Prue had never been to a parade before. They had the summer fetes in North Owlcot, but nothing on this scale.

Somewhere, several streets away, music began playing; a thumping, booming, drumming with whistles trilling like excited birds.

“Yes! Here we go!” said Edwin.

Prue could feel her heart rate rising as the drums neared.

“The first cart is the showpiece, so be prepared to see some weird things,” said Agapantha. “Most of it will never function in the real world of course; it’s mainly for fun.”

Soon a huge shadow fell on the street at the south end of the square. A band streamed in, playing their great rhythmic drums and blowing whistles. The crowd gasped then erupted with applause as a huge person, almost as tall as the surrounding buildings, stepped into the square. It was an automaton made entirely of cogs, which ticked and clonked as it stepped from one foot to the other, two huge arms slowly swinging forward and back.

Prue clapped and cheered, amazed at what looked like a great wind-up mechanism powering it.

The cog person was followed by a cart with chairs and tables which sprang into action and began dancing about each other.

“I suppose it makes it easier to play musical chairs,” said Prue.

“Very practical,” said Edwin, smiling.

Then followed a lady who was wearing great mechanical wings strapped to her body.

“I can’t see that taking off anytime soon,” said Agapantha. “Mathematically speaking, the proportions just don’t work.”

They watched and cheered as parade carts flowed around the square: peddle bikes powered by miniature engines, a giant self-playing piano with an advertisement on the float stating Sponsored by Marvello’s Automated Musicians, a robotic trumpeter, a small house on wheels with the banner Why stay still when you can move home every day? Then a cart rolled in with enormous glass orbs high in the sky on great prongs.

“I don’t get that one,” said Prue.

In a moment, the glass domes filled with black, as though night existed within, then flashes of light exploded and the domes were ablaze with vibrant colours.

“These would make it possible to party anytime!” said Edwin.

Lastly, Governor Watson-Wentworth stood like a figurehead on a cart of personifates, waving and being cheered by the crowd. A banner was displayed: All for personifates and personifates for all.

“As the city’s most esteemed invention, the personifates always take the final place,” said Agapantha. “There’s a personifate draw for which personifates are chosen to be on the cart. Everyone’s name goes in and twenty are chosen.”

“It is amazing, isn’t it?” said Prue. “Those earlier machines were huge and impressive, but personifates are so much more advanced. It really shows how much further the Guild is, how brilliant Master Woolstenbury is…”

Suddenly, something flew through the air from the crowd – it hit the side of the cart and exploded red.