Artifacts are not merch.

They are points of contact between you and a system already in motion.

Nothing here exists to be symbolic. Artifacts register presence, timing, and alignment. They leave a mark — not on you, but on the world itself.

What an Artifact Does

When an artifact enters circulation, the system records it.

Not as a transaction — as an event.

That event alters what can surface next: which fragments unlock, which transmissions stabilize, which characters are allowed to move forward.

You do not control outcomes. But the world responds differently depending on who was present when certain thresholds were crossed.

Scarcity Is Structural

Artifacts are finite because moments are finite.

Each release corresponds to a narrow window in the timeline. Once that window closes, the artifact can no longer exist without breaking continuity.

No restocks. No reissues. Not as a rule — as a constraint.

Ownership Is Not the Point

Possession does not grant status.

It confirms that you intersected with the system before it hardened.

Some future material will only reference artifacts indirectly — assuming their existence without explanation. If you were there, you’ll recognize the echo.

What Happens After

As the world advances, artifacts decay into history.

They stop being available. Then stop being mentioned. Eventually, they only exist as residue — signals embedded in later events.

By then, participation is no longer possible. Only observation.

This is the last moment where entry still changes anything.