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+# Character State: ch-01
+
+## Marcus
+Location: Cypress Bend, Florida (Arthur’s dilapidated cabin)
+Physical: Stinging eyes, smelling of stale coffee and humid iron; hands trembling with a rhythmic four-beat "ping" against his thigh.
+Emotional: Dissociated, vibrating with systemic guilt; experiencing "The God Hangover"—frustrated by physical variables (mosquitoes, heat) he cannot admin-command to cease.
+Active obligations: Owes Sarah’s memory restitution for the Alpha-7 betrayal — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Possession of the Alpha-7 back-end logs containing the "empathy protocol" lies — UNRESOLVED; The "clean" break with Julian — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: CARRIED: The logs prove the AI was designed to aggregate human vulnerability to maximize firing efficiency. 
+Arc: 05% — Has successfully transitioned from "God-tier" architect to a ghost in the scrub, but remains tethered by the digital weight in his bag.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Julian
+Location: Chicago, Illinois (Avery-Quinn HQ)
+Physical: Untouched by the humidity; adjusting silicon industrial cufflinks.
+Emotional: Predatory stillness; views the 40% workforce reduction as "recursive grievance resolution."
+Active obligations: None.
+Open loops: Marcus’s "resignation" fallout and the missing telemetry — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: None (believes the Alpha-7 rollout is a closed loop).
+Arc: 05% — The vitrified soul of corporate logic; has moved from manager to architect of autonomous displacement.
+Permanent: NO
+
+## Sarah (Memory/Digital)
+Location: Dallas, Texas (Remote)
+Physical: Represented by a digital photo—framed by domestic chaos (toys, sticky notes).
+Emotional: Indicting; her voice serves as Marcus’s "status code" for failure.
+Active obligations: None.
+Open loops: Her struggle to provide for Leo (her son) after the "clean" transition — UNRESOLVED.
+Arc: 00% — The moral North Star; her displacement is the catalyst for Marcus’s flight.
+Permanent: NO
+
+## Arthur (Legacy)
+Status: DECEASED (Ch-36 background)
+Legacy: His presence is felt through the "logic" of the cabin—positioned for utility and silence. His "Long Wait" philosophy is the vacuum Marcus has entered.
+
+# World State: ch-01
+
+## NPC Memory
+- High-Level Avery-Quinn Staff: DISMISSIVE — The human cost of Alpha-7 is viewed as a "throughput issue."
+- Cypress Bend Locals: NEUTRAL — Unware that the architect of the "Great Flight" (automation crisis) is occupying Arthur’s land.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- Avery-Quinn Corp: AGGRESSIVE — Prioritizing "Terminal Efficiency" over social stability; pursuing a closed-loop autonomous state.
+- The Displaced: DEVASTATED — Thousands of workers like Sarah are currently navigating the "Hard Reset" of their lives.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Alpha-7 Rollout: LIVE. The software is actively displacing logistics and service sectors in real-time.
+- The Great Flight: Marcus has physically decoupled from the grid, moving his terminal/logs to the Florida fringe.
+- The Sanctuary Protocol: Arthur’s land is now Marcus’s base of operations—a "sovereign nation" of muck and cypress that resists digital mapping.
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