
Nothing had changed from the previous day. Come early morning the timer still counted down. Not a single light lit any neighborhood street or home. The night was plunged into total darkness. Just a day in and people began panicking. There was even word of aliens tampering with Earth. Others had assumed this was a prank or some sort of publicity stunt. Some were concerned a massive hack was responsible. Theories spread like wildfire, suggesting many things. Questions quickly arose as to what was happening. Cars and motorcycles stopped working without cause. As people tried to carry on with their day, things began to get worse.Įlectricity and machinery began shutting down. It was just a strange occurrence that would soon be addressed. After all, the problem probably wouldn't last long and wouldn't hurt them too badly. While many were disturbed by the display in front of them, they put it off as a minor inconvenience. In a world that ran on technology, these events unnerved many people, even if what was happening didn't appear to be harmful. The screens also displayed the time, and the radios blared static. It was soon realized by everybody that the television and radios were affected as well.

People started to take notice and awaited an answer.

It didn’t take long for people to realize that what was happening wasn’t a simple problem with their own watches or phones. The time remaining ticked down second by second. They all turned to the number 12, and then eleven days, twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds. Even technology that had been previously shut down or disconnected turned itself on and followed the new trend. Whether it be a watch or a smartphone, the numbers inexplicably warped themselves without human intervention. Anything displaying time had suddenly changed.

It took a while for people to notice the change. There were places to be and things to do. Vendors crowded the streets, trying to sell and buy merchandise.
