Ready Player One: Level One
Two weeks ago I laid out the first assignment for Batdad's Book Club. I decided to read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It is a Sci_Fi novel set in both a dystopian future and a virtual utopia. The book follows Wade Watts as he hunts for the ultimate video game Easter Egg.
Our Story So Far
The first Assignment was to read Level One (chapters 0000-0016). After reading the Chapters I noticed a natural story break at the end of chapter 0008. So I will separate this section into two parts (Level 1-1 and Level 1-2. I tried to stay light on spoilers. So, hopefully you read the book.
Prologue Level 1-0 (0000)
In the prologue the narrator recaps the entirety of the will of James Halliday, the inventor of the OASIS and avid 80's pop culture enthusiast. He tells everyone he has hidden an easter egg inside the OASIS. and that the winner of the hunt will receive his fortune and his company.There is a brief history of the hunt's immediate popularity and the waning popularity over 5 years until only a dedicated group of Egg Hunters (Gunters) remain. The last thing we find out is that the narrator found the first gate and this is his story.
Level 1-1 (0001-0008)
In this part of the story there is a ton of world/character building. The first chapter introduces us to a world where trailer homes are stacked in makeshift high rises and the world is very bleak. We also learn a little bit about the history of Wade Watts in this less than hospitable world.
The second chapter introduces us to Parzival, Wade's avatar, and the world of the OASIS. We learn about the sinister IOI Sixers (see what I did there?),corporate sponsored gunters looking to gain the prize for their employers. Wade also mentions a blogger he reads religiously and seems to have developed a crush on named Art3mis.
Chapter 0003 takes us to The Basement, a chat room created by Parzival's only friend, Aech. There is an awesome interaction between the two of them that made me think of all the nerduments I have gotten in with friends in the past.
In Chapter 0004 we learn about the parameters and scope of the OASIS. It is shaped like a Rubik's cube with 27 sectors each containing hundreds of planets. Each sector cube is exactly 10 light hours across so teleportation is the best means of travel available, but also costly.
Chapter 0005 provides us with a history of the creation of the OASIS including a little background on James Halliday. It explains the rise of the virtual world to the point where most of the human race now spent all their free time inside.
Chapter 0006 sees Wade giving us a run down of Annorak's Almanac. The references in this small chapter are staggering. It is basically a list of everything James Halliday likes that Wade has watched, studied, listened to,played, etc... to prepare him for any contingency in the Hunt.. The riddle from the will is also repeated in the almanac. Wade also found a limerick hidden in the text with notched letters. It spoke of finding a copper key in a tomb filled with horrors and taking a place among the high scorers.
Chapter 0007 has us in Wades Latin class and a translation of discere sets the wheels in motion for Wade to discover the first gate in the hunt. He finds a picture perfect recreation of the Tomb of Horrors D&D module on the planet where he goes to school. He gets a pass to attend a sporting event the school is participating in near the entrance and gets a voucher to teleport there. He straps his shield on and enters the Tomb.
Chapter 0008 reads like a guy running through a module he already has read. Wade sidesteps traps and collects gear. But, his worry is facing the Lich at the end of the adventure. His avatar is only 3rd level. It turns out not to be the case. He defeats the lich in a very different challenge and obtains the copper key and the next riddle. As he is running to the door footsteps approach.
Level 1-2 (0009-0016)
The other avatar is that of Art3mis. Wade recognizes her right away.There is some banter and discussion about the hunt. The two exchange info while Parzival tries to keep the secret of defeating the lich. As he is about to leave she yells at him and he checks the high score board, and there his name sits atop it. Art3mis casts a barrier spell so he cant leave and the two of them talk about what this means. Parzival gives her a tip for the challenge and he watches until the barrier dissipates and runs out the door.
Next the hunt takes us to one of the hometowns Halliday created in the OASIS. 1 of 256 copies of it to be exact. He finds Halliday's child hood home. When he gets there Art3mis' name pops up on the high score list with 1000 less points than him. He plays a video game on James Halliday's old TRS-80 computer to reveal the first gate.
Parzival completes the challenge waiting for him inside the gate and a new riddle appears.By this time Wade realizes he has been awake for hours. He logs off and falls asleep in his hideout. He dreams of people charging toward him and tearing him to shreds to get to the egg. A bit of foreshadowing maybe.
Wade wakes up and logs back in and watches an interview with Ogden Morrow, the co creator of the OASIS, and Halliday's oldest friend. There is a brief history of his place in the world and how he had a falling out with Halliday. Aech calls Wade and informs him he figured out where the first key is. Wade wishes him luck and then reads an email from Artemis who had also finished the first gate while Wade slept. He responds and then begins studying the second riddle. But, his mind drifts back to Art3mis.
Aech made it through the first gate now. Soon after another gunter tried to blackmail wade and Aech. He let the cat out of the bag on where they both went to school and shortly after the names Daito and Shoto appeared on the scoreboard. Endorsement offers come rolling in for Wade's avatar offering payment in OASIS credits.IOI also contacted him every minute since his name went up on the board. We are given a brief introduction to Nolan Sorrento, Head of Operations at IOI. They are trying to recruit Parzival. He agrees to the interview so he can tell them where to stick it.
Parzival arrives at the virtual offices of IOI and is immediately met by Sorrento. He gives him a sales pitch about joining IOI. Parzival denies 3 separate offers and then Sorrento drops a bombshell on him literally and figuratively. His home is destroyed. An explosion collapses his stack. Wade logs back in to warn Aech.
When he gets a hold of Aech, the Sixers are swarming Ludus, Parzival's school planet ,looking for the 1st key.They decide it is a goods idea to get Art3mis, Shoto and Daito together to warn them. We also find out that people are calling them the High Five. They watch as the sixers set up camp around the first keys tomb and discuss the threat on all their lives and decide to part ways with mutual respect but not working together.
The scoreboard began to fill up with Sixer ID numbers. The gunter clans begin to assault the sixer encampment.Wade sets out on the road. He gets a bus ticket and creates a new identity.When he arrives in Columbus, headquarters of GSS, the company that runs the OASIS, and also real life HQ for IOI, he catches a cab to his new apartment. He makes a vow to not go outside until he finds the egg.
Discussion Questions
- sixers have experts that they can swap out for different challenges allowing them to farm copies of the key and pass through the gates with ease. What makes wade so special that he did it on his own?
- Daito mentions that any one of them ( High Five) could be a sixer spy....any guesses if that is true or who it is?
- Did Wade make the right decision in calling Sorrento's "bluff"?
- Wade says he designed his avatar’s face and body to look more or less like his own. Then he lists a string of things that are different. Has the OASIS warped his self perception?
- Anonymity is a big part of the OASIS.Now the internet seems to be a place where we flaunt our true identities. It wasn’t always that way. Do you think we’ll revert to more anonymity one day?
- The world setting is very bleak outside of the OASIS. Is this a future you see happening? If so will it happen by 2044?
- The OASIS becomes a part of daily life for users around the globe. What virtual realms (Google,Facebook, flickr) do you depend on? Is it dangerous to mix profit and dependence on technology?
- How does public school in the OASIS compare to your experience in school? Has author Ernest Cline created a solution to classroom overcrowding, student apathy, and school violence?
- Is Wade a strong main character? Did you like him? Find him believable? Interesting?
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Were there any passages or scenes that you remember well or particularly liked? Were you surprised?
- Do you Have any Questions?
Bonus Level
The film rights were purchased by Warner Bros. the same day Cline finalized his publishing deal with Random House, one year prior to the novel's publication. Steven Spielberg signed on to direct in March 2015.Hope to see everyone again in 2 weeks for the end of level two.
