To: Facilitator
From: Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
Date: October 2024
Subject: Continuity Review – Chapter 18: “The Crossing”

As the Continuity & Accuracy Editor, I have analyzed Chapter 18 against the established canon of the *Cypress Bend* project. While the prose effectively captures the tension of the engineering feat, my focus remains strictly on the stability of the narrative facts and physical world-building.

### 1. STRENGTHS
*   **Atmospheric Consistency:** The description of the Cypress River—"a chaotic rush of mountain runoff and jagged debris"—aligns perfectly with the established difficulty of the terrain mentioned in previous chapters.
*   **Character Technical Skills:** Marcus’s obsession with "the math" and "failure points" remains consistent with his established persona as a pragmatic, high-functioning engineer.
*   **The "Behemoth" Stats:** The description of the ten-ton rig carrying three thousand pounds of scrap iron is a specific, trackable data point that provides a solid benchmark for future transport capacity.

### 2. CONCERNS
*   **The Geography Contradiction (High Priority):**
    *   **The Issue:** This chapter places the community on the **South** side of the river, looking to the **North** for resources.
    *   **The Conflict:** Chapter 18 states: *"For six months, the Bend had been an island, cut off from the supply caches in the north... Marcus remained standing on the edge of the northern abutment [to finish the bridge]."* Later, it says: *"I noticed Miller standing at the southern end... looking at maps of the northern valleys."*
    *   **The Fact:** In Chapter 4, it was established that the community of Cypress Bend is situated on the **northern plateau** and was attempting to reach the **south-southwest** medical outposts. If they are now crossing from South to North, the entire orientation of the settlement has flipped.

*   **Timeline of Construction (Medium Priority):**
    *   **The Issue:** The duration of the build. 
    *   **The Conflict:** Chapter 18 states: *"For six months, the Bend had been an island... a river that had claimed three of our scouts in the first month of the build."*
    *   **The Fact:** Chapter 12 established that the decision to build the bridge was made after the "Great Flood," which occurred only **four months** ago in the story timeline. If the build has taken six months, we have a two-month gap in the established chronology.

*   **Pneumatic Tool Usage (Medium Priority):**
    *   **The Issue:** Available Power Sources.
    *   **The Conflict:** Chapter 18 says: *"The rhythmic bang-bang-bang of the pneumatic wrenches began."* 
    *   **The Fact:** Chapter 9 established that the settlement's only functioning air compressor was "cannibalized for parts" to fix the irrigation pumps. Unless a new compressor was salvaged off-page, the use of pneumatic wrenches contradicts the current resource scarcity.

*   **The River's Name (Minor Ambiguity):**
    *   **The Issue:** Spelling consistency.
    *   **The Conflict:** The project title is *Cypres Bend*, but the text in Chapter 18 refers to the "Cypress River" and "Cypress Bend" (with two 's's). We need to standardize the spelling of the location across all chapters to maintain canon integrity.

### 3. VERDICT: REVISE

**Reasoning:**
While the narrative arc is compelling, the **Geography Contradiction** is a major flag. We cannot have the settlement switch from the North bank to the South bank without explanation. Furthermore, the **Timeline** discrepancy of two months creates a "ghost period" in our calendar that will confuse readers tracking the winter ration deadline. Finally, the **Pneumatic Tools** need to be replaced with manual labor (ratchet wrenches) or a line must be added explaining the repair of the compressor to maintain resource continuity.

**VERDICT: REVISE**