<P> Set in a slum - filled version in 2045, people escape their lives to live out most days in the virtual reality entertainment universe OASIS, co-created by James Halliday and Ogden Morrow of Gregarious Games . After Halliday's death, a pre-recorded message left by his avatar Anorak announces a game, granting ownership of OASIS to the first to find the Golden Easter Egg within it, locked behind a gate requiring three keys . The contest has lured a number of "Gunters", Egg hunters, and the interest of Nolan Sorrento, the CEO of Innovative Online Industries (IOI), seeking to control OASIS himself . IOI uses a number of indentured servants and employees called "Sixers" to seek the egg . </P> <P> Wade Watts is an orphaned teenager living in the "stacks" of Columbus, Ohio with his aunt, Alice; in the OASIS, his avatar, Parzival is good friends with Aech, a virtual mechanic . Parzival befriends Art3mis, a well - known Gunter, sharing a common interest in Halliday's history . They review Halliday's life from the Archives with help of its Curator . They learn Halliday had several regrets; his partner Morrow had signed away his part of Gregarious Games due to fallout over Halliday's love for Morrow's wife Kira . Using this information, they solve the first two challenges of Anorak's game: a car race across an ever - shifting Manhattan cityscape, and a search for Kira in a simulation of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining . Aech and his friends Daito and Sho also follow; they become known as the "High Five" on the OASIS scoreboards . </P> <P> Sorrento learns of Parzival's identity through OASIS mercenary i - R0k, and attempts to sway Wade into IOI, but he refuses . In retaliation, Sorrento has IOI's head of operations F'Nale Zandor bomb Wade's stack, killing Alice . Art3mis' player, Samantha Cook, rescues Wade, but they too are soon found by IOI, who captures and forces Samantha into their servitude . Wade is extracted by the other High Five--Helen (Aech), Toshiro (Daito) and Zhou (Sho)--who discover her location and remotely provide her means to assist them in the OASIS as Art3mis . </P> <P> The third challenge requires one to play Halliday's favorite Atari 2600 game, in a castle on Planet Doom, which Sorrento has protected with a force field . Attesting to Sorrento's nature, Parzival recruits countless OASIS players to help the rebels attack the IOI forces around the castle . Art3mis breaks the force field, allowing Parzival to reach the console, but Sorrento activates the Cataclyst, a bomb that wipes all the avatars off Planet Doom . However, due to having won a coin from the Archive's Curator earlier, Parzival gets an extra life, and proceeds to play through Adventure to find its Easter egg, and is awarded the last key . Opening the gate, he is greeted by Anorak and given a contract to sign . Parzival recognizes it as the same contract Morrow signed to turn over his part of Gregarious, and refuses . Anorak reveals himself to be Halliday, and that the contract was the final test to make sure Parzival would not have the same regrets as Halliday did with Morrow . Parzival is given the Golden Egg that controls OASIS . </P>

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