The Great Clock[a] is a location in A Crack in Time. It is a Zoni construct located near the exact center of the universe. Designed by Orvus, the Great Clock is used to maintain temporal normality across the universe, preventing time anomalies from being created.
Clank was brought to the Great Clock by the Zoni, as Orvus had intended Clank to inherit it as its Senior Caretaker. Dr. Nefarious, upon learning of the Clock, sought to take control of it for his own ends, building up a presence in the Breegus System of the Polaris Galaxy to eventually mount an attack on the Clock.
History[]
Before A Crack in Time[]
The fongoids abusing time travel.
Eons before the events of A Crack In Time, the fongoids were entrusted with the gift of time travel by the Zoni in the hopes it would enrich their lives. Instead, after misusing it over 3,000 years, they caused a tear in the space-time continuum that destroyed 83 celestial bodies in the ensuing anomaly.[3]
A break in the spacetime continuum.
Orvus designed the Great Clock to repair the rift and restore temporal normality.[3] Orvus would then watch over the flow of time itself from within the Orvus Chamber, the central control room of the entire facility that contained a master switch in case of an emergency.
At some point, over a thousand years prior to A Crack in Time,[4] Orvus brought Sigmund, a robot built on Viceron, onto the Great Clock.[5] Around the events of Ratchet & Clank, Orvus created the soul of another robot, Clank, on Quartu.[6] Hoping Clank would inherit the Clock, Orvus recorded an orientation video to teach Clank about the Clock's purpose,[3] and in the Orvus Chamber, recorded a hologram where he reminded Clank of the dangers of using the Clock, but concluded that, like any father, his hope was that Clank follow his own dreams even if they did not involve being the Senior Caretaker of the Great Clock.[7]
The Great Clock was documented in runes on Quantos, and Kaden was the first known outsider to theorize the Great Clock's existence based on these runes.[1] Alister Azimuth had hoped to use the Great Clock to bring back the lombaxes,[8] but was unaware of its whereabouts and had no contact inside the Clock.[9] Dr. Nefarious learned of it shortly after crash landing in the Polaris Galaxy, when the fongoids took him on a spirit walk through Quantos.[10]
The Zoni preventing Nefarious from finding the key to the Orvus Chamber within Clank.
Having learned of the Great Clock, Dr. Nefarious put in place a plan to use it to reshape time so that every villain throughout history (including himself) would have triumphed, and every hero lost.[10] Though he failed to learn of how to enter the Orvus Chamber from Orvus directly[11] two years prior to A Crack in Time,[12] he was able to convince the Zoni to bring Clank back to the Great Clock at the end of Tools of Destruction. Thereafter, he spent over a year trying to hack into Clank's brain, fooling the Zoni into thinking he was trying to repair him.[13]
A Crack in Time[]
Nefarious confronting Clank after his escape.
When it was clear Dr. Nefarious had exhausted all attempts to access the chamber this way, he instead used the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler to attack the Zoni and damage the Great Clock. This caused great damage to equipment at the Clock, causing several time anomalies to appear throughout the universe,[b] but also allowing Clank to escape.[16] In "Escape Dr. Nefarious' Clutches!", Clank did so, only for Nefarious to catch him. Dr. Nefarious returned to the Nefarious Space Station, while leaving Lawrence behind to spy on Clank.
After Clank awoke, in "Tour the Great Clock with Sigmund", Sigmund introduced himself and the Great Clock to Clank. He showed Clank to the mnemonic chamber, where Clank met a simulation of Orvus, and learned how to use the Chronoscepter and temporal recordings. As the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler impeded their progress, in "Destroy the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler", Clank used his Chronoscepter to stop it.
Sigmund watching Orvus' last transmission in the orientation room.
In "Follow Sigmund to the Orientation Room", Clank continued to tour the Clock, repairing time anomalies on planets along the way, to reach Orvus' orientation room. Therein, he learned of the purpose of the Great Clock in a video designed for him, which also taught him that using the Clock improperly as a time machine could rip the universe apart.[3] Shortly after, Ratchet and Azimuth, using the Obsidian Eye, contacted Clank there, and Clank requested that they try and save Orvus in the past on Zanifar. At Clank's request, Sigmund used the oscilloscopic entanglement modulator to create a vacuum of negative energy on Zanifar, allowing a time portal for Ratchet to use.[17] Ratchet was however unable to save Orvus.
By "Meet Sigmund at Mnemonic Station Iota", most planets were repaired, a new quantum entanglement modulator ordered, and time cleaners were fixing residual rifts, meaning the final item on the agenda was to test the last mnemonic station.[4] Clank did so, and then reached the Orvus Chamber, only for Lawrence to ambush him inside.[18] Clank was thereafter shipped to Vapedia, while Dr. Nefarious, having now gained access to the Orvus Chamber via Clank, planned to take the Clock for himself.
Ratchet and Clank destroyed Dr. Nefarious' armada to prevent him reaching the Clock, but were exiled to Morklon. There, they had Sigmund create another time portal to change events in the past so that they would have a ship in the present.[19]
Azimuth striking and killing Ratchet outside of the Orvus Chamber.
After Ratchet and Clank defeated Dr. Nefarious, Azimuth dropped them off at the Great Clock. Azimuth, seeing the Clock as an opportunity to bring back the lombaxes, killed Ratchet and sprinted toward the Orvus Chamber.[20] In "Beat Azimuth to the Orvus Chamber!", Clank reached it first and, operating on advice from the Plumber, reversed time six minutes (knowing this much was safe to do) to save Ratchet.[21] In "Stop General Azimuth at all Costs!", with Ratchet now saved, Ratchet and Clank fought Azimuth, who was committed to killing them to use the Clock under the belief that his actions would save them in the past anyway.[22]
Azimuth stopping the time shift.
After seeing the Great Clock was under immense stress and near destruction from the shift, Azimuth apologized and stepped up to stop the Clock, dying in the process. Thereafter, Clank, in a last-minute decision, decided to stay with Ratchet, and to promote Sigmund to Senior Caretaker.[7] Thereafter, the time phenomenon that had been reported throughout the universe disappeared, with experts unaware that the Great Clock was responsible.[23]
Characteristics[]
A slide of a drawing of the Great Clock during Orvus' presentation
The Great Clock is an immensely powerful machine. Its function is to maintain temporal normality across the universe, and it was able to repair the rift in space and time that destroyed 83 celestial bodies.[3] Maintaining time throughout the universe, it has planet rooms where caretakers can fix time anomalies on planets found throughout the universe.
Because of the Great Clock's importance, it is also extremely fragile. Though the Great Clock through the Orvus Chamber is capable of reversing time,[21] use of the Great Clock this way is strictly forbidden;[3][18] the Great Clock can only safely withstand six minutes of reversing time.[21] The Great Clock's equipment is highly susceptible to sonic weaponry,[16] and damage to the clock caused several time anomalies to appear throughout the universe.[b]
117,000 Zoni guarded and maintained the Great Clock[24] and assisted in its maintenance.[5]
The computer governing the Great Clock runs on an advanced PK-73 sisterboard with a raritanium vector shell; the only other such sisterboard in existence can be found inside the IRIS Supercomputer. As its design uses over 4.3 trillion moving parts, it is the most complicated piece of machinery in the known universe, where the next closest are the IRIS Supercomputer at 3.2 trillion parts, and a terachnoid juice maker with 3.1 trillion parts.[5]
The Great Clock's oscilloscopic entanglement modulator enables it to create time portals where time rifts exist.[c]
Structure[]
The Great Clock.
The Great Clock is located at the exact center of the universe (give or take fifty feet).[25][3] This situates it within the Breegus System, an uncharted star system on the edge of the Polaris Galaxy.[26]
The Great Clock is an immense space station comprising several different structures. The main, circular structure is surrounded by large rings, with other circular structures within. Every structure in the Great Clock is gold-plated, and quantum energy appears to flow through and within. Green vegetation grows on the Great Clock, suggesting a breathable atmosphere.
Throughout the Great Clock are several main features. Planet rooms are dotted around the Great Clock, from where caretakers can repair rifts and anomalies. Another common feature is mnemonic stations, which Clank used to access his subconscious. The Clock is divided into different numbered sectors,[4] and terminals exist named after galaxies.[27]
Two key locations are located within the Great Clock. One is the orientation room, a vast area with a large screen crystallix display, and VG-9800 game system.[27] The other is the Orvus Chamber; located at the heart of the Clock, it is the main control hub of the entire facility, also the most secure, and only accessible to the Senior Caretaker. This room is from where Orvus watched over time,[18] and contains a lever known to be the master switch for the entire universe, which can be used to shift and redirect the flow of time (misuse of which is strictly forbidden).
Other sections of the Clock that are referenced include a Sector Nine and Solana Terminal 6, presumably related to the Solana Galaxy, though neither of these locations can be reached.
Behind the scenes[]
The Great Clock appeared as two spaces in PlayStation Home named "Time Travelers" (main space) and "Home Sweet Home" (personal space).
Two unused features were supposed to appear in the Great Clock, but were relegated to the Insomniac Museum: the Astrolabe and the Time Cleaners. The Astrolabe was a device that channeled time energy (ribbons) through the Clock and formed the centerpiece in the middle of the Clock, but was broken after the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler's damage, and would appear more in-tact as the player repaired portions of the facility.[28]
The Time Cleaners were natural denizens of the Great Clock used as "temporal energy eaters", that were able to devour and digest Clank's Time Bombs.[29] Time Cleaners were not present in the final version, but were mentioned in dialogue by the computer, Orvus, and Sigmund.[30][31][4]
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ā The name "Great Clock" is a crude translation of the runes of Quantos. The runes specifically say "Keeper of Time",[1] and at least one fongoid has referred to it as the "time keeper".[2]
- ā 2.0 2.1 Among the time anomalies caused after the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler's damage to the Great Clock were the return of zyphoids to Quantos;[2] Polaris Defense Force military installations frozen in temporal rifts that then led to violent outbursts on Igliak, Sargasso, and Cobalia;[14] and an ice age on Rykan V.[15]
- ā The only time portals created by Sigmund were on Zanifar and Morklon and in locations with time rifts, which the Clock was able to stabilize for time travel.[17][19] As such, given the dangers and strict rules associated with using the Clock as a time machine,[3][18] it does not appear that the Great Clock can freely create time portals when desired, only stabilize rifts already caused by anomalies to use them to travel back in time safely.
Citations[]
- ā 1.0 1.1 A Crack in Time script § "The General and Kaden"
- ā 2.0 2.1 A Crack in Time script § "Escort the Fongoids Home (gameplay)"
- ā 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 A Crack in Time script § "The Great Clock and You"
- ā 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 A Crack in Time script § "The Great Clock: Sector Four"
- ā 5.0 5.1 5.2 A Crack in Time menu § "Galactic Trivia"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Travel with Sigmund to meet Orvus (gameplay)"
- ā 7.0 7.1 A Crack in Time script § "The Last Lombax"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "The Fall of the Lombaxes"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Master the Hoverboots (gameplay)"
- ā 10.0 10.1 A Crack in Time script § "Five Bolts Wasted"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "A Nefarious Revelation"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Explore the Fongoid Village in the Past (gameplay)"
- ā Quest for Booty script § "Ending"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Time Phenomena"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Rykan V Ice Age"
- ā 16.0 16.1 A Crack in Time script § "The Caretaker's Awakening"
- ā 17.0 17.1 A Crack in Time script § "The Obsidian Eye"
- ā 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 A Crack in Time script § "Unnecessarily Evil Initiative Omega-91"
- ā 19.0 19.1 A Crack in Time script § "The Battle of Gimlick Valley"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Alister's Folly"
- ā 21.0 21.1 21.2 A Crack in Time script § "The Plumber's Advice"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Stop General Azimuth at all Costs! (gameplay)"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "End Credits"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Follow the Caretaker's Instructions (gameplay)"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "All the Time in the Universe"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "The Story so far"
- ā 27.0 27.1 A Crack in Time script § "Follow Sigmund to the Orientation Room (gameplay)"
- ā A Crack in Time, Insomniac Museum § The Astrolabe
- ā A Crack in Time, Insomniac Museum § Time Cleaners
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Escape Dr. Nefarious' Clutches! (gameplay)"
- ā A Crack in Time script § "Sigmund's Secret"