New Century Second

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At the turn of the 21st century it was decided by everyone to shorten the second by one half.  One half of a second would now be the equivalent of a whole second in the old century.  

Subway trains that ran on the hour now came twice as often. Workdays that drag on far too long were now over in half the time. The slow passing of time would be a burden of those living in the past and never the future. 

The New Century Second meant that one day in the old century was now the same as two days in the new century. A full spin of the earth now took two days, instead of just one. 

During a typical day in the new century a businessperson could grab a coffee, hop a subway and begin work, have lunch, stop for groceries and the mailbox and be back at home at the end of the day, the point at which the sun was highest in the sky. The next day began at high noon.

The workweek was tolerable now measure by the new century second.  Weekends came without longing. Twice as many newspapers were being sold and to keep up with the demand twice as many deliverers were hired. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day, could be had twice as often. 

In order for people to get to work on time the subway authority built twice as many new rail cars and hired more ticket checkers, doubling the amount needed in the old century.

Traffic signals changed twice as fast but accidents took twice the time to clear from the road which frustrated many who were forced to wait sometimes half a day for roads to reopen.

Movies from the Old century were no longer watched because they took up far too much time in the new century. Reading a book was completely out of the question because finishing one would take weeks or even months. Most people preferred listening to podcasts anyway because the payback speed could be doubled and the entire episode finished in half the time which was the same as a regular podcast in the old century (which didn’t have podcasts anyway.)

In the new century, one year had only two seasons. The life expectancy doubled as the number of years in a single life were far greater in the new century. Eighty really was the new forty.  

People rushed and things happened fast. There was not enough time in the day. Between work and home and responding to emails people were still impatient. On subway platforms, they stood waiting for their ride while glancing at their digital watches as they counted new century seconds skip past.