Laws of Narrative Comedy

The Laws of Narrative Comedy state that:


 * a. the degree to which an agent desires to avoid an event is proportional to the likelihood of its occurrence
 * and, conversely,
 * b. the degree to which an agent desires an event to occur is proportional to its likelihood of not occurring.

For example, the console abides by these rules when it beeps just as an agent is ready to rest. These laws (in addition to a healthy heap of literal interpretation) are also responsible for why it's so hard to get around in Headquarters.

An example of the Laws of Narrative Comedy in action occurs in the Original Series here: Chapter 25, Broken Doll.