In order to facilitate time travel we have implemented a new dating system for the Hitchhiker Project called the **Hitchhiker Time Travel Dating System**.
We use a universal time formatting system that combines: - Familiar calendar-style dates (like April 1, 1920) - Epoch labels - Scientific time tags (Ma, Ga)
This allows time travelers, historians, and planetary explorers to speak the same language — whether referring to pyramid builders, cosmic events, or future empires.
# Format Example
April 1, 1920 Egyptian Epoch (+10.480Ma EarthTime, +4.556Ga Age)
This tells us: * The date: April 1 * In the Egyptian Epoch, year 1920 (which began in 10,450 BCE) * Occurred 10.480 million years ago from 1950 CE * Earth was ~4.556 billion years old at the time
# Scientific Reference Points * Epoch base year: Year 0 for each epoch (e.g., 1950 for \[\[Radioactive Epoch]]) * Scientific Present: 1950 CE * Earth Birth Year: -4518000000 (estimated)
# YAML Metadata for Wiki Pages
epoch: Egypt epochYear: 1920 eventYear: -8530 timeAgoMa: 10.48 ageGa: 4.55652 label: Construction of First Pyramid wikiPage: First Pyramid
# Epoch Labels
This is an extensible lists of formally agreed Hitchhiker Epoch's that authors can use within their narratives. They include:
You can add your own epochs to this structure for stories, science fiction, or cultural timelines.
# LiveCode Conversion Functions
function date_EpochToEventYear pEpoch, pEpochYear switch pEpoch case "Radioactive" put 1950 into baseYear break case "Roman" put 0 into baseYear break case "Egypt" put -10450 into baseYear break case "Zaphod" put 2525 into baseYear break case "Galactic" put -13500000000 into baseYear break case "End" put 100000000000 into baseYear break default return "Unknown Epoch" end switch return baseYear + pEpochYear end date_EpochToEventYear
function date_EventYearToTimeAgoMa pYear return round((1950 - pYear)/1000000, 6) end date_EventYearToTimeAgoMa function date_EventYearToAgeGa pYear return round((pYear + 4518000000) end date_EventYearToAgeGa