you know how we measure time? it’s kinda weird that time is like, the only thing that isn’t decimal. so like, seconds are this basic metric unit, right? they’re divided up in all the decimally ways that other metric units are divided up, but to derive larger units from them, you use this weird mix of hexagesimal and dozenal and septimal and pentaseximal and like, could you imagine what it would be like if we counted literally anything else in a way as complicated as the way we count time?

I mean, could you even imagine?

chronary

for small numbers, chronary looks a lot like decimal. in fact, everything less than sixty looks exactly the same as in decimal, including non integers. the digits of the circle constant of your choice are exactly the same in chronary. what makes chronary special is how it handles numbers larger than sixty.

after 59 (fifty nine, nif thirsy five in seximal) is 1;00. it’s still pronounced as “sixty”, just like in decimal, it just looks different. ten more than sixty is 1;10, or “sixty ten”, and two sixties (2;00) is called “twelfty”.

the next few multiples of sixty are 3;00 “thirsenty”, 4;00 “foursenty”, 5;00 “fifsenty”, and 6;00 “nifty”. larger multiples of sixty are formed by turning that “senty” suffix into its own word: seven senty, eight senty, nine senty, etc. this continues until 59;59, which is called “fifty nine senty fifty nine”.

one after 59;59 is 1:00;00, an amount equal to two unexian foursy four nif. (DEC3600) this is called “one o’clousand”. the “o’clousands place” can be any digit zero through eleven. the digits ten and eleven are written <A> and <B>, like in hex.

next is the “twelve o’clousands” place, which works like binary in that it can only be zero or one. if it’s zero, it isn’t pronounced, and if it’s one, it’s pronounced as “PM” at the end of the name of the number. so, for example, 19:45;30 is called “nine o’clousand forty five senty thirty PM”.

one more than 1B:59;59 is 1 00:00;00, which is called “monlakh”. the multiples of monlakh have unique names, which are monlakh <1 00:00;00>, tueslakh <2 00:00;00>, wedneslakh <3 00:00;00>, thurslakh <4 00:00;00>, frilakh <5 00:00;00>, and saturlakh <6 00:00;00>. seven times monlakh, written as <10 00:00;00>, is one weekillion.

four weekillions are equal to 1/00 00:00;00, which is called “januillion”. much like monlakh, multiples of januillion all have unique names: januillion <1/00 00:00;00>, februillion <2/00 00:00;00>, marchillion <3/00 00:00;00>, aprillion <4/00 00:00;00>, mayillion <5/00 00:00;00>, junillion <6/00 00:00;00>, julillion <7/00 00:00;00>, augillion <8/00 00:00;00>, septembillion <9/00 00:00;00>, octobillion <A/00 00:00;00>, novembillion <B/00 00:00;00>, and decembillion <C/00 00:00;00>.

we’re almost done. thirteen times januillion is an amount that’s approximately equal to the number of seconds in a year. how do you measure a year? this is a joke about the musical Rent, and the punchline is that thirteen januillion is called “love”.

from that point on it’s just decimal, forever. so, as a maximal example, the number 9,999,999/C/36 1B:59;59.99 is pronounced “nine million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine love decembillion three weekillion frilakh eleven o’clousand fifty nine senty fifty nine point nine nine PM”.