A river of words flowed between us. |
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Wade Owen Watts (born August 12, 2024 (in the digital book) 2027 (in the movie) or 2026 (in the paper book)[1]) is the protagonist and narrator of Ernest Cline's novel, Ready Player One. He is a poor orphan from the Stacks surrounding metropolitan Oklahoma City. Wade names his OASIS character Parzival after Percival, the Arthurian knight famous for his quest for the Holy Grail, and dedicates his life to finding James Halliday's Easter egg. He is married to Samantha Evelyn Cook, also known as Art3mis. He had an aunt named Alice, who was dating a man named Richard, before the bomb went off in the stacks.
Personality
Wade is portrayed as an intelligent, resourceful, and determined teenager obsessed with the OASIS virtual reality world. He is also depicted as being introverted and socially awkward, partly due to his difficult upbringing and immersion in the virtual world. Throughout the novel, Wade demonstrates a strong sense of justice and a desire to do what is right, often at significant personal risk. He is also shown to be fiercely loyal to his friends and allies and willing to go to great lengths to protect them. Overall, Wade’s character is complex and multifaceted, with strengths and weaknesses contributing to his development throughout the story.
Appearance
Wade is described as nerdy, shy, awkward, overweight, and average looking young male. It's known he loses weight later on in the novel by forcing himself to exercise in order to use the OASIS.
His appearance is similar to Danté with the exception of a gold ThunderCats belt buckle. He made his avatar more muscular and thinner than his real self. He only wears some jeans and a T-shirt at the beginning, but later levels up and gets more outfits.
Story
Wade was born on August 12, 2024, to a teenage couple who were two refugees living in the stacks. His father, who goes unnamed, was shot dead when Wade was only a few months of age, allegedly killed while looting a grocery store during a power outage. Wade's mother had once told him that his name was also given to him by his Father; it was an alliterative name because his father thought it sounded like the secret identity of a superhero.
His mother, Loretta, held two full-time positions within the OASIS. She worked as a telemarketer by day, and as a virtual escort by night. It is explained by Wade, that Loretta used the OASIS to babysit him while she worked. He would play interactive games and learn fundamental skills within the virtual world, beginning his infatuation with technology. But, during the night, when his mother worked in brothels, Wade would watch old movies with the volume turned all the way up to block out the sound of her talking dirty to "tricks in other time zones".
When Wade was around 11 years old, Loretta died due to her drug addiction and committed suicide. She "shot a bad batch of something into her arm," and Wade found her, listening to music on an old MP3 player he had repaired and gifted to her the prior Christmas. After her death, he was forced to live with his aunt Alice and her often abusive boyfriends, including others who rented rooms in his aunt's double-wide trailer. Wade and his aunt never had a good relationship; she didn't actually take care of him, and the only reason she agreed to take him in was to receive additional food vouchers. She would often take his belongings, such as computers that he would find and repair, and sell them with the excuse that it was payment for his free living. He spent very little time in her trailer, only sleeping and eating there when he had to, especially during winter where his secret hideout became too cold. Most of Wade's waking hours were spent in his secret hideout.
Wade attended school in the real world for a few years and then volunteered to go to school in the OASIS, he was issued a school-supplied visor and haptic gloves. While this allowed him to have further access to the OASIS, he didn't have enough money to do anything else.
Wade was often bullied by the richer students at the school since he only wore jeans and a tee shirt— the default options for clothing, which signified that he was poorer than the other students. However, since Ludus (the planet Wade went to school) was a no PvP zone, he was safe from any injuries.
Wade often slacked off during school. over the years he had racked up so many unexcused absences, he came close to being expelled. he even found a bug in the schools online library software so that he could read any book in the schools library, which included Anorak's Almanac. Although, he still earned enough credits to graduate.
After Wade completed Halliday's Hunt, he became one of the richest people in the world and also gained the abilities of Anorak in the OASIS world (including unlimited hit points and cyberpotence). He also became Art3mis's boyfriend.
- Main article: Halliday's Easter Egg Hunt
"Three hidden keys open three secret gates
Wherein the errant will be tested for worthy traits
And those with the skill to survive these straits
Will reach The End where the prize awaits"
James Halliday's died on January the 7th, 2040 from cancer. However, Prior to his death, he created a short film just under five minutes in length along with instructions that it be sent to the world media at the time of his death. A copy of the video was also sent to every OASIS user at the time. The video was titled 'Anorak’s Invitation'. This short film was an invitation from Halliday to every person alive to take part in the competition (this invitation excluded anyone who was currently working or had previously worked at Gregarious Games) and the announcement of the prize, all of Halliday's fortune, which amounted to, in excess of around 240 billion dollars. Shortly after the announcement, Wade, along with many millions of other people all over the world became full-time gunters (short for "Egg Hunters"). These are OASIS users who are obsessed with learning everything about James Halliday, his history and 1980's pop-culture to discover the easter egg and earn his fortune. The Egg Hunt consists of locating three keys hidden throughout the OASIS to unlock three matching gates. After locating all three keys and gates, one must be tested for their worthiness of Halliday's fortune. Only then will one reach The End, where they would then reach the prize.
As indicated by Anorak's Almanac, knowledge of 1980's pop culture was critical to locating the keys scattered throughout the OASIS. Wade, among many others, immersed himself in countless songs, television shows, video games, science fiction novels, comic books and movies all of which originated from the 1980's. Over the years, Wade amassed a mental and digital collection of thousands of items relevant to the Egg Hunt. This included digital versions of coin-operated video games such as Galaga, Defender, Asteroids, Robotron: 2084, sitcoms like Family Ties, comics including complete editions of The Amazing Spider-Man, The X-Men, Green Lantern, and much more.
Over the course of five years, Wade and millions of other OASIS users comb countless worlds of the OASIS simulation for any lead to where the Copper Key could be found Their only leads were the original poem given in the Almanac, and The Limerick discerned from marked entries in the Almanac.
Assassination attempt
Shortly after Wade discovered the coper key and passed through the first gate, IOI spammed him, along with the rest of the High Five in an attempted to make them an offer so that they could find the whereabouts of the copper key. Wade was the only one to follow through with the messages however, this lead to IOI's attempt to blackmail and assassinate Wade by planting explosives in his aunt's trialor in a way that made it appear as if a drug lab had exploded in an accident. However, Wade was not killed because he was in his hideout at the time half a mile away from the explosion. In an attempt to stay hidden from IOI, Wade Watts moved to Columbus, Ohio and assumed the alias of Bryce Lynch, a 22-year-old male with an immaculate credit rating and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. He was able to do this via connections he made with hackers on the OASIS. He also assumes a position at a tech help desk to help pay the apartment bills and fund his research for the egg.
Indentured Servitude
After discovering that the sixers had encamped around Castle Anorak using the impenitrable shield, the Orb of Osuvox near the end of the story, Wade decides to infiltrate IOI as an indentured servant. By modifying his aliases financial status to being indebted to IOI for tens of thousand dollars. Wade successfully manipulates IOI into abducting and forcing him to work off his debt. He is given a help-desk position much like his old job, but without the freedoms of being able to watch movies or do anything else on the job. Using IOI Intranet Access Passwords, Back Doors, and System Exploits he acquired from a former IOI contract programmer he had contacted on L33t Hax0rz Warezhaus, he was able to hack the IOI database and download nearly ten zettabytes of information relevant to the hunt and other gunters who posed a threat to IOI winning the contest. These gunters were Aech, Art3mis, Akihide Karatsu (Shoto) and Toshiro Yoshiaki (Diato). Diato's name had a large X over his file, this signified that he had already been killed at the hands of IOI. Wade downloaded all of the information he had found onto a flash drive. He also requisitioned a figurative time bomb to be delivered and detonated inside the shield next to the level 99 wizard (who was powering the shield) at a later date in order to take it down. Once he had successfully done this, he zeroed his account (wiping out his debt) and disabled the locking mechanisms on his earcam and security anklet, allowing him to slip past IOI security guards. Once he escaped, he resumed his original identity as Wade Owen Watts and removed all records of existence for Bryce Lynch.
Possessions
Weapons
Trivia
- His father named him Wade because he thought “Wade Watts” sounded like a secret identity like Peter Parker or Bruce Banner, but more likely to be Deadpool, whose non-superhero name is Wade Wilson.
- Wade3 is the name given to Wade's avatar whenever he is at OPS #1873 on Ludus. The avatar continues to look the same.
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Personality
Wade is quick-witted and passionate, his dedication to being a gunter by finding the egg fuels his desire to win. He is extremely knowledgeable in 1980s video games and spent a lot of time in hiding from his aunt to practice as much video games listed in Anorak's Almanac as possible. His determination is essential for his success in the contest.
Appearance
In the film, Parzival has grayish skin with blue tattoos. His hair look, as chosen at the start of the movie is windswept with wind originally blowing his hair constantly until Art3mis stopped that effect. His hair itself is a white with blue streaks throughout. This remains his chosen hair look for the movie, even switching back after testing out a punk style in preparation for his date at the Distracted Globe with Art3mis. For the date, Parzival changed into the suit of his favorite character from Buckaroo Bonsai. The suit is a gray jacket, with a loose shirt over a loose stripped pink and black necktie. His general clothing is a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a vest over it that has a golden sword on the back. Parzival wears a belt that has a gun holster on the right side, but the holster is empty. The only time Parzival is seen carrying a gun in the holster is during the final battle on Planet Doom.
After the detonation of the Cataclyst and the restoration of Parzival through the 1981 Quarter, Parzival's appearance is reduced to a simple T-shirt and jeans due to Parzival losing his character progression and with it, all of the weapons and items he had acquired. He retains the windswept hair however.
Story
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 an extra 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.
Possessions
Weapons
- During the fight in the Distracted Globe, Parzival initially wields a colonial revolver from Battlestar Galactica, M41 SPNKr from "Halo", and an Auto 9 from "RoboCop".
Behind the Scenes
"Wade and Parzival are two very different people," says actor Tye Sheridan. "Parzival is everything that Wade is not in the real world, and so, when we meet Wade, he is kind of this skittish guy who's quite introverted and closed off. The OASIS is where he expresses himself." Sheridan describes that while rehearsing motion capture footage, Spielberg instructed him on how Parzival walked with a swagger that Wade did not have. To aid him in achieving Parzival's swagger, Spielberg used the film Saturday Night Fever as an example and began playing "Staying Alive" to give Sheridan the beat to walk to.
According to production designer Adam Stockhausen, Parzival's look drew heavily from Wade's obsession with every facet of 1980s pop culture, with a nod to the myth that inspired the avatar's name. "It has roots in anime heroes, it has roots in '80s rock stars. When you look at the hairstyle and you look back at '80s rock 'n' roll hairstyles, you see where that comes from. He's got this sword on his back, which was sort of the idea of how do you make an '80s pop-culture knight--does he wear a whole suit of armor all the time? Or does a jean jacket with a skull and sword become his suit of armor?"
For Parzival's footwear, the design team looked back to Earnest Cline's original text and found inspiration from Art3mis' Black Chuck Taylor All-Stars sneakers that Parzival uses at the end of the book.
In regards to the dynamic between Wade and Samantha in the film, Spielberg had Sheridan and Olivia Cooke watch "His Girl Friday"; with specific instruction to focus on the dialogues and interactions between the characters Hildy Johnson and Walter Burns.
Differences from Novel
Trivia
- In the early scenes in the movie, Wade wears a pair of glasses. The glasses disappear partway through the movie with no explanation at all. They are last seen before Wade visits Halliday's Journals a second time.
- In the movie, Wade's avatar is referred to as Parzival and Z as a nickname. The movie gives no reason for the Z nickname the High Five calls him by, but it likely stems from it being pronounced 'par-ZEE-vall'.
Notes & References
- ↑ The Kindle Edition and Apple Book both list 2024, on pages 141 and 290 respectively. The paper book lists 2026 on page 222.
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