In the midst of a national school shooting epidemic, an anxious parent imagines her preschool-aged child participating in a school shooting drill. Shaken, she entertains the notion of constructing a quantum computer program. Ideally, the program would construct a simulation of the known world. The only change would be that guns are prohibited and school shootings have consequently ceased. 

The parent acknowledges that the algorithm could fundamentally change the world in unintended ways. In other words, it could produce a ripple effect. The parent’s fear worsens as her thoughts of school shootings overtake her daily life. She throws herself into creating the quantum computing program.

The changes caused by the algorithm manifest gradually, and the parent initially attributes them to stress. She becomes increasingly pessimistic about the project, wondering how her devotion to it has not ended her marriage. But then, she witnesses a noticeable change. The family’s dog has been replaced by a Persian cat. 

And from there, the changes only accumulate. Soon, five years have passed, and the parent barely registers the changes anymore. Sometimes her spouse disappears. Sometimes a person’s gender fluctuates.

After ten years of devoting her life to the project, the parent starts to question the benefits of altering the simulation of the known world. There are still shootings. There are still deaths. And, without knowing it, she could have possibly altered the characteristics of those she loves.

One day, the parent and her children head to the movie theater. While she pays for the popcorn and snacks, a gunman enters and begins shooting. It is only then that the parent realizes the answer she has been seeking could not be found in an algorithm. She understands that the solution is much simpler, and she and her children run.