The Butterfly

A Question of Choice: Fate, Loki and Something New

Life is strange. Whether you look at it as a whole, or you narrow it down to the sum of its parts, there is no denying the oddity of existence. We are born of improbable chance, a snippet of order in the chaos of nature, and every choice we make, however small, influences our future.

The flap of a butterfly's wings builds the beginnings of a hurricane, or so the story goes.

If you follow this idea to its source then where does the rabbit hole lead? Did the bus I missed two years ago have a drastic impact on my life today? Have the decisions I treated as throwaways or inconsequential in fact formed the basis of my current reality? It beggars belief that something so small could make such a difference and yet we see it every day. In the winners of the lottery or those who escape disaster by the skin of their teeth. In 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' there is a section that discusses this knock-on. He lists all of the tiny things that happen that culminate in the big event, coincidences and choices that layer and build. That is how we look at life and it is utterly paradoxical.

Think about what we so readily believe versus how we act. There is an entire subgenre of fiction related to time travel and the effects of the tiniest changes, and yet we can't possibly imagine the changes our choices could make. We accept the idea that our choices matter whilst at the same time ignoring that very possibility.

Seems about right, right?

With their newest TV show, Loki, Marvel has again brought this concept of choice to the forefront of public consciousness. Here we see a reality kept in check, the idea of a proper timeline, a proper set of choices; the ancient concept of the 'right path.' Religions and Mythos around the globe deal with this as a matter of course. For the Greeks, Romans, and Norse we see the strands of fate, attended by beings outside of time. In the Celtic Tradition, we see the triple Goddess of The Morrigan, playing with the tides of destiny. And for the more modern Abrahamic Religions, we see the path of God's eternal plan. I am no expert on the many other possible beliefs but I have no doubt that this theme of a 'path' tracks quite neatly from one to the next. It seems to be a common wish, a need for reason in the chaos of reality. But if there is a 'right' way to do things, what is the point of choice? Loki neatly sums this up with the addition of an idea that, to me at least, seems ideal.

What if each choice, from the simplest to the most life-defining, creates a new strand of time, an alternative reality?

In my novel and the world that I have spent years building and refining, I ask the question; what if, at the point in history when we created the modern ideals of science, we rediscovered the ancient magics? From this one change, this flap of a butterfly's wings, I create a new timeline, a new path. Here the world never really moves past the ideals of the Victorian era. The Wild West of America stays wild, the Samurai of Japan hold court, Pirates rule the seas and the Great Empires of the world retain their thrones, all thanks to magic. It was only recently I started to understand these wider implications, that I really looked at the world I was dropping my butterfly into, and it has made me want to explore this creation of mine all over again.

How do these strands of society develop when the myths and the monsters are real, active, and oh so very dangerous?

The possibilities are endless.

It is with this in mind that I have decided to try a new project, something different from anything I've done before. I'm going to build a series of flash fiction. Prose, Poetry, Lyrics, Extracts of reports, collected tales from around my world detailing events, telling stories, and offering insight into the effects of my butterfly.

You'll find pieces everywhere you find me, from snippets on my Instagram to Tales on my Patreon. Follow them and support me in this journey as I examine just how far my Butterfly goes, I look forward to seeing you by the campfire.

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