Lakshmi Dabir was looking at him thoughtfully. “This is true,” she said slowly. “But we’re in a coalition government. There’s no guarantee our partners will vote for it, even if the PM were to want such legislation.”

Kade nodded agreeably.

“All I ask is that it’s introduced,” he said, “with an honest effort made.”

Aggarwal shook his head. “This is ridiculous, Mr Lane.”

“Fourth,” Kade raised his voice slightly, let his own passion rise, his own anger, his own outrage at the things he’d seen, let it chase away any anxiety that remained. “If I ever find signs of any surveillance, coercion, mind-reading, or mind-control tools built off of Nexus or any related technology, I will destroy those tools, and I will publicize them, to the entire world.” He waited a beat, as Aggarwal’s face grew more outraged, as Lakshmi Dabir looked more and more thoughtful. “And if you involve me in this project,” Kade continued. “And if you build such things, I will find them.”

They don’t know what you’re capable of, Sam had said. You’re a question mark. Use that to your advantage.

“This is pointless,” Aggarwal said. He rose.

“Sit down, Rakesh.” Dabir said softly. “Hear him out.”

Aggarwal stayed standing.

Kade took another slow breath. A calming breath now.

“Fifth,” he said, his face cold now. “Your government will introduce legislation prohibiting discrimination and penalizing hate crimes against individuals on the basis of genetic, neurobiological, computational, or other enhancements, and give these laws teeth in places like Bihar province.”

Bihar, the orphanage, weeping in the ashes for the dozens of his children who’d died.

No. That’s Shiva’s memory, not mine.

“Ahhh,” Aggarwal was speaking, still standing, his voice dripping with contempt now. “Bihar. Shiva Prasad, eh? You know we landed marines on Apyar Kyun not long after you left there? We’ve heard interesting stories from the staff we’ve questioned. Is it true you have Shiva Prasad’s memories? Is that why you killed him? No more use for him?”

Rakesh Aggarwal leaned forward, put his hands on the table, pushed his face forward towards Kade’s.

“Tell me, Mr Lane: Did you pull the trigger? Did you put the bullet in Shiva Prasad’s brain?”

Kade closed his eyes in pain and shock.

Sam raised the pistol, pointed it at Shiva’s head, just inches from his skull, less than two feet from Kade.

“No, Sam. Don’t do this. He tried to do the…”

Muzzle flair. Shiva’s brain collapsing in shards of chaos. Wet matter splattering on Kade’s face.

She just executed him! In cold blood!

I could have saved him. Oh god, he was good inside. I could have saved him. We could have saved him, the children and I…