and because of how continuity works (or doesn’t) on the Disc, it is simultaneously true that Vetinari is the way he is because of Vimes’ influence and that he was already like that before Vimes ever time-traveled
because the Vimes who time-traveled is a product of a universe where John Keel was the actual John Keel and Vetinari was who Vetinari is, without John Keel having been Vimes, and yet the Vetinari who is clearly has the John Keel who was Vimes as a formative influence
which serves to 1) be really existentially distressing if you think about it too hard and 2) reinforce the theme of how all the little details of history matter so much but even the ones that ‘make a difference’ don’t necessarily actually make any difference.
Present Vetinari, observing a hijink: this better not have awakened anything in me
Discussion ¬