The comic strip “Non Sequitur” is running a mini-arc this week about a parallel world where everybody is granted one wish – but the law of unintended consequenses applies.
Example from the 9 Aug 2006 strip (from memory):
A popular wish is to win the lottery. It’s an extremely popular wish, so that each drawing’s $10 million jackpot is won by 20 million people.
What’s your one wish? And what unintended consequenses are you giving other people’s wishes?
I’d start, but I haven’t thought about this enough yet.
Absolutely, unfortunately, you didn’t specify which wishes. So you get two of the “win the lottery” wishes that so many other people made, and one “kill your boss” (here’s to hoping you’re not self-employed). Enjoy your $1.50 (pre-tax, and if the person who originally made the “kill your boss” wish didn’t have the foresight to append legal immunity to the wish, pre-jail).
I wish for a turkey sandwich, on rye bread, with lettuce and mustard, and, <and> I don’t want any zombie turkeys, I don’t want to turn into a turkey myself, and I don’t want any other weird surprises.
Shapeshifting. Definitely shapeshifting. As for unintended consequences… I guess I might forget what shape I originally had? And maybe I would become so attached to some kind of terrible demon shape that I would be shunned from society?
Dangitall! I originally had “three ‘win the lottery’ wishes”, which with the amount of money and winners in the OP, would be correct. Then I changed it to two lotteries and a “kill your boss.”
Can I wish for everyone else’s wishes to be nullified? It might make me a bit unpopular but we’re probably better off. All this wishing business is more trouble than it’s worth.
Failing that, I’d wish for a Sachertorte. I dare any mischevious genie to come up with a negative side to chocolate cake!
See Yumblie’s answer. Every tale about this in human history has said wishes = boobytrap. The only way out is to negate everybody’s ability to make wishes.
The Monkey’s Paw, anyone?
I can’t tell you how many hours I spent crafting The Perfect WishTM after reading that story as a kid. And now I can’t remember it!
But it had absolutely no loopholes and was guaranteed to get me what I wanted.
I’d be interested in seeing that thread started: “Create the Ultimate Wish”
Sorry if this is glurgy, but I would wish for a safe world for children to play in. Not absolutely safe. My wish would be that henceforth, any person attempting to abduct/torture/molest/kill a child, would simply vanish. I might consider changing this so that instead of vanishing forever, they just find themselves teleported to a police cell set aside for the purpose.
It would still be possible for children to be harmed accidentally in this world; I wouldn’t wish to subvert the schemes of nature, only frustrate the schemes of evil humans.
I’d love the ability to start and stop time at will and be able to manipulate objects and move around comfortably in the stopped time.
Sure, I’d be a thief never having to buy anything again, but I’d also be able to stop all manner of crime, rule professional sports, you name it. I could be the greatest magician ever.
