The crew is not a fixed puzzle
Deep Frost has twelve named researchers with stable jobs and behavioral baselines, but each run reshuffles hidden roles, loyalties, grudges, and the suspicion network. A character’s identity or vote in one run is not a reusable answer for the next.
What moves suspicion
Chat, ask, accuse, defuse, bribe, study, and planted evidence all affect the social state. Rapport and grudges influence who supports testimony, while round-table questioning can turn attention toward the player. Useful notes separate observed facts, another character’s claim, and your own inference.
A better way to read testimony
Track repeated contradictions and relationship incentives. A statement is more useful when you know who benefits from it and whether later behavior agrees. Avoid treating one hostile line as proof of infection; the procedural relationship system can produce ordinary conflict between human crew members.