: Or, alternatively, we'll use a calendar that has
: absolutely nothing to do with the position and motion
: of the planets, so that the sun's shining through half
: of the night and each year spans 2.6364789 revolutions
: of the Earth in its orbit, and thus we will
: demonstrate our power over and contempt for nature.
: Oh, and we'll rename the units of time so they sound
: more cool and futuristic ("The battle will take
: place in nine standard galactic intervals," and
: so on). We'll also use the same units for distance and
: time, and mass and energy, cuz that's the way it is.
Well, in my system, there are actually two discreet systems; Earthtime and Realtime. Earthtime has the same seconds, minutes, hours, and days that we use right now, and distance is measured in light-intervals (ie, light-minutes, light-hours, light-days, etc) - obviously we would be working in small fractions of light-intervals (ie, I had to walk seven NLS' [nano-light-seconds] to school in the snow, butt naked, up hill, both ways!). The calender is based around the Earth's orbit around the sun (still 365-366 days a year), but has the months and weeks rearranged to make a little more sense (no more "30 days has september, april, june, and november, all the rest have peanut butter except grandma, 'cause she rides a tricycle", but "30 days have each month, divided into five six-day weeks of four work days and two holidays, plus four tri-monthly extra holidays, annual-transition day between Monober and Decidoceber, and leap day between Sextaber and Septober every four years except every hundred years except every four-hundred years").
Anyway, Realtime is based on the only absolutes - the Plank-length (man, Plank had the most appropriate name), and light. All distances are expressed as multiples of the Plank-length, time is measured in Planks as well (with one Plank-instant being the time it takes light to traverse a Plank-length), and all types of mass, charge, and energy are measured as distortions (in Planks) in spacetime.
