First-order effects
Select a branch to inspect its immediate gains and costs.
A speculative instrument · Not a prediction
PARALLEL
SELVES.
A decision is a door. Behind it: not destiny, but a family of possible stories. Walk through four versions of a fictional choice. Notice the costs, the gifts, and what nobody could know in advance.
Four fictional worlds · Local-only notes · No account · No score for your life
The decision theatre / act I
One moment. Multiple futures.
Each scene follows an invented character. Outcomes are authored illustrations, not estimates. Pick a scene, select a path, then reveal how different assumptions alter the story.
The inciting incident
A job offer lands on Friday.
Mira can keep her dependable position or take a less predictable role with room to learn.
Choose the immediate action
Any branch can contain an unexpected downside. These are narrative possibilities, not personal advice.
Branch constellation
Select a path to illuminate itFour story branches can be selected using the numbered buttons outside the graph.
↖ Branch = possible narrative • No branch is assigned a likelihood
Act II / follow the consequences
Choose a door to begin
Every action opens several plausible timelines. Which account you encounter depends on the narrative branch you choose.
Second-order effects
Look for delayed consequences, adaptations and surprises.
Reversibility
Not yet assessed
Reversibility is contextual and never binary.
Act III / expose the machinery
Assumption laboratory
Every counterfactual hides assumptions. Change one and watch the interpretive note shift. This does not recalculate a real future.
Moderate resources: trade-offs remain visible. The future still cannot be inferred from one variable.
[Interpretive model] The note is a deliberately authored lens, not a computed causal forecast.
Act IV / put the worlds beside each other
Comparison table
Save up to two branches from this scene to compare benefits, costs, uncertainty and reversibility.
No branches pinned. Select one and use “Add branch to comparison.”
Private notebook
What would change your mind?
No entry saved.
Only your scene, pinned comparisons, branch selections and note are saved on this device. No networking or analytics script is used. Reset clears this project's storage.
The epistemic contract
There is no telescope
for unlived lives.
Possible is not probable
Counterfactual reasoning considers what might have followed from an alternative action. A vivid story can help us examine a decision, but vividness is not likelihood. Every branch here is authored fiction.
A choice is not the whole system
Outcomes depend on resources, luck, relationships, institutions and timing. A change in action may matter greatly, or be overwhelmed by conditions outside the protagonist's control.
Reversible beats perfect
Some decisions allow trial periods, feedback or exit ramps. Where consequences are costly to reverse, information-gathering and smaller experiments may be more valuable than heroic certainty.
Three ways to use the theatre
Experiment A — Hold the scene constant
Choose a scene and inspect all four branches. Note a cost that appears even in an appealing outcome. Ask whether your first preference depended on an omitted cost.
Experiment B — Change the assumption, not the decision
Choose a branch and move the support constraint from scarce to abundant. The interpretation changes without pretending the underlying events have been predicted. Ask what evidence about support you would actually seek.
Experiment C — Find the smallest reversible move
Compare a high-commitment branch with an experimental one. Write a reversible action that might reveal information in the real world. This is reflection, not a recommendation to make a particular decision.
Accessible reading room / no animation required
The complete map in words
The four scenes each offer four narrative approaches: commit, preserve, experiment, and consult. Each is a fictional trajectory with first- and second-order effects. Readers can explore these independently of the diagram.
Without JavaScript
Work: Mira receives an offer that trades stability for growth. She could take the role, remain in her present job, negotiate a short trial, or consult trusted peers. Each choice may preserve something and sacrifice something else.
Learning: Dev considers evening study while working full time. He could enrol, defer, sample a short course, or create a peer study circle. There is no branch without opportunity cost.
Relationships: Noor wonders whether to send another invitation after silence. She could ask directly, step away, write a low-pressure note, or seek perspective. Uncertainty about the other person remains irreducible.
Creativity: Ari has an unfinished interactive prototype. They could launch it, polish privately, run a tiny pilot, or collaborate. Feedback, attention, craft and autonomy may pull in different directions.