Attero device control key

The Attero device control key was a component of Ancient design that was vital in the use of the Attero device.

Overview
This was a large hand held device roughly squarical in shape with numerous buttons present on its surface. It was a required component in the activation and deactivation of the Attero device.

It contained a small subspace beacon that activated whenever someone entered the lab where the device control key was held. This signal was capable of being recieved by one of Janus's research stations allowing for individuals from those points to find and retrieve the control key.


 * What other functions the key has remains unknown.

History
The control key was abandoned at Janus' lab on Atlantis for thousands of years until the Atlantis Expedition discovered the room. This resulted in the control key's activation signal which alerted the Lost Tribe of its position as they were present within Janus' research outpost. To that end, they travelled within their starship to Atlantis to retrieve the control key whereupon they kidnapped Doctor's Rodney McKay and Daniel Jackson in order to use them to reactivate the Attero device.

On the world where the research outpost was located, the Lost Tribe detected numerous intruders approaching the planet. To that end, they took the control key with them as they departed the world to prevent anyone from detecting the Attero device before it destroyed the Wraith. However, Dr McKay and Jackson managed to deactivate the machine manually without the control key.


 * Presumably, the control key became inactive after this point as it had no other function.