Trying to change the future was, in a way, much like standing beside a lake and throwing pebbles into the water. An effort to keep hurling stones from above the surface, somehow attempting to reshape the lakebed below into the form one desired.
Sometimes the pebble successfully reached the bottom of the lake, and at other times it merely skipped across the surface without accomplishing anything at all. More often than not, the direct results were meager compared to the effort expended.
Of course, there were also times when the consequences grew completely out of control. Terrain that had been maintaining a precarious balance might collapse from the slightest impact, and occasionally a fish startled by the pebble might thrash about and unexpectedly overturn the lakebed altogether.
Whichever way things went, it was hardly an easy undertaking.
Yet regardless of the outcome, the act of throwing a pebble was always accompanied by one identical phenomenon.
A clear ripple would form on the surface of the water, drawing layer upon layer of concentric circles.
A single ripple produced a simple and predictable pattern. If observed carefully, its shape could easily be understood, and one could peer down at the bottom of the lake while sufficiently accounting for the distortion it caused.
But what if several stones fell into the lake at the same time?
What if those who wished to influence the future—and possessed enough power to do so—each hurled their stones toward their own goals with all…