Board of Artificers

"A Koa is entitled to what they make, not what they find."
-Koan Ethic 3

Artificers are in charge of the Republic’s entire collection of artifacts from its drifting cities to its fleet of submarines. Part engineer, part archeologist, part censor, artificers are responsible for repairing, studying, and at times even destroying ancient technologies for the benefit of society as a whole.
The Koa do not treat their culture as a separate cloth from industry, but rather as another step in the invention process. Artifacts are not replicated on an industrial scale until the Republic determines that the laws and social customs will allow citizens to use them effectively and responsibly. If a Koa says an artifact is “broken” they may either mean its component parts do not function or its misuse poses an unacceptable threat to Koan society in its current state.
The Board of Artificers are tasked with testing and regulating artifacts into Koan society, using the Koa's industrial processes to turn prohibited "artifacts" found by citizens into mass-produced "artifices" approved by the Board for every day use.
While the Board of Artificers' intended function is to prevent the introduction of dangerous or ill-understood technologies into Koan society, like any political body they are subject to corruption. Many Koan engineers and luddites alike decry the Boards' at time capricious rulings, some even going so far to say they are based on bribery and graft moreso than true science.