Thus, the higher-ups activated another peculiar object, the "Non-Absolute Equilibrium Scale."
This was a passive-type oddity.
When an intelligent life form approached the scale, it would hear a message that could not be described in any language; this message was imperceptible to others and indecipherable to any but the approaching intelligent life, who would fully understand its meaning.
You could trade an object, a twisted concept, or some abstract thing, such as your clothes, a finger, or your life, or perhaps your name, your personality, your memories, or even the concept of you as a living being, and so on.
The item for trade had to belong to you, such as not being able to trade the entire universe, nor a star beyond your control or reach.
