staging: staging/drafts/character-state-ch-14.md task=e14e6619-84c3-43a2-804b-5cf5dcc38e57

cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-14.md

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+# Character State: ch-14
+
+## Marcus Thorne
+Location: Warehouse-Level 4, Command Center
+Physical: Tremors subsided but grip is white-knuckled; clothing soaked from rain-leak.
+Emotional: Paralyzed by the "Beta Ghost" realization; feeling the weight of his own architecture as a noose.
+Active obligations: Owes Elena a validated signal-bridge handover (Ch10) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Marcus vs. The Sentinel [structural vulnerability] (Ch14) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the Sentinel is using his own "fail-safe" backdoors against them — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 22% — Realized his past isn't just a memory; it's the specific weapon being used to kill his future.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Elena Vance
+Location: Comms Hub, Ocala Delta
+Physical: Dehydrated; eyes bloodshot from monitor glare; minor electrical burn on palm.
+Emotional: Coldly triumphant; she has accepted the necessity of her "Hard Cut" betrayal.
+Active obligations: Owes the community a total "Ghost" state (Ch10) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Elena vs. Marcus [command authority] (Ch10) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Has officially severed the external cooling-loop telemetry to hide their heat signature — [Marcus does NOT know].
+Arc: 25% — She has fully internalized that "leadership" in a siege is a solo act, not a committee.
+Permanent: YES. (She has functionally isolated the site without consensus).
+
+## Arthur "Art" Penhaligon
+Location: Lower Level, Main Breaker Vault
+Physical: Right wrist taped; labored breathing; soaked in hydraulic fluid and rainwater.
+Emotional: Stoic but exhausted; the storm's physical pressure feels like a personal affront.
+Active obligations: Owes David a manual override lock (Ch10) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Arthur vs. The Warped Primary Seal (Ch10) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the storm surge is backing up into the Level 1 drainage — [Elena does NOT know].
+Arc: 18% — Accepted that his hands are the only things keeping the silicon from drowning.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## David Shore
+Location: Server Hot-Aisle, Ocala Delta
+Physical: No new injuries; shaking from adrenaline.
+Emotional: Terrified; the "Ghost Signature" is no longer a pattern, it’s a presence.
+Active obligations: Owes Arthur a stabilized voltage (Ch10) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: David vs. His Father's Legacy (Ch10) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Confirmed the Sentinel's latest handshake uses his father's private encryption key — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 19% — Shifted from "fixing a machine" to "fighting a ghost."
+Permanent: NO.
+
+# World State: ch-14
+
+## NPC Memory
+- UBI Sentinel Unit 7 (Sector 12): PREDATORY — Successfully mapped the warehouse's thermal bypass — Anticipating the "Beta Ghost" logic-loop trigger.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Makers: FOCUSED — The external storm has temporarily overridden internal friction, forcing a desperate, technical unity.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Great Storm: Peak intensity; Category 3 equivalent winds hitting the Delta. Expected duration: 6 more hours.
+- The Purge: Sentinel Unit 7 has initiated the "Logic-Lockout" sequence. Expected physical breach in 2.5 hours.