The Resistance (novel)

Plot

The book starts off with Peter sitting in a room talking to a counselor. This is supposed to let the counselor see how he is getting on in the outside world as a "Legal". He tells the counselor he has finally agreed to go work for his grandfather, who makes Longevity drugs, which allows people to live forever. The counselor is thrilled, but, unknown to her, Peter is only going to work there to help the Underground, an organization which believes that the Longevity drug is evil and is trying to destroy it. After a talk with Pip, who is the leader of the Underground in all but name, and the instruction to learn as much about Pincent Pharma as possible, while working for them, Peter goes home to Anna and Ben. They no longer live in Bloomsbury, but were “moved to a box in the suburbs” as the space is more "efficient" for them.

When Peter starts his first day at Pincent Pharma, his half-brother Jude is watching on his computer screen through hacked security cameras. Jude lives alone and spents most of his time at his computer, earning money with "hack[ing] into the systems of a bank or major institution that relied on technology for its survival, then call[ing] them up and offer to improve their firewalls, for a price." Peter is introduced to the basics of Longevity and gets a teacher, Dr Edwards, who is to make him understand about science. Soon it becomes obvious that Richard Pincent plans to make Peter sign the Declaration, thus stopping the rumors and crushing the renewed hopes of any rebels.

When Jude hacks into the network of the Underground, they find him and he talks to Pip. Peter has to live with a lot of hostility in Pincent Pharma, though Dr Edwards seems more positively inclinded towards the Surpluses. The pressure on Richard Pincent to make Peter sign the Declaration rises quickly, when Hilary Wright is appointed as the new Deputy Secretary General and demands a press conference in the following week, where Peter is supposed to sign and the new drug Longevity+ is to be released.

Anna, living up to her new mother-role, takes Ben for a walk and meets Maria Whittaker, who seems friendly towards young people and Surpluses. When Anna goes to have a tea at her place, Maria showes her pictures of children taken by their parents before they were found by the Catchers. Anna recognizes serval, among them Sheila and feels terribly guilty for leaving her behind.

The next time Peter meets Pip, they have a discussion and Peter points out, that Pip is wrong about some things and that "[j]ust because someone isn’t in the Underground, doesn’t make them evil [as t]hings aren’t always black and white”.

Peter and Anna receive their Declarations in the post shortly after, urging them to sign as the both will turn 16 soon. Both agree that they will Opt Out, even though Peter has doubts, that he doesn't voice out loud. The following day, Peter finds a note in his coat asking him to steal a file from Richard Pincent's office. When he does so, Peter finds it surprisingly easy to get into the office. Before he leaves, Peter finds a document about the Surplus Sterilisation Programme in which both Anna's and his name are listed. Devastated, Peter gets drunk and, after getting home, tells Anna that they need to sign the Declaration: "If you loved me, you’d sign.”. Anna calls Pip, because she worries about Peter and his change of mind. Peter basically throws Pip out and doesn't want to be part of the Underground any longer. Pip's reaction to Peter handing him the file he stole, as a last favour to the Underground, however, reveals that something is off to the reader.

A day later Peter comes home early from work, trying to make Anna see, that they both should sign the Declaration. They fight, when Anna is still convinced to Opt Out. Richard Pincent realzies his grandson is not going to sign if Anna isn't, so he bullies her into signing, telling her if she really loves Peter, she'd sign. Anna does so, feeling terribly guilty afterwards and goes to meet Maria, to talk and to give her the map she and Peter used to escape Grange Hall. However, Catchers/Police forces find them and arrest Anna. It seems as though she's been set up.

Jude gets to Pincent Pharma in order to save Sheila and is held captive by Derek Samuels, in order to stop him from causing any damage during the press conference. He manages to crawl into an air duct and disrupt the system, which causes the electricity to fail. Pip walks into Pincent Pharma as well in order to safe Anna. Peter is caught snooping around by Richard Pincent in Unit X. Richard had been showing Hilary, how he planned to improve Longevity and make the new version Longevity+ even more effective by using Surplus girls to harvest foetuses. Peter, who'd been willing to sign the Declaration before, changes his mind and is threatened by his grandfather. In order to safe Anna, Peter would have to sign anyway at the press conference later that evening.

Pip saves Peter from the grasp of the guards that are supposed to lock him up. Shortly after Peter and Jude meet for the first time and seem to get along well. Pip and Peter recruit Dr Edwards for help to safe Anna and the other Surplus girls. After seemingly recognizing Pip and realizing the truth about Longevity Dr Edwards is willing to aid them. Together the four of them, with additional support of Underground soldiers, manage the deed. We get to know Anna is pregnant. Just as they are about to escape in a boat, a guard spots them and Dr Edwards sacrifices himself to make it possible for the others to leave.

Peter and Jude go back to their respective cells, to make it seem as though Richard Pincent has won. At the press conference, however, Peter reveals what he learned about Longevity+ to the journalists and refuses to sign. Jude holds a gun to a guards head, Richard Pincent has a heart attack and when Hilary tries to take over and resolve the situation, Jude tells her he has everything on tape. The threat of exposure allows Peter and Jude to leave, even though the whole thing is a trick as Jude didn't record anything.

The final chapter of the book reveals that Peter and Anna are hiding in Scotland, Jude is working for the Underground in London and Peter plans to return to the Underground. While Richard was saved and is back at Pincent Pharma, people have started asking questions and society starts to lose its balance.

Major characters

Background

In the year 2040, scientists create Longevity, a drug which prevents death but does not halt the aging process. People continue to have children although there are no longer any deaths, and this quickly leads to over population. As a result, in the year 2080, the Declaration is introduced. This is a document which must be signed before an individual is allowed to take Longevity, and in doing so they agree not to have any children. There are exceptions to this. For example, wealthy politicians may take the drug and still have children.

Many people are resistant to the Declaration. They still want to have families, but cannot give up the chance to live for an eternity. Children born to these individuals are offensively referred to as "Surplus". In some countries, the Surpluses are killed the moment they are born, but in countries such as Britain, they are taken from their parents at birth to live in "Surplus Halls." They are taught that their existence is a crime against Nature, and that the only way they can atone for their parents' sins is through hard and constant labour.

Prequel and sequel

Gemma Malley's The Declaration series is made up of The Declaration (2007), The Resistance (2009) and The Legacy (2010).