"What If—" is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by American writer

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

, first published in the Summer 1952 issue of ''

Fantastic Fantastic or Fantastik may refer to: Music * ''Fantastic'' (Toy-Box album) * ''Fantastic'' (Wham! album) * '' Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)'', an album by Slum Village * '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'', an album by Slum Village * ''Fantastic'' (EP), an EP by ...

'' and reprinted in the 1969 collection ''

Nightfall and Other Stories ''Nightfall and Other Stories'' (1969) is a collection of 20 previously published science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov. Asimov added a brief introduction to each story, explaining some aspect of the story's history and/or how it came to ...

''. The story was inspired by the author's wife who, during a car journey they were taking from New York to Boston, asked him where he got his story ideas. Before they arrived, Isaac had thought of a plot based on the journey.Asimov, I. (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', (Avon 1980 edition), pp. 611–612

Plot summary

A married couple is traveling on a train from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. They meet a mysterious silent man known only as Mister If, who shows them a small portable

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

-like device about in size. (Mr. If's first name is implied to be What, but whether this is true is left to the reader.) On the device's screen, Mr. If shows the couple scenes from their earlier lives and what might have happened if certain minor but pivotal events had not occurred. Eventually they learned that even if the pivotal event had not taken place, the result would eventually have been the same.

Background

The theme of major events being altered by relatively minor changes would recur in Asimov's 1955 novel ''

The End of Eternity ''The End of Eternity'' is a 1955 science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov with mystery and thriller elements on the subjects of time travel and social engineering. Its ultimate premise is that of a causal loop, a type of temporal paradox in w ...

'' and his 1958 short story " Spell My Name with an S".

Similar devices in subsequent fiction

The story's theme and idea has been used in two episodes of the animated television series ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'': "

Anthology of Interest "Anthology of Interest I" is the sixteenth episode in the Futurama season 2, second List of Futurama episodes, season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 29th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on t ...

" and "

Anthology of Interest II "Anthology of Interest II" is the eighteenth episode in the third season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 50th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January ...

". Professor Farnsworth demonstrates a 'What If—' machine similar to Mr. If's. A similar idea has also occurred in "

Turn Left "Turn Left" is the eleventh episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by showrunner Russell T Davies and broadcast on BBC One on 21 June 2008. David Tennant only makes a small cont ...

", a Series Four episode of the television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. Neil Gaiman wrote a short story called "The Wedding Present" as introduction for the collection "

Smoke and Mirrors Smoke and mirrors is a classic technique in magical illusions that makes an entity appear to hover in empty space. It was documented as early as 1770 and spread widely after its use by the charlatan Johann Georg Schröpfer, who claimed to conj ...

". In this story, a couple receives as a wedding present a stack of paper sheets relating what could have happened during their to-come life in common. The 1998 British-American romantic

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

Sliding Doors ''Sliding Doors'' is a 1998 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow while also featuring John Hannah, John Lynch, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. The film alternates between two storylines, showi ...

'' is based on a similar idea. The film alternates between two parallel universes, based on the two paths the central character's life could take depending on whether or not she catches a train, and causing different outcomes in her life.

References

External links

*
"What If—"
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Short stories by Isaac Asimov 1952 short stories Works originally published in Fantastic (magazine) {{1950s-fantasy-story-stub