C-TDC02 (Nov 16, 1995)

C-TDC02

Puzzle

“Keeper of contracts.”
See: C-TDC01 | 1 Word

Clue

Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Who keeps records of all contracts?
Clue 2: The specific 'keeper'. Which Angel (or Archangel, I guess) would fit this bill?
Clue 3: Check ARIES03, the House of Ancient Powers, in the Zodiac Files.

Answer and Explanation

Answer: Metatron
Explanation: The angel Metatron is known as the celestial scribe, and presumably in charge of the Court of Angels.

Summary of Receipt

44 has been making use of his parents’ ‘coffee’-related library to research contracts not approved by the Court of Angels. Unfortunately, most of the books come from IRIS, one of the four Indigo Organisations. It mainly deals with resolving contracts and other deals between humans and demons, so there’s not much about ‘illegal’ contracts. However, he did gather that they ‘cannot be duplicated, augmented, audited, or otherwise altered until the terms of the contract have been fully satisfied or rendered impossible’ - in other words, their terms cannot be changed or even viewed, no matter what.

Transcript

RECEIPT #002
FILED UNDER: CAFE-TDC
DATE: 11/16/95
EMPLOYEE #44

For the past few nights, I've been consumed with trying to learn more about this "Dark Contract" that Padre made with Mrs. Pleasant, Umbra, and Aka. I figure I should take full advantage of the blissful peace of my sister being over at #35's house while it lasts. Not to mention, my parents have an impressive amount of coffee-related literature to pour over. And while I have found some interesting tidbits about Princely contracts, almost every source I've been able to find intentionally leaves out non-Court-approved contracts.

This is because most of the books I've been reading originate from the IRIS Company, one of the four Indigo Organizations. The IRIS Company, as I understand it, largely deals with litigation surrounding contract disputes between humans and demons. So, most of the books I've been able to find are in some part authored by them, and of course, they wouldn't include information on more illicit or unsanctioned transfers of power. Though… I did find one book that actually mentioned "Dark" contracts. While it didn't go into great depth about the topic, it mentioned a few key details that might help us out-serve the Open Doors Church.

According to the book, Dark Contracts cannot be duplicated, augmented, audited, or otherwise altered until the terms of the contract have been fully satisfied or rendered impossible. So, what does all that mean? Well, as I understand it, Dark Contracts must be wholly original—unlike standardized Witch or Boogieman contracts, which explains why it's in a separate book. The terms are also set in absolute stone until satisfied on both ends. So even if one party brought the Dark contract to the Court of Angels, they would be unable to do anything to change it. Additionally, even if the Court would rule on a Dark contract, the Dark contracts can't be audited at all. Once signed and sealed, it is obscured in a sort of darkness, thus the name.

I'm still trying to figure out how we can use this information to our advantage, but we know that the terms are set, and no one can see what they are--not even Padre or his Triad.