A Key is a piece of Aesoteric technology that can psionically interact with Fleshguards to unlock the doors, entrypoints, or machines they were protecting. Keys have a clearance level, which is signified by the amount of nodules on the structure’s sarcous “screen” illuminating. This method of clearance is identical to that of the Fleshguard, and Keys can open any Fleshguard either their exact or lesser clearance.

When activated via exerting force on the structure’s “trigger”, the end of its tail will gyrate and stimulate psionic interaction between the Key and the Fleshguard. If the Key is of clearance, the Fleshguard will respond to the Key’s psionic demand by opening or unlocking the structure it was protecting.

Clearance Stations

Clearance Stations allow organisms to increase the clearance of their Key via insertion of the Key’s tail into the lefthand socket. The righthand brain-like structure will then psionically upload a packet of the Key and its owner’s information and finally deduce its trustworthiness. If its trustworthiness exceeds or is of adequacy, the Key’s clearance will be systematically upgraded based upon the brain-like structure’s judgement. This process takes 10-15 seconds.

Clearance Stations are extremely rare, although unguarded. This is because it is almost impossible to cheat the system and artificially and unjustly increase one’s clearance. In more dangerous or important locations however, some Clearance Stations have been sighted being guarded by Neophytes.