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Chapters 7–10

Summary: Chapter 7: A Message Full of Holes

Lina studies the paper scraps and concludes the original note must have come from the Builders and the box must be the lost item Granny was seeking. Although Poppy destroyed much of the message, Lina’s able to make out a seven-step list of instructions. Many of its words are now missing, but Lina regards the message as a mystery and determines to solve it, believing the message could help Ember. 

At work, Lina invites Captain Fleery to her apartment, where Captain Fleery reviews the message, only to dismiss it as unimportant. Captain Fleery then reveals she is a Believer: someone who thinks the Builders will return to save the city. At the Supply Depot, Lizzie tells Lina about Ember’s supply shortages and that only Mayor Cole and Farlo Batten, who is in charge of the storerooms, have access to reports on light bulb and vitamin supplies. After Lizzie shows no interest in the message from the box, Lina writes to the mayor, notifying him of her find, but she receives no reply. As Lina studies the broken message more, slowly filling in words such as river and door, she realizes the message pertains to the Pipeworks and that kind, curious, observant Doon is the right person to help her fill in the blanks.

Summary: Chapters 8: Explorations

Doon uses his spare time at work to explore the Pipeworks. At its south end, he finds Tunnel 351, closed with a rope and sign reading “Caved In. No Entry.” Disobeying the order, he enters the tunnel and finds a small ceiling hatch, likely leading to the storeroom. At the tunnel’s end, he finds a locked door. In the place where the river leaves the Pipeworks, Doon sees wrinkled rocks with grooves that resemble writing. Later, Doon hopes to gain insight on inventing a portable light, so he visits Ember Library, where he encounters Lina.

Summary: Chapter 9: The Door in the Roped-Off Tunnel

At Lina’s apartment, Doon spies her drawings, the box, and its fragmented instructions. As he reads important words such as open, follow, and door, Doon recalls the locked door in Tunnel 351. The two visit the Pipeworks the following day, where they hear someone enter Tunnel 351 from its ceiling hatch and then open the locked door. Doon and Lina determine that the man, who walks with a lurching gait that Lina finds familiar, must have discovered the way out of Ember. They believe the man will reveal his discovery to the city, so they decide to stand by for an announcement.

Summary: Chapters 10: Blue Sky and Goodbye

Lina attends to Granny, who is sick with a fever but relieved when Lina tells her she has found the lost object. Later, when Lina draws her imagined city, in color for the first time thanks to her new pencils, she colors a blue sky despite never having seen one before. That night, Granny grows more ill and dies in her sleep. 

Analysis: Chapters 7–10

Lina’s failed attempt to interest Lizzie in the box stirs Lina into realizing that Doon is part of her support network. As a one-time friend who no longer clicks with Lina, Lizzie’s place in Lina’s life appears similar to Doon’s. Where they differ, however, is that Doon and Lina share the same curiosity about their world, whereas Lizzie does not question her place in it beyond what she can secure for herself. Lina does the initial work of restoring and translating the documents in solitude, but when she begins to find common elements in the words she realizes that Doon’s innate curiosity, which he demonstrated when he switched jobs with her, makes him more useful than the others she has attempted to interest in the box. His rescue of Poppy has also proven his desire and his ability to be helpful. Because Doon has been so consistent in demonstrating these positive qualities, Lina does not hesitate to seek his support despite their sometimes rocky past. 

Lina and Doon’s visit to the Pipeworks is their first practical step towards solving the mystery of the box, but they still lack the maturity to follow through. Their curiosity and intelligence enable them to develop a hypothesis, and their bravery allows them to risk testing it. But instead of following up with further research, they passively wait for an announcement that never comes. Just as Lina sends a letter to the mayor when she first finds the box because he is an authority figure, she and Doon put their faith in a strange unidentified man simply because he is an adult. This misplaced trust implies that they have a long way to go before they are mature enough to trust their own instincts to effectively find solutions.

Mrs. Murdo’s invitation to Lina and Poppy signifies the importance of family and community for survival. Mrs. Murdo does not provide the same kind of emotional support for Lina that Doon’s father does for him, but she is a mother to Lina all the same. Mrs. Murdo’s home is not only a place for Lina and Poppy to live, it provides Lina a respite from her grief and allows her to transition from a life with Granny to a life without her. Up until now Lina has always fended for herself while simultaneously contributing to her family, leaving her little time for reflection. When Mrs. Murdo steps in as the main provider for Lina’s family she begins to tend to Lina’s physical needs, which allows Lina to focus on her emotional well-being. Lina’s mental stability is essential for her to survive her grief and her journeys ahead.

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