Dewey steps out of the shadows, his hat in his hands. “‘Informed, concerned, and thoughtful citizens can change the world.’” He shrugs. “Reverend Espy—his quote seemed appropriate at this moment in time. Also appropriate is reminding you that our little gathering here will not go unnoticed by the Engineers much longer. Perhaps a decision needs to be made.”

Spine glowers at Dewey, but there is a spark of excitement in her eyes when she lifts her chin and says, “I will not speak for anyone else, but I am not interested in hiding down here when there is a chance to fight for the truth up there.”

A bunch of Stokers cheer. Atlas puts his arm around my shoulders, and Spine continues. “I will not judge anyone who wishes to stay here in the Lyceum during the lockdown. You must make the choice that is right for you. If you wish to leave, you can do so now. All I ask is that you not say anything to anyone else in the Lyceum until those of us who wish to take this step have gone up to the city.”

Not one person moves, and a brilliant smile spreads across Spine’s face as she turns toward me. “Well, you’ve managed to gain a small army. What do you need us to do?”

We give her a quick outline of how spreading the truth is going to work—or as much of it as we have come up with so far. Handing out the books and the pages and our hope that people will ask enough questions or cause enough confusion for us to be able to locate the Unity Center where Atticus and others like Isaac are being held so we can free them.

“The Engineers are never going to let us operate from here,” Spine says.

“No,” Dewey agrees. “They ordered the lockdown because they’re worried about losing more Stewards. Scarlett and Holden will do their best to cause problems for us if they realize how many are defying their wishes.”

“So we move everything out of the Lyceum before they figure out what we’re doing,” I say. “Maybe the tunnels?”

“I’ll talk to Index,” Atlas offers. “The exit station is close, it has supplies, and there should be enough room for all of us to go over the mission and hide out once we’re finished.”

And Index wasn’t wild about the lockdown, either.

“That’s good.” Dewey rubs his chin, then snaps his fingers. “And if Spine can lend me a number of her Stokers, I can make it appear as if they are running books to the vault, but instead they’ll be moving our supplies.”

“Once everything is relocated, we’ll go over the rest of the plan.” Which will give me time to figure out exactly what it is. “Sounds good.”

“As soon as Atlas gets the green light from Index, we’ll get to work. I’ll send my Stokers to Dewey in groups of two or three, and you . . .” Spine frowns at me. “What do we call you? Have you even chosen a name?”