Ficly

The Clock Watches

The king died during the thirty-second minute of the fourth hour of the second revolution of this day. However, I cannot with certainty attribute the time of his death to either the fifth or sixth second of that minute.

This regrettable confusion is consequence of an event which could with equal justification be applied to either second.

The king’s figure could be seen to be vital (albeit indisposed) on the fifth second and deceased on the sixth second. As such, the event of the passage between these two states could have occurred on neither of these two moments.

Quite how this paradox may be resolved is beyond me.

Of no ambiguity or consequence are the times of the deaths of the prince and his son. The former was decapitated fifty-seven seconds past the twenty-fifth minute of the fourth hour and his son (having entered the water at nineteen seconds past the twenty-sixth minute of the fourth hour) was deceased on the fourteenth second of the twenty-ninth minute of the fourth hour).

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