Ready Player One: Level Three: 0038 Summary & Analysis

Wade can no longer hear the voices of his friends; the communication system has obviously been cut off. Wade tries turning on some of the computers in the room, and eventually succeeds in powering up the same one Matthew Broderick’s character uses in WarGames. The computer asks for a login, and Wade remembers that the password for the supercomputer in the movie is the name of one of the character’s sons, “the person he’d loved most in the world.” Wade tries “Ogden” and “Kira,” but these do not work.

After ten minutes of failures, Wade remembers a detail from Morrow’s biography, which stated that Halliday would only address Kira by the name of her D&D character, Leucosia. Wade types in “Leucosia” and every system in the room suddenly turns on at once. Wade retrieves a cartridge for the videogame Adventure and inserts it into the corresponding computer. In the game, he rushes straight to “the Secret Room,” in which he finds an egg. “The egg.” Wade picks up the egg, and immediately finds himself into a crystal portal leading back to Castle Anorak.

Wade walks up to Anorak’s study. He looks out the window and sees that the Cataclyst’s devastation has been erased, and all of Chthonia has been restored. Inside the study, he finds a gold chalice and places the egg inside it. A fanfare of trumpets plays, and Wade suddenly sees Anorak in front of him, congratulating him on winning the game. The two shake hands, and lightning erupts all around them. Anorak transforms out of his wizard robes and into an ordinary-looking version of Halliday. Wade, meanwhile, has suddenly acquired a seemingly infinite list of special skills, powers, and magical items. He is now at level infinite, and his credit readout shows he is a multibillionaire. 

Halliday tells Wade that his avatar is immortal and all-powerful, and that he is in charge of the OASIS. He asks that Wade use his “powers only for good.” Castle Anorak also belongs to Wade, along with a red button that will delete the entirety of the OASIS forever. Before leaving, Halliday tells Wade that as “terrifying and painful” as the real world is, it is the only place where it is possible to be truly happy. He advises him not to hide inside the OASIS forever. Finally, Halliday wishes Wade luck and thanks him for playing his game. He then disappears.

After Halliday leaves, Wade is able to talk to his friends again. They congratulate him, and Wade thanks them for their help. Aech tells Wade to check the Scoreboard, which now reads: “Parzival Wins!” Aech says that after the Scoreboard showed Wade’s win, the remaining Sixers’ vidfeeds disappeared. Wade realizes he can now instantly teleport anywhere in the OASIS for free, and transports himself to the entrance to Castle Anorak. The remaining Sixers are standing there, having been ejected from the final stage of the hunt. Wade kills them all. 

Wade then resurrects the avatars of Aech, Art3mis, and Shoto. Aech and Shoto eagerly log back into the OASIS, but Aech notes that Art3mis wanted to get some fresh air first and said she’d be outside waiting for Wade. Before Wade logs out, Aech shows him news clips of Sorrento being arrested by federal authorities on the charge of murder. The news channels have been playing clips of Aunt Alice’s trailer being blown up all day. Wade sighs, pointing out that IOI will hire “the best lawyers in the world.” Aech points out that Wade can now afford to do the same.