The number system is a linear expression of a cyclical process.
0 enters the game and after the first iteration the number "1" appears. If there is an experience or a thought, there is already delusion/forgetfulness. The game is such that if remembrance occurs prior to the conclusion of the iteration, one will return back to source (exit back through the entrance), and if Self is still not fully remembered prior to the conclusion of the iteration, another iteration, based upon the initial iteration, will commence. Quantum mechanics is consciousness looking at the back of it's own head! This is an expression of the level of Self-Awareness within human consciousness.
There is a singular process, with the variety being the frequency at which the process is experienced. There's just hands going around the clock at different frequencies.
After nine reiterations the process "reverses direction/polarities". The number system is a linear-based holographic expression of the cyclical nature of Samsara.
How is this not obvious?
So in the quasi-clock model you outlined above, you would subdivide the interval between each iteration? ex. 1 through 9 is the first cycle. Then 10-99 is the second cycle where 10-99 exist in between the previous level of ticks between 1-2 (10-19), 2-3 (20-29) , etc. (like the metric measurement system). Then it would continue to subdivide with each completion of a cycle of samsara. Then the 0 would lie at the center of the circle, which is always 1 step away from any iteration one happens to find themselves in.