causality

The agency of a cause; the action or power of a cause, in producing its effect.

The relationship between something that happens or exists and the thing that causes it; the cause and consequence relationship.

But how do transformations like the evolution of language take place? A scientist looks for a cause inside time; a mystic knows that causality is essentially a process that is outside time-space.

But some discussion of the complex relationship between “allohistory” and sf is appropriate here, as the genres overlap in certain ways. Classical allohistory— such as Trevelyan's "What if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo?" and Churchill's "If Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg" —is a rigorously consistent thought-experiment in historical causality.

To bring about; generally a result with a negative connotation

He will cause an incident if he continues.

To compel

She caused the entire office to stay late by imposing the new deadline.