1. A computer-implemented method for manipulating data in a file system, the data in the file system organized into chunk and clusters and datasets, each chunk being a plurality of bytes, each cluster being a plurality of chunks, each dataset including a plurality of clusters, where each dataset represents a subset of the data in the file system at a particular point in time, the method comprising: selecting, in a virtual synthetic system, a first chunk location in a first generation dataset of a first cluster, the first chunk and first cluster being in the file system; generating a first offset using a distance distribution function where the first offset is an integer enumerating one or more chunks, where the one or more chunks are in the file system; selecting a second chunk location in the first generation dataset of a second cluster, wherein the second chunk location is offset from the first chunk location by the first offset, the second chunk location and second cluster being in the file system; and manipulating data at each cluster selected on the first generation dataset thereby creating a second generation dataset.