A number of the oddities noted by Susan as evidence that the timeline was fractured had previously been commented on by fans.Mostly everyone believes in things that aren't real.' 'I mean they're real, but hardly anyone really believes in them. Thief of Time features the neologism ' substition' (first used by Pratchett in Jingo), a term denoting the opposite of superstition.After the resolution, she ends her own life by diving into a vat of high quality chocolate. As she begins to understand more about humans, she opposes the activation of the clock and she eventually joins with Lobsang and Susan to defeat the other Auditors who have also made themselves human. Myria LeJean took a human form and became quite disturbed by 'her' experiences as 'she' became more human and individual, as opposed to the collective Auditors. The Auditors were using one of their own as an agent when contacting Jeremy. He and Lobsang head for Ankh-Morpork to stop Jeremy from building it. Lu-Tze knows of such a clock's side-effects, since he was sent, but failed, to prevent a previous clock from being built. Meanwhile, in a distant valley, a young apprentice of the History Monks, Lobsang Ludd, and his old teacher, Lu-Tze, called 'The Sweeper', hear that a glass clock is being built. Death sends his granddaughter Susan to stop them. Death discovers their plans, but is unable to act directly because of the Rules of the universe. By freezing time, the Auditors intend to eliminate the unpredictability that humans cause through their everyday actions.

They do not reveal that this will imprison Time (the anthropomorphic personification) and thereby freeze time (the physical quantity) on the Discworld. The Auditors convince a young clock maker, Jeremy Clockson, in Ankh-Morpork to build a perfect glass clock.

A Watched Pot by Mr. Blue