Similarly, although individual systems have a system of timekeeping based on their day/night cycles, the standard for interplanetary purposes is based on the 24 hour Guildhome day. This can become quite confusing on systems that have odd rotational and orbital times, but fortunately most inhabited worlds are reasonably close to the standard. In essence, each system is responsible for keeping both its local calendar and the Galactic Calendar. Military organisations such as Dha stick strictly to the Galactic.

The system of the Galactic Calendar is easy to follow. It is based on the orbital cycle of Guildhome, which orbits its primary in 365.25 mean solar days.

The year is divided into four equal quarters of three months each. Each quarter consists of 91 days; the quarters are made up of one month of 31 days and two months of 30 days each. The first month of each quarter begins on a Sunday; the second month on a Wednesday and the third month of each quarter begins on a Friday. This keeps the same day of the week to the same date every year.

This adds up to 364 days. To complete the scheme a 'Guild Day' (usually abbreviated to 'Gilday' except in formal circumstances) is intercalated every year between the last day of the old and the first day of the new year, ie between the thirtieth of Destin and the first of Fravir. It is an occasion for celebration, fireworks and rampant commercialism across all the worlds of the Guild.

Once every four years a second intercalated day is inserted between the months of Drennik and Hammu. This is 'Great House Day' and it marks the beginning of a new Great House. Members of the governing body of the Guild hold office for four years, and on Great House Day new officials are sworn in. It is a public holiday in all of the Guild. (Note that many Great House delegates serve more than one term).

View the calendar in table format

Note for the Real World^tm: Those who care will notice that this is the same system as the World Calendar, a modern calendrical reform which has never taken off due to religious opposition. Those who care more will realise that the mean solar year of our own Earth consists of 365.242199 mean solar days and I have fudged this up to 365.25 for the Galactic Year. So sue me.

I have renamed the months after prominent Guild worlds, but kept the days of the week for simplicity. Each system presumably has its own words for them.

Another note on relativity:

With all this travel through hyperspace, the physicists among us will complain about time dilation and other such concepts. Because distances between worlds are not given in the rules, I have ignored the effects of relativity completely. Remember also that travel times will depend not only on physical distance in 3 dimensions, but also space-borne hazards, restriction zones, treaty agreements, etc. Not all hyperspace travel is in a straight line. Thus any inconsistencies are easily rationalised into PSG.

ref: Time, Alexander Waugh, Headline Book Publishing, 1999 pp 133-134