Prologue
PRINTED ALONG subtle edges of certain food packages are dates.
Some dates advise sellers, others advise consumers.
The most important dates are determined and issued by The National Public Health Authority in conjunction with The Secret Department for Interdimensional Research and Defense, a government agency partly funded by the Expired Perishables Council, in effort to protect humankind from consequences that are often devastating, mind boggling, and utterly avoidable.