An Out of Place Artifact, abbreviated as OPA, is an artifact that doesn't match the rest of the civilization it is located in. These artifacts usually possess great power, and don't resemble the technology of the planet.
Story[]
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time[]
Blair Lansfeld explains that some OPAs are actually Intervention Devices for Fourth-Dimensional Beings. These allow Fourth-Dimensional Beings in the Eternal Sphere to fix any problems they might encounter while there, sort of like a debugging tool.
She then tells them that to access the Spiral Tower to talk to Luther, they would need to locate the ID in the Milky Way Galaxy. All Blair knows is that the ID of the Milky Way is a silver orb of great power. While she searches the database, both Fayt and Cliff immediatly have the same idea of what she's talking about. As Blair has no success locating the orb, Fayt asks if the device is on Elicoor II. Blair searches Elicoor II, and much to her surprise it is there. The party then know what they're after: the Sacred Orb.
However, the only Third-Dimensional Beings who can use the IDs for their true purpose are those with the Connection gene, so only Sophia can use the orb correctly.
Known OPAs[]
- The Time Gate on Planet Styx
- The Eye of Truth and Inner Purgatorium on Roak
- The Laser Weapons on Roak
- The Dome on Milokeenia
- The Creation Energy Device on Milokeenia
- Rena's Pendant on Expel
- The Grand Knott on Edifice
- The Sacred Orb on Elicoor II
- The Field of Wisdom on Energy Nede
Dictionary Entry[]
An abbreviation of "out of place artifact", which is an object that is far too technologically advanced for the age and place in which it was discovered. OPAs usually turn out to be merely exaggerations based on faulty analysis, or underrated evaluations of alien cultures stemming from the arrogance of their discoverers. But in some cases, such as the Time Gate that exists on the planet Styx, or the creation energy that was discovered on the planet Milokeenia, the OPA's presence cannot be so easily explained away.