"Yeah," said Karyn. "If you did I'd have remem-- no, that isn't right. If it just happened I'd still know it. Are you sure you didn't say anything about the school?"
"I'm sure! Except that I wished there wouldn't be school today! Oh, no, I didn't..."
"What? Jon, you'd better fix it...."
"I can't! I wished I couldn't undo or circumvent any of the earlier wishes."
"Circumvent?"
"Yeah, circumvent. I can't do something which makes the result of the wish not happen. I think we're stuck with a burned down school."
"But what if someone died?"
"I guess I have to wish I have a way to bring people to life... no, that's circumventing. What is circumventing anyway? If I wish for a bathroom and I don't like the color of the tiles, can I change them or is that circumventing since the wish made them white and I can't change the result of the wish?"
"Er, maybe? Jon, you're overdoing it."
"What if the bathroom's self-cleaning and it's because there's this magic spell that feeds on people's life force to clean the bathroom. If I wish it to be self-cleaning in another way, is that circumventing? If someone sees my magic bathroom and tells the government, and I'm kidnapped and forced to reveal the secret, is it circumventing if I try to stop that? It wouldn't have happened without the wish. If my family goes broke paying for the electricity for my refrigerator, do they have to stay broke because going broke is an effect of my wish and I can't circumvent it?"
"Jon, you're really overdoing it."
"But don't you see, Karyn? I messed up. I said no circumventing... does that mean I can't change anything... no matter how indirect... that happened because of my wish? Or is there some effect that I can change after all?"
"Why not just try it?"
"Fine. I wish...."
