1. PROSE EVIDENCE
- "The green phosphor lines on the oscilloscope didn’t just peak; they swelled, a rhythmic expansion that mimicked a lung filling with heavy, stagnant air." (Early) — This effectively establishes the "Respiration" world event by blending mechanical observation with biological horror.
- "A fragment of audio hissed through her earpiece—a jagged, distorted clip of her own voice from twenty minutes ago: *—defies all logic—logic—logic—*" (Mid) — This provides a concrete, chilling demonstration of the "ghost-looping" mechanic established in the project context.
- "The floor tilted again, a slow, sickening inhalation of the Archive itself." (Late) — This use of personification reinforces the environment’s transition from a setting to an active, predatory entity.

2. CHARACTER VOICE AUDIT

**Character: Sarah Miller**
- Quote: "Empirically speaking, Elias, signals don’t 'wait,' she muttered, though her voice lacked its usual steel."
- Signature vocabulary/tics: **YES**. Uses "Empirically speaking" as a prefix to doubt.
- Avoids forbidden patterns: **YES**. She avoids flowery supernatural affirmations, maintaining her rationalist stance even under duress.
- Consistent emotional register: **YES**. She is transitioning from skepticism to survival instinct, frozen in analytical loops while her physical state (headache) worsens.

**Character: Elias Thorne**
- Quote: "The Archive isn't housing these records; it’s performing them. It’s sentient, and it’s waking up."
- Signature vocabulary/tics: **N/A** (No specific tics in profile).
- Avoids forbidden patterns: **YES**.
- Consistent emotional register: **YES**. He displays the "transfixed and obsessive" state and "divine connection" noted in the ch-02 character state.

**Character: The Curator**
- Quote: "You’re turning a hardware glitch into a ghost story to justify your tenure."
- Signature vocabulary/tics: **YES**. Reflects the "dismissive" and "hostile" attitude noted in NPC memory.
- Avoids forbidden patterns: **YES**.
- Consistent emotional register: **YES**. Maintains the administrative hostility consistent with the world state.

3. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
- **The Sensory-Resonance Feedback:** The passage "Elias's trembling fingers danced across the waveform display, the signal's low-frequency 'breath' now pulsing in perfect sync with the thud of his heart" perfectly captures the project's core "Mirroring" lore. 
- **Sarah’s Defensive Rationalism:** Her dialogue "Data doesn't lie, but the human inner ear certainly does" maintains her character’s "Rigid skepticism" fatal flaw even as the environment collapses around her.
- **Physical Tension Markers:** The detail about the "wet iron" scent (metallic copper) and the temperature drop to 42-48°F maintains continuity with the Environmental Constants in the world state.

4. MUST-FIX -- CONTINUITY
- **ORIGINAL:** "At 48 degrees, the moisture from their breath should have been visible..." 
- **PROBLEM:** The World State ch-02 [Environmental Constants] specifically lists the temperature as having "dropped to 42°F." 
- **FIX:** "At 42 degrees, the moisture from their breath should have been visible..."

5. MUST-FIX -- CLARITY
- **ORIGINAL:** "It’s becoming a vessel. The signal isn't mimicking us because it’s a machine, Sarah. It’s mimicking us because it’s *replacing* us."
- **PROBLEM:** While thematic, the transition from "mimicking" to "replacing" is a massive jump in logic for Elias to make based only on a loop of the word "inhale."
- **FIX:** Add a brief beat of Elias observing the signal outputting *their* specific physiological telemetry. "Look at the telemetry, Sarah—it’s not just copying the rhythm, it’s overwriting our baseline data. It’s not mimicking us; it’s *replacing* us."

6. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
- **Sarah's Recorder:** (Mid) "Sarah reached for her belt, her thumb instinctively finding the 'record' button..." Since the lore states her recorder is already "ghost-looping" and reflecting the signal, she might react with a specific wince knowing the device is compromised. 
- **Mark:** (Note) A character "Mark" is defined in the RAG but does not appear. If he is intended to be a presence in this chapter, his absence is notable, though the notes suggest not introducing him without approval.

7. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
- **Sarah’s Stuttering:** Do not remove "Th-this frequency..." or "I... I can't find the floor." These are intentional "Imperfection signatures" triggered by her migraine and audio feedback.
- **Repetitive Pacing:** The rhythmic, pulsing nature of the prose (e.g., "Dim. Bright. Dim. Bright.") is intentional to mirror the "Respiration" world event.
- **Techno-Occult Jargon:** Phrases like "isomorphic to the ritual's configuration" must be kept, as they bridge Sarah's scientific voice with Elias's occult focus.

8. VERDICT: REVISE
SCORE: 82
The chapter is atmospherically superb and adheres strictly to character voice and lore. However, it requires a REVISE verdict due to a factual continuity error regarding the environmental temperature (48°F vs the established 42°F) and a minor clarity gap in Elias’s internal logic regarding the "replacement" theory.