diff --git a/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-04.md b/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-04.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d7e6ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-04.md
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# Character State: ch-04
+
+## Marcus Thorne
+Location: Warehouse-Level 4, "The Kiln," Ocala Delta
+Physical: Hand tremor from over-caffeination and adrenaline spike.
+Emotional: Calculating and protective; wary of the cost of the "Hard Exit."
+Active obligations: Owes Art a functional hydraulic press (Ch04) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Marcus vs. Art [generational friction over automation] (Ch04) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the UBI Sentinel has flagged the Kiln's thermal signature as a "priority anomaly" — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 12% — Moved from purely digital planning to accepting the physical compromise of salvage.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Arthur "Art" Penhaligon
+Location: Loading Dock, "The Kiln," Ocala Delta
+Physical: Back spasms; hands black with graphite and old oil.
+Emotional: Vindicated; satisfied by the "felt-weight" of the new haul.
+Active obligations: Owes David a specialized copper-jacket heat sink (Ch04) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Art vs. The Swamp [encroaching moisture on the inventory] (Ch04) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the salvaged turbine has a hairline fracture that will fail under Phase 3 loads — [Marcus does NOT know].
+Arc: 08% — Relinquished a "lucky" tool to David, signaling a transfer of trust.
+Permanent: YES.
+
+## David Shore
+Location: Loading Dock, "The Kiln," Ocala Delta
+Physical: No injuries; pupils dilated from prolonged low-light work.
+Emotional: Intense focus; treating the new salvage as a puzzle to be "cleaned."
+Active obligations: Owes Elena a localized mesh-node for the perimeter (Ch03) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: David vs. The "Black Box" turbine control [inability to bypass proprietary code] (Ch04) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the salvaged comm-unit contains a hard-wired tracker he hasn't disabled yet — [Elena does NOT know].
+Arc: 10% — Reached a flow-state in mechanical triage.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Elena Vance
+Location: Comms Hub, "The Kiln," Ocala Delta
+Physical: Stiff neck from monitor slouch.
+Emotional: Paranoid; views the silence of the city-state as a "pre-strike" lull.
+Active obligations: Owes the Group a ghost-signature for the exit flight (Ch04) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Elena vs. The Sentinel [digital cat-and-mouse] (Ch04) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the "Blue-Out" schedule has been moved up by six hours — [Marcus does NOT know].
+Arc: 09% — Realized the physical salvage is as vital as her code.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+# World State: ch-04
+
+## NPC Memory
+- UBI Sentinel Unit 7 (Urban Grid): ANALYTICAL — Correlated the energy drop-off with the missing industrial salvage — Escalating to "Tactical Recovery" mode.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Makers: COHESIVE — Unified by the success of the salvage run, though internal technical disagreements persist.
+- The City-State: AGGRESSIVE — Now treating the "Exodus" as a theft of state-subsidized infrastructure rather than a simple relocation.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Blue-Out: Phase 2 nearing completion; grid instability is causing "phantom" signals in the mesh net.
+- The Chinese Auction: Successful salvage event; the Kiln is now over-capacity with un-vetted hardware.
+- The Heat-Bloom: Florida humidity has reached 94%; cooling systems in the Kiln are at 90% load.
\ No newline at end of file