We know what the weather is. The word 'April' tells us it's a time and place similar to today. Clocks striking thirteen tells us it's somewhere different. Th

We know what the weather is. The word 'April' tells us it's a time and place similar to today. Clocks striking thirteen tells us it's somewhere different. Thirteen is a traditionally unlucky number. It's a classic science fiction method of establishing setting. We're someplace similar to today but a little different, all transmitted in very few words. The effect is a tiny bit unsettling... if they changed the clocks to chime on thirteen, what else is wrong? It's similar to Heinlein's famous way of indicating we're in the future in a single line: "The door dilated." More here: http://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/About_Five_Thousand_Seven_Hundred_Fifty_Words http://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/About_Five_Thousand_Seven_Hund...