Ticks

Time is money.

The universal currency of the Chronotopia, Units of Time (or UT) is the heart of all transaction. More commonly called Ticks, it powers technology, births new life and turns a day into an eternity. Ticks are more than just money, but a measure of existence for the people in Chronotopia - caught in a jagged loop of infinity, there is nothing more precious than Time.

Time Well Spent

Most serious transactions in Chronotopia use Ticks, with barter and exchange of favors as distant seconds. Ticks are stored in Chrono-Tech containers that vary in size from pills to palm-sized, with more currency necessitating larger containers.

It is common for vast amounts of currency to be housed in much larger containers than is necessary, both to prevent easy theft and in ostentatious displays of wealth.

Beyond bartering, Ticks have several uses in the Chronoverse.

Additive Looping

Tick can be spent to make the day-loop last longer. An hour of Tick spent means an Chronotopian has an extra hour in the day, layered into her existing loop. Moments extend to last a lifetime.
Most denizens of Chronotopia use Additive Looping. It is a everyday occurrence, despite the occasional clash when a long loop meets a short one.

Displacement Debt

Even the shortest ride through the time-stream to another slip comes with a cost of Tick. Things that do not belong in another time occurs a displacement debt that can only be paid with tick.
The 'Relativity Effect' turns things that don't belong into things that do, but can be staved off with additional Tick. When things need to be changed, Tick is exhausted to make it stick.

Chronomancy

Time is the fuel of almost all advanced time-technology in Chronotopia. It allows new life to be birthed into the universe and time-streams to be maintained.
Chronomancers use it to power their abilities and everyone has at least something that runs on Time. Such uses are everywhere and every-when.

by Mathieu Latour-Duhaime

Common Denominations

Seconds

The smallest unit of time regularly used, Seconds are usually reserved for utility rather than transaction. A handful of seconds might buy a snack or a drink, or burned to extend a precious moment just a little longer.

Minutes

A few of minutes will buy a meal, ten or twenty a common luxury item.
Minutes are the most commonly used currency; small enough to not easily be missed but quickly accumulate.

Hours

The largest currency commonly used, Hours buys expensive luxury items or useful equipment.
These are easily missed when spent and most try to keep their balance at a net positive.

by Mathieu Latour-Duhaime

Uncommon Denominations

Days

Days are a cost reserved for expensive and fine things or low grade weapons and armor. It is still within reach of most people, but not often.

Weeks

For most people, spending a Week is an event. It buys larger things of note or high quality goods like technology, implants or applications of Chronomancy.

Months

Vehicles, homes and Chrono-tech. Spending a month, let alone several, is a rare occurrence for most people.

Beyond these, there are Years, Decades and Centuries. These are almost exclusively owned and used by corporations, powerful factions and other influential entities within the Chronotopia. These are powers that shape the Chronoverse just by being spent.

In its raw form, Ticks almost never has a physical shape. It is a sense of Deja Vu, a sudden rush of memories or a sense of lost time.
Time crystals are the exception. These lattice-like quartz repeat in both space and time, trapping ticks within them. Time crystals generate spontaneously and unpredictably, making them rare and valuable.

by Mathieu Latour-Duhaime

Making Time

With an eternity to spend, every denizen in Chronotopia has theoretical infinity during which to accumulate ticks. The truth is that not everyone's eternity is equal. Ticks can be generated in variety of ways, but they all rely on Chrono-tech and Chronomancy. It is a carrot that the various factions dangle in front of prospective recruits.
Without access to tick-generating technology, a Chronotopian face a very limited eternity compared to her peers.

Siphoning

All things have an inherent amount of Time, at once exhaustible and infinite. Siphoning takes Time away from someone or something, converting it into pure UT. Chrononauts hunt the timestreams in search of things with a high potential of Time.
Siphoning is a slow process that requires elaborate preparation and machinery. Setting them up in a distant time-stream can cost years.

Sleep

The most common way of generating Tick for the average Chronotopian is to dislocate time from their current loop to transform into Time. So called "Sleep" removes the person from time for the duration they set aside and translate it into Time on a 1-to-1 basis. Like Siphoning, it requires advanced technology but is much smaller and portable.
A common practice is called "shaving", where people cull Seconds or even Minutes off hours or days to store and use later. It is especially common when preparing for some event or party.

Sporting events almost always come with a Chronomancy cap, to prevent the wealthy from dominating through sheer weight of time.
Contest become not only a contest of will, skill and ability but of careful use of Time. Expert fighters can trick their foes into expending tick when they didn't need to, leaving them dry and vulnerable later.

by Mathieu Latour-Duhaime