Interference with Time
The message arrived in my inbox with a loud ping that could only mean one thing. An official proclamation. I sighed deeply, wondering what bureaucratic nightmare I would have to untangle myself from now when the subject line caught my eye.
“It’s your turn for CTRL+Z day.”
My eyes widened, wondering how I would spend my once-a-decade undo.
The day was named after some ancient mantra that we had all forgotten the origin of, and was an event everyone looked forward to with nervous excitement. Recipients were selected by random ballot based on a complex algorithm that attempted to create the most minor timeline disturbance. And with a global population of over 20 billion, the chances of unintended consequences between picks were rare.
I cast my mind back over the past ten years and my many regrets and missed opportunities. How would I choose? Which would have the most impact on my life?
I pulled out a pad and started noting the major points I could remember and their potential impacts on my life now. It was hard to recall everything of significance. Why hadn’t I been more organised like so many I knew? I had acquaintances who kept detailed lists of their actions and potential alternate outcomes of them, waiting for that message to arrive so they could maximise its potential when it did.
Of course, there were relationships that had ended that I wish hadn’t. But the more I thought about them, the more I thought about those niggling aspects of the person or relationship that had annoyed me. Would I really have wanted it to continue? Would it have been good for either of us if it had?
I thought of times when I should have said ”yes“ instead of “no”. But was I truly prepared to face the unknown consequences of where a “yes” might have led?
How did anyone make this decision? The nature of the process meant I wouldn’t even know if they had, so it wasn’t like there was anyone I could ask for an opinion on what to do.
Maybe I should pick something small, something with a clearer outcome. Like when I chose the salad at that restaurant last week, but I should have chosen the burger. But was that really worth a once-in-a-decade opportunity? I could just go to that restaurant now and order the burger. No, that seemed a wasted opportunity.
I thought of all the people I had internationally or unintentionally upset in the past ten years. Maybe I shouldn’t be selfish and choose a moment that would improve someone else’s life, too. But did the rules even allow that? What if that person had deserved the way I treated them? What if, as a consequence of my action, they took actions that also had consequences that had consequences, and that in turn…
My head hurts just thinking about it. Maybe I would just change that restaurant order.
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