Title: Omega Man (Trillion-Second-Countdown)
Units: 12
Materials: Russian-surplus nixie tubes, GPS receiver, custom electronics
Date: 7/1/2012, 12:00am, Pacific Standard Time
Duration: 31,688 Years, 269 Days, 1 Hour, 46 Minutes, 40 Seconds
Description: 12 identical, synchronized timers count down from 1 trillion seconds to zero. They cannot be stopped or reset. All 12 units are programmed with the same start time of 7/1/2012, 12:00am Pacific Standard time. The device is equipped with both an internal RTC clock and GPS receiver. Upon boot-up, each unit receives a GPS signal to acquire the current time via satellite. The red LED decimal point flashes while it searches for a GPS signal. Once the current time is received the countdown will appear on the nixie-tube display. When the unit is turned off or unplugged, the RTC clock will keep time independent of the GPS module via the battery backup. If power is lost and the battery dies, it will self update via satellite and the countdown will continue uninterrupted.
(One trillion seconds ago, the last known Neanderthals walked the plains of Europe, and were in sharp decline in favor of homo-sapiens.)
