Spots 
Eighty years into the future, London has lost all political passion. Society has settled into a peaceful, dull oligarchy where public affairs are managed by indifferent clerks. Democracy faded not through tyranny, but because citizens simply ceased to care about governing. Order reigns everywhere, but it is an order born of utter boredom and total lack of imagination.
Humanity has traded great conflicts for comfortable stagnation. Practical men congratulate themselves on eliminating war and fanaticism, believing history has finally ended in quiet routine. Yet this total absence of ideals leaves the city without art, heroism, or purpose. When everything is sensible and uniform, life becomes a gray administrative machine.
Because constitutional monarchy has become a meaningless formality, the King of England is now selected by random lottery. The lot falls upon Auberon Quin, a clerk who views the universe as a cosmic joke. Quin sees no reason why solemn politics should be respected, deciding to use his absolute authority to turn the state into his personal stage.
King Auberon decrees the Great Charter of the Free Cities of London, resurrecting medieval localism. Each neighborhood is declared a sovereign borough, complete with heraldic banners, halberd-bearing guards, and ceremonial robes for its Provost. The cynical King expects the city to collapse into hilarious absurdity, delighting in forcing modern businessmen to parade in feudal regalia.
Most London officials comply with the King’s medieval regulations while rolling their eyes. They treat the banners, guard posts, and grandiose titles as a temporary nuisance to be endured alongside daily commerce. To the sensible men of London, local loyalty is merely a costume party that must not be allowed to interfere with real estate, trade, or city development.
The King's joke breaks against Adam Wayne, the nineteen-year-old Provost of Notting Hill. Where others see ridiculous pageantry, Wayne sees sacred duty and genuine romance in his neighborhood streets. He accepts the charter with absolute, mystical sincerity. When commercial developers attempt to demolish Notting Hill's narrow Pump Street for a new highway, Wayne prepares to defend his borough with blood.
A satirical vision of local patriotism, bureaucratic monotony, and the clash between ironic mockery and fanatic devotion.