The Chaos Series

I write about Chaos in my novels and in my non-fictional musings as well. But what do I mean by Chaos? Merriam-Webster has this to say about it:

Definition of chaos

1a: a state of utter confusion

the blackout caused chaos throughout the city

b: a confused mass or mixture

a chaos of television antennas

2a (often capitalized): a state of things in which chance is supreme

especially : the confused unorganized state of primordial matter before the creation of distinct forms — compare COSMOS

b: the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system (such as the atmosphere, boiling water, or the beating heart)

3 (obsolete): CHASM, ABYSS

In my first novel, The Chaos Machine, the CEO of the fictional Brookstone Heuristics Corporation clarifies my definition:

Hazeltine laughed, "Not exactly. What do you know about Chaos Theory?"

Allen looked bemused, "Which Chaos Theory? Do you mean the pretty little fractals? Or the so-called Butterfly Effect? Or water rolling off the back of Jeff Goldblum's hand?"

"None of the above. I want to hear what you know about Chaos Theory."

Allen replied, "I think that the name itself is a misnomer. In my opinion, what we label as Chaos is actually a very orderly interaction of particles that has progressed throughout the universe since the Big Bang. We can't work with so much detail so we try to analyze and categorize the outcomes with broad strokes." Allen furrowed his brow in thought, "Personally, I think that if you could take a snapshot of every particle in the universe along with its physical and dynamic attributes and store them in a computer, you could then 'roll forward' the interactions of the particles and predict their behavior. In theory, you could predict the future. In practice, no computer is capable of storing or processing so much data as to make this feasible. As a result, in lieu of detail, gross approximations are substituted with the resultant gross outcomes. Our current climate models are a good example of this. It has become a Holy Grail, of sorts."

If such a device could be built, it would be able to predict the future just as surely as these billiards balls follow a future trajectory. And, if you go back in time, the same exact shot will give the same exact result again.

This would suggest that the future is just as immutable as the past. That there is no time travel paradox because neither the future nor the past can be altered. "But!" you say, "I have free will! I may not be able to change the past, but I can choose my future!" We all believe this because to do otherwise would lead to madness. However, it doesn't preclude that it might just be a very convincing illusion. Additionally, nothing prevents an outside force, such as a supernatural entity of some sort, from being able to alter the outcome. A determinant model with a caveat, if you will.