The Chapter Countdown clock?

[Stephen]

Did anyone else speculate what the countdown clock was leading up to?

My first guess was how long until the Barrier came down and the FAYZ rejoined society at large.

[Larayne]

at the first chapter, i thought it was the time after the FAYZ started but then as i went chapter to chapter, i got confused. At first i didnt mind the countdown. But when Sam talked about his birthday, saying it was a few days away. I tried to calculate the countdown and that's when i got it.

[ℂᖺαᖇᒪἷ℮ ⊰1017 &Tardis⊱]

I love the countdown. In the later books, I thought it was amazing how the emirate book takes place in only three days. You don't get that in a lot of books. It was practically real time!