Ready Player One

Wade notes, “Zork was one of the earliest and most famous text adventure games” (227). He admonishes himself for forgetting that the game begins in a neglected house and contains a trophy case, both of which are part of the clue for finding the Jade Key. He is worried about the Sixers getting to Frobozz first and uses a Ring of Teleportation to travel there. He enters the abandoned house where the game begins and notices food in the kitchen that was not part of the original game. He finds a whistle in a box of Cap’n Crunch which matches another part of the Jade Key riddle. Wade completes all the necessary actions and obtains the trophies, and he blows the whistle which turns into the Jade Key.

The Jade Key contains a clue to the Second Gate. As Wade investigates, the Sixer army arrives. Wade makes it to his ship, barely escaping before the Sixers can kill him. He takes his ship to a repair yard and sends Aech an apology for being “a colossally insensitive, self-centered asshole” (232). As with the Tomb on Ludus, Sixers and gunter clans enter a large-scale battle on Frobozz. While the battle rages, Wade is surprised to see Shoto’s score increase, indicating that he has also found the Jade Key.