Dreamrail

by Michael Ripley

Yesterday I learned about the butterfly effect. They say that a butterfly flapping its wings in China could ultimately result in a tornado right here in Kansas. It’s used by Chaos theorists to describe cause and effect type actions, because butterfly is less stable than domino. When those wings flap, many things can be started in all directions, and the conditions play a big part; the result is unpredictable. Dominos are linear. One knocks the next down. If it branches it’s only because that branch was planted, conceived.

Now they’ve made a movie about one, probably writing the other as we speak. Either type of effect would be fine by me. I would gladly start something with no idea where it will evolve, and I would love to plant that branch in the straight row of somebody’s dominos to see the motion, or commotion I could cause.

I just turned sixteen, attend Jefferson High, and today I’m thinking about the Benjamin effect. Considering a domino branch, or maybe just picking one up somewhere to see what it does. I might pluck a wing, or just crimp it slightly to maim the flapping motion. Today, I want results.

My actions aren’t noticed. It’s like blowing at a candle when the flames don’t so much as flicker, stopping to talk to somebody who keeps walking on by, raising your hand to no response. This teacher that ignores my hand in the sky, day after day, now wants to convince me that a butterfly can change the world. We’ll see.

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The End