The Clockbeast is a genetically engineered species, used to tell time in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns. The Clockbeast is normally entirely sedentary, though it can walk on occasion, if needed.
Its nervous system is engineered to move it’s bodily tentacles at specific rates in order to maintain accurate timekeeping. The dial on the beast’s upper-left represents a short unit of time roughly corresponding to seconds. The dial on the beast’s upper-right represents a medium-length unit of time, similar to minutes. The dial on the lower part of the beast’s body/thighs represents a longer unit of time, similar to an hour. Also, the three large plumes on it’s head provide a binary representation of the eight periods of the Gronnic Cycle. The numerals on the clockbeast’s dials are actually patches of differing coloration in its short, velvet-like fur.
Clockbeasts are entirely incapable of caring for their own needs, and have to be tended to by keepers. The keepers feed the beast through a secondary mouth on the side of the beast’s right leg, and carry away it’s waste (which is shed in fleshy sacs that accumulate on the side of its left leg. Keepers can also train the clockbeast to sound an alarm at a prearranged time. The beast does this by letting out a loud bellow through its primary mouth.
At birth, a clockbeast is the size of a kitten, and often starts life as a table-clock (after training is complete). They grow slowly, but never stop growing, and can live for a very long time.
In the workplace, imperial subjects will often pet or talk affectionately to their office clockbeast in an attempt to get it to speed up. This mainly happens close to lunch time or the end of the workday. If the clockbeast is well trained, this has little or no effect on its timekeeping, which is handled through unconscious reflexive processes.
