We have a deal that stopped me pulling the plug on services. But only just. I was hours from having to stop the Underground and buses from running in this, the greatest city on Earth. How insane is that? How could that even be allowed to happen? I waited until five to midnight on the day when I would have had to pull the plug for the next day, before I got the letter from the Government on an interim funding settlement.

[Poetry] is a most musicall Modulator of all Intelligibles by her inventive Variations, undulling their Grossenesse, and subliming it into more refined Acceptablenesse to our own, or others understandings.

The author describes the main character's youth at the beginning of the story.

[A]senic use was widespread. Not that we have a reliable test for it, it is not much used, homicidally.