Abstract
To pit desire against destiny in narrative is like pitting fire against water -- beyond their elemental nature, there is little by way of similarity to bargain about. Desire is an unconstrained flight; destiny is a straight drive along a paved road.

Nevertheless, the same series of events can be interpreted as manifestations of either desire or destiny, depending on the philosophical bent of the observer. The philosophy of the Universe is harder to discern. What underlying model is at work in the space-time continuum? Consider the paradox of light: some experiments reveal that it behaves like a particle; in others, it behaves like a wave. Is it one or the other? Or are wave and particle both just point-of-view perspectives on another true thing, a "wavicle" that manifests the properties of both?

Position statement: for Caixa Forum MetaNarratives Conference, Barcelona, Spain, January 29, 2005.
http://mf.media.mit.edu/pubs/conference/DesireVsDestiny.pdf