Administrative Hold
System status locking an item in place; touching a held artifact destroys it outright.
Story so far
Orren laid the Gate of the Feral Gods pieces out on his desk and pressed Carl to pick them up. Quasar arrived in time to stop it and explained the trap: the artifact was under administrative hold, and taking it in hand would have deleted the item.
The lawyer turned the rule into a standing instruction — never touch anything a liaison offers until counsel arrives, and say nothing but "I want to talk to my lawyer." He also had Orren remove the watches and winding box from the room before the negotiation continued. Quasar notes the irony that the admin who set the trap was having a conniption, because the Syndicate actually wants Carl to keep the artifact.
Role
Bureaucratic trap the Syndicate used to try to make Carl delete his own artifact.
Relationships
Sources — 1 recorded facts, by chapter
- System status locking an item in place; touching a held artifact destroys it outright.