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FuzzyWulfe
Since: Nov, 2010
nrjxll
Since: Nov, 2010

I'm having trouble deciding what trope the Artifacts from David Brin's Existence should fall under. They're foot-long egg-shaped crystals containing virtual extraterrestrial entities and are the primary movers of the overarching plot. I'm hesitant to say MacGuffin since the Artifacts actually do something, even if it's just talking to people and convincing them that they need to join them, or ignore the other Artifacts.