Ready-player-one -

I called Art3mis. Her real name was Samantha. She lived in Canada. She picked up on the first ring.

The moment I touched it, a global announcement blared across every OASIS sector: ready-player-one

"The high ground's taken," Art3mis said, drawing her katana. I called Art3mis

I held up a quarter—the same quarter Halliday had used to play Pac-Man for the first time. It wasn't a weapon. It was a token. She picked up on the first ring

"You don't understand," I said, bleeding pixels. "Halliday didn't want a warrior. He wanted a friend."

Innovative Online Industries. The Sixers. An army of indentured servants wearing identical armor, funded by corporate greed. Their CEO, Nolan Sorrento, wanted the OASIS so he could stuff it with ads and microtransactions.

They didn't play to win. They played to own .