<P> Wade lies low, taking up the persona Bryce Lynch and a residence near IOI headquarters in Columbus, Ohio . He briefly considers an alliance with Aech, Art3mis, and two Japanese gunters, Daito and Shoto, who have also figured out the puzzles . Instead, he and Art3mis progress in a friendship, but when he asks her out, Art3mis declines . IOI operatives (called Sixers) attempt to assassinate the two at the birthday party of OASIS co-founder Ogden Morrow, but are unsuccessful . Five months after the finding of the Copper Key, no one has made progress on the next clue, the Jade Key, and Wade finds himself more isolated from both Art3mis and Aech . </P> <P> When Art3mis finds the Jade Key, Parzival scrambles to planet Archaide, where he plays a perfect game of Pac - Man, receiving only a quarter as a prize . The coin becomes stuck in his inventory, and he is unable to analyze it . Aech provides a hint leading him to the planet Frobozz where he solves the text adventure game Zork . Sorrento, who had tracked Art3mis and Aech using a premium locator item, quickly establishes a base there to farm their company's avatars with keys, and soon unlocks the Jade Gate and acquires the Crystal Key . </P> <P> Parzival unlocks the Jade Gate, a Voight - Kampff machine in the Blade Runner universe, and completes the arcade game Black Tiger as a character from the first - person shooter perspective . Using his knowledge of Rush, he acquires the Crystal Key, and after playing "Discovery", the third track off of their album 2112, discovers a clue that Sorrento overlooked regarding the conditions to unlock the final gate . As he messages Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto with his solution, Sorrento publicizes the location of the Crystal Gate at Castle Anorak, but he has put an impenetrable force field around it . </P> <P> In an elaborate plan of infiltration, Wade manipulates his assumed identity to be arrested and placed in indentured servitude in IOI's tech support department . While inside IOI, he uses black market passwords and security exploits to hack into IOI's intranet: he acquires a wealth of information, including footage of Daito's murder by Sixers who infiltrated Daito's real - life apartment and threw him out of the building's 43rd floor, killing him . The information also includes the attempt on his own life, as well as plans to kill Shoto and Art3mis in real life . After escaping the corporation, he shares his information with his friends, and publicizes a gathering of avatars to storm the castle . They are interrupted by Ogden Morrow, who offers them a safe haven at his home in Oregon . Wade meets the real - life Aech and Ogden, but not Art3mis and Shoto, who are already hooked into Ogden's immersion pods . </P>

Who are the main characters in ready player one