 Emily's ability as a "Time Channeller" — the "pilot" that allows her and Honoré to travel in time — was not mentioned in "The Cabinet of Light".The author of that novella, Daniel O'Mahony, has stated on onlines forums that this is because the concept was introduced by Telos after the novella had been published to prevent the "Time Hunter" series from being stuck in the 1950s.Although never explicitly mentioned in the text, the alternative future that Emily and Honoré visit in the novella is the 1984 of George Orwell's social allegory.