By 1855, the Babbage computers have become mass-produced and ubiquitous, and their use emulates the innovations that actually occurred during our information technology and Internet revolutions. Other steam-powered technologies have also developed and so, for example, Gurney steam carriages increasingly common. The novel explores the social consequences of an information technology revolution in the nineteenth century, such as the emergence of "clackers" (a reference to hackers), technologically-proficient people, such as Théophile Gautier, who are skilled at programming the Engines through the use of punched cards.