Heh, from a programming point of view it could be viewed more like a "master template" (the actual object), then multiple (transient?) instances created from that template.
No idea how that maps to this quantum stuff though. ;)
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Hmmm. If you've used animation software before (?), then they commonly have a library of "assets" you can use in your animations. Those library assets would be like the "object", with several instances of it placed as needed in scenes, each slightly tweaked (size, colour, etc).