I see a small impedance mismatch between "SQL prohibits updating in queries" and "SQL requires you to write query updates a certain way", though I see where OP

I see a small impedance mismatch between "SQL prohibits updating in queries" and "SQL requires you to write query updates a certain way", though I see where OP is coming from. One of the reasons mini/microKanren has taken off in research is the use of immutable data structures to prevent the morass you can get with self-modifying Prolog queries.