To: Editorial Team, Crimson Leaf Publishing
From: Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
Date: October 2023
Subject: Continuity Review – Chapter 09: "Steel and Glass"

### 1. STRENGTHS
The internal logic of Arthur’s character remains the strongest pillar of the narrative. His motivation—to build a "monument to permanence" as a counter-reaction to his own physical frailty—is a consistent psychological thread. 

*   **Technical Detail:** The description of the construction ("slide the tongue of the horizontal into the groove of the corner post") provides a high degree of "crunchy" reality that grounds the speculative "Future" genre in tangible physics.
*   **Sensory Consistency:** The transition from the "pale, watery winter sun" to the "metallic taste rising in the back of his throat" during the cardiac event is a high-fidelity rendering of the physical environment impacting the character's internal state.

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### 2. CONCERNS

**A. Timeline/Status Contradiction (High Priority)**
*   **The Issue:** The narrative states Arthur has spent "three weeks level-grading" the clearing. However, the chapter also describes the orchard as having "skeletal peach trees" and "soft, rain-heavy earth" with a "pale, watery winter sun." 
*   **The Flag:** Chapter 09 describes the setting as mid-winter or late winter ("surprise for the spring thaw"). If this is the same Cypress Bend established in earlier world-building notes as a "high-tech/low-life" or "Future" setting with specific seasonal shifts, we must ensure the three-week grading period aligns with any prior mentions of when the "winter" cycle began. 
*   **Action:** Verify if the previous chapter depicted the beginning of this project or if this is an "in-media-res" jump. Three weeks of grading implies Arthur was healthy and working without issue until this specific morning.

**B. Character Age & Narrative History (Medium Priority)**
*   **The Issue:** Arthur states, "I’m sixty-four, not twenty." Later, the text says Helen’s warmth had "anchored him for forty years" and she looked like the woman he met "in the university library forty years ago."
*   **The Flag:** If they met 40 years ago at university (assuming age 20-22), and he is now 64, the math checks out (64 - 22 = 42 years). However, this establishes a hard fact: Arthur and Helen have been a unit since approximately 2021-2023 (relative to their current "future" timeline). 
*   **Action:** I am flagging this for the "World Rules" file. If the "Future" setting is meant to be late 21st century, Arthur would have been born in the 2020s, making his "university" years occur in the 2040s. The reference to "forty years" must be strictly guarded in future chapters to ensure they don't suddenly become "high school sweethearts" or "married for fifty years."

**C. Material Logistics (Low Priority/Observation)**
*   **The Issue:** "Eighty-four structural steel beams" and "three hundred panes of tempered glass."
*   **The Flag:** This is a massive amount of material for a personal greenhouse "surprising" a spouse on a farm. 84 beams suggest a structure much larger than a standard greenhouse—closer to a commercial warehouse or a small cathedral (as Helen ironically notes). 
*   **Action:** Ensure that in future chapters, Arthur doesn't refer to this as a "little shed." The scale established here is significant and indicates a high-resource or high-effort endeavor.

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### 3. AMBIGUITIES
*   **The "Blueprint":** The final line mentions a "blueprint she’d left on the bench." Earlier in the chapter, the greenhouse is described as *Arthur’s* secret project and "surprise for the spring thaw." If Helen left the blueprint on the bench, it suggests she either knows exactly what he’s building or it is *her* design. This contradicts the "surprise" element unless the "she" in the final paragraph refers to a daughter or another character not yet introduced in this chapter's kitchen scene.

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### VERDICT: CLEAN
The chapter is remarkably consistent with the internal character logic. The physical symptoms of the "spike" in the chest are handled with a terrifying precision that aligns with a character who views his body as a failing machine. No major contradictions with established farm geography were found.

**Note to Facilitator:** Please ensure the "forty years" and "sixty-four years old" stats are locked into the series bible immediately.