Fan Works
Time is marked visually by the position of the sun and moon — half, low, tilt and high are the words by which cats estimate their version of hours. Half is when the sun or moon is peeking over the horizon; Low is about a paw’s width from the horizon; Tilt is the range from Half to just before noon; and High (otherwise called noon or midnight) is when the sun or moon is at its highest, marking the middle of the day or night. Using these terms, a cat will not say "it took 4 hours", but "it took from low-moon to tilt".
Moons and half-moons are both recognized portions of time, but only moons are used commonly. Like with humans, a moon is about a month, chronicling the complete lunar cycle. A half-moon is harder to gauge, since it's usually used in the context of remembering a recent event, but stands at around 10-15 days. The cats may instead describe the shape of the moon during the event being discussed, using closed, open, and the various descriptors inbetween.
Seasons are a larger chunk of time, and very hazily defined, bleeding into each other depending on the weather. Last year’s winter can be much shorter than this year's, for example, if it was a little warmer or took longer to snow. A season being skipped over entirely is an omen of terrible things to come. The feline words for seasons refer to the conditions of the trees, roughly translatable to "leaf-bare" (winter/Shou), "new-leaf" (spring/Aora), "green-leaf" (summer/Hhen), and "leaf-fall" (autumn/Kih). There are a variety of other nicknames referring to things associated with these seasons which go in and out of popularity with the seasons themselves.
Moons and half-moons are both recognized portions of time, but only moons are used commonly. Like with humans, a moon is about a month, chronicling the complete lunar cycle. A half-moon is harder to gauge, since it's usually used in the context of remembering a recent event, but stands at around 10-15 days. The cats may instead describe the shape of the moon during the event being discussed, using closed, open, and the various descriptors inbetween.
Seasons are a larger chunk of time, and very hazily defined, bleeding into each other depending on the weather. Last year’s winter can be much shorter than this year's, for example, if it was a little warmer or took longer to snow. A season being skipped over entirely is an omen of terrible things to come. The feline words for seasons refer to the conditions of the trees, roughly translatable to "leaf-bare" (winter/Shou), "new-leaf" (spring/Aora), "green-leaf" (summer/Hhen), and "leaf-fall" (autumn/Kih). There are a variety of other nicknames referring to things associated with these seasons which go in and out of popularity with the seasons themselves.
"The Caretaker of the Array has many demands on his time. There is a three trikinn waiting period for passage through the UPN."
"How long is a trikinn?" asked Janeway.
"It's seventeen nameks," was the unhelpful response.
It took some time to establish that the Caretaker would not be available for some time.
"Do you wish to schedule an appointment?" asked Zet, after Nee'Lix and Janeway had worked out between them that three trikinn added up to forty-seven Terran days.
"How long is a trikinn?" asked Janeway.
"It's seventeen nameks," was the unhelpful response.
It took some time to establish that the Caretaker would not be available for some time.
"Do you wish to schedule an appointment?" asked Zet, after Nee'Lix and Janeway had worked out between them that three trikinn added up to forty-seven Terran days.
Films — Live-Action
Kay: Arquillian battle rules, kid: first we get an ultimatum, then a warning shot, then we have a galactic standard week to respond.
Jay: A "galactic standard week?" How the hell long is that?
Zed: One hour.
Jay: A "galactic standard week?" How the hell long is that?
Zed: One hour.
Live-Action TV
Dalek: HUMANITY WILL SURRENDER! DALEK INVASION FLEET WILL BE SUMMONED! TOTAL CONQUEST OF EARTH PREDICTED IN 9,376 RELS! (blasts off through the roof)
Doctor: Now, must remember—how long's a rel?
