His friend, roommate, and colleague, Sax Raker, is the greatest detective in London, and one of the finest minds in Britain, with Watcham having written a number of exploits about him for the popular press.

Raker, Watcham, and Inanna head into the River Fleet's underground channel as the Ruritanian aeroplanes begin a heavy fire-bombing of London in preparation for their final assault on Britain.

Vogel was sent back through time, along with his personal handheld computer – containing, among other things, the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Sexton Blake, The Prisoner of Zenda, and a number of old movies and Japanese anime.

Vogel explains that, to 'bridge' between the two realities, the stories contained in his handheld were merged with the real-world 1905, creating the world of Aetheric Mechanics – and that neither Sax, nor Watcham, nor Inanna, nor Ruritania were real.

Leaving Inanna and Watcham dumbstruck behind him, Raker races back through the tunnels below London, promising that using his intellect, he will still manage to find a way to prevent Britain from losing the war.