diff --git a/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-40.md b/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-40.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea5fe0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cypress-bend/staging/staging/drafts/character-state-ch-40.md
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# Character State: ch-40
+
+## Arthur "Art" Penhaligon
+Location: Site B - External Valve Housing, Cypress Bend
+Physical: Left forearm lacerated (deep); severe arthritic locking in right hand; smell of ozone and copper.
+Emotional: Transcendent; a grim, quiet satisfaction in the machine’s performance.
+Active obligations: Owes Marcus a legacy (Ch40) — PAID.
+Open loops: Arthur vs. The Corroded Bypass [Shim is vibrating loose] (Ch17) — RESOLVED; Arthur vs. Mortality [The body is failing the will] (Ch40) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the internal cooling sleeve has a hairline fracture that will fail in 48 hours — [Marcus does NOT know].
+Arc: 85% — Transitioned from a bitter relic to the conscious, sacrificial anchor of the community’s physical reality.
+Permanent: YES.
+
+## Marcus Thorne
+Location: Site B - Thermal Processing Vent, Cypress Bend
+Physical: Hands shaking; hyperventilating; covered in Arthur’s blood and grease.
+Emotional: Shattered; the "perfect loop" logic has been replaced by the visceral horror of physical sacrifice.
+Active obligations: Owes Arthur the preservation of the "Iron Rule" (Ch40) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Marcus vs. The UBI Sentinel [Thermal spike detected] (Ch21) — UNRESOLVED; Marcus vs. Reality [Can logic justify blood?] (Ch40) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the drone’s flight path originated from a Tier-1 Black-Site — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 65% — Forced to move from "mapping" the world to "bleeding" for it; his detachment is permanently broken.
+Permanent: YES.
+
+## David Shore
+Location: Site B - Secondary Pump Housing, Cypress Bend
+Physical: Exhausted; bracing the lower manifold.
+Emotional: Awe-struck; seeing the "Iron Pillar" actually hold the weight he previously only calculated.
+Active obligations: Owes Arthur a diagnostic (Ch03) — UNPAID; Owes Arthur the "Iron Rule" continuity (Ch40) — 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: 55% — Reached the realization that some hardware fixes require human "friction" and sacrifice.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Elena Vance
+Location: The Comm-Hollow (Elevated Mesh Node), Cypress Bend
+Physical: Trembling; gripping the mesh-router.
+Emotional: Terrified; the "noise" of Arthur’s scream has bypassed her digital filters.
+Active obligations: Owes Marcus a logic-gate audit (Ch32) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Elena vs. The Mesh-Blackout [Signal is leaking at 400MHz] (Ch35) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Has detected a secondary "ghost" signal trailing the Sentinel — [The group does NOT know].
+Arc: 48% — Admitting that digital obfuscation cannot prevent physical consequences.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+# World State: ch-40
+
+## NPC Memory
+- UBI Sentinel Unit 7 (Urban Grid): DAMAGED — Thermal discharge from Site B caused a sensor-blind; currently recalibrating at 0.8km.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The City-State: ESCALATING — Site B’s survival of the thermal spike has triggered a "Level 4 Containment" request.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Blue-Out: Phase 2 deepening; 22 hours to total perimeter lockout.
+- The Great Exit: Data-transfer surged to 88% due to the successful thermal bypass.
+- The Breach: Sentinel Unit 7 has regained visual lock; ground-strike imminent.
\ No newline at end of file