Provocative consistent conjunction

“A plot is the means by which fiction portrays the consequences of actions, but it is not like a pool table; one event never mechanically causes another.  In a plot each event provokes other events by making it possible for them to happen–possible but not inevitable, because human beings are always free to choose their response to provocation.” — Edward Mendelson, “The Perils of His Magic Circle” (emphasis in original)