Walter wasn’t sure of the reason, but there was definitely something odd happening. Congestion in the north of the city had started to build half an hour earlier than usual and was also heavier. Numerous junctions had become bottlenecks and long tailbacks were growing everywhere like coral tentacles.

He glanced up at the wall of screens at the front of the control room, each showing a live camera feed of a different junction. All of them were clogged. Around him, his fellow controllers were busy at their desks, each surrounded by three screens, in their hands a console with a joystick and number keypad.

Each morning was a battle to keep the traffic flowing. Usually the control room didn’t do too badly given the legacy road infrastructure – a medieval core, primary roads following old horse-and-coach routes, and inner suburbs laid out before mass car transit – and that four times as many vehicles than ideal were trying to traverse the network. But today they were losing the fight. Or at least, the traffic management system was.

‘Walter,’ his supervisor called, ‘look at camera 153!’

He tapped in the number bringing up the video feed on his left-hand screen. The junction was at a total standstill.

‘Do you see the black Merc,’ the supervisor said, ‘heading south, its nose in the yellow junction box? That’s the Dutch Prime Minister’s car. He’s meant to be giving the opening address at the European Commission’s meeting in the Mansion House in 30 minutes’ time. Somehow he’s got separated from his police escort. They’re stuck at the next junction.’

‘Yeah, I can see him.’

‘I need you to get him back to his escort then green-light them through the centre of town.’

‘I don’t know if that’s going to be possible,’ Walter said, toggling quickly between cameras located at several nearby junctions. ‘It’s chaos all around him.’

‘I don’t care how you do it, Walter, just make it happen.’

‘I’ll do my best, but …’ He didn’t finish the sentence, already lost in the task.

Whatever the problem was it probably lay with Travista, the traffic control system, which would almost certainly be the answer as well.

Seemingly muttering to himself, but actually chatting to Travista, Walter scanned through the lane flows and traffic light settings in the junctions surrounding the one that had trapped the Dutch Prime Minister.