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+# Character State: ch-17
+
+## Marcus Thorne
+Location: Site B - Thermal Processing Vent, Cypress Bend
+Physical: Left hand bandaged; mild smoke inhalation; signs of sleep deprivation.
+Emotional: Resolute but technically strained; high-functioning anxiety.
+Active obligations: Owes Elena a synchronized data-burst (Ch08) — UNPAID; Owes Arthur a manual cooling-shutter calibration (Ch17) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Marcus vs. The UBI Sentinel [The Pilot’s ID is active] (Ch13) — UNRESOLVED; Marcus vs. System Thermal Drift (Ch17) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the drone’s flight path originated from a Tier-1 Black-Site — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 22% — Accepted the necessity of manual "dirty" labor over clean architectural modeling.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Arthur "Art" Penhaligon
+Location: Site B - External Valve Housing, Cypress Bend
+Physical: Severe arthritic flare-up in right shoulder; grease-stained.
+Emotional: Protective; feels the pressure of being the sole "Iron Pillar" for the cooling system.
+Active obligations: Owes David a stabilized generator mount (Ch01) — PAID. 
+Open loops: Arthur vs. The Corroded Bypass [Temporary shim holding] (Ch17) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the backup generator took a surge that shortened its lifespan by half — [Marcus does NOT know].
+Arc: 25% — Shared the "Listen-Fix" technique with David for the first time.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## David Shore
+Location: Site B - Secondary Pump Housing, Cypress Bend
+Physical: No injuries; cleaning nails with a precision driver.
+Emotional: Analytical; obsessed with the failure point of the coolant seals.
+Active obligations: Owes Elena a clean signal-bridge (Ch01) — UNPAID; Owes Arthur a diagnostic (Ch03) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: David vs. Hardware Recovery [The central array is 30% foam-damaged] (Ch13) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: His father’s de-sync ID was the "lure" that brought the drone in — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 15% — Admitted the "Old World" physics are the only thing keeping the "New World" servers alive.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Elena Vance
+Location: Comms Hub, Ocala Delta
+Physical: No injuries; eye-strain from monitoring the Blue-Out.
+Emotional: Isolated and hyper-vigilant.
+Active obligations: Owes the Makers an invisible footprint (Ch01) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Elena vs. Marcus [Tactical friction over the kill-switch] (Ch13) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Already identified the specific pilot's ID associated with the drone — [Marcus does NOT know].
+Arc: 18% — Intentionally throttled the internal diagnostics to hide Marcus's error from the wider mesh.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+# World State: ch-17
+
+## NPC Memory
+- UBI Sentinel Unit 7 (Urban Grid): SEARCHING — Triangulating high-altitude thermal spikes—Will prioritize infrared sweeps of the swamp.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The City-State: HOSTILE — Escalating from "anomaly detection" to "targeted extraction" protocols.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Blue-Out: Phase 2 deepening; 38 hours to total perimeter lockout.
+- The Great Exit: Data-transfer is stalled at 51% (up from 48% after the Site B patch).
+- The Breach: Probe-drones are now deploying in a 5km radius of the Ocala Delta.
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