exposed for over two hours.

## Established Lore
- **Signal Morphology:** The patterns are isomorphic to the "Great Silence" rituals documented in 1927 logs—a method meant to bridge consciousness with non-local entities.
- **Data Integrity:** Digital media is prone to "ghost-looping," where deleted files reappear as rhythmic static.

## Voice Signature: Sarah Miller (Verification)
- **Stress:** "Th-this frequency defies all logic!" (Stammer + logic-appeal).
- **Reach:** Consults her digital recorder mid-conversation.
- **Imperial:** "Data doesn’t lie, Elias, but my head feels like a tuning fork."