She sent Zeli a copy of Felix’s message. “It would probably mean breaking some kind of law, but I could release that Synaxel report. How can I continue designing pill simulations when I know they’re not doing a proper job of using the tests? They’re manipulating the results, hiding what they don’t want the public to know. It’s—” She stopped herself and whispered, “It’s bull.”

They all glanced at the children playing on the floor.

“What about our project?” Zeli asked.

Nithya sighed. “Some funder must be running ethical projects. I don’t know where to find them, but I can’t go on like before. What the Machinehood has done is horrible, but they make some valid points. We have become too dependent on pills. Look at this past month! Nobody can work. Life has come to a halt. And yet, people are pushing for greater deregulation, to go back to the fifties and sixties. In the rush to succeed, they’ve forgotten how badly they can get hurt. I’ll do gigs if I have to, but I can’t take any more of Synaxel’s money. Peter is ready to drop me from the project anyway.”

“And what if they send you to jail?” Zeli asked.

Nithya stared, openmouthed. She sputtered, “They—but—it’s the funder’s fault, not mine!”

Oh, God help me! I sound naive to myself.

Luis laid his hand over hers. “If the stellas stay up, I can start working again. You should do what you think is right. My father was in the union riots of the sixties and went to jail more than once. I was little, but Mama made sure Welga and I knew that we struggled for good reasons. We’ll manage here without you if we have to.”

Nithya watched her daughter playing on the floor. Carma looked so big next to Mouna, but her daughter still looked up to her. What kind of role model would she be if she kept quiet? When these girls grew up, when they asked, What did you do to prevent this?, she’d have no better answer than, I quit. That’s the only action Josephine Lee had taken. If people like Lee—or herself—kept guarding the misdeeds of the powerful, the state of the world would get worse. How could she face her daughter in a decade or two without shame?

Nithya emerged from her thoughts to find Luis and Zeli watching her.

“You’re going to do it,” Zeli said.

Nithya nodded. “I must. I can’t live with myself any other way.”

“You want me to help you route it through anonymous channels?”