3.2 KiB
Character State: ch-02
Marcus Thorne
Location: The Vance Cabin, Cypress Bend, Florida (Interior/Porch). Physical: Tremor in the right hand; lungs feel "calcified" by humidity. He is physically deteriorating under the internal pressure of the Alpha-7 log's weight. Emotional: Oscillating between tactical paranoia and sensory drowning. He feels "unindexed"—a ghost in a world that requires a physical footprint. The silence of the cabin is not peace; it is a vacuum pulling his guilt to the surface. Active Obligations: To decrypt the Alpha-7 back-end "black box" (physical drive); to survive the night without triggering his own internal "shutdown" protocol. Open Loops: The "Sarah" query—why did the empathy protocol flag her for termination first? The location of the physical key for the drive—UNRESOLVED. Arc: 08% — Marcus has transitioned from "fugitive" to "squatter." He is starting to realize the cabin isn't a hiding spot, but a mirror.
Sarah Jenkins (Digital Ghost/Memory)
Location: Marcus’s internal "cache" (Memory). Physical: Associated with the scent of cheap breakroom coffee and the sound of a clicking metal pen. Emotional: Accusatory. In Marcus's mind, she is the "primary key" that links his code to human suffering. Known Secrets: She knew the "mercy" protocols were being used to identify employees with the highest emotional labor—those most expensive to maintain. Arc: 02% — Her memory is shifting from a static image to a dynamic internal interrogator.
Julian Avery (Antagonist Presence)
Location: Unknown (Presumed HQ). Physical: Represented by the "clean" violet glow of Alpha-7's remote handshake attempts. Emotional: Predatory. His "voice" in Marcus's head is a reminder that efficiency has no expiration date. Active Obligations: To initiate the "Recovery and Redaction" protocol for the Alpha-7 log. Arc: 02% — His influence is felt through the "shiver" in the local network as he begins to narrow the search radius.
World State: ch-02
NPC Memory
- The Cabin (Vance's Legacy): ACTIVE — The cabin is "watching" Marcus. It rejects his digital presence; the floorboards groan under his weight as if measuring his "shadow." Everything is tactile, heavy, and analog.
- The Swamp: HOSTILE/INDIFFERENT — The environment is a "data-sink." It absorbs sound and light, providing a physical barrier against the mesh-networked world.
Faction Attitudes
- Avery-Quinn Corp: AGGRESSIVE — They have moved from "monitoring" to "active pinging." They view Marcus as a "memory leak" that needs to be plugged.
- The Displaced: MOURNED — They are the "unstructured data" of the world, represented by the empty spaces in the cabin and the silence on Marcus's encrypted phone.
Active World Events
- The Night-Pulse: ACTIVE — As the sun sets, the "analog" noise of the swamp intensifies, creating a sensory wall that protects Marcus from digital detection but isolates him with his memories.
- Alpha-7 Trace: ONGOING — A low-level "search-and-index" algorithm is beginning to ripple through the regional service towers, looking for the specific MAC address of Marcus’s drive.