Terminal Games by Cole Perriman (Cole Perriman is actual a husband and wife team Pat Perrin and Wim Coleman).

The clown is Auggie rather than Augie. The intro says:

We wrote Terminal Games under the pseudonym Cole Perriman, and it was first published in 1994. At that time, New York publishers were just discovering fax machines. Most people hadn’t used email, and “Internet” wasn’t yet a household word. There was no Google, Facebook, The Sims, Twitter, Amazon, WiFi, texting, or … well, you get the picture.

So as you say it predated the Internet, at least in its modern form.

There are lots of excerpts I could cite, but let me choose just one covering your mention of the clock striking thirteen:

Marianne felt that pang of pity again. If Auggie was true to his word, he would put an end to his life in the next few minutes.
If he is true to his word …
She shuddered again at the thought of her own broken promises. Would Maisie keep the network turned on? Would Auggie, the ultimate trickster, be true to his word?

For the moment, there was nothing else to say. Marianne stared at her computer clock and waited. Time slowed considerably during this last handful of minutes. Then, at long last, five o’clock had come. Marianne felt a terrible anticipation. Now Auggie was experiencing a time of day he never knew existed—standing face to face with the simple fact of his own nothingness. Now he understood. He simply had to.
The clock has struck thirteen

Terminal Games by Cole Perriman (Cole Perriman is actual a husband and wife team Pat Perrin and Wim Coleman).

The clown is Auggie rather than Augie. The intro says:

We wrote Terminal Games under the pseudonym Cole Perriman, and it was first published in 1994. At that time, New York publishers were just discovering fax machines. Most people hadn’t used email, and “Internet” wasn’t yet a household word. There was no Google, Facebook, The Sims, Twitter, Amazon, WiFi, texting, or … well, you get the picture.

So as you say it predated the Internet, at least in its modern form.

There are lots of excerpts I could cite, but let me choose just one covering your mention of the clock striking thirteen:

Marianne felt that pang of pity again. If Auggie was true to his word, he would put an end to his life in the next few minutes.
If he is true to his word …
She shuddered again at the thought of her own broken promises. Would Maisie keep the network turned on? Would Auggie, the ultimate trickster, be true to his word?

For the moment, there was nothing else to say. Marianne stared at her computer clock and waited. Time slowed considerably during this last handful of minutes. Then, at long last, five o’clock had come. Marianne felt a terrible anticipation. Now Auggie was experiencing a time of day he never knew existed—standing face to face with the simple fact of his own nothingness. Now he understood. He simply had to.
The clock has struck thirteen

Terminal Games by Cole Perriman (Cole Perriman is actual a husband and wife team Pat Perrin and Wim Coleman).

The clown is Auggie rather than Augie. The intro says:

We wrote Terminal Games under the pseudonym Cole Perriman, and it was first published in 1994. At that time, New York publishers were just discovering fax machines. Most people hadn’t used email, and “Internet” wasn’t yet a household word. There was no Google, Facebook, The Sims, Twitter, Amazon, WiFi, texting, or … well, you get the picture.

So as you say it predated the Internet, at least in its modern form.

There are lots of excerts I could cite, but let me choose just one covering your mention of the clock striking thirteen:

Marianne felt that pang of pity again. If Auggie was true to his word, he would put an end to his life in the next few minutes.
If he is true to his word …
She shuddered again at the thought of her own broken promises. Would Maisie keep the network turned on? Would Auggie, the ultimate trickster, be true to his word?

For the moment, there was nothing else to say. Marianne stared at her computer clock and waited. Time slowed considerably during this last handful of minutes. Then, at long last, five o’clock had come. Marianne felt a terrible anticipation. Now Auggie was experiencing a time of day he never knew existed—standing face to face with the simple fact of his own nothingness. Now he understood. He simply had to.
The clock has struck thirteen

Terminal Games by Cole Perriman (Cole Perriman is actual a husband and wife team Pat Perrin and Wim Coleman).

The clown is Auggie rather than Augie. The intro says:

We wrote Terminal Games under the pseudonym Cole Perriman, and it was first published in 1994. At that time, New York publishers were just discovering fax machines. Most people hadn’t used email, and “Internet” wasn’t yet a household word. There was no Google, Facebook, The Sims, Twitter, Amazon, WiFi, texting, or … well, you get the picture.

So as you say it predated the Internet, at least in its modern form.

There are lots of excerpts I could cite, but let me choose just one covering your mention of the clock striking thirteen:

Marianne felt that pang of pity again. If Auggie was true to his word, he would put an end to his life in the next few minutes.
If he is true to his word …
She shuddered again at the thought of her own broken promises. Would Maisie keep the network turned on? Would Auggie, the ultimate trickster, be true to his word?

For the moment, there was nothing else to say. Marianne stared at her computer clock and waited. Time slowed considerably during this last handful of minutes. Then, at long last, five o’clock had come. Marianne felt a terrible anticipation. Now Auggie was experiencing a time of day he never knew existed—standing face to face with the simple fact of his own nothingness. Now he understood. He simply had to.
The clock has struck thirteen