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+# UI Microcopy — The Settled Reach v0.1
+#
+# Ticket: #409 | Sprint: 5
+# Author: Mellanie (Copywriter)
+# Date: 2026-02-13
+#
+# All player-facing UI text. Organized by category.
+# Voice: Sova Transit District (D-036) — working-class pragmatic, quotidian-with-undertow.
+# Diegetic frame: most UI elements are neural insert overlays, not game chrome.
+#
+# Integration: Stig imports these into client/scripts/constants/ or reads at runtime.
+# Keys are stable identifiers. Values are display strings.
+
+# ============================================================
+# INTERACTION PROMPTS
+# Displayed as "E - {label}" when player is near an interactable.
+# Server sends verb kind + label. These are the canonical labels.
+# Keep short: max 12 characters. Must read instantly during gameplay.
+# ============================================================
+interaction_verbs:
+  talk: "Talk"
+  examine_npc: "Look"
+  examine_object: "Examine"
+  read: "Read"
+  pick_up: "Pick up"
+  use: "Use"
+  open: "Open"
+  listen: "Listen"
+
+# ============================================================
+# RELATIONSHIP STATE DESCRIPTORS
+# Shown in knowledge panel when player inspects an entity.
+# Maps to RelationshipState enum (server/src/knowledge/types.rs).
+# These should feel like insert-generated assessments, not game labels.
+# ============================================================
+relationship_states:
+  unknown:
+    label: "Unknown"
+    description: "No prior contact."
+  known:
+    label: "Recognized"
+    description: "Seen before. No relationship established."
+  friendly:
+    label: "Trusted"
+    description: "Known contact. Cooperative."
+  person_of_interest:
+    label: "Flagged"
+    description: "Behavioral anomaly noted."
+  hostile:
+    label: "Hostile"
+    description: "Known threat."
+
+# ============================================================
+# HUD LABELS
+# Top-level HUD elements. Diegetic: these are the insert's status readouts.
+# Format mirrors a low-key neural overlay — terse, functional.
+# ============================================================
+hud:
+  health: "Condition"
+  health_values:
+    full: "Normal"
+    wounded: "Injured"
+    critical: "Critical"
+  time_prefix: ""            # No prefix — time displays as raw value (e.g., "14:30")
+  perception_mode_prefix: "" # No prefix — mode name displays directly
+
+# ============================================================
+# PERCEPTION MODE LABELS
+# The insert's active sensing mode. Per D-017.
+# Smuggler has Baseline. Detective has Standard Professional.
+# Labels should feel like the insert's own status readout.
+# ============================================================
+perception_modes:
+  standard: "Standard"
+  analytical: "Analytical"
+  social: "Social"
+  surveillance: "Surveillance"
+
+# ============================================================
+# NOTIFICATION TEXT
+# Brief messages that appear when game state changes.
+# Max 40 characters. Must read in under 2 seconds.
+# Diegetic: these are insert alerts, not achievement popups.
+# ============================================================
+notifications:
+  # Location discovery
+  location_discovered: "New location logged."
+  location_revisit: "Returning to {location}."
+
+  # NPC knowledge
+  contact_new: "New contact: {name}."
+  contact_updated: "Contact updated: {name}."
+  contact_flagged: "{name} flagged."
+
+  # Relationship shifts
+  relationship_improved: "{name} — trust increased."
+  relationship_degraded: "{name} — trust decreased."
+  relationship_hostile: "{name} — hostile."
+
+  # Evidence / observation
+  evidence_found: "Evidence logged."
+  anomaly_detected: "Anomaly noted."
+  pattern_recognized: "Pattern flagged."
+
+  # System
+  save_complete: "Progress saved."
+  connection_lost: "Signal interrupted."
+  connection_restored: "Signal restored."
+
+# ============================================================
+# KNOWLEDGE PANEL LABELS
+# When the player opens the knowledge view to review what they know.
+# Insert-flavored: reads like a personal filing system, not a game menu.
+# ============================================================
+knowledge_panel:
+  tab_contacts: "Contacts"
+  tab_locations: "Locations"
+  tab_evidence: "Notes"
+  section_known_attributes: "Known"
+  section_last_seen: "Last seen"
+  section_relationship: "Status"
+  section_observations: "Observations"
+  empty_state: "Nothing logged yet."
+  confidence_high: "Confirmed"
+  confidence_medium: "Likely"
+  confidence_low: "Unconfirmed"
+  confidence_rumor: "Hearsay"
+
+# ============================================================
+# TUTORIAL TEXT (DIEGETIC)
+# Delivered via internal monologue (D-016), not UI overlay.
+# These are NOT traditional tutorial prompts. They're the character
+# thinking about what they can do, filtered through their voice.
+# Smuggler and detective variants are in the monologue pools.
+# These are the GENERIC fallback strings if monologue doesn't fire.
+# ============================================================
+tutorial_prompts:
+  move_hint: "Use the directional keys to move."
+  interact_hint: "Press E near someone to interact."
+  examine_hint: "Press E to take a closer look."
+  listen_hint: "Move closer to overhear conversations."
+  monologue_hint: "Your thoughts appear as text on screen."
+  perception_hint: "Switch perception modes to see differently."
+  minimap_hint: "The overlay shows the area around you."
+  knowledge_hint: "Open your notes to review what you know."
+
+# ============================================================
+# MENU AND SYSTEM TEXT
+# Non-diegetic. Standard game UI. Clean, no flavor text.
+# ============================================================
+menu:
+  pause_title: "Paused"
+  resume: "Resume"
+  settings: "Settings"
+  save_game: "Save"
+  load_game: "Load"
+  quit_to_menu: "Quit to Menu"
+  quit_game: "Quit"
+  confirm_quit: "Unsaved progress will be lost."
+  confirm_yes: "Yes"
+  confirm_no: "No"
+
+settings:
+  audio_volume: "Volume"
+  text_size: "Text Size"
+  text_speed: "Text Speed"
+  fullscreen: "Fullscreen"
+  language: "Language"
+
+# ============================================================
+# CHARACTER SELECTION (if applicable in v0.1)
+# ============================================================
+character_select:
+  title: "Choose your perspective."
+  smuggler_name: "Logistics Operator"
+  smuggler_tagline: "You know these people. You know the work. You know what's at stake."
+  detective_name: "Commission Investigator"
+  detective_tagline: "The manifests don't add up. Someone in this district knows why."
+  confirm: "Begin"