I have a question about the book "Wicked"?

Question

I don't understand the Clock of the Time Dragon, can someone please explain it to me?

Answer 1

"The Clock of the Time Dragon is regarded as a religious relic by followers of the "pleasure faith," and recurs as a significant image throughout the novel."

"The clock doesnt make prophecies or predictions. in part 8 of the murder and its afterlife, elphaba sees the clock and is shown (and i'm quoting here) 'A three-act play.' the first act is 'The Birth Of Holiness', act 2 is 'The Birth Of Evil' and then
'The voice of the dwarf sounded from inside the contraption. "Act Three" he said. "The Marriage Of The Sacred And The Wicked"
She waited, but no area was
illuminated, no puppet moved.
"Well?" she said.
"Well what?" he answered.
"Where's the end of the play?"
He stuck his head out of a trap door and winked at her. "Who said the end was written yet?"
the end hasn't been written, or at least the implication is that it hasnt been written. from what i've read, the clock only shows what has happened or is happening, it doesn't predict anything."


and, best of all, from the author:

"Maguire's comments regarding the Clock of the Time Dragon in Wicked - the novel (used in the Wicked musical set)

The notion of the Time Dragon is twofold. It is patently artificial, like everything having to do with the Wizard's reign (smoke and mirrors, deceptions and lies, weapons of mass destruction just 45 minutes away... Ticktock clockwork Penn and Teller chicanery). On the other hand, perhaps even a machine has a soul, even a machine can be involved with fate.... Elphaba, born in its bowels, is in some ways exempt from its gaze, and separated from everyone. Is her life dictated by the events of her birth, or is she alone in Oz exempt from being seduced by the glamour of the mechanics of power and spectacle? In this, as in so much, I don't provide an answer: I merely use the mechanics of the metaphor to suggest the question. (From an email to Carol de Giere, used with permission)"