if one were to take me apart, they would quickly find that, while there are a large number of gears within, they are not connected to anything. regulators, governors, mainsprings, all very pretty and all apparently useless. there are some gears involved in my joints, but purely to augment motion; examining them makes it obvious that they do not and cannot supply the necessary power.
nonetheless, they are essential to my functioning. the process that binds my soul to this chassis requires ambient 'order' to function. and clockwork is an excellent means to tip the local axial balance in that direction. without these gears i would grow... detached from my body. i believe the appropriate comparison would be intoxication, although without the mental effects; the cognition occurs purely in the soul and would not be affected.