i don't think so. it is just computationally impossible to snapshot the state of such a large system as the whole universe, within the universe. i consider that to be the spook at the center of quantum theory. but the whole thing of orphans and forks exactly maps to the notion of quantum uncertainty. even though the blocks are snapshots, they are at first attempted snapshots. similarly, the state of a physical system has multiple conflicting potentials at work, and it is only after some time period after those interactions have completed that you can conclusively say "the system was is this state at that time", so heisenberg applies to bitcoin no different to the state of an atom or even electron. if you are following my logic here, it's the same point. outside of the linear construct of the block chain, everything else is competing potentials that may or may not (yet) become part of a future state. the block is the collapse of the quantum wave, and multiple versions of this collapse can happen concurrently, but the losers are forgotten. like the decomposition of a radionucleide, at any given point in time, the potential exists for a collapse. one of those potentials wins, and then you get a tick on your geiger counter. i still say that all this quantum stuff is just an A=A for the fact that you can't measure a thing, with a thing equal or larger than the thing. a foot can't be used to measure the length of an ant, for example (well, a human foot). similarly, you can't measure the *global* state of the bitcoin network, at all, but the block itself is the measurement of the state of the network according to the consensus protocol. all the same principles apply to all systems and the process of change. what's remarkable about bitcoin is that it is a microcosm of an emergent system. it has a life on its own account, it is like an organism, that has all the error correction mechanisms and protocols to sustain its ongoing existence, just like our bodies have many processes and protocols to determine our future course. and also, yeah, probably bitcoin has a death also, but more than likely it is either an accident or an upgrade. bitcoin's ultimate dependency is humans and the internet. the internet enables the transactions, and the humans decide them. without the internet and humans there could not be a bitcoin.