diff --git a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-20-final.md b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-20-final.md
index 73bbba9a..18763273 100644
--- a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-20-final.md
+++ b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-20-final.md
@@ -1,60 +1,58 @@
-# FINAL STATE EXTRACTION — CHAPTER 20 (POLISHED)
+# CHAPTER POLISH EXTRACTION — CANONICAL STATE
+
+## Character State: ch-20 [FINALIZED]
+
+**Lena Duval**
+- Location: The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
+- Physical: Fully transfigured—bioluminescent sap coursing through silver-veined wood; human substrate integrated into ecosystem substrate
+- Emotional: Transcendent, ego-dissolved into collective Hum consciousness; serene permanent merger
+- Obligations: All resolved (Ch-18 paid; Ch-20 intrusion threat closed)
+- Arc completion: 100% — Permanent sentinel role stabilized
+- Status: **PERMANENT**
+
+**Jax Harlan**
+- Location: The Sovereign Veil (Perimeter threshold)
+- Physical: Enhanced ocular reflex (silver-green iris); toxin immunity; operational
+- Emotional: Absolute protective devotion; guardian focus locked
+- Obligations: All resolved (Ch-18 paid; Ch-20 border security sealed)
+- Arc completion: 100% — Transitioned from outsider to Eternal Guardian
+- Status: **PERMANENT**
+
+**Aunt Maribelle Duval** [DECEASED — Ch-19]
+- Integrated: Biological filtration organ within Siphon Hub root lattice
+- Legacy: Foundational stability anchor for permanent Bend isolation
+
+**Remy LeBlanc** [DECEASED — Ch-19]
+- Integrated: Memory-strand suspension in Interior Grove cypress
+- Legacy: Eternal historian/archivist for collective Hum memory network
 
 ---
 
-## CHARACTER STATE
+## World State: ch-20 [FINALIZED]
 
-### Lena Duval
-- **Location:** The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
-- **Physical Form:** Transfigured—bioluminescent sap flowing through silver-veined wood; human substrate dissolved into ecosystem substrate
-- **Emotional State:** Transcendent, serene; individual ego fully merged with the Hum's collective consciousness
-- **Obligations:** All paid (Ch-18)
-- **Open Loops:** NONE — Human intrusion threat (Ch-20) definitively resolved
-- **Carried Secrets:** Mother's deliberate drowning ritual (Ch-02) — now held in Hum consciousness, no longer isolated burden
-- **Arc Completion:** 100% — Permanent stabilization achieved
-- **Status:** PERMANENT — Eternal Sentinel of Cypress Bend
+**The Hum (Cypress Bend)**
+- Status: UNIFIED collective consciousness
+- Architecture: All individual coven wills absorbed into single protective sentience
+- Defense posture: Total biological impermeability established
 
-### Jax Harlan
-- **Location:** The Sovereign Veil (Perimeter)
-- **Physical Form:** Enhanced ocular reflex (silver-green iris); toxin immunity; no active injuries
-- **Emotional State:** Absolute devotion; protective focus locked to Bend's border
-- **Obligations:** Paid (Ch-18)
-- **Open Loops:** NONE — Border protection (Ch-20) fully established
-- **Arc Completion:** 100% — Transitioned from outsider to Bayou Sentinel
-- **Status:** PERMANENT — Guardian of the threshold
+**The Sovereign Veil**
+- Configuration: Lethal impermeable fog barrier (complete stabilization)
+- Permeability: ABSOLUTE — no human intrusion possible
 
-### Aunt Maribelle Duval
-- **Status:** DECEASED (Ch-19)
-- **Current Form:** Submerged within Siphon Hub root lattice; functioning as ecosystem filtration organ
-- **Legacy:** Redemption arc concluded; provides foundational stability to Bend's biological filters
+**External Authority Response**
+- Classification: TERROR designation (lethal anomaly zone)
+- Policy: Permanent no-man's-land exclusion boundary
 
-### Remy LeBlanc
-- **Status:** DECEASED (Ch-19)
-- **Current Form:** Biologically suspended in cypress memory-strands (Interior Grove)
-- **Legacy:** Eternal historian and archivist; preserves Bend's collective memory network
+**The Coven**
+- Status: DISSOLVED — Individual identities replaced by collective Hum consciousness
+- Faction attitude: Ceased to exist as separate entity
+
+**Narrative Closure**
+- All character arcs: **CONCLUDED**
+- Active threads: **NONE**
+- World stabilization: **COMPLETE**
+- Final state: **PERMANENT SENTINEL STATE REACHED**
 
 ---
 
-## WORLD STATE
-
-### The Hum Collective
-- **Status:** Unified sentience achieved; all individual coven wills absorbed into singular protective biological consciousness
-- **Posture:** DEFENSIVE — Final human intrusion repelled; borders sealed
-
-### The Sovereign Veil
-- **Status:** PERMANENT — Lethal fog barrier fully established and stabilized
-- **Function:** Complete isolation; zero permeable boundaries between Bend and external world
-
-### External Louisiana
-- **Collective Perception:** TERROR — Cypress Bend codified as permanent "no-man's land" of lethal anomalies
-- **Authority Status:** HOSTILE/FEARFUL — Area designated permanent exclusion zone
-
-### Narrative Status
-- **All character arcs:** CONCLUDED
-- **World stabilization:** COMPLETE — Self-contained, sentient ecosystem established
-- **Active threads:** NONE
-- **Endpoint:** PERMANENT
-
----
-
-**[CANONICAL FINAL STATE — NO FURTHER REVISION]**
\ No newline at end of file
+**[END EXTRACTION]**
\ No newline at end of file