[ WP ] A man forgets to water his potted plant for a whole week . This negligence starts a long chain reaction that leads up to World War III .

Kevin had always been a little bit forgetful. 
 
 Sometimes he would forget to pick up a fresh carton of milk on Mondays. This meant that he could not enjoy his cornflakes on Tuesdays, which was irksome, but not so unpleasant as to cause him a great deal of stress. Sometimes he would forget to pack a pair of socks to wear after cycling to work in the summer. This meant that his socks would be just slightly moist for the day, which was uncomfortable, but not so troublesome as to cause him to complain. 
 
 It was, however, much more rare that he would forget to water the small Chinese evergreen that sat on the corner of his desk. This meant that on the rare occasion when he did neglect the little shrub, the hellish fires of war rained for years, which really was quite a bother, especially when the bridge over the canal on Riverview Road was destroyed in a dawn air raid, adding an extra twelve minutes to his morning bicycle ride. 
 
 Kevin worked in a neat government office, a small cog in the confused metaphor that was the Department of Industry, Commerce, and Workplace Relations. His desk was neat and productive, populated only with a pile of papers, a mason jar of stationary, a desktop computer, and a tidy Chinese evergreen that sat nicely in a terracotta pot. At exactly half past three each afternoon, Kevin would meander to the break room, fix himself a cup of tea, take a biscuit from the jar, and fill a small plastic cup with enough water to nourish his desktop shrub for another evening. However, this usual routine fell very much into chaos on the third Thursday of August, when Kevin's wife of seven years left him for a rich property investor with a fine taste in motorcycles, fine art, and vintage wine. 
 
 Kevin did not come into work on the Friday after this revelation. Tea did not get fixed, a biscuit was not taken, and the Chinese evergreen was not watered. 
 
 When he returned to work on Monday, it was a little limp, but Kevin did not notice. At half past three that afternoon, Kevin did not realise that the time for tea, a biscuit and plant watering had arrived, and consequently, the plant went without water again. 
 
 On Tuesday, the plant had taken an air of sadness, as if it were symbiotic with its owner. That afternoon, Kevin again forgot to tend to his potted friend, just as he had forgotten to pack a banana for morning tea. 
 
 On Wednesday, Kevin forgot all of his emotional burdens, but this was only for a fleeting moment. Upon their return, Kevin left work early, finding solace in visiting his favourite antique museum just out of town. Half past three came and went, without the thought of watering his desktop potted plant passing through Kevin's mind. 
 
 On Thursday, Kevin noticed that his plant was lifeless. It was unfortunate, of course. At that stage, Kevin could not foresee the ferocious armed conflict that would unfold as a result, and as such, was not overly bothered. He placed the plant in a large trash can near the storage room, in as much a nonchalant manner as one may imagine, and went about his day. At half past three, he submitted a request for a new Chinese evergreen with the building services manager. 
 
 In doing so, he caused an additional twelve dollars and seventy cents to be expended in this quarter. This would move his branch from second most expensive to maintain to most expensive to maintain, which would have been of little significance were it not for the ensuing audit. The audit would have been of little significance were it not for the ensuring restructure of his branch. The restructure would have been of little significance were it not for the dismissal of two accountants, who were generally accepted as redundant regardless, but were kept around because nobody really knew what they did and were not particularly fussed about finding out. 
 
 As the death of a plant caused the dismissal of two accountants from the Department of Industry, Commerce, and Workplace Relations, so it caused unemployment to slide from just ever so slightly under six percent to just ever so slightly over six percent. This, of course, would usually be consigned to a small box of text five pages into the newspaper, but given the precarious state of government affairs, it made the evening news. Kevin watched the news with his usual state of apathy, caring more for the highlights of the football than the state of the economy. 
 
 Just as an unwanted guest would arrive at a party and eat all the best cheeses, the election rolled around some four months later. Of course, a party that presided over a state of unemployment that dipped below six percent could not be elected for a third term. Even Kevin knew this simple fact as he cast his vote for a more moderate, protectionist candidate, despite his minor concerns regarding the foreign policy stances of the party to which this candidate belonged. 
 
 Kevin did not know that the party which he had helped to elect would then go on to intercept sensitive diplomatic material from the Iranian embassy. Of course, Kevin would tell himself, this was not a reasonably foreseeable outcome of his vote, and was not a matter with which he would bother to worry about. It was just as unforeseeable that this would lead to the withdrawal of the Iranian ambassador and seven senior diplomatic staff by the government of Iran. Kevin did not bother himself with this either, for it was his birthday, and he was enjoying a fine sirloin steak with glass of expensive red wine gifted to him by his sister. 
 
 Kevin became slightly bothered when his government increased sanctions against Iran. This was not because of the sanctions themselves, which Kevin saw as moderate but pragmatic policy based on the evidence at hand, but rather because of the response of the Iranian government, which unsurprisingly involved the reopening of a nuclear research facility in Khuzestan Province. Kevin, a keen student of history, knew that nuclear weapons were quite dangerous. 
 
 The government, despite advice from seasoned advisors, thought it best to send weapons inspectors to the research facility. While within its legal rights under several conventions, Iran did not take kindly to this, just as Kevin had not taken kindly to his office chair being moved into a meeting room during lunch and not returned at the conclusion of the meeting. Kevin, however, acted reasonably, while the Iranian soldiers guarding the facility did not. Kevin simply made a point of mentioning the issue to Cheryl at reception, asking her to kindly return any furnishings that she may need to move in the future. The Iranian soldiers took a much more blunt response and refused the inspectors entry into the facility, which of course did not sit well with the government which Kevin had helped elect. 
 
 While Kevin was busy watering his new Chinese evergreen, which had been healthy for an uninterrupted seven months, diplomatic hostilities increased between Iran and the broader international community. Early alliances formed and countries made their stances known, flamboyant displays of military prowess took place, and Russia accidentally shot down a civilian aircraft flying across Europe. This was exacerbated by the presence of the wife and two children of a senior German minister on the flight, an unfortunate circumstance indeed. Kevin, having always wanted children of his own, was particularly saddened. 
 
 Kevin could do little to respond, unlike the German government, which could increase its military presence in eastern Europe, something Kevin could only dream of doing. Naturally, territory was disputed, local populations were displaced, and geopolitical tensions reached a delicate tipping point, which easily escalated into a minor armed military confrontation along the border of two minor eastern European nations. Again, having no military of his own, Kevin was powerless. 
 
 Just as one small crack in a glass window can lead to the shattering of an entire pane, so too can rising international political tension and questionable military deployments lead to full scale conflict between small countries. Kevin, being a citizen of neither of the countries involved, was not entirely phased, until a series of archaic alliances came into play, plunging his otherwise peaceful nation into a war that soon spread across the globe in the same way that a split coffee spreads across a desk. 
 
 Kevin could do little but watch as towns and cities across the European continent fell. Were it not for a congenital heart defect, he may have enlisted, but this was not a possibility. All Kevin could do was continue his work at the Department of Industry, Commerce, and Workplace Relations, while hoping that it would all pass rather soon. Quite the opposite happened, and without fail, the world was at war. This was not to Kevin's liking. He had quite liked the more peaceful times. 
 
 Yet the war was not a lengthy one. After fourteen months, most countries had withdrawn from the conflict. The war was becoming less bothersome for Kevin, which was pleasing, as it meant he no longer had to concern himself with air raids. In fact, Kevin would have been content were it not for a misfired explosive that completely destroyed the bridge over the canal on Riverview Road, adding an extra twelve minutes to his morning bicycle ride. 
 
 This twelve minutes would have been of little consequence had Kevin not scheduled a meeting for fifteen minutes past nine that morning. In his rush to gather paperwork from his desk, a slight bump of the elbow knocked his Chinese evergreen to the ground. The terracotta shattered and the plant's roots were torn beyond repair. Kevin knew that he would need to clean all this mess up later, as this was an obvious consequence. 
 
 Less obvious, however, was that major famine and an outbreak of disease across Central Asia would occur just eighteen months later as a result of this slight bump. Had he foreseen this, he may have been a little more attentive to his precious Chinese evergreen.
