THE apocalypse is fertile ground for writers. From the popular fiction of John Wyndham and Stephen King to the work of Pulitzer- and Booker-prize winners like Cormac McCarthy and Margaret Atwood, the apocalypse and its aftermath have been reimagined in various ways.
The Doomsday Clock is another touchstone of apocalyptic fear. A countdown to global catastrophe devised by scientists in 1947, in the wake of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was conceived as a representation of the threat of global nuclear war. The clock started at seven minutes to midnight, with midnight symbolising the end of life as we know it. The hands have been adjusted 22 times, fluctuating between two and 17 minutes to midnight.

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