where does the city of ember get its light from
The City of Ember As the book stats off a coalition of architects, scientists, and doctors known as "The Builders" have assembled Ember, a subterranean city with supplies for its inhabitants to survive at least 200 years, to elude an impending disaster. They handed the first mayor of the city a locked box, holding instructions for the city's inhabitants, to be passed down from one mayor to the next. This passage continues until the seventh mayor who, in search of a cure for a deadly cough tries multiple times to break it open but fails each time, then dies before he can return the box to its rightful place or inform anyone else of its importance. Two hundred forty-one years after Ember is established, the cityâ€²s supplies are in danger of exhaustion and its hydroelectric generator is in decay. At their graduation ceremony, young people are assigned their jobs: Lina Mayfleet is assigned the job of "Pipeworks Laborer" and Doon Harrow is given the job of "Messenger." However, both are displeased with their assigned jobs so they exchange their assignments in secret. Lina's younger sister, Poppy, exposes the instructions left by the Builders, but in teething leaves them almost illegible. Later, Lina asks Doon to help her reconstruct the paper. After much trial and error, she and Doon decipher the instructions from the Builders, which inform them of how to exit the city of Ember. Lina's grandmother dies shortly afterward, and Lina and Poppy move in with a neighbor, Mrs. Murdo. At work, Doon discovers that the mayor of Ember and a storeroom worker named Looper have been stealing supplies, and he and Lina report the crime. Upon following the instructions given in the note, they discover boats and candles meant for use in the exodus. On their return to Ember, they learn that the mayor has declared them fugitives from the law. Lina is arrested and taken to the mayor, who threatens to throw her in jail. Suddenly, a blackout occurs and allows her to escape without being seen. Lina, Doon, and Poppy escape in a boat through the river that supplies Ember's electricity. When the boat stops, they learn the origin of Ember from a diary left by one of its original colonists. Shortly after they are faced with a very steep climb and emerge onto the surface where they see their city from above and realize for the first time that Ember is underground. They throw a rock with instructions tied to it down to the city in hope that the people of Ember will escape. The novel ends with Mrs. Murdo finding the message on the street.