C-TDC01 (Nov 12, 1995)
Puzzle
“The Red Book.”
See: C-TMS05 | 3 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: What is the Red Book called in C-TMS05?
Clue 2: Alternatively, what does TDC stand for?
Answer and Explanation
Answer: The Dark Contract
Explanation: The Red Book is referred to as the Dark Contract in C-TMS05.
Summary of Receipt
The Owner elaborates on the Dark Contract. Basically, for contracts in general, there has to be a deal made between two people of different power - the contractor has to simply lend their power to the contracted and can easily withdraw it. The next question is what happens if one of them breaks the deal. Turns out the Angels keep most contracts and enforce justice should they break the terms. Thing is, this contract is ‘dark’. Which means it has no Angelic intervention. And yes, that’s concerning - but it is also a weakness.
Transcript
RECEIPT #001
FILED UNDER: CAFE-TDC
DATE: 11/12/95
THE OWNER
Ah, what an interesting turn of events. In fact, this has been more illuminating than I could have hoped for. And, by the by, #35 did a wonderful job at recalling her dreams. I myself am not much of a psychonaut, but I know how difficult it can be to recall speech, let alone text, from the astral plane. So, we know the name of Padre’s red book now, or at least what it contains his ”Dark Contract.”
I am only familiar with the rough concept of what a “Dark Contract” might entail. Obviously, contracts are nothing new for the Princes of Hell, and certainly not the Prince of Wrath. A contract, in this sense, is a magical binding between two or more entities. Typically, Princes will contract out a portion of their power to mortals or lesser demons for some exchange of service. As such magical contracts are inherently... shall we say, “unbalanced.” To form a contract, you would need a magnitude of power between signing entities. Otherwise, the contract would be pointless and dangerous. The power imbalance adds a degree of safety for the contractor—and even the contracted. For the contractor, they only need to lend a fraction of their power and can easily take it back should tides turn or services go unrendered. And for the contracted, the more powerful a contractor is, the easier they can be brought to justice should terms be broken unfairly.
And that is the key, justice. It may surprise some to learn that the Court of Angels keeps all of Satan’s contracts. Why? Partially because of the added safety of it on both sides. But more importantly, Angels typically have the power needed to “activate” a contract’s terms. It is no small task to lend out your strength to another—the strength, of course, being in the metaphysical sense here. However, it is a trivial task for Angels, so they are often used as intermediaries. What does this all have to do with a “Dark” contract? I’ll give you all a guess—though I would hope it’s obvious. This contract is not in the records of the Angels, it is held between Satan and three other very powerful beings, and somehow the power transfer took place without Angelic aid. Critically for us, it is a weakness.