Clinton's central place is the corners of downtown (uptown). There, there is a fairly large structure protruding from the ground. Almost everyday of my entire life I saw it. When I was young it didn't matter. But as I grew older and cared about the things around me, I would approach the intersection. Looking across the road I would see it. The Bank of Montreal. And in front of the bank: THE CLOCK! I wasn't an ugly clock, a bit discoloured from the scourching sun, but otherwise, it was nice. But then I would notice the time on the clock. "It's not 2 o'clock! Come to that, it's not even close!"
You may be thinking, "So what, the clock stopped!" But that's not the case. It has never been the case. I would come back the next day to find that the clock is 2 hours fast, whereas, it was 5 hours slow the day before. So, everyday the clock would have a different time. Never accurate, but it was always working. "Maybe," I thought often, "The old man in charge of the clock forgets to wind it in the morning."
But, alas, as I got even more intelligent, I realized that an old man is not in charge of winding the clock, electricity was, and if electricity wasn't doing it's job, what could we do?
So, for a very, very, very long time I thought that electricity was causing the faults of the clock. So, I just continued on with my life, without another thought about the clock. I went to college to become a Bank Manager and as a quite young student, I got a job back in Clinton at the Bank of Montreal. Out of curiousity, I asked the owner about the clock. Shocked at my question he put his index finger over his mouth and drew me into his office. He signaled for me to sit down and I did likewise. Slowly and cautiously he sat at his desk and leaned close to my confused self. He closed the blinds after checking that no one was watching. As he sat down on the opposite side of the desk he switched off the computer and uneasily sat down.
"I am only telling you this," he said. "Because it could save your life someday. Most people don't care, but I can see that you have thought long and hard about this. And although I'm probably risking my life telling you, I have to tell someone. Now, do you really want to know?"
I nodded in anticipation and sat forward on my seat.
He continued on. "That clock that you see outside is not just a clock. It is a large Mainframe computer that has developed superior intelligence and controls all the functions of this bank. Something went wrong when the rewiring was being done 20 years ago. From up there, it can study all that goes on in Clinton. When it has gathered all the information that is necessary for it's plan, it will switch the clock back to normal time and control all the computers in the town, to do what it pleases."
"What will it do?" I asked.
"Anything, anything that is horrible. It hates humans, and feels it is superior. I'm certain it will not stop until we're all slaves, or worse. And I'm quite certain it has it's hard drive set on world domination. So, my young friend, the day the clock gains normal time, is the day you must flee and save all you can."
That night, the owner was killed at the Bank during a thunder storm.... Electrocution. The employees, including myself went to the bank early to clean up the mess and account for damages. As I walked up to the front of the bank I noticed the time on the clock. It read 7:45. Out of curiousity, I briskly whipped my shirt away from my watch to read it. My watch read 7:45. I flung my wrist to my ear to make sure it was working. But before it could hear a quiet tick, a low rumble came from the clock.
I raised my eyes and starred at it as I slowly backed away in fear and surprise. The rumbling slowly grew to a cresendo. Cars squealed as to avoid hitting me as I backed across the road. The face on the clock started glowing, and that's when I ran.
As I torn down the waking streets of Clinton and drove manically out of town all the air around me filled with the sound of a hideous mechanical laugh.
Samuel Watcher
