The Clockwork Sun

 is a station in the outer circle of Albion, located in the same segment as The Royal Society. It is surrounded by a Horror Spectacle, although the small area around the actual station does not increase Terror.

=Log Entries= The light of the Clockwork Sun oozes into your cabin like rancid honey. ''The rays of the Clockwork Sun bathe your locomotive. A bright-eyed engineer breaks into a hymn. The conductor hurries to close the window-shutters.'' ''You risk a direct glance at the Clockwork Sun. It is the gold of toffee-wrappers, not of fire.''

''Light from the Clockwork Sun smears the windows. "It's dimmed since I saw it last," the Fatalistic Signalman says.'' The Incautious Driver looks anxiously at the sun: "The Light of Albion. Even I didn't dare get this close." ''The Incognito Princess stares down the Clockwork Sun. She says nothing.'' ''The Rat Brigade salutes the Clockwork Sun. A patriotic tear wells in Albrecht's eye.'' ''The Repentant Devil's skin glistens in the light. Like moonbeams on glass.'' ''Your Blemmigan Voyager has become fascinated with the Clockwork Sun. You are forced to prise it away from the window. Is there a certain glassiness, now, to its beak?'' ''"Humans have chained a sun?" Is that awe in the Forged Companion's voice?'' ''"Our moon is nicer." The Fortunate Navigator grins. "Less... gaudy."'' ''"This 'sun' is a trifle ostentatious." The Inconvenient Aunt struggles to hide her awe.''

=Sunspur= ''The dock is rarely used and its maintenance has lapsed. There's evidence of rust and metal stain, but only of none-crucial components - it's safe to stop, for now. Once inside the dock, the sun's scoring light is diminished.''

Arrival at the Sun
"An outpost on the roaring edge of the Sun, shielded from malevolent light by an eggshell of stained glass. As you emerge from your train, suit-swaddled engineers gather, plainly astonished by your arrival. They bombard you with complex questions about how you dealt with dense sunlight and skewed chronosolar fields. Once satisfied, they hand out protective suits to you and your crew. Yours is patched and torn, one boot missing. " ''Game note: You successfully reached the Clockwork Sun! ''

Trigger conditions

Yearning, Burning ≤ 0,

Interactions

Scavenging with the Dawn Rats
''A nervous face whispers to you from behind a bulkhead. "Help us. We were brought here to build the Clockwork Sun. Lots of abandoned storerooms. Help us raid them and take your fill. Safety in numbers. The Sun despises thieves, but its anger can't shine on all of us."''

Trigger condition

Date ≥ An Opportunity at the Clockwork Sun, An Opportunity at the Clockwork Sun ≥ 1

Interactions

The Clockwork Sun
''Sunlight seeps like syrup though cracks in the stained-glass ceiling. The floor shudders in time with the churning machinery far beneath your feet. The air has a tang of chemicals, bonfires and rain. Pistons pump, cogs turn, and suit-swaddled figures tend to the enginery, bellowing over the shrieking metal.''

Trigger conditions

The Steward is Behaving Oddly ≤ 0, Yearning, Burning ≥ 1 ≤ 1,

Interactions

The Clockwork Sun
''Sunlight seeps like syrup though cracks in the stained-glass ceiling. The floor shudders in time with the churning machinery far beneath your feet. The air has a tang of chemicals, bonfires and rain. Pistons pump, cogs turn, and suit-swaddled figures tend to the enginery, bellowing over the shrieking metal.''

Trigger conditions

Yearning, Burning ≥ 2

Interactions

Azimuth
"A figure in a yellow-collared protective suit is delivering a sing-song sermon to mostly empty pews. The Dazzled Sequencer looks up, delighted at your approach, and hurriedly wraps up his speech. Varying Sequencer Description(sequencer_description)"

Interactions

The Glasshouse
''Some of the prisoners are shining at the seams, some have eyes of curdled glass. A fractured face turns to watch you. A few are singing in praise of the Sun, mouths bloody and throats tattered. You should perhaps be horrified, but the song wraps tender cords around your mind and numbs you. Glass crunches underfoot. When you lift your boot, you discover a cracked ear beneath.''

Interactions

The Terpsichore Vault
"Varying Steward Description(steward_description)"

Interactions

The Steward's Sanctum
"Down here, the Sun's innards are bared. An engine that beats like a heart. Pipes and wires criss-cross in ways that defy perspective. Cogs turn in both directions at once. You begin to develop a headache. The Steward is sitting in meditative silence, a cup of cold tea on the table beside her. She stands to greet you, slow and careful. The Age of the Steward(custodian_age)"

Interactions

=Random events=

Shrieking alarms and jagged light
''You step from your train to find the floor rumbling. Machinery is crunching, lurching. A scream of tortured iron from below. Some engineers are rushing back and forth, others stand in desperate huddles. One beelines to you as you disembark. "Leave while you can," he shouts. "The Steward has gone mad! She's locked herself in some secret place below the Vaults! She's doing impossible things to the Sun!" Flickering. Rumbling. The Sun dims, brightens, dims again.''

Trigger conditions

The Steward is Behaving Oddly ≥ 1 Date ≥ Shrieking Alarms Timer,

Interactions

A Race against Time
"The stained-glass ceiling has broken, and light floods in. One of the engineers rips off her boot to reveal a sparkling glass foot. Another sprouts a filth-crusted beard, and claims with haunted eyes that he was trapped for a week in a frozen moment. " Game note: Time remaining before the Sun almost certainly explodes: A Race Against Unravelling Time(custodian_timer) 

Interactions

A Race against Unravelling Time
"The Sun flares, dims, pulsates. Beams of light lance through the air. Your hazard-suit is already flaking. You need to reach the vault, before the Steward kills you all. But time is coming apart at the seams, and you don't have much of it left. " Game note: Time remaining before the Sun almost certainly explodes: A Race Against Unravelling Time(custodian_timer) 

Trigger conditions

Time is Unravelling ≥ 1 ≤ 1,

Interactions

The Steward's Sanctum
''You demand explanation. She removes her helmet, flashes you a tired broken-glass smile. "I'm not trying to destroy the Sun. I'm trying to fix it," she says. "For too long we've settled for just keeping it running while it deteriorates, a little more each time. Something had to change. "If I had more time, I'd be careful. But I don't. I was taking risks. Shortcuts. Putting the Sun under stress, pushing its limits, finding where it's weakest."''

Trigger conditions

Time is Unravelling ≥ 2 ≤ 2,

Interactions

=Shops=