Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there was a bank whose prominent digital clock became the talk of the town. With large neon-red numbers visible from a block away, it stood above the main doors at a major intersection, symbolizing the town's center.
Months ago, the clock began to malfunction. First, it slipped a few minutes backward. Then, its condition worsened—it would jump forward hours, then fall back, becoming clearly "sick."
This caused chaos. A child, seeing it run two hours fast, cried thinking he was late for a birthday party. A groom, misled into thinking he was early, stopped at a cybercafe and arrived two hours late to his own wedding.
The final straw was an army major. Trusting the clock, he reset his watch three hours ahead and woke his troops for a run at 3 AM instead of 6 AM. The displeased soldiers visited the bank manager, offering to chip in for repairs.
The kind manager promised to fix it, consulting "clocktors" and ordering a special part. She turned the clock off until a UPS delivery brought a tiny replacement part. When the clock finally glowed correctly again, the whole town sighed with relief and reset their watches.