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84:-like device about 6 by 9 inches (15 cm × 23 cm) in size. (Mr. If's first name is implied to be What, but whether this is true is left to the reader.)
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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.
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Eventually they learned that even if the pivotal event had not taken place, the result would eventually have been the same.
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The theme of major events being altered by relatively minor changes would recur in Asimov's 1955 novel
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Neil Gaiman wrote a short story called "The
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The story's theme and idea has been used in two episodes of the animated television series
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This article is about Asimov's 1952 short story. For other uses, see
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is based on a similar idea. The film alternates between two
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498:Works originally published in Fantastic (magazine)
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437:(or stories) published in the 1950s is a
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488:Short stories by Isaac Asimov
382:The Machine That Won the War
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104:and his 1958 short story "
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340:It's Such a Beautiful Day
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128:Anthology of Interest II
18:What If (disambiguation)
508:1950s short story stubs
361:The Up-to-Date Sorcerer
354:Insert Knob A in Hole B
106:Spell My Name with an S
291:Breeds There a Man...?
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430:This article about a
396:Eyes Do More Than See
389:My Son, the Physicist
205:title listing at the
124:Anthology of Interest
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48:by American writer
187:In Memory Yet Green
101:The End of Eternity
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212:"What If—"
203:"What If—"
173:References
140:Doctor Who
94:Background
82:television
270:Nightfall
135:Turn Left
55:Fantastic
30:Fantastic
312:What If—
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