diff --git a/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-21.md b/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-21.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..66b899b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-21.md
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# Character State: ch-21
+
+## Marcus Thorne
+Location: Site B - Thermal Processing Vent, Cypress Bend
+Physical: Moderate smoke inhalation; trembling hands; sleep-deprived.
+Emotional: Paranoid and intellectually cornered.
+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 [Thermal spike detected] (Ch21) — UNRESOLVED; Marcus vs. Elena [The Drone ID secret] (Ch21) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the drone’s flight path originated from a Tier-1 Black-Site — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 28% — Realized his "invisible" architecture is leaking heat like a bleeding wound.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Arthur "Art" Penhaligon
+Location: Site B - External Valve Housing, Cypress Bend
+Physical: Acute arthritic flare-up in right shoulder; grit in eyes.
+Emotional: Stoic but physically reaching his limit.
+Active obligations: Owes Marcus a reinforced manifold weld (Ch21) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Arthur vs. The Corroded Bypass [Shim is vibrating loose] (Ch17) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the backup generator took a surge that shortened its lifespan by half — [Marcus does NOT know].
+Arc: 30% — Forced to use David as his "hands" for a precision fix he could no longer physically execute.
+Permanent: YES (Physical decline has reached a point of necessary delegation).
+
+## David Shore
+Location: Site B - Secondary Pump Housing, Cypress Bend
+Physical: No injuries; grease under every fingernail.
+Emotional: Hyper-focused; dismissive of Marcus’s systemic fears.
+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: 20% — Recognized that Arthur’s "Listen-Fix" is a dying data set that must be indexed.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Elena Vance
+Location: Comms Hub, Ocala Delta
+Physical: Dehydrated; severe eye-strain.
+Emotional: Coldly furious at Marcus’s thermal mismanagement.
+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: 22% — Committed to a "Hard Ghost" protocol that will cut Marcus out of the primary loop.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+# World State: ch-21
+
+## NPC Memory
+- UBI Sentinel Unit 7 (Urban Grid): AGGRESSIVE — Confirmed thermal anomaly at Site B — Will deploy sub-orbital sweepers in 4 hours.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The City-State: PREDATORY — Shifted from "anomaly detection" to "active neutralization" of the thermal source.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Blue-Out: Phase 2 deepening; 34 hours to total perimeter lockout.
+- The Great Exit: Data-transfer is stalled at 52% — Thermal throttling is preventing higher speeds.
+- The Breach: Probe-drones have narrowed the search radius to 3km of the Ocala Delta.
\ No newline at end of file