The Apprentice wrote:

Anyway, it's a terrific story. I hope to see more,
Troy Thomas

Rememer, when Akane made her wish that her mother wouldn't die in a
car accident

Actually all she had said was that their mother had never been in an
accident. Death was not specified, which is why Kachi was pulled from the
first accident she was in.

and would be with them now, she didn't know that her
mother was in a car accident at the age of 17, as well as the one that
(in this Ranma timeline) would end up killing her in her late twenties
(or early thirties).  Or that the car accident at age 17 damaged
Kachiko Tendou's leg so badly that her parents were able to convince
her to give up martial arts and to marry - and have children - at a
young age to continue to the Tendou lineage.

Correct.

Second off, most stories/movies/tales/ect... show wishes as having
certain limitations, or internal limiters to keep certain things from
occuring.  Like making a wish for *more* wishes.  This has already
appeared in the cannon Ranma-verse.  Remember when Kuno gave the
wish-granting sword (Wishbringer, I believe) to the "Pig-Tailed Girl"
to use, and Ranma tried to wish away the curse.  The sword wouldn't
approve the wish, because then the Pig-Tailed Girl - the person the
wish had been granted to by it's current master (Tatewaki Kuno) -
wouldn't exist anymore.

Heh. Good point.

Likewise, pulling Kachiko entirely out of her time, before she had
Kasumi (let alone Akane) would cause a paradox with Akane being
granted a wish; that she used to pull her mother forwards in time.
But if Kachiko Tendou was pulled entirely and utterly forwrds in time,
how could she marry Soun and have three children (the youngest one
being Akane)?  And if Akane didn't exist, how could Akane make a wish
that her mother was alive at the present time?

True, but she's here now, so the wish worked regardless of what consequences
in theory might have come about. Now it there's some other side effects from
the wish other than Kachi's presense, that remains to be seen.

Third, most forms of wishes - and *especially* in the Ranma-verse -
are shown to be quirky at best.  And downright sadistic at worst.  The
wishes in Ah/Oh My Goddess!  (well, the Heavenly Wishes anyway) are
IMO the exception, and not the rule.  They'll give you what you ask
for, but not in the fashion you thought you'd get it.  Or they'll
follow the *wording* of the wish, and not the *spirit* of the wish.

Of course that's because is if one wishes for something and it works
precisely as intended the way they wanted, it tends to make for a very dull
story.

would  (which can be worse than the just a "simple" crash).  And,
unfortunately, the more important/powerful the wish made the more
likely one of these two things will occur.  Not to mention that if all
a mistake wording a wish generally is *much* more dangerous than a
mistake when writing a program.

Intersting comparison.

I'm not the author, obviously, so all this is just my opinion.

One thing I *have* thought of is the following possible senario:

A) The wish looked for any and all car accidents that Kachiko Tendou
(mother of Akane Tendou) would have been involved in during her life.
Of those incidents, it looked at the ones that could/would be lethal
to Kachiko.

Explained above.

B) At the same time, the wish has to preserve the existance of Akane
Tendou (the one making the wish) and arrange things so Akane Tendou
did/does/will make that same wish, despite the requirement that it
bring Kachiko Tendou to that point of space/time.

*****   And here's where the conjecture *really* begins.

G) The wish therefore obeys directive one (Wish):  keeping Kachiko
Tendou from dying from a car accident.  The accident in question,
however, is at age 17.  And not the one that did (in Akane's personal
timeline) kill Kachiko Tendo in her late twenties (or early thirties).

H)  The wish obeys directive two (Internal):  preserving the timeline
so Akane Tendou exists to *make* the wish.  It does this by ensuring
that while Kachiko survives, she suffers permenant injuries that will
result in her career as a martial artist coming to an end.

I) The wish then finishes by obeying  directive three (Wish):  that
Kachiko Tendou be there now.  It does this (and this is *really* just
conjecture on my part) by "cloning" Kachiko Tendou (including all
memories, her personality, and any and all items she had on her *at
the time*) just before the car accident she is in at the age of 17
occurs.   The clone of Kachiko Tendou "appears" at the same point of
Time that Akane Tendou is currently in, at the same location where she
was at that point of her life (age 17).  (Which would explain why
Kachiko didn't wonder how the hell she ended up in front of her home
suddenly.)

Not saying whether you're right or not. It is fun seeing the conjecture and
thought you put into it, I'll let you know.

Of course, I could be entirely incorrect.  But wishes are enough to
warp anyone's mind, if you think too long about them.  Wishes *and*
time-travel (of one of your direct ancestors at that!)?!?  Reach for
the extra-strength Tylanol and a couple bottles of moonshine.

Best not to try and sort it out and just accept things as they are then. :)
Thanks for the interesting comments. I enjoyed them.

D.B. Sommer

The Apprentice

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