"Why don't y... you ask... Clyde?"

"Clyde appears to be malfunctioning." he tossed his hair back, "You see, I was one of the Conclave who created him. He has completely forgotten about me. Yes, I left University, but I happen to be very rich, so I bought my way back in. I suspect it is Darkbargainer's fault. A despicable piece of work, Darkbargainer. He was the real traitor! He left University straight away to take over his father's business! Degenerated himself in one fell instant from the paragon of academic excellence to some filthy industrial thing! And to think he tried to claim ownership of the machine! It belonged to all of us!"

"There are so few of us left, Revoemag." he said, "May I call you Revoemag? After all, you have not told me your 'real' name. You must understand what it is like... when all your University friends are gone. It is all over. Dead. Cold and dead as the grave. We are the only ones left behind. Wouldn't you kill to get those old times back? Wouldn't you die? You do not resist death, do you? This is what the machine does to you, Revoemag. It kills slowly."

"We are so very alike, you and me. You would have liked the Conclave. A Philosophy degree isn't that different from a Religious Studies degree. Two ways of dissecting the world. Maybe after we stop the machine, we can work together to... fix the problems with this world?"

"I d... don't..." I gasped, "I don't work with Gnomes, you poncy twat."

"You can't forgive me the Gnome thing?" he said, "What if I buy you a degree? Would you like that? To fund an entire postgr... hm? Why are you..."

"Why am I completely healed?" I asked, smiling, "For the same reason that you're not healing at all any more."

He looked down at his hands. There was a foul stench coming from the bandages. He began sweating as he smashed the plaster cast and unwrapped the bandages. His hand was withering, decaying... atrophying.

"You shed blood in the Sanctuary." I continued, suddenly seeing myself from very far away, like the time I had assisted the Golem, "You declared in front of our Lady Academia... and before Astaroth Himself... what you thought of life! You refused life and healing forever!"

He fell to his knees, a scream of agony tearing itself out of his body. He looked gaunt, a withered shell. More like a Forsaken than a Gnome, I thought.

"I... I'm sorry... I didn't know..." he gasped.

"Didn't KNOW? You call yourself a student? What kind of student doesn't even know that you don't kill people in a neutral zone? What kind of student kills themselves out of blind ignorance?"

"I agree you with you, Ganklewitz." I said, "Studying is the purpose of a University. It was wrong of Darkbargainer to try and turn the machine back into an industrial machine. But studying itself... no, all of thought... it DOES have a purpose! The final end is... TRUTH! To discover the truth of the entire Universe!"

"Rerum cognoscere causas... to discover the cause of things... THAT IS WHAT THE MACHINE DOES!"

"Then..." he smiled a skeletal smile, "Our work is done... isn't it?"

"Yes, the Conclave did their job." I smiled.

"Tell the Lady Academia... to forgive me..."

With these words, he took a scalpel from his belt and plunged it into his own heart. With a final gurgling scream, he was dead. I felt slightly queasy from the blood that was now everywhere. It occurred to me that I was still strapped to the table. Now who was going to set me free?

"CLYDE!" I yelled, "CLYDE, YOU LAZY BASTARD! WHERE ARE YOU?"

I was rewarded by a slow but relentless thud that shook the ground under me. I smiled and closed my eyes.

--

"Once we get clearance from Interplanetary Immigration, this machine will be travelling all around the Universe." I told Clyde, "Are you SURE you still want to go to Prague?"

The Golem nodded.

"But you don't even know if Yosselle can be reactivated after so long.", I told it, "And there are plenty of other Golems on other worlds. We could go to Azeroth. I know this great little place in Azeroth that's full of them."

YOSSELLE IS MY HERO, said Clyde, ALL OTHER GOLEMS ARE CHEAP IMITATIONS.

"I don't think you're a cheap imitation." I said, placing a hand on his, "I think you're an awesome Golem. But if you're really sure..."

AND WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHERE WILL YOU BE GOING?

"I... well..." I bowed my head, "I guess... I'm going to just wander around the Universe for a while. There must be a place for me."

ARE YOU SURE THERE'S NOWHERE YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT TO GO?

I threw my arms around the Golem.

"I don't care about anywhere but the Sanctuary!" I told it, "But even if I did stay in the Sanctuary... its never going to be the same again. All the people are gone... we who were loyal to the Sanctuary. I'm the only one left. My time is over. Dr. Gank was right. There is no difference between he and I."

THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD WAIT FOR THEM TO COME BACK, it said, IF ONE PERSON STAYS THERE, THERE IS HOPE. THE SANCTUARY WAS REVIVED BECAUSE OF YOU. BECAUSE YOU REMEMBERED IT. IF YOU KEEP ON THE TRADITION, IF YOU REMEMBER THE SANCTUARY AND TEACH OTHERS ABOUT IT, THE SANCTUARY WILL FILL UP WITH PEOPLE AND LIFE AGAIN. I GUARDED THE PATERNOSTER CONTROL ROOM FOR FIFTY YEARS. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT ANYONE WOULD COME FOR ME. AND YET I GUARDED IT, BECAUSE IT WAS MY DUTY. YOU HAVE A DUTY TO THE SANCTUARY NOW. YOU ARE ITS GOLEM.

I looked out of the window. The airship had returned to the Arts Tower and was now outside the room, hovering.

"Goodbye, Clyde." I said. Then I jumped back into the pilot's seat.

The Sanctuary was easier to find the second time around. It burned with a brilliant monochrome aura.