In this figure, we see other relevant sequences or processes: security-related processes, technology development and transnational commercial treaties. It is plausible that these processes intersect and form a conjuncture with the process in the previous figure. According to the notion of reactive sequences, when events and conjunctures take place defines the continuation of the process. For instance, if the Snowden revelations had been made earlier or later, this could have had an influence on later decisions by the European Court of Justice. Another possibility is that a crucial technological step is taken at a key point, altering the credibility of legislation. Considering such options requires counterfactual historical thinking.
So far we have considered historical processes. How could we envision scenarios of the future? Scenarios can be likened to counterfactual history because they exhibit the same kind of thinking about plausible potential events which have not taken place \citep{Booth_2009}. Figure 4 displays a hypothetical future sequence starting from the simple sequence in figure 1.