**TO:** Editorial Board, Crimson Leaf Publishing  
**FROM:** Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor  
**SUBJECT:** Continuity Review: *Cypress Bend* – Chapter 21 ("The Seed of Barter")

This chapter introduces significant shifts in the local micro-economy and character utility. While it effectively demonstrates the "new normal," there are several technical and logical stressors on the established canon of the world-state.

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### 1. STRENGTHS
*   **Atmospheric Consistency:** The sensory details—ozone, old hay, and the "oily grit under his fingernails"—align perfectly with the established decline of infrastructure seen in earlier chapters.
*   **The Milking Cycle:** Sarah’s cows remaining a stable source of production is a strong continuity anchor. The transition from "regional banking collapse" to a caloric-based economy feels grounded and follows the timeline of the grocery trucks stopping three weeks prior.
*   **Character Motivation:** Arthur’s desperation for dairy ("hadn't had dairy in three weeks") provides a solid, visceral reason for him to trade high-value salvaged components for a perishable good.

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### 2. CONCERNS

#### **High Priority: The "Lead-Acid" Power Discrepancy**
*   **The Issue:** Marcus is running a 3D printer and a laptop off a "lead-acid car battery." 
*   **The Contradiction:** Chapter 14 established that the "Pulse" (or the specific power-grid failure event) fried most sensitive micro-circuitry not stored in Faraday cages. While a lead-acid battery is "low-tech" and would survive, a 3D printer and a laptop are highly sensitive electronics. 
*   **Impact:** If Marcus has a working laptop and printer, he possesses the most valuable technological assets in Cypress Bend. This contradicts the established "technology blackout" depth.
*   **Necessary Fix:** Specify if these were shielded, or if Marcus is using a "ruggedized" or older mechanical-relay version.

#### **Moderate Priority: The Fence Line Geography**
*   **The Issue:** The text states: *"The fence that separated her land from the Miller place... Maya was pushing a pile of smooth river stones through the dirt."*
*   **The Contradiction:** Chapter 3 established Sarah’s "south field" (mentioned again here) as bordering the creek, while the Miller property was said to be "up-slope" across the county blacktop. 
*   **Impact:** If the Miller kids and Sarah’s kids are playing at a fence line, the properties must be contiguous. This shifts the map established in the early chapters where the road was the primary divider between these two families.

#### **Moderate Priority: The "National Guard" Cordon Timeline**
*   **The Issue:** Helen mentions: *"The amoxicillin you salvaged from the clinic before the National Guard cordoned it off."*
*   **The Contradiction:** Chapter 19 established that the National Guard abandoned the local area four days ago during the "Great Retreat." 
*   **Ambiguity:** Is the cordon still active, or is Helen referring to a past event? The phrasing "before the National Guard cordoned it off" suggests the cordon is the *current* state, which contradicts the Chapter 19 update of a total military vacuum. 

#### **Minor Priority: The "Wooden Horse" Origin**
*   **The Issue:** *"Maya was handing a small, wooden horse—one Toby had carved—through the gap."*
*   **The Contradiction:** Chapter 8 established Toby as having a severe tremor in his hands following his injury at the mill.
*   **Impact:** Unless the horse was carved *before* the injury, Toby’s current fine motor skills (as established) would likely make carving impossible.

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### 3. AMBIGUITIES
*   **The Blue Ribbon:** The ribbon appears as a "scrap" found by Leo, then later as a tie for the herbs on the tractor. While this implies Helen or Leo left the gift, the timeline of Sarah "looking toward the woods" and seeing nothing suggests a stealth that isn't quite aligned with Helen’s frantic state earlier in the chapter.

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### VERDICT: MINOR FLAGS

The chapter is narratively strong and the "Barter Economy" logic is sound. However, the **technological survival of the 3D printer** and the **geographic shift of the property lines** require minor adjustment to remain consistent with the world-building established in the first half of the manuscript. Once the power source/electronics durability is clarified and the fence location is reconciled with the road established in Chapter 3, the chapter is canon-compliant.