"In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being sequentially executed[1] by a computer system that has the ability to run several computer programs concurrently." -Wikipedia
So if we think of the planes as processes, with the Great Wheel as the computing system, then is there a danger of a race condition?:
"A race condition or race hazard is a flaw in a system or process whereby the output and/or result of the process is unexpectedly and critically dependent on the sequence or timing of other events. The term originates with the idea of two signals racing each other to influence the output first."
What I'm trying to get at is if each of the planes runs in its own timestream (or own current of time), then is there a difficulty in trying to communicate given our timestreams moving differently? And this one of the reasons why the Far Realm seems so insane to us and perhaps we to it?
I haven't thought through it enough, but it really depends on how one sees reality I would think. If you're in one timestream (thread) and I'm in a another, how does that effect our ability to influence things in a third timestream?
If I enter a timestream and stab the monk, then leave, what happens if you've entered the same timestream and turned the monk to ash?
Not sure if this could even be fun though for most, because you have to think about read-update-write operations...
Essentially, I think the answer would be that though timestreams may flow at different rates, causality is preserved and they never flow counter to one another. Only mighty magic or godly powers would be able to reverse time, rewrite history, or otherwise affect a past event.
If the planes are programs, and the laws of nature are functions in those programs, what if an "error" causes the laws of nature to be dependent on things that happen in another plane? For example, the weather becomes dependent on the relative strength of demon lords in the Abyss, or magic becomes tied to the movements of the cubes in Acheron.
In that case, can erasing the cause of the error solve the problem without giving substantioldamage to the program? Or will it cause all or some of the program to not function at all? If demon lords powers are tied to the weather, will killing them off stop weather? Or is it just gonna get random?
Hm - so basically trying to think if there's a locking situation here? Or thrashing? Possible - I could see the Formians as a cause...