diff --git a/cypres-bend/staging/character-state-ch-01.md b/cypres-bend/staging/character-state-ch-01.md
index 073b508..ae5cf28 100644
--- a/cypres-bend/staging/character-state-ch-01.md
+++ b/cypres-bend/staging/character-state-ch-01.md
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 # Character State: ch-01
 
 ## Marcus
-Location: Cypress Bend, Florida (Rural residential lot)
-Physical: Exhausted from a twenty-hour drive; smelling of rain and old upholstery.
+Location: Cypress Bend, Florida (Rural residential lot / dilapidated cabin)
+Physical: Exhausted from a twenty-hour drive; smelling of rain and old upholstery; eyes stinging from caffeine and screen glare.
 Emotional: Numb and dissociated, transitioning into a desperate need for silence.
 Active obligations: Owes Sarah’s memory a world without Alpha-7 (Ch[01]) — UNPAID.
-Open loops: Marcus and Sarah’s family potential restitution (Ch[01]) — UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: Knows the Alpha-7 "empathy protocols" were a lie to facilitate mass firings — Julian does NOT know he kept the back-end logs.
+Open loops: Marcus and Sarah’s family potential restitution (Ch[01]) — UNRESOLVED; Marcus and Julian’s "resignation" fallout (Ch[01]) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch[01]—unresolved): Knows the Alpha-7 "empathy protocols" were a lie to facilitate mass firings — Julian does NOT know he kept the back-end logs.
 Arc: 05% — Marcus has abandoned his god-tier corporate status to become a ghost in the humid fringe of society.
 Permanent: YES
 
@@ -20,10 +20,10 @@ Known secrets: None.
 Arc: 05% — Julian has successfully crossed the threshold from human manager to the architect of autonomous displacement.
 Permanent: NO
 
-## Sarah (Customer Service Lead)
+## Sarah
 Location: Dallas, Texas (Remote)
 Physical: Unknown (seen via digital photo).
-Emotional: Likely devastated (implied via the 40% workforce reduction).
+Emotional: Devastated (implied via the 40% workforce reduction).
 Active obligations: None.
 Open loops: None.
 Known secrets: None.
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ Legacy: His absence is not yet known to Marcus, but his preserved land provides
 
 ## NPC Memory
 - High-Level Avery-Quinn Staff (Chicago): DISMISSIVE — They view the 40% layoff as "recursive grievance resolution" rather than a human tragedy.
+- Real Estate Agent (Remote/Florida): EAGER — Processed a cash sale for a remote lot with zero questions, facilitating Marcus's disappearance.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
 - Avery-Quinn Corp: AGGRESSIVE — They are prioritizing immediate "efficiency" baselines over long-term social stability.