China Miéville's Iron Council is a novel about historical destiny and those struggling to create their own events. In this bit our heroes confront the agent (Jacobs) of the bad guys (Tesh) who are sending a new god to destroy New Crobuzon. And now historical events are over shadowed by events of the moment (Augenblick) as beings emerge, and others disappear into hiddenness.

"I know your gods," Qurabin said. The thing kept coming. The buildings tensed. Spiral Jacobs looked suddenly afraid.

Qurabin was only a voice, moving through the empty space. The monk sounded hysterical, aggressive, eager to fight. Qurabin taunted Spiral Jacobs. Had she or he still known Tesh, Cutter was certain that was what he would have heard, that glottal and interruptive language. Ragamoll was all that was left to Qurabin.

"Jinxing...it's easy to intimidate them as don't know what it is, yes? But what if you face one as does, eh? Another Teshi? Who can find out Teshi secrets? Your secrets?"

Spiral Jacobs shouted something.

"I don't understand you no more, mate," Qurabin said, but Cutter was sure the ambassador had said traitor.

"Know who I am?" Qurabin said.

"Aye, I know who y'are," shouted Jacobs, and he pushed out his hands sending a swirl of the buttery haint-stuff at where the voice came from, but the swirling air met no resistance. "You're a Momentist blatherer."

Judah was trying to stand, was burrowing his hands in dirt that shook with the incoming spirit-thing. He was trying to raise a golem, any golem, something.

"It's coming," Cutter shouted. It was coming out of its burrow into the real, it was unfolding into more and more impossible conjunctions. The dimensions of the bricks and the edges of the walls strained as it came close. Architecture stirred.

"Your godlings and demiurgii all live in the Moments, Tesh-man. And my Moment knows." Qurabin's voice was tremendous, louder than the oncoming of the murder-thing.

P. 483

"Momentist blatherer"--I'll have to remember that one when the occasion calls for it.  ¶ 5:50 PM