This week, my daughter turned in a piece of homework that would have been denounced as witchcraft in my day. (“What deviltry is this?! These images doth move, and verily, text appeareth on them in a gradual manner, and then doth disappear gradually in turn!”) But behind the technological razzle-dazzle, it was marvellously creative and, yes, made me proud.

Previously on Noise to Signal: Mayor Subramaniam emerges gingerly from the LeapAhead room, thinking at first his vision is clouded by a residual layer of hibernation gel. But no: it’s the thin, acrid smoke that permeates the air of New Cantilever, five centuries into the future. Back in the present, Candace is barely keeping Devon from activating the Norton decontamination protocol, and with Adriana’s presence looming, a bunk on the Misanthrope is starting to look awfully appealing to both of them. But Misha’s new handler has other ideas, some of them involving Akinyele – and when the Mayor’s mobile phone rings at an especially awkward time, it gives the phrase “blast from the past” a whole new meaning.