# Character State: ch-29

## Marcus Thorne
Location: The Central Workshops (The "U"), Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Calloused hands; grease-stained forearms; minor thermal burn on left palm.
Emotional: Architecturally satisfied but socially overextended.
Active obligations: Owes Sarah a life free from indexing (Ch-01) — IN PROGRESS; Owes Leo a future (Ch-12) — IN PROGRESS; Owes the Newcomers (The "Forty") stable infrastructure (Ch-29) — UNPAID.
Open loops: The Ocala "Ghost" Signal (Ch-22) — UNRESOLVED; The Avery-Quinn "Deep Scan" Retaliation (Ch-25) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-01—unresolved): Knows the Alpha-7 empathy protocols were a lie to facilitate mass firings — Julian does NOT know he kept the back-end logs.
Arc: 195% -- Marcus has moved from a solitary fugitive to the literal and figurative engine of a burgeoning society.
Permanent: YES

## Sarah Jenkins
Location: The Kitchen Hub / Logistical Center, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Exhausted; smelling of cedar sawdust and woodsmoke.
Emotional: Vigilant; feeling the weight of the "Forty" souls now under her triage.
Active obligations: None.
Open loops: None.
Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-01—unresolved): Knows the Alpha-7 empathy protocols were a lie — Julian does NOT know she has weaponized that detachment.
Arc: 180% -- Sarah has transitioned from a survivor to a governor, codifying the laws of the Sovereign Mesh.
Permanent: YES

## David
Location: The Sawmill / Perimeter Patrol, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Robust; rib-cage fully healed; moving with purposeful, heavy tramping.
Emotional: Protective; seeing the "U" as a fortified village rather than a camp.
Active obligations: Owes Helen a legacy (Ch-01) — PAID.
Open loops: None.
Arc: 185% -- David has fully embraced the role of "War-Chief" and lead builder for the expanded tribe.
Permanent: YES

## Elena
Location: The Machine Shop, Cypress Bend, Florida.
Physical: Smelling of cutting oil; eyes bloodshot from precision lathe work.
Emotional: Validated; her "Friction" philosophy is now the settlement's core defense.
Active obligations: Owes Marcus a physical failsafe (Ch-10) — UNPAID.
Open loops: None.
Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-10—unresolved): Knows the manual axe-throw is the only physical failsafe for the power line — Marcus does NOT know.
Arc: 175% -- Elena has successfully decentralized the power grid into a defensible mesh.
Permanent: YES

## Arthur Silas Vance — DECEASED (Ch-01)
Established: Died peacefully in his sleep after ensuring the "dead-zone" logic was intact.
Legacy: His sawmill equipment and "Long Wait" philosophy provided the literal foundation for the Crossroads Hub.

# World State: ch-29

## NPC Memory
- Silas (Newcomer/Carpenter): GRATEFUL -- Received a permanent forge-slot in exchange for timber-framing the central hub.
- The "Forty" (The Relatives): CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC -- They have traded their "vouched" status for labor in the Bend's "U" structure.

## Faction Attitudes
- Avery-Quinn Corp: BLINDED/PREDATORY -- Detecting a "statistical null" where the population influx should be creating a data-bloom.
- The Bend Tribe: EXPANSIONIST -- Transitioned from a survival cell to a sovereign village.

## Active World Events
- The Crossroads Hub: ACTIVE -- The central "U" of sawmill, machine shop, and forge is now operational.
- The Sovereign Mesh: PERMANENT -- Now masks a population of forty people using redirected thermal blooms from the industrial works.