An honest countdown shows its work. Here are the eleven dates that came before the current one, each with the reason it moved. I keep this page because deleting it would be the only thing on this site I'd be ashamed of.
| # | The date | Why it moved | Checklist grew to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The first one | Came to me during an outage. Passed quietly. The power came back. I took that as information rather than as a verdict. | 202 |
| 2 | Six weeks later | Recalculated after the first one. I had made an arithmetic error in a place I won't specify, because it was embarrassing and because the next one was better. | 203 |
| 3 | The spring | A clock I trusted was eleven minutes fast. I did not know this until a neighbor mentioned it. I had been eleven minutes early for a year. | 204 |
| 4 | Midsummer | Moved out of consideration for a wedding. Not mine. You don't schedule the end of things over someone's wedding. | 205 |
| 5 | The autumn | Study 9 enrolled me. The Institute recorded this date. Then it moved (see #6), which retracted the study. The Director called this "the design failing." I call it the system working. We've agreed to keep both sentences. | 206 |
| 6 | Late autumn | See #5. I had new information about the backup. I always have new information about the backup. That is what a backup is. | 207 |
| 7 | The winter | Moved so it would not land on a Tuesday. Teo says Tuesdays are already doing enough. I deferred. | 208 |
| 8 | The next spring | I was asked, kindly, by someone who was worried, whether it could be later. I said yes. I would say yes again. Being ready is the point; the date is the handle you carry it by. | 209 |
| 9 | Summer again | The Program announced it "covered the Reset" and had "moved it to phase two." I don't accept that as a reason, but I'd already decided to move it for the heat, and I'm recording the coincidence because the Program will claim it otherwise. | 210 |
| 10 | The second autumn | Moved. Someone posted, that day, "the clocks were already disagreeing." I had no reason prepared and that became the reason. It's the only move on this list I don't regret the wording of. | 211 |
| 11 | The one before this | A chart of all ten previous dates appeared on the Atlas, labeled "Tidal predictions." I moved the date one more time so the chart would be out of date. I know how that sounds. I added item 212 the same evening, so it was not for nothing. | 212 |
| 12 | Current | On the clock. Holding. The notice, if it moves, will be calm. | — |
Eleven moves, eleven Emergency Casseroles (one per date; see Supplies), eleven neighbors checked on, eleven times fine. That is not nothing. That is the record.