Discussion Main / RealityBreakingParadox

I have a slight issue with the page quote, in that it's not in my copy of the book. The closest I can find is this, from Reg:

If the Universe came to an end every time there was some uncertainty about what had happened in it, it would never have got beyond the first picosecond. And many of course don't. It's like a human body, you see. A few cuts and bruises here and there don't hurt it. Not even major surgery if it's done properly. Paradoxes are just the scar tissue. Time and space heal themselves up around them and people simply remember a version of events which makes as much sense as they require it to make.

That isn't to say if you get involved in a paradox a few things won't strike you as being very odd, but if you've got through life without that already happening to you, then I don't know which Universe you've been living in, but it isn't this one.

I re-organized a lot of the page. Still need to do a bit, but now it should be better, at least. -Zersk

Divide by Zero was renamed to Reality-Breaking Paradox per TRS

Removed the following Sword of Truth entry because it's a Nattery hell that needs serious attention, but I don't follow the series so I don't know how to compress it properly:

• The last three books of The Sword Of Truth deal with a spell which creates a contradiction, by making a person exist and not exist at the same time, then these contradictions breed other contradictions... In short, the ultimate artifact of the series was created precisely for countering the spell before it unravels all reality.
  • To be more precise - the Chainfire spell is so powerful and unstable that it expands exponentially, destroying all memory - creating contradictions and gaps growing ever larger beyond the scope of merely forgetting the original subject of the spell. In addition, the residual effect of the Chimes (entities from the underworld that erode away magic from the world of life simply by existing on this side of the veil) make the effect far more dangerous. Instead of just the Chainfire spell turning every thinking being into a blank, slobbering slate, you have a world soon to be filled with blank, slobbering slates and on the verge of a mass-extinction event.
    • To be even more precise: Chainfire, when invoked, was supposed to wipe all presence of its target from memory and history. Any relationship between an outside observer and that character was wiped clean, as if they never existed. Events in which that character participated are altered to remove them. Prophecies that mention them cease to be or are altered. False memories needed to prevent the appropriate paradoxes are implanted to fill those gaps. Outside observers do still see the subject, however the spell prevents the memory of seeing them from being stored the instant it's created. They don't exist as even a shadow in their mind. The lingering effects of the Chimes interfered with this process, leaving gaps in the coverage of the spell. Although the memory of Kahlan was wiped clean, Chainfire failed to prevent some people from seeing her as it was supposed to, thus creating the contradiction of a person who is not supposed to exist, existing. The Sword of Truth also causes elements of the spell to fail. Because Richard was holding the sword when the spell was cast, he was completely unaffected by it. Additionally, anyone who touched the sword would be able to partially see through its effects. Although their memories of the victim would not be restored, they would now be able to see them and recognize their existence.

Also, removed Sonic Shuffle because the carbuncle eating itself isn't breaking reality, that's just self-destruction.

I think we should add Mort to the Discworld examples. But I can't think how to describe it.

Not exactly trope-related, but there's a running joke in the Mega Man X fandom about "Dividing by Zero". Meaning they get cut up by the Red Demon and his Z-Sabre.