Date: Sunday, January 24, 1999 7:24 AM
Subject: Y-zero-K

Message from: Rome
Janus 6, 1 B.C.

Dear Cassius,

Are you still working on the Y zero K problem? This change from
BC to AD is giving us a lot of headaches and we haven't much time
left. I don't know how people will cope with the wrong way around.
Having been working happily downwards forever, now we have to start
thinking upwards. You would think that someone would have thought 
of it earlier and not left it to us to sort out at the last minute.

I spoke to Ceasar the other evening. He was livid that Julius hadn't
done something about it when he was sorting out the calendar. He 
said he could see why Brutus turned nasty. We called in the 
consulting astrologers, but they simply said that continuing
downwards using minus BC won't work. As usual, the consultants
charged a fortune for doing nothing useful. As for myself, I just
can't see the sand in an hourglass flowing upwards. We have heard
that there are 3 wise guys in the east working on the problem,
but unfortunately they won't arrive till it's all over. Some say
the world will cease to exist at the moment of the transition.
Anyway we are continuting to work on this blasted Y zero K problem
and I will send you a parchment if anything further develops.

Vale,

Plutonius