Ready Player One Chapter 21 Summary

How It All Goes Down

0021

  • So where was Art3mis when she found the Jade Key? The artifact Fyndoro's Tablet of Finding lets its owner see where anyone is in the OASIS at any time.
  • Surprise, surprise: IOI owns the artifact. When Sixer ships clog up Sector Seven, Wade knows that's where the Jade Key must be hidden.
  • Wade thinks the Jade Key riddle must have something to do with John Draper, a famous hacker who, with a plastic whistle from a box of Cap'n Crunch cereal, was able to evade telephone long distance charges (remember those?) in 1972. 
  • The "trophies" part of the riddle stumps Wade, though. He thinks it must have to do with Halliday's favorite childhood arcade, which has been recreated in the OASIS on a planet creatively called Archaide.
  • To get there fast, Parzival takes his starship, the Vonnegut, through a stargate to Archaide.