56 pages • 1 hour read
The 100
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Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of pregnancy loss, death, and child death.
Chapter 1 Summary: “Clarke”
Hundreds of years ago, the Earth was rendered inhabitable by the Cataclysm—the result of humanity’s nuclear and biological warfare. The descendants of those who escaped the planet now live on a space colony and are desperate to reclaim the planet before the ship’s oxygen lock fails, killing them all. To gain information about the state of the environment on Earth, the ruling council has decided to send 100 juvenile criminals to the planet.
A teenage girl named Clarke now languishes in solitary confinement aboard the colony. Several months ago, she was devastated when her parents were executed for the crime of conducting radiation experiments on children. At the time, the colony’s vice chancellor also found Clarke guilty of aiding them. Clarke will get a retrial on her 18th birthday in a few months, but she doesn’t hold out much hope of being pardoned, as the council has not issued a pardon for anyone in a long time.
One day, a doctor unexpectedly arrives at Clarke’s cell. Instead of executing her, the doctor fits her with a vitals tracker and tells her that she has a chance to erase her criminal past because she is “going to Earth” (8).
