diff --git a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md
index 75ddd8a9..1b316ef2 100644
--- a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md
+++ b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md
@@ -1,57 +1,56 @@
-# Character State: ch-17 (FINAL)
+# FULL MODE EXTRACTION — CHAPTER 17 POLISHED STATE
 
-## Lena Duval
-- **Location:** The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
-- **Physical:** Apotheosis complete. Integrated into the cypress root system; skin pulses with bioluminescent sap; heartbeat synchronized with the Bend’s tide.
-- **Emotional:** Transcendent serenity. Individual ego dissolved into the "Great Hum."
-- **Active Obligations:** Eternal anchor and sentient deity of Cypress Bend.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Runaway to Living God).
-- **Secrets:** Carries the trauma of her mother's sacrifice; Jax remains unaware of the specific cost.
+## Character State: ch-17 CANONICAL
 
-## Jax Harlan
-- **Location:** The Shallows (Perimeter)
-- **Physical:** Veil-adapted; predatory reflexes; systemic immunity to swamp toxins.
-- **Emotional:** Inhuman focus; soul-bound devotion to Lena.
-- **Active Obligations:** Perpetual guardian of the Veil.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Outsider to supernatural apex predator).
+**Lena Duval**
+- Location: The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
+- Physical: Apotheosis complete; integrated into cypress root system; bioluminescent sap pulses beneath translucent skin
+- Emotional: Transcendent serenity; individual ego dissolved into the "Great Hum"
+- Status: Eternal anchor and sentient deity of Cypress Bend
+- Arc: 100% COMPLETE — Runaway human → Living god and biological core
+- Permanent: YES
+- Unresolved Burden: Carries mother's sacrificial trauma; Jax unaware of specific cost
 
-## Aunt Maribelle Duval
-- **Location:** Subterranean Siphon Hub
-- **Physical:** Bio-hybrid; functions as the primary filtration organ for the Bend’s life-force.
-- **Emotional:** Contented utility; finds peace in absolute service to the flow.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Manipulator to selfless biological component).
+**Jax Harlan**
+- Location: The Shallows (Perimeter)
+- Physical: Veil-adapted; predatory reflexes; systemic immunity to swamp toxins
+- Emotional: Inhuman focus; soul-bound devotion to Lena
+- Status: Perpetual guardian of the Veil
+- Arc: 100% COMPLETE — Outsider boat captain → Swamp's apex predator
+- Permanent: YES
+- Knowledge: Perimeter's lethal boundaries; external world's hostility
 
-## Remy LeBlanc
-- **Location:** The Interior Grove
-- **Physical:** Biologically frozen; age-suspension via Heart Tree.
-- **Emotional:** Peaceful resignation; the swamp's memory-keeper.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Human bridge to post-human reality).
+**Aunt Maribelle Duval**
+- Location: Subterranean Siphon Hub
+- Physical: Bio-hybrid; functions as primary filtration organ
+- Emotional: Contented utility; peace in absolute service
+- Status: Filter the life-force of the Bend
+- Arc: 100% COMPLETE — Power-hungry manipulator → Selfless biological organ
+- Permanent: YES
 
-# World State: ch-17 (FINAL)
+**Remy LeBlanc**
+- Location: Interior Grove
+- Physical: Biologically frozen; age-suspension via Heart Tree integration
+- Emotional: Peaceful resignation; swamp's memory-keeper
+- Status: Maintains archives of the Bend
+- Arc: 100% COMPLETE — Human historian → Bridge between past and post-human reality
+- Permanent: YES
 
-## NPC Memory
-- **The Coven:** Devout high-priests regulating the Great Hum. The Siphon Hub is stable and worshipful.
+## World State: ch-17 CANONICAL
 
-## Faction Attitudes
-- **The Great Hum:** Dominant. The ecosystem is a unified, conscious machine under Lena’s singular will.
-- **Humanity/TDC:** Rejected/Expelled. The world recognizes the Bend as a sovereign, lethal zone.
+**Environmental Conditions**
+- The Great Silence: Permanent 5-mile EM dead zone; technology non-functional
+- The Sovereign Veil: Sentient fog boundary (lethal, permanent)
+- Biological Cathedral: Fully operational; flora/fauna extensions of Lena's consciousness
+- Directed Evolution: Active ecosystem under singular will
 
-## Active World Events
-- **The Great Silence:** Permanent 5-mile EM dead zone. Modern technology is functional scrap upon entry.
-- **Directed Evolution:** The "Biological Cathedral" is fully operational. All flora and fauna are direct extensions of Lena’s consciousness.
+**Faction Status**
+- The Great Hum: DOMINANT — Unified conscious machine; Lena's singular will
+- The Coven: DEVOUT — High-priests regulating the Hum; stable, worshipful environment
+- Humanity/TDC: REJECTED — Expelled; Bend recognized as sovereign lethal zone
 
-## Key Locations
-- **The Heart Tree:** Neural core and throne of the collective consciousness.
-- **The Siphon Hub:** Subterranean network distributing refined life-force.
-- **The Veil:** Sentient, predatory fog boundary defining the sovereign border.
-
-## Global Constants
-- **Magic:** Bayou Binding is the natural law of the territory.
-- **Technology:** Eradicated within the zone. 
-- **Legacy:** The Duval line has evolved from a family into a planetary biological system.
-
-# Voice Signature: Lena Duval (Final)
-- **Status:** Integrated. Voice now echoes as a collective ripple. 
-- **Verbal Tic:** "Gator's truth" remains the anchor for objective reality.
-- **Tactile:** No longer reaches for bark; she *is* the bark. 
-- **Refrains:** Never says "I give up." She is the end of the line.
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+**Narrative Status**
+- All major character arcs: RESOLVED
+- All open loops: CLOSED
+- World trajectory: STABLE post-apotheosis equilibrium
+- Story culmination: ACHIEVED
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