Ready player one

In 2045, people seek regular escape from life through the virtual
realityentertainment universe OASIS
(Ontologically Anthropocentric SensoryImmersive Simulation), co-created by
James Halliday and Ogden Morrow of Gregarious Games. After Halliday's death,
a pre-recorded message left by hisavatar Anorak announces a game, granting
ownership of OASIS to the first to find the Golden Easter egg within it, which is
locked behind a gate requiring three keys. The contest has lured a number of
‘gunters’, or egg hunters, and the interest of Nolan Sorrento, the CEO of
Innovative Online Industries (IOI) who seeks to control OASIS himself. IOI uses a
number of indentured servants and employees called "Sixers" to find the egg.[a]

Wade Watts is an orphaned teenager living in the slums, or ‘stacks’,

of Columbus, Ohio, with his Aunt Alice. In the OASIS, his avatar, Parzival, is best
friends with Aech, a virtual mechanic. One day, Parzival befriends Art3mis, a
well-known Gunter, sharing a common interest in Halliday's history. They review
Halliday's life from the Archives, an online library of Halliday's life that came
online upon the start of the games, with help from its Curator. They learn Halliday
had several regrets in life, including his unrequited love for Morrow’s wife Kira
and losing Morrow as a friend after forcing him to sign away his part of
Gregarious Games. 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 the Overlook Hotel from The Shining. Aech and two other
friends, Daito and Sho, soon follow suit, the group becoming known as the "High
Five" on the OASIS scoreboards.

Sorrento learns of Parzival's real-life identity through OASIS mercenary i-R0k,

and attempts to sway Wade into joining 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 are soon found
by IOI. Samantha is captured and remanded to one of IOI's Loyalty Centers to
work off the debt IOI acquired, while Wade is extracted by the other High Five –
Helen (Aech), Toshiro (Daito), and Zhou (Sho). The group tracks down
Samantha's location at IOI and they remotely help her escape, allowing her to
assist them in the OASIS as Art3mis.

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. Parzival
recruits other OASIS players to help the rebels attack the IOI forces around the
castle. Art3mis deactivates the force field, allowing Parzival to reach the console,
but Sorrento activates the Cataclyst, a bomb that kills all the avatars on Planet
Doom. However, due to having won a coin from the Archive's Curator earlier,
Parzival gets anextra life, proceeding to play through Adventure to find its Easter
egg; he is awarded the last key. He opens the gate and is greeted by Anorak and
given a contract to sign; however, he recognizes it as the same contract Morrow
signed to turn over his part of Gregarious and refuses. Anorak changes form,
becomes Halliday, and reveals that the contract was the final test to make sure
Parzival would not make the same mistakes he did. Parzival is given the Golden
Egg and control of OASIS.

In the real world, Sorrento and Zandor fail to stop Parzival before he wins. They
are quickly arrested for the bombing. Morrow, revealed to have been the Curator,
offers his services to Wade. He gladly accepts. Wade decides to run OASIS with
the other High Five, agreeing to ban IOI's Loyalty Centers from forcing people
into servitude resulting in them being shut down and to shut down the OASIS
twice a week for everyone to spend more time in the real world. Meanwhile, he
and Samantha move into an apartment together.