Understanding the Eridian Number System
Eridians count differently than humans. While we use 10 digits (0 to 9), Eridians only use 6 digits (0 to 5). This is called base-6 or senary. Eridians use it probably because they have six fingers on the two hands they use for counting.
Eridian Symbols
Click to copy symbol
How to convert a number step by step
- Divide your number by 6 and write down the remainder.
- Take the result (ignoring the remainder) and divide by 6 again.
- Keep dividing until your result is 0.
- Read the remainders from bottom to top. That is your base-6 number!
- Replace each digit with the corresponding Eridian symbol.
Quick example: Converting 42
- 42 ÷ 6 = 7 remainder 0
- 7 ÷ 6 = 1 remainder 1
- 1 ÷ 6 = 0 remainder 1
Reading remainders bottom-to-top: 110 in base-6, or IIℓ in Eridian symbols.
Conversion Examples
| Decimal | Base 6 | Eridian |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 10 | Iℓ |
| 12 | 20 | Vℓ |
| 36 | 100 | Iℓℓ |
| 100 | 244 | V++ |
- Eridians use only digits 0 to 5 (no 6, 7, 8, or 9).
- Eridian 10 equals our 6, and 100 equals our 36.
- Each digit has a unique Eridian symbol you can copy above.
Understanding Eridian Time
Eridian time is based on their home planet's day length. One Eridian day is only about 5 hours and 6 minutes. They split this day into 10,000 Eridian seconds (in base-6).
How to think about Eridian time
- Start with Earth seconds. One Eridian day = 18,397 Earth seconds.
- Divide that into 7,776 equal parts (that is 10,000 in base-6).
- Each part is one Eridian second ≈ 2.37 Earth seconds.
- To convert Earth time: divide total Earth seconds by 2.37.
- Convert that number to base-6 and replace symbols to get the Eridian display.
Quick example: Converting 40 days and 2 hours
- Calculate total Earth seconds: 40 days × (24 × 60 × 60) + 2 hours × (60 × 60) = 3,463,200 seconds.
- Convert to Eridian seconds: 3,463,200 ÷ 2.366 ≈ 1,463,568 Eridian seconds.
- Calculate Eridian days: 1,463,568 ÷ 7,776 ≈ 188 full Eridian days.
- Remaining Eridian seconds: 1,463,568 − (188 × 7,776) = 1,680 Eridian seconds.
- Optionally convert to base-6: 188 days = 512 and 1,680 seconds = 11,440.
Result: 40 Earth days and 2 hours = 188 Eridian days + 1,680 Eridian seconds (512 Eridian days + 11,440 Eridian seconds in base-6 notation).
Basic Conversions
Eridian time moves faster because their day is shorter. When you see large Eridian numbers, remember they are in base-6, so 1000 Eridian seconds is actually only 216 in our counting!