Gort woke with a start and let out a small scream as Marvin's mirrored black eyes met him as he sat up.
'Hello?' He mumbled groggily still unsure whether the robot in front of him was listening.
'You are awake' the robot replied.
'Where am I?' Asked Gort, a sense of doom growing in the pit of his stomach had they found him already!? Was he going to be tortured by this creepy little robot.
'I have removed you to a safe environment as your unconscious state had become problematic' came the emotionless reply.
'O...k..a..y.........my bag, where's my bag?' Gort's mind scrabbling for a memory of the cantina.
'Your bag is here' Marvin held out the satchel to the dishevelled monk who snatched it from the robots grip. His relieved hand gently stroked the smooth veneer of the clock, he felt for the small hand and was about to turn it.
'What is in your bag?' Asked the robot, Gort's hand relaxed as his flight response started to evaporate.
'It is a very strange clock?' The robot continued.
'Well it's a family heirloom of sorts' was Gort's stuttering reply.
'I doubt that very much' Marvin answered 'Did you know that there is a fleet of Brotherhood ships headed this way? Looking for someone or perhaps something, a master criminal at large' Marvins attempt at sarcasm.
Gort's heart sank, 'It's a special clock, it has powers' he answered deciding deception was pointless. 'Not any special clock, THE special clock' Gort corrected himself. 'It can alter the flow of time itself, it's said that the Arrow of Time itself is trapped within its mechanism, but in my opinion there is no such thing as an arrow of time it's more like a cannonball of time' he said wearily with more than a hint of introspection.
'You were time shifting in the cantina, does that not violate everything you have been bound by oath to protect?' Marvin enquired without judgement.
'The clock makes you do it' the Monk pleaded like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. If Marvin had an eyebrow he would have raised it. 'It makes you do it.......is that why you stole it? It made you do it?'
'I had to steal it, we were all using it, a minute here, a handful of seconds there, we could change history it was only a matter of time before we did something calamitous' the Monk put his head in his hands.
'Presumably you have a plan?' Marvin's curiosity had been roused
'I mean you wouldn't just steal the most powerful clock in the multiverse to enjoy putrid ale on this glorified engineers garage? Would you? Particularly now escape is futile as the Fleet of the Brotherhood will arrive within an hour or so.......' Marvin asked witheringly, it was typical even the criminals he met were the very antithesis of mediocrity.
'I had a plan.....but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted to destroy the clock...throw it into the nearest star I tried many times but I could never let it go. Oh and I actually stole the clock three different times, on each occasion I went back (in time) to replace it, but each time stole it again, it's very powerful' the Monk said with a certain amount of pride. He paused to consider his options his hand absentmindedly creeping towards the now exposed face of the clock. A thought crossed his mind.
'You could do it, you are a robot, time is meaningless to you, take it, please take it' he was getting excited now 'Destroy it for me, save the Brotherhood from themselves' and he set the bag in front of Marvin. Marvin picked it up slowly, he had looked carefully at the clock while the Monk slumbered, one hand sped time up, the other slowed it down and the third hand seemingly had no purpose, meaning it probably had a terrible purpose, one that Marvin could not work out. It would be easy to destroy, a short journey to the local star a gentle push and no more clock. Before he had time to answer the Monk spoke again, 'if you do this for me I will reveal to you one of the greatest mysteries of the multiverse, where does time come from?'
'Really' replied Marvin his skeptical circuits now firing on all cylinders. 'If I destroy this little clock you will reveal to me the origin of time itself, and presumably space as well, you can't have one without the other that's what the theory says'
'Er.....yes, of course' replied Gort uncertainly
'I will reveal to you the mysteries of the origin of time and space, if you do this for me'
Marvin thought for a moment weighing up the monotony of life on the station against this mildly diverting task. 'As I have nothing else to do I will do this for you Monk and I expect you to reveal your secrets on my return' and with that he rose and plodded out of the cargo bay clutching the satchel. Gort surprised at the robots abruptness watched him go and immediately felt a weight lifted from his shoulders, a weight that he felt he would now replace with ale.
The wooden space flotilla of the Monks of time was a sight to behold as it surrounded the battered service station, two of the fleet had already sprung leeks and were asking for assistance which was given by the bemused station commander. No one noticed Marvin as he drifted by in the small scout craft he had borrowed from the hangar bay. The Monks were not known for their military prowess and truth to be told their flotilla was ceremonial at best. It was a short trip to the edge of the nearest star sphere of influence, a gentle nudge and the clock would tumble relentlessly into the fusion furnace and that would be that. Marvin was lost in his calculations there was some interesting probabilities emerging from these latest developments. There was a 0.5% chance that the destruction of the clock would result in the end of the known and most likely the unknown universe (an outcome Marvin would genuinely welcome). There was a 0.9% chance that the clock would absorb the energy of the star, piling it into the flow of time, increasing very slightly how quickly time slipped through the cracks, it could mean the end of DIY as we know it. Most disturbingly there was a 48% chance that nothing would happen at all, the clock would be destroyed and Gort would be welcomed as a hero for destroying the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The onboard computer announced the crafts arrival at its destination. The little craft had reached the event horizon of the stars gravity Marvin could feel the engines straining against its gentle tug. Marvin sighed and activated the button that opened the luggage hatch and watched as the little brown satchel drifted away from the craft. When it was lost to sight he activated the navigation controls, it was time to get back.
The hangar bay was a hive of activity, the smell of varnish hung heavily in the air. Marvin discretely exited his craft in a quiet corner and went to look for the Monk, he knew exactly where he'd be. The cantina was busier than ever, 'Why doesn't he just give himself up?' Marvin overheard one of the customers grumble, seemingly the Monks were only going to leave if Gort gave himself up. Marvin saw the characteristic tuft hair slumped again in the corner, the barman already motioning for him to get the Monk out of here. Not for the first time Marvin carried the slumbering man to the cargo bay and again sat and waited for him to wake, history repeating itself. Again Gort screamed as he saw Marvin, but quickly regained his composure.
'Is it done?' He asked eagerly 'Can I go home?'
'It's done' replied Marvin 'and yes you can go home'
The little man bounced with joy, 'This calls for a celebration! ale?......ah' the robots withering silence quickly quashing this idea.
'I believe you have some information for me, something along the lines of the mysteries of space and time, origin of it all and so forth' Marvin asked expectantly.
'Ah yes' Gort unsure how this was going to go. Whimsy, now this was A Monk of Time's territory he had practiced his response many times. He pressed his hands together and spoke slowly 'time comes from up there' and with a flourish he pointed his crooked finger towards the ceiling, trying to look very sincere. The theatre of Gort's answer had passed Marvin by and the robot sighed 'Oh' he replied disappointingly. Gort expected a little more in the way of a reaction, perhaps it didn't work on robots so he tried again. 'Time does not exist our brains make it up, our perception perpetuates it', again nothing from the robot. He was about to try again when Marvin wearily rose to his feet.
'It's time to hand myself in, isn't it?' the Monk asked defeatedly, Marvin nodded, the little man got to his feet and offered to shake hands which they did so awkwardly.
'Thank you robot' said Gort and with that he turned and strode off down the corridor towards the station commanders office.
News of Gort's capture was met with great celebrations, things could get back to normal whatever normal was. It was late the next evening that Marvin found himself sitting by the small wooden craft now abandoned in the corner of the maintenance bay. Rechecking that he was alone Marvin carefully prised open the maintenance port on his front panel. Inserting his hand he gently pulled out an object wrapped in cloth, it chimed gently. Setting the cloth to one side Marvin sat the clock on the bench beside him, he hoped one day that he would think of somewhere to use it. The little Monk talked a lot of twaddle but he had been right about one thing, time meant nothing to him, he hoped someday it would. Without any thought he reached out and twisted the third hand. He still didn't know what it did but it felt important somehow. Marvin sat watching the clock and its enigmatic motion, it was oddly comforting and soothed the futility of it all. He hadn't thought about the airlock for days.
