Level 2:Provocation

Wade is back into the real world after he was dumped by Art3mis, he starts to give us a view on what he do outside the OASIS. He orders his food online replacing his door with impenetrable airlock. He spray paint his apartment windows in order to keep the sunlight out. To keep him company he has Max who is a butler from his system software agent. In order for him to stay in shape and be able to fit into his haptic suit, he had to shave all his body hair including his eye brows. He workout out every morning since he was starting to gain weight, he would do sit-ups, crunches, and pushups. He only takes an hour each day of his morning to undergo his routine, the rest of the day he spends it on OASIS.

An example of impenetrable airlock, that is similar to the one that Wade talks about.

Would Wade ever go outside into his real world? Would he be able to adapt into the sunlight since he basically lives in the dark from his apartment? How is Wade able to afford all his supplies and food if he doesn’t go and work? where does the money come from?

 

Level 2: Provocation

Wade’s avatar got an email titled, “We Can Dance If We Want To.”, from Ogden Morrow which was an invitation for Og’s 73rd birthday party. As soon as Wade opened it he called Art3mis to ask if she had been invited also. Wade didn’t think they should go, but he didn’t want to look like a chicken, so he decided to toughen up and go since Art3mis wanted to. The place it was at, “Distracted Globe”, was a PvP zone which made it a risky place for anybody in the “High Five” to go since there was potential for violence. Halfway through the party the Sixers blasted a hole in the roof, firing pistols directly at Wade and Art3mis. Og then used red lightning from his fingertips striking each Sixer avatar in the chest, eventually vaporizing every Sixer in the club. Once the party started back up again, Wade realized the love of his life was flying out of the hole the Sixers had just created and would never speak to him again until the hunt for the egg was over.

Would you have risked everything and went to Og’s party? What do you think was the sole motivation for Wade to go to the party? Do you think Wade will start to lose sight on the quest for the egg and work on trying to get Art3mis back in his life instead?

Provocation 1

After defeating Acererak, Wade encounters his virtual crush Art3mis who is searching for the copper keys he has just found. At first, Wade is distracted by her appearance but quickly snaps out of it and responds aggressively towards her. Art3mis, who was a 52nd level warrior, had been defeated several times when trying to find the copper keys, however Wade had been successful on his first try. He ends up lying to her about beating Acererak but she reads right through the lie when the leaderboard is posted. They continue to converse and in the end he ends up giving her the helpful hint of playing on the left side.

Question:

Do you think the Wade should have given this hint to Art3mis since they are competing for the same reward? Do you think he would have given this hint to someone else or he only did it because he had a crush on Art3mis? Do you think this hint will end up benefitting Wade at all on his journey for Halliday’s reward?

Parzival v. Acererak

Wade figures out where to find the Copper Key daydreaming in Latin class, but really it’s only the beginning. He goes to the first spot, the Tomb of Horrors, and has to confront the demi-lich Acererak as a level three avatar. He prepares mentally to lose this fight and to start again tomorrow with a new avatar, but a battle is not what Acererak has in mind. They play each other in joust, where Wade ends up winning best two out of three. Acererak then reveals himself to be Anorak, Halliday’s avatar, and gives him the Copper Key with the next clue on it.

Were you expecting Acererak to actually be Halliday? Do you think we’ll see more of Halliday being secret characters? Would you have gone into the Tomb of Horrors as a measly level three knowing you’d have to face difficult and possibly avatar ending tasks? Why or why not?

level 1: provocation

Here is a picture from the time when I toured the Lourve.

Wade says the real world sucks and that the Oasis keeps him sane. Life can suck at times, but I think life is pretty amazing. In the Oasis we see Wade being able to do just about anything  while sitting in one place in your own home. Something that I thought was really neat was traveling like on school field trips to different places, the only difference is that Wade and his classmates are traveling virtually. In the book on page 48 Wade says that “In art class we toured the Louvre.” Now I have been out of the country and even have toured the Louvre myself  and I know that the experience is no where near the same as seeing it on google Earth.  So my question is are you actually living your life if it’s through a machine? What are your thoughts on the reality life and virtual life? Do you think reality life experience is different from virtual life experience?

 

Chatlink Session with Sorrento

Wade’s OASIS avatar, Parzival, has joined a Chatlink session with the head of Innovative Online Industries, Nolan Sorrento. Sorrento wants Parzival to join him and IOI to help him find the easter egg in Halliday’s program, OASIS. He gives Parzival two offers to try to convince him to join which include money and a job offer. Parzival is not interested in these offers because he hates the IOI. Then the situation gets tense after he rejects Sorrento’s first two offers. Sorrento reveals that he knows Parzival’s real name, Wade Watts, and that he knows where he lives. Sorrento makes one last proposal to Wade; either give up what he knows about the hunt for the egg or die.

What would you have done in this situation? Would you have told Sorrento what you knew and possibly save the lives of the people who died in the explosion? Or would you have chosen Wade’s route and thought Sorrento was going to try to kill you either way?