...11:55...11:56...11:57... As the hands of every clock in the world crawled toward the Midnight that would separate a December 31 from an historic January 1, the worlds' citizens held their collective breaths. ...11:58... And rightly so. Every country, super power status to third world, had been bombarded with a multitude of unimaginable scenarios of Armageddon for over eighteen solid months. ...11:59... The end of one century and the beginning of another was being welcomed with excitement laced with a sour aftertaste of uncertainty and trepidation. ...12:00 o'clock Midnight... The next sixty seconds oozed by. But no aircraft fell from the skies. No hospital emergency room lost life-giving power. Domestic and global security systems continued to blink. Computer systems clicked over to register the New Year without hesitation. ...12:01...2000 AD... The only fireworks witnessed by those waiting and watching were not of the computer-techno variety but rather just the pure old-fashioned pyrotechnic kind. ...12:02... And as tensions eased and the implied threats of a societal Armageddon disappeared into history, the populations of the world fought back a confusing sensation—part relief and part being all dressed up with absolutely no place to go. That would change, of course. Even Lady Luck isn't insulated from simple mistakes that mushroom into insurmountable obstacles. Just ask Columbus. Or the crew of Apollo 13. Or Noah. Or... ...12:03...